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“Which thing?” Nana Pratt had a long list of dislikes, so the options were many.
“The revenant,” she said in a hoarse whisper.
“Where?”
“Front porch.”
I hustled to the foyer before the creeper could make an entrance. I threw open the door and screamed. On the porch was Claude’s hand cradling his head. His eyes widened at the sight of me looming over him.
“Hi again,” he said.
“You can talk.”
“Only when my head is with me. Glad you’re fluent in sign language. You’d be surprised how many people aren’t.”
I regained my composure. “What brings you back so soon, Claude?”
“No choice. I needed to act before you strengthened your ward.”
“Yes, I’m working on that. You beat me.” I hoped the lie sounded believable.
The ghosts now flanked me.
Ray angled his head, studying the return visitor. “Are those supposed to be ears?”
“Hey, you’d be missing earlobes, too, if you’d lived as long as I have.”
I examined the grayish-green head. “Actually, you’re well preserved for a guy who’s centuries old.”
Nana Pratt recoiled. “You call that well preserved? It looks like a lizard that was left to rot in the sun.”
Claude’s gaze slid to the ghost. “Must be like looking in a mirror, toots.”
Nana Pratt didn’t miss the insult. She whirled toward me with her hands clenched into fists. “I thought you were going to speak to the witch.”
“Later,” I told her and turned my focus back to Claude. “Care to explain why you insist on trespassing?”
“You’ve got a nice place here. Very homey.”
“That’s only because you don’t require furniture,” Nana Pratt said.
“Lorelei, are you well?” Sian joined me at the door and hiccupped at the sight of Claude. “You have returned with an additional body part.”
“He’s like a snowman that keeps falling apart and you need to rebuild it.” I had good memories of playtime in the snow with Pops. Igloos. Snowmen. Even a Medusa once. Now snow was nothing more than a nuisance.
“What does the revenant want?” Sian asked.
“That’s what I’m trying to find out, but he’s being tight-lipped.” I leaned down to address the trespassing body parts. “You might as well tell me why you’re here. Maybe I can help.”
Claude stared at me for a long moment, as though actually considering my offer. Then the hand tossed the head like a football clear across the yard. The hand scrambled after it. I watched as the head landed on the bridge and rolled to the other side.
“What an odd creature,” Sian remarked.
“You need to fix the ward,” Nana Pratt said, visibly shaken.
“I spoke to Phaedra. She isn’t sure she can include revenants without including ghosts, too. I can’t take the risk.”
“He seems harmless,” Ray said. “More of a nuisance than anything.”
