“So happy,” Lucky told him. “Let’s go see the world.”
Big Scary Things
IT WASN’Tquite the world, but it was a cozy little metropolis, with a charming waterfront featuring a pineapple fountain and a picnic area where they ate a food-truck sandwich and some truly decadent rosemary Tater Tots while discussing their future.
“I mean,” Lucky found himself stammering, “Ilikethe island. I suppose we could go wandering when all is said and done, when everything is safe and all the guys in Philly are dead or in jail, but I don’t want to go back to Philly, if that’s what you mean.”
Scout paused, looking thoughtful. “I-I know what you mean. It’s like, I want to see the world, but I want a home base too. The good thing about the compound was that people would definitely miss us if we didn’t show up for dinner, you know? I want to see so much, although I think coming up with a passport might take a bit of magic I don’t know how to do yet. I don’t even think wehavebirth certificates, Kayleigh and me, but we can figure it out.”
Lucky started to chortle, his stomach muscles convulsing, the guffaws exploding out of his mouth, and Scout stared at him, hurt.
“What?” he said. “I mean, I know we’re a little behind in the modern-world department, but—”
Lucky held up a hand to stop him and tried to get his breathing under control. After a minute, after he’d wiped his mouth off and sat up straight, he looked at this wonderful, beautiful man, his first and only lover, and shook his head.
“Baby,” he said gently, “you can transport people from one place to another through holes in space and time. Why do you need a passport? There’s no reason to get on a plane!”
Scout blinked and started to giggle. “I swear, it never occurred to me.”
Lucky nodded, keeping his laughter at bay. “I mean, I’m sure there’s logistics. You’d have to have your brother show you how to go places you’ve never seen before, but, you know, grab our luggage and step through a portal to our intended destination—or behind the hotel at our intended destination—and, you know, vacation has begun.”
Scout grinned at him, a child’s grin, as though Lucky’s words had opened up the world for him.
“That’s so odd. All this time I only ever thought about how much fun it would be when I got better at magic. I never really thought about what getting better at magic could do for me.” He paused. “I mean, besides rescuing Kayleigh, that is.”
“Are you sure she’s the reason he’s after you?” Lucky asked, not sure how this was possible.
“Well, I know he wanted to marry her off into something advantageous. Think Lucretia Borgia or someone like that. The women could have extraordinary value as commodities. I don’t know why he’d want me back.” Scout sighed. “I’m just not that important to him.”
And a week ago, Lucky wouldn’t have seen it, but they’d been close since then, had worn each other on their skin.
“That hurts you a little,” he said, thinking he must be really dumb if he hadn’t seen this before.
Scout shrugged. “I’m not sure why. The whole system was psychotic. I guess until the very end, I thought if I was good enough at magic, my father might love me.” He shrugged. “Dumb, but you know. I guess the best part of that is what I couldn’t summon for Alistair, I summoned for Kayleigh and for you. I mean, you’re the people I’d rather have in my life, I guess.”
Lucky grinned. “And I, for one, will never stop counting my blessings.” He sobered. “Now we’ve got a couple of hours before the next ferry. Where to next?”
“I need to find out where Tom Marbury was buried, remember?” Scout said with a sigh.
“Well, I was hoping you’d forget,” Lucky said sourly, “but since you haven’t, c’mon.” He stood and offered Scout his hand. “I’m not sure where you want to start.”
Scout held out his phone. “Actually, Marcus and Kayleigh found it for me last night on the internet. See, Tom worked for the MorganStar company—it’s the Morgansterns now, but back then they were trying to be fancy. They apparently had alotof people die in the cholera epidemic in 1873. Their employees were living in sort of a shantytown, and the owners of the company refused to pave the streets or help with sewage. So, disease. There was such an uproar from the island—where the Morgansterns came from—that they offered to bury the dead with markers. There’s a plot for island folks on the Morgenstern property, which is one of those big old mansions built post-Civil War. So we’re doing two things, right?”
“We’re touring a big old house and grounds and talking to a ghost,” Lucky supplied dryly. “Yeah, Scout, I get it. An outing that’s fun for the whole family.”
Scout grinned. “Someday, yes.”
Lucky’s eyes narrowed as Scout grabbed his hand and hauled him through the waterpark to where they could catch a rideshare.
“What do you mean someday? Scout? Scout, what are you talking about?”
But Scout was on a roll now, and if Lucky wanted to guess about family and seeing Scout hold a tiny child and show it all the affection and fun that Scout had missed duringhischildhood, Lucky wasn’t going to get in his way.
It was a good dream. Lucky was on board.
AN HOURand a half later, after taking the walking tour of the MorganStar mansion grounds and ogling the beautiful landscaping with the graduated infinity pools that led up to the back of the mansion itself, complete with tilework and cabanas in which to dress, they were no longer laughing.
They’d split off from the main tour group and found the graveyard in the back, the nearly 250 graves sobering and tragic.
