My eyebrows hit my hairline. "Like a you-died-and-now-you're-haunting-the-place kind of ghost?"
"Yep. A long time ago. I shipwrecked off the island. Because of the magical wards, my soul was sort of pulled in. I can't leave. With Laz's help, I can interact in a more corporeal way. Though obviously, I'm still invisible."
I nod as though I understand, though I barely do.
We start the games with charades. Since I’m the new person, I have to go first. I try my best elephant impression, using my arm as a trunk, then watch everyone else take their turns. It quickly becomes clear I didn’t do very well. The rules say no noises or spelling, but magic is allowed, and everyone uses it. Laz is the biggest culprit. When he gets “teapot,” he does the usual arm-as-handle, arm-as-spout moves, but then real tea pours from his hand onto the grass and steam comes out of his ears.
Conall’s turn is especially funny. I never figure out what he’s supposed to be, and I probably never will. It looks like a mix between a car and a bunny rabbit. "I thought we were playing board games, not humiliation games," he grumbles as he sitsback down next to me. I can’t help but laugh. When he catches my eye, his mouth twitches into a reluctant smirk.
On the third turn I get the group to ban magic, which makes it much funnier as Laz struggles to find more physical ways to act things out. Once we're done with charades, some of the empty plates are brought in, and Layla says she's getting the cards. I try to stand to carry a few things in, but Conall takes them first.
"Rest. I have these," he murmurs, and warmth streaks through me.
A moment later, the chair beside me pulls back, and I turn, expecting Conall, but it's Nick. I flinch on instinct, surprise making my movements automatic, and begin to stand. Something about Nick puts me on the defensive every time.
"Please, Miss Smith, can I have a word? I promise I mean no harm."
I glance around. Killian is still at the end of the table, hooves beating at the dirt at random intervals as he drinks his wine. Edgar's hat floats out in the yard, as though he's watching the landscape. Dolly is in her own world, trying to catch an errant firefly. Through Layla's sliding glass door, I can see Conall helping put a few things away. Close enough that if I screamed, he would definitely hear me.
"Okay. What did you want to talk about?" My voice is level, but I wish there were another foot or two between me and the smoking demon.
"I want to talk about the wards, Miss Smith,” Nick says. “The ones you're meant to repair. It's my understanding that Mayor Pendragon finally discovered what my client and good friend actually cast."
I stare at him. "You knew? The whole time you knew what she'd cast?"
He nods as though this is obvious. "Oh yes. She told me. She wouldn't have cast it without ensuring someone knew how to finish it."
"Then why didn't you tell anyone? Why didn't you tell Laz?" I whisper-yell at him. I think of the day Laz told us he'd finally figured out which spell had been used. He'd looked like he hadn't slept in days. It had clearly weighed on him. And Nick could have saved him all of that time and just told him. Indignation rises hot and fast.
"I didn't tell Laz because I knew how he'd react to a renewal spell. He’d destroy it."
I snap my mouth shut. That's essentially what Laz wants me to do. One spell would reverse what my aunt did, resetting the wards to their earlier state and essentially destroying the spell. The other would continue her renewal while adding new specifications and precautions, the ramifications of which, we can't know because we don’t know what they are. Neither spell can be cast until the full moon.
Nick hisses through his teeth and his hands clench into fists when I don't answer. "That's exactly what he wants to do, isn't it? Destroy the spell and put everything back the way it was? All neat and orderly for monsters on the island, while those beyond suffer."
I frown. "Suffer?"
"Miss Smith, why do you think monster sanctuaries like this exist? They're not just convenient real estate. Some monsters can't hide their true forms and can't live among humans. Others suffer from magical ailments and need healing. Some have children who can't—and never will—control their abilities." He glances behind me.
I follow his gaze to Amy. "What do you mean?"
He smirks, but it's all cold bite. "Do you want to guess who the very last refugees to this island were?"
It doesn't take much of a leap. "Amy's family."
He nods. "Her mother and little two-year-old Amy. Her shapeshifting is nominal. Her mother’s side carries the genetics, but it skipped her mother completely. So when Amy was born, her eyes keptchanging noticeably. It was a small but unexplainable thing, and she couldn’t be around other children. So, her mother brought her here and the island let them in. At that time, the island let those in need through."
"What happened?"
"A disaster," Nick says quietly. His red face looks tired as he stares at his wine. "A gremlin family came to the island needing help. The problem was, they thought Amy's mother was strictly human, maybe Amy too. It all happened fast. The brutality was shocking. By the end, Amy's mother was dead, and Amy was badly hurt. The gremlins were banished. It scared Laz. Nothing like that had happened before, but the world was changing. He altered the wards to make screening stricter. He still said refugees could come and people in need would get help. But Amy was the last to arrive until you. Not until Ursula changed the spell."
I look toward Amy in the window, but Nick's sharp hands suddenly close over mine. "Have you noticed the children, Ivy?" His voice is sharp and urgent, as though he senses we'll be interrupted soon. I can see everyone gathering things to come back outside.
"What children?" I breathe, trying to pull out of his grasp.
He lets go, and I lurch back a little. "Exactly."
The sliding glass door opens, laughter joins us on the patio. Conall steps out with the others, holding a platter of cookies and a large glass of wine that he hands to me. My heart is pounding, and my hands shake a little when I take the glass. Conall notices, eyes sharpening on me.
