Chapter 21
October
While Jack patrolled the park, Lucas kept an eye on the pavilion and reviewed the résumés of the seasonal workers.
Some had already indicated their interest in returning next spring to work in the food stands or in the hotel.
He needed to decide on the other possible employees, giving those with experience in the park priority—including Colin Forrester.
Justine and her sisters had considered the possible fates of every potential employee, had advised him not to offer jobs to a few of them, even if they had been suitable this year.
After all, even Wyrd wasn’t immune to changes.
But they had suggested that he offer Colin Forrester a job again next summer.
He would discuss that suggestion in more detail, but for now he tucked Colin’s letter into the employee file.
His phone rang just as he was about to close up his office and help Jack round up the last visitors who needed to be herded to the ferry.
“Frost.”
“Is she safe?”
Lucas drew in a slow breath. He’d been expecting this call for weeks, had been surprised that it hadn’t come. “Beth Fahey is as safe as a woman with courage can be.”
The silence on the line pricked the territorial side of his nature. “She is settled here, has made friends here, is building a life here. She is Arcana, and she is the only one who has the right to determine her fate.”
He wondered if Beth realized the subtle changes over the past few months.
She probably thought the grace with which she now moved with the world was due to the various exercise classes she participated in at the hotel.
That might be part of it, but more was due to embracing a heritage that had been dormant for most of her life and had awakened when she had touched the strange.
She moved like the Arcana now, and humans would sense the difference, even if they didn’t understand the difference.
“You helped her when she was young,” Lucas said.
“Helping her then gave her the chance to make her own choices now. I have no right to interfere with her fate. Neither do you.” When he didn’t pick up any ripple of anger, he added, “If you wish, I can call you from time to time and let you know how she’s doing. ”
“That would be welcome.”
Lucas waited a moment after the call ended.
Then he put down the receiver. He had wondered if the other Sorcerer King would insist on Beth resettling in the convergence he ruled.
The Kings rarely challenged each other. That let too much of the strange into the world.
But Lucas Frost, Sorcerer King of the Isle of Wyrd, would have defended Beth’s right to choose her own fate.
He felt relieved that his father had agreed.
21
Rahele Larke was grateful for all the help Ashley Laxton and Kia Dance had given her over the past couple of weeks while she relearned how to use a human body, but she was glad Beth Fahey was the one escorting her to her new home.
“I’m nervous.”
Beth gave her an understanding smile. “Stands to reason. The new can be stressful as well as exciting, and living in the Teeth…Well, think of it as living in a town populated entirely by people who are in witness protection.”
“Which is why guests aren’t allowed.”
“And why only the businesses have telephones, although there is a phone box every couple of blocks.”
“No cell phones or internet.”
“Nope. But there are the essentials.”
“Bookstore?”
Beth grinned. “Yes. And a small library within sight of your house. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, you can always take the shuttle up to the hotel and treat yourself to a massage and a fancy lunch, then sit in the lounge and load up your e-reader.”
“I appreciate all of you buying me a new e-reader and setting up an account in my name, along with all the other documentation that has been provided.” Rahele hesitated. “I’m a little confused about the books I found in it.”
“Oh, we all chose a favorite book, and Ashley downloaded the selections.”
“That explains why some of the choices are a bit…”
“Terrifying?”
“I was going to say ‘unusual.’ ”
“Everything in Wyrd feels unusual at first, and then it doesn’t.”
The shuttle pulled up at the closest stop. Beth picked up Rahele’s suitcase and said, “I’ve got this. Are you steady enough?”
“Yes.” She’d worked hard to walk again, use her arms and hands again. But sometimes her perception of where the ground was in relation to her feet was still a little bit off, so being cautious was wise.
Not much of a yard, Rahele thought as Beth opened the front door and then stood aside to let her go in first.
“The street side of the houses don’t have much variety,” Beth said. “It’s the backyards that are special. I’ll put your suitcase in your bedroom and help you unpack in a minute. Go back to the kitchen and see for yourself.”
Rahele opened the back door and looked out. Then she stepped out. There was a patio and some furniture. There were a couple of large pots filled with earth but empty of plants. Beyond that…
She stepped carefully as she moved from patio to gravel path. She couldn’t see all of it. The path curved, providing an open kind of privacy. She heard water, but wasn’t ready to do much exploring yet.
As she returned to the patio, Beth walked out of the house, looked over Rahele’s shoulder, and smiled at someone.
“Rahele?”
Rahele turned, her heart in her throat at the thought of confronting a stranger. But the black-haired, dark-eyed boy stopped at the edge of the patio, as if understanding her need not to have her space invaded, and gave her a hesitant smile.
She didn’t recognize the boy, but the eyes…“Faulkner?”
The hesitant smile turned into a confident grin. He held out the bowl he carried. “I picked some apples for you.”