“I was thinking about Winnie and Ansel. Rowan has lost his phone.”
“Hey! I was dealing with some other stuff at the time; cut me some slack. I’m going to heat up those leftovers—that’s okay with you guys?”
Nix’s stomach shifts at the words, pressed as it is against Finn’s abdomen. The girls are bumping and rolling. No matter that Finn is a physician and he’s delivered no less than thirty babies in his career, feeling their children still gives him butterflies.
With a last squeeze to Finn’s waist, he sits on the corner of the couch so he can touch both Grayson and Luca.
“Yummy. Did you get her on the phone?”
“No, I was just going to call her on her own line. See if she can find it on her end.”
“I was wondering if we could find her a job where she can work at home for a bit? She doesn’t want to feel like a freeloader,” Nix says. What he doesn’t add is that he understands that feeling exactly. “I bet Lauren has an idea.”
“Good idea. I’ll ask her. I wonder why she didn’t take Margot’s calls,” Leo says, adding a text to his mother onto the one to Margot.
“Let’s call Winnie about the lost phone and ask if she has an idea of work she’d like to do? She could even go to school. She can do that online, too,” Jay suggests.
“Yes!” Nix does a little jig in excitement, his emotions raising the happiness quotient in the room.
Finn dials Winnie’s number on speaker, and it rings and rings before finally connecting. Expecting his new friend to say a happy hello, there’s just heavy breathing.
“Winnie?” Nix asks with concern in his tone and a frown between his eyebrows.
“Well, hello, little Novice. I’d recognize those dulcet tones anywhere. I’m sorry to say that Winnie and Ansel can’t come to the phone right now.”
19
The Decayed Soul (Grayson)
“Well, hello, little Novice. I’d recognize those dulcet tones anywhere. I’m sorry to say that Winnie and Ansel can’t come to the phone right now,” Withers oozes, smug.
They can hear his footsteps on what sounds like concrete, then a door opening—and the soft sound of birdsong—before it shuts again.
“You bastard!” Luca yells, his blanket toga nearly falling to the ground.
“Ooh, it’s the sassy sidekick. How’s that little gift I left you feeling?”
“It’s not—”
“Where are Winnie and Ansel, you son of a bitch?” Nix cuts Luca off before he can reveal anything they don’t want Withers to know. Luca slams a hand over his mouth and grumbles behind it.
Withers chuckles. “Wouldn’t you like to know? I’m a little annoyed at you, little Novice. Messing around where you don’t belong. Was that you rummaging around in poor wee Ansel’s soul yesterday? It wasn’t very nice.”
“His soul isn’t yours to take,” Nix growls, fangs down, pure fury in his words.
“Oh, but it is. Promised to me with his very own lips. Children respond so well to a little bit of persuasion, and now, he’s almost used up. Probably not worth the effort for that last little bit. But his sister? If she weren’t so stubborn…” He sighs, like this is life’s most challenging moment. “Still, I’m sure she can be persuaded, don’t you? And you’ve left me with just the right amount of leverage.”
It’s not a surprise to Grayson that Winnie is holding out on whatever Withers is bringing to bear. She’d seen her brother deteriorate, and now that she knew what—who—the problem is, she won’t be led down that path…at least voluntarily.
It’s that thought that gives Grayson a jolt of worry. If Ignatius was right, then it’s entirely possible that Withers could make her do something she wouldn’t normally do.
But what wouldn’t she do to save her brother? They need to find them now.
Nix gets close to the phone in Finn’s hand, growling, “You leave her alone.”
“Ha. Now, what can I do for you? You left in a hurry after I was sick; sorry about that. Not the romantic evening I had planned.”
The surge of angry scents in the cottage’s small sitting room, including his own, makes Grayson’s nose burn.
