Page 23

T here were a lot of ways that Ethan had anticipated today going, but, he was pretty sure, this was not one of them.

Though for him, at least, the fact that Curtis was apparently Eula’s great-great-grandfather wasn’t quite as surprising as the fact that Ethan was having polite – if slightly strained – conversation with a hellhound .

His pegasus was not best pleased with the situation, kicking up its hooves and yelling that it was bad enough that it was having to put up with a ghost, but it absolutely drew the line at hellhounds.

Ethan told it to pipe down, even though he was somewhat inclined to agree.

The hellhound’s aura was enough to put anyone on edge, and while Ethan knew that Henry couldn’t help it, it was still off-putting.

Obviously the other people around Girdwood Springs had gotten used to it, given that they all seemed to get along well with him, but Ethan wasn’t at that point just yet.

Sylvie was just finishing laying out a dazzling array of cakes that she had brought with her from the bakery, and Eula poured everyone tea from an enormous chipped pot. Even Curtis got a cup, despite his obvious inability to drink its contents, and he nodded his thanks.

“Okay,” Sylvie said as she sat down carefully, then pierced Ethan with her gaze. “Take it from the top. What is going on here?”

While the situation was obviously outside of his usual realm of expertise, taking charge of a meeting was something that Ethan knew he was good at.

“First things first,” he said evenly. “I need to know how much you all know. About…” He hesitated. He didn’t want to give away the existence of shifters if Eula and Sylvie didn’t know, especially if it meant making things difficult for Henry.

“About the existence of supernatural beings other than ghosts,” he finished.

Sylvie exchanged a glance with Henry, who then exchanged a glance with Ethan. Henry nodded, which Ethan really hoped meant that Ethan was fine with revealing his nature to the others.

“I’m like Henry,” he said, and when Henry nodded again, he continued. “Well, not like like him. I’m not a hellhound, but I am a shifter.”

This statement – which he would normally expect to bring astonishment, or at least some degree of surprise, was met by very little reaction whatsoever.

“I expected as much,” Sylvie said with way too casual an air. “I’m not sure there’s been a single tall, hot, muscular guy who’s passed through Girdwood Springs who hasn’t been a shifter at this point.”

His pegasus bridled.

What kind of anticlimax is this? Who would not be awestruck by our very presence?!

Ethan sighed, and made a half-hearted attempt to placate it. At least she said we were, uh, hot?

The pegasus only calmed a little at that – which Ethan supposed he could understand, given that she’d specifically been complimenting his human form.

“Oh, but –” Sylvie looked worried all of a sudden. “Eula, I think we have some explaining to do.”

“Oh, about shifters?” Eula laughed. “That’s ancient news, darlin’. Ol’ Eula here dated a shifter back in the ’80s. You think I didn’t notice all the hunks wandering around town, with mysterious events happening in their wake? I can spot one a mile off.”

The room fell very, very silent at that revelation… but then, Chloe laughed.

“Sure, why not,” she said. “That’s actually the least surprising thing I’ve heard in the past twenty-four hours.”

“What kind of shifter are you?” Henry asked.

The hellhound dares ask us a question! the pegasus bellowed, tossing its head.

“I’m a pegasus shifter,” he replied, barely biting back a muttered Unfortunately .

“How interesting,” Eula murmured.

“Oh, neat,” Sylvie said, sipping her tea. “My husband Gale is a unicorn shifter – I’m sure the two of you must have a lot in common. I should introduce you later.”

We have nothing in common with that flightless horse! his pegasus screeched, looking dangerously close to rolling around on the ground in its rage. How dare she malign us!

“I would like nothing better,” Ethan said smoothly. If nothing else, it was always good to make new contacts – and Gale was obviously a relatively major player here, given that he was clearly the reason why all the food in Girdwood Springs tasted so good and the town was teeming with plant life.

Unicorns were renowned in the shifter world for their skill with plants, able to coax even those plants on the brink of death back to flourishing life, and to grow fruits and vegetables more delicious than anyone else could even dream of.

If Gale was supplying the town with ingredients and helping the plants in the town to grow, then that explained a lot.

“Now that we’ve got all that out the way,” he continued before his pegasus could interrupt again, “let’s get down to business.”

He turned to Eula. “You can see and hear Curtis, but Henry and Sylvie can’t. Is that correct?”

