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Only Mrs. Morrison seemed immune, her hands crossed calmly on the table, her head tilted as if she heard things the rest of us did not.
“If you disturb us, you will come to regret it.” Rafe maintained his measured tone, but his power swelled further, raking across my skin. The Misses Franklins huddled together, Ford and Trilby grimaced, and even Stevenson frowned, as if he hadn’t expected this kind of display.
“Don’t threaten me,” he snarled, but at Rafe’s sharp intake of breath, I placed a quelling hand on his arm.
“I don’t believe I heard a threat, actually,” I said. “More of a promise, I suppose. If you leave the Gallaghers alone, they’ll leave you to your”—I glanced around the table—“silly little games.”
I gave Rafe a little shove, and he started to move. Together we reached the street and stood on the front walkway, both of us breathing hard.
“I don’t suppose they’re going to offer us a return trip,” I said, my hands on my hips.
Rafe simply grunted. “Come on. There should be a streetcar in a few blocks.”
“I did notice one on Madison Street.”
Rafe nodded, although he didn’t make a move. With another quick brush of my hand on his arm, I indicated the direction we should take. He stayed at my side, and I kept to a pace he could follow.
Neither of us spoke until we reached the first intersection. “Silly little games?” he said. “I thought you were supposed to be the amiable one.”
I couldn’t suppress my laugh, and for the first time, I saw Rafe Gallagher’s real smile. It warmed me as if the sun had burned the clouds away. Though amber glass hid his gaze, the creases at the corners of his eyes moved me. “Couldn’t help myself, I guess. They were like children playing dress-up.”
He sobered. “Yes, but those children can still make trouble.”
Despite his sober reminder, my heart remained buoyant, a floating bobble in my chest. All because of a single smile, a gift that fueled my foolish hopes.
After all, he’d never smiled at Margaret.
It occurred to me that this might be an opportune time to ask what Stevenson meant about Martin’s secret. Reluctant to shatter this tentative truce, I let the moment go.
We’d be back at the lighthouse soon, and I could tolerate a few more days of confinement. I’d have other chances to learn the truth. I’dmakeother chances. Meanwhile, I’d learned that the Seattle Witches’ Council knew Martin was dead and they knew about – or guessed at – the existence of the Ferox Cor. They were also a great deal cockier than their relative power indicated.
Which had me wondering who else might be involved.
Chapter Ten
I managed to find Barnard and his boat The Lucky. He looked askance at Rafe and charged me a good deal more for the trip, but we were home in plenty of time for dinner.
He refused our offer to stay the night, saying he’d rather take his chances sailing by moonlight.
“Why?” I asked. We didn’t have the space to accommodate him, but I was curious why everyone in town acted like this place was a corner of Hell.
Barnard simply tipped his hat, his eyes on Rafe, who strode down the dock. “Some folk say there’s evil here. I don’t know about that, and Mrs. Gallagher’s nice enough, but my wife’d have my hide if I stayed.”
I had no good response to that, so I simply gave him an extra five dollars and sent him on his way. Was there evil here? There was power, and those who didn’t understand might call it evil. If Martin Gallagher met his goal on Samhain, though, that would truly be evil.
For once, the clouds had dispersed and though the sun wouldn’t set for another half hour or so. Taking that as a more positive omen than perhaps I should have, I followed Rafe up the dock.
Della met us on the beach. “What happened?” she asked as soon as we were within earshot. “Why did Barnard bring you back?”
I settled my hat more firmly on my head where the waves had knocked it askew. Rafe should be the one to answer, but when he stayed silent, I spoke up. “Stevenson and his gang invited you and Rafe to join the Seattle coven, and he wasn’t inclined to accept a polite refusal.”
She crossed her arms, gaze narrowing. “And who issued that refusal, you or him?” She tipped her head in Rafe’s direction.
“I did, Mother.” Rafe kept walking up the beach, though I couldn’t tell whether his intent was to avoid questions or change out of his fancy duds as quickly as possible.
“Then I can only imagine howpoliteyou must have been.” Her emphasis made her sarcasm clear.
Rafe stopped, his back to us. “I left the flowery speeches to him. That’s why you insisted he come along, isn’t it?”
