“It is? Why?” I ask.
“It symbolizes success and beauty.” She plucks out a stem and holds it out to me. I hesitate for a second but take it. “It even means mystery. It’s good to have a little something mysterious when you’re in your early days, so don’t give all your secrets away, darling. A man loves a mystery.”
I’ve never been a mystery to anyone, least of all the demon that’s been in my head for years but I don’t say that. Instead, I nod. “Okay. I won’t.”
“Now, speaking of mysteries. You two are quite the mystery.”
“We are?”
She nods. “Oh yes, a new couple like you in town with a new house that none of us knew sold. Quite the mystery, indeed. One wonders where did you come from? Why did you choose here? Why the old Sarande House at the edge of town when no one’s lived there for years. Why now?”
Mulberries. This is bad. One minute around Eleanor and she’s tearing our story to shreds. I swallow and look towards Jaak. His eyes are narrowed. He doesn’t like Eleanor’s line of questioning.
I clear my throat and make a show of inspecting the flower I’m holding. It is interesting so it’s not that hard to pull off. I run my finger along one paper-like ridge of a petal as I ask, “How did you know we just bought a house? We just got there last night. Didn’t think anyone saw us.”
“Oh well, Clyde told me. Naturally. Said his cousin saw you two walking into town from that way on their morning run. They assumed you were at the Sarande house because there’s nothing else that way, just a dead-end road so where else would you be coming from?” She laughs and shakes her head. “The forest?Silly. Anyways, Clyde’s cousin told him and he told me over our morning coffee.”
Damn you blabbermouth Clyde’s cousin and Clyde.
“Clyde from the diner?”
“The one and the same. He’s a good one, the giving kind to be helping poor old Dina out while her vagrant husband is off doing gods knows what in the woods with those other fools.” She turns and makes a clucking sound. “Some men are good and some are bad, and then there’s just the worthless ones like Dina’s husband.” She looks over her shoulder at me with a wink. “He’s not at all likeyour husband.You found yourself the real devoted kind, didn’t you? A soul like that loves for an eternity. Trust me, I can tell these things.”
Jaak steps up beside me and puts an arm around me. “You’re very…wise.” I can hear the hesitation in his words, like he’s carefully picking them. He doesn’t trust Eleanor, I can tell and so can she. Then again, neither do I so I get it. I almost reach for the bond that I can feel between us but I don’t trust that Eleanor won’t be able to see it.
How the hells would I explain the fact that I’ve got a golden thread running from me to him? Nope, better not chance it at all.
“I am. I’ve lived a very, very long time. So have you.”
Jaak shrugs. “I have an old soul. One of those faces.”
“It’s the eyes.” She leans in to peer at him and after a second she nods like she sees something there she was looking for. “I knew it.” She winks at him.
“Knew what?”
“Never you mind, dearie,” Eleanor trills and then just as suddenly as she appeared she scuttles off into the back of the shop and vanishes from sight. Jaak and I both watch her with open mouths.
“Did she just…” my voice trails off and I turn sideways to mimic the way Eleanor just ran, no, not ran. Scuttled. That’s the only way to describe it.
“She did.” Jaak cranes his neck to get a better look at Eleanor’s figure but there’s nothing to see. She’s there one second and gone the next. Why would she walk like that? It was barely a walk at all. “She’s the head mage. I’ll destroy her now,” he says and turns to look around him, presumably for a weapon. At least I think that’s what he’s doing when he picks up a heavy glass vase like he’s testing the weight of it.
“What? No, she can’t be.” I put a hand on his arm to stop him when he moves on from the vase to a wooden candlestick. “She’s nosey, sure, but it’s a small town. That’s just how these places are. What are you doing? Stop swinging that!”
Jaak ignores me and gives the candlestick another swing before he shakes his head. “Too light. This will break on impact. I need something heavy…heavy…ah, there.” He snaps his fingers and strides over to a table where someone was putting together a bouquet. At first, I don’t see what has Jaak’s attention. There’s only flowers, a few boxes and a spool of twine. All of it seems innocent enough until he turns and motions for me to go back up to the front.
He gives whatever he’s holding a nod of approval. “This will do. For now.”
“What will do? What are you going to do?”
“This will only take a moment. Wait for me outside. I do not wish for you to see me like this.” In his hand is a heavy metal disk covered in spikes. It looks medieval almost. What the hells is anyone using that for in a floral shop?
“Woah, hey, put whatever that is down,” I tell him. “You can’t use that on Eleanor. She’s a harmless gossip. Just a little old lady.”
Jaak gives me acome onlook. “Did you not see the way she left us? The evidence could not be any more damning, witchling.”
“What? The weird shuffle thing?” I rub the back of my neck and shrug. “I don’t know, it was weird but that doesn’t mean she’s the head mage.”
“That was a cursed crustacean crawl if I’ve ever seen one. In fact it wasthecursed crustacean crawl.Everyone knows you do not trust crustaceans. They are treacherous, foul beings.”