All three of them nodded. Henry and Sylvie looked awkwardly in the direction of what was, to them, an empty chair with a cup of tea sitting in front of it.

Steam rose lazily from the tea, and Curtis moved his arm back and forth through it. While the steam didn’t fully disperse in the way that it normally would if a living person waved their arm through it, it did wobble in its course just enough to be noticeable, and Sylvie and Henry’s eyes widened.

“Uh, hi, Curtis,” Sylvie said, and Curtis beamed.

~Pleased to meet you, Miss Sylvie,~ he said.

“Hang on one sec,” Eula said, standing and moving to the mantlepiece over what had once clearly been a fireplace, but was now a radiator. After a quick inspection, she lifted a large, framed photo from it. “Here.”

She held the obviously extremely aged, sepia-toned photo out in front of her, and everyone leaned in to look. Beside him, Chloe gasped. Even Curtis made a small sound of astonishment.

Because in the middle of the picture, undoubtedly, was Curtis. Even with the poor quality of the photo, it was undeniable.

He was even wearing the same outfit as he was wearing now, though his build seemed more solid.

His face was set in the neutral expression typical of old photos, where the exposure time required people to remain still for long periods of time, and a similarly stony-faced woman stood beside him.

In front of them stood four solemn children.

Ethan stole a glance at Curtis, who looked like he would be on the verge of tears, were he capable of doing so. He reached out one ghostly hand to touch the picture, his fingers passing through the frame.

Ethan looked away briefly, feeling like he was intruding on a private moment. Even his pegasus showed a shocking amount of restraint, refraining from commenting.

~I remember them now,~ Curtis said, a waver in his voice. ~I had forgotten them, or at least anything beyond a basic knowledge of them.~ He trembled ever so slightly. ~How did I ever forget?~

“You didn’t even remember how to talk when I first met you,” said Ethan, trying to sound soothing. “I think it’s very understandable that it would take time for other memories to come back.”

Chloe leaned forward supportively, looking like she would rest her hand on his shoulder if she could. “You’ve been through a lot, Curtis. Please don’t be hard on yourself. I’m sure they’d understand.”

Curtis drew in a shaky breath – or the ghost equivalent – and then nodded slowly, still touching the photo.

He appeared to calm a little. ~They will be waiting for me, and I’ll see them again soon, I’m sure of it.

~ He gave a little smile. ~Though they certainly don’t look like this anymore!

Our children were all grown up when they passed. ~

He said it so matter-of-factly that it startled Ethan… but then, he supposed, it made sense. Curtis was getting to spend eternity with them – apart from this current adventure – which would make the pain of contemplating their passing much less than would be usual for a living person, he was sure.

Especially if the afterlife really was as Curtis had described it, and all they had to do was wish for nice things and they appeared!

“This one here’s my great-grandma, Rose,” said Eula, pointing to the serious-faced little girl who stood second from left. “She passed the picture down to my grandpa, and he passed it to my mom, and it’s been sitting on this mantelpiece for as long as I can remember.”

Ethan blinked at the fondness in Eula’s voice as she spoke of her family.

Of course he respected his ancestors – it was the pegasus way, after all.

But usually he thought of them in terms of having to live up to their expectations, knowing that he’d be letting them down if he was ever anything less than utterly disciplined and perfectly successful.

It had been something his father had brought up time and time again – A pegasus always lives up to his duty, no matter what. There’s no time for frivolity.

“Great-Grandma Rose died when I was just a little girl,” Eula continued after a moment.

“But I have such good memories of her. She’s the one who taught me how to make my first recipe – just helping her knead some bread, but it made me realize how important food is, to the body and the soul.

She was why I eventually decided to open the diner – she loved cooking and feeding people! ”

Eula laughed a little ruefully, and shook her head.

“You see this locket my great-great grandmother, Alice, is wearing?” Her finger tapped at the photo.

Ethan squinted – what had looked like a dark smudge against the white dress of the woman standing next to Curtis, he now realized actually was a large, heavy, silver locket on a long chain around her neck.

“It was supposed to be a family heirloom. Alice gave it to Rose, and Rose left it to me, but –”

She was cut off suddenly by a ghostly gasp from Curtis.

~I gave that locket to my Alice,~ he whispered. ~I made it for her when I was wooing her.~

“You made that?” said Chloe, sounding impressed.