Page 86 of Twisted Ties

“You didn’t tell our fathers.”

“It’s none of their business.”

“So this is why you did it? This is why you saved her? Your life for hers, hers for yours.”

“No.” It was more complicated than that. Far more complicated. It was more complicated than the bond, than the pull in my soul. All more complicated. All those things twisted and tangled together, inseparable from the other.

“Why’s she running away?” he asks.

I frown. I was the one asking the questions. Now it’s him. Why the interest?

I think of what she said. About the thing that attacked her in the forest. About the thing that intervened to save her from the werebeast.

“Are you sure there’s nothing you want to tell me, cousin?” I say.

The mask of boredom falls back into place, and he drops back onto the couch.

“Nothing.” I turn to the door. “And I hope for your sake you find her dead in a ditch somewhere.”

I slam the door hard behind me.

I have to find her before Barone, otherwise there’s a good chance that’s exactly where she’ll end up.

28

Rhi

“Are you crazy?”Winnie yelps. “We were just attacked by Renzo Barone, and now you can sense another magical around. We need to get the hell out of here.”

“Winnie, please, trust me on this. Just stop the car.”

She peers at my face, down to Pip’s and back up to mine. Then she steps on the brake and we come to a skidding halt.

“Wait here, okay? And if you spot any danger, get the hell out of here.”

“Okay, you are crazy, because we’re not leaving you to do this on your own.”

But I’ve popped my belt and am jogging back down the road before she can stop me.

The old man with the rose in his jacket watches me as I approach, not moving from his spot.

I slow down as I draw closer. There’s a look about him,one I can’t describe. Haunted, skittish, a look of someone who is always looking over their shoulder. The look of an unregistered.

Sometimes, they’d pass through the town, evading the authorities. Sometimes my aunt would let them crash on our sofa for a night or two. Never longer than that. The risk was already too high.

Was he one of them? I search his face. But there’s no niggle of recognition.

“Hello?” I say, a little unsure.

“Hello there.”

We stand in front of each other silently, in the background I can hear the splutter of the car engine and the whoosh of the wind.

“I’m Rhi,” I venture, starting to get cold feet. Is this a trap? Am I being a fool?

“Yes, I know who you are. Mabel’s niece.”

I nod. “I’m sorry but I don’t think I know you.”