Page 62 of Monster Queen Rising

Madison moves her hand on her stomach. Shifts it to the side, and looks down.

"She likes the sound of your voice."

Fen stops. Not the shift — that stays down. His whole body stops.

He doesn't move.

"I'm not asking you to be near her," Madison says. "I'm telling you she likes you."

Madison looks at him a long time. “I’ve noticed you seem calmer. I’m not afraid of you now.”

She nods once.

Quiet. The beans go into the colander. Somewhere behind us Crull's oven door opens and shuts.

Fen smiles.

"I will try to talk more," he says.

Madison's head comes around.

"I do not have many words." Flat, no weight on it. "She can have all of them."

Madison doesn't answer.

She puts her hand back on her stomach and looks out at the trees, and Fen watches her do it and doesn't say anything at all.

They sit out there until the light goes.

Fen's still on the step at dusk when she's gone back in, the sun coming gold and low through the trees, and he sees me at the rail.

I set the colander down and sit next to him and he puts his arm around me. His body settled all the way through. I watch the trees. He turns and looks at me. I lean into his shoulder and we sit there while night cools off.

It's near midnight when the boards start creaking over the kitchen.

I'm still up, sitting at the kitchen table watching Crull bake. Finally not exhausted.

The creak comes again. Stops. Then a breath through the floor. Long. Slow. On purpose.

Crull's amber eye’s catching the low light as he looks up.

"That's her," he says.

The breath comes again. Then the boards, walking.

Harek's already going up the back stairs in his pajamas with his hair down. I hear him stop at the top.

"How far apart," I call up. Low.

"Five minutes." He's at the landing looking down at me. "She's been timing them herself. She's got them written down. She doesn't want anyone yet."

"How long's she been at it?"

He doesn't answer right away.

"A while," he says.

Janet comes out onto the landing behind him in a coat thrown over her nightgown. She's not asking anybody anything. She's already got her sleeves pushed up.