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“She surprised us. We don’t know she arrived in Ireland alone,” she said.
I pushed the bowl away, my appetite gone. “What happened to her since we saw her last?”
“She lives in a compound,” Perdita said. “Outsiders aren’t allowed. They keep secrets. It’s all very cultish.”
“Townies probably think we’re very cultish,” I remarked.
“Probably looks that way from the outside in. We know better. Still, Vira worries me. Who knows what they do at the compound to keep people in line?”
“I can guess,” Victor said, pushing his bowl away, too.
Perdita dropped her spoon into her bowl. “It’s turning me off, too. That's for the best. I’m going to need to be airlifted to the hospital if I keep this up.”
“But everything’s all right,” I said. “Everything’s good with the baby, right?”
“Yup.” She rubbed her stomach. “Doctor said the baby is measuring a little big, but he’s happy with everything. I’ve been getting Braxton Hicks pains, but they’re like a practice run.”
Victor looked queasy. “Does it hurt?”
She smiled. “Only a little. It’s more annoying than anything. Jeremy’s baby is due first, so it’ll be old news by the time I get going. Let’s hope we have everything sorted with the harbingers before the babies arrive so that Jeremy and Nathan can relax.”
I couldn’t imagine Jeremy sitting around waiting for a baby to be born when there were harbingers he could go up against. And if Nathan’s mind was on Perdita and the baby, then who knew how a potential battle would play out. The sooner we got past the harbingers, the better.
CHAPTER5
Margo
Amelia Evans spentthe morning roaming about our house and garden. She hung up dreamcatchers and laid out trinkets designed to dispel bad juju.
Mam screwed up her nose at the sight of the naked lady ornament now sitting on our living room window sill. “Are you sure this is necessary?”
“I’ll feel better about things,” Amelia said absent-mindedly as she fetched a chair to haul up the stairs. We followed her, watching in silence as she nailed a silver star and a large horseshoe over my bedroom door. She went into my bedroom, sniffing the air, then shot me a knowing look. The room probably smelled a lot like Dorian. I shrugged behind my mother’s back.
She moved to the window then looked outside. “Are you any closer to installing security cameras?”
“They’re expensive,” Mam complained. “And the neighbours don’t like it.”
“Didn’t you tell them about Margo’s so-called family showing up?” Amelia tutted. “They should be glad to help keep watch.” She moved to the lovebird cage. She slotted her finger through the bars, but the birds ignored her. Glad it wasn’t just me then.
“They’re kind of wrapped up in each other,” I said as my birds kept huddling together.
“No worries. I’m used to that,” she murmured. She glanced around the room then nodded as though satisfied. “I like the vibe in here. It feels safe. Sometimes that’s important.”
“How?” Mam asked.
“Hard to explain.”
“So none of this stuff actually does anything then.”
Amelia shrugged. “Who knows? The energy could make negative forces think twice before coming here. You might feel alert if somebody steps inside the boundaries. But I can’t guarantee anything. Magic is… not science, and I don’t know much about how it works on harbingers. Real harbingers.” She gazed at me. “You’re not exactly the same as your biological mother. Your father was human though, correct?”
“So Vira said.” I glanced at my mother then back to Amelia. “But do we believe anything she says?”
Amelia sighed. “It's best to remain cynical. How have you been feeling anyway? Any surges? Anything unusual?”
“Nothing’s happened at all,” I said.
“That’s good, right?” Mam asked in a worried tone.
