“You can do it,” Berni said.
The shaman nodded and opened his arms wide. “With the blessings of the Goddess, we bury our friend, Rose Merchant.”
They watched her shrouded body rise up and gently settle into the grave, the dirt covering her body and filling the grave in.
“Rest in peace, Rose,” the Shaman said.
There was silence for a moment, broken only by a sniff from Fran.
“Thank you, Ryan,” Berni said, shaking the Shaman’s hand. “Can I introduce you to Fintan and Jacob? Fintan is the white wolf and Jacob is silver.”
The shaman smiled at them. “It’s a pleasure. I hope to meet with you both when you have time. Jacob, I’m still researching silver wolves.”
“We tried but couldn’t find much,” Jacob told him.
The shaman gave him a gentle smile. “I will meditate and get the answers directly from the Goddess.”
Jacob’s mouth dropped open. “That is seriously cool.”
The Shaman laughed. “It is indeed, but we can talk more on that when we have our meeting.”
“We can, thank you.”
“Also, I know about your struggles. Know that you are exactly where you are meant to be, surrounded by the love and care you should always have had. You will do great things, Jacob. As will you, Fintan. I can’t wait to see how you both grow. And now I need to go. Have a good rest of the day, everyone.” And just that quickly the shaman was gone.
“I need to dash off, as I’m due at the hospital now,” Emory said.
“I have a couple of hours before I’m due in,” Fran said.
“I’m on the night shift,” Robbie said. “I have some results for you, Jacob, from your last round of tests. We can discuss them back at the castle.”
“Christine and I are off as I have meetings this afternoon and Christine has offered to come with me. We should be home for dinner tonight,” Aubrey said, kissing Berni goodbye and hugging everyone.
Christine and Emory hugged everyone and, with a final kiss for Ezzy, the three hurried off.
“Are you looking forward to seeing your parents tomorrow, Joe?” Fran asked, taking Jacob’s hand and linking their fingers together, as they walked back to the castle.
“I am,” Joe replied happily. “I’ve only told them the name of the village, I said they should text me when they see the village sign and then I’ll tell them to come to the castle.”
Everyone chuckled.
“Nice. They’ll be shocked when they see it,” Finn said.
“Like me. When Fran directed me to the castle, I thought it was a hotel,” Joe told them.
“Thankfully, it’s a lot more comfortable than a hotel,” Berni said with a laugh. “Cresswell should be arriving after lunch tomorrow, Jacob.”
“Around the same time as my parents,” Joe added.
“I’ll be there, I won’t embarrass you,” Jacob assured him.
“I never thought you would Jacob,” Berni replied. “I’ll have the two rooms cleared out this afternoon, ready for your mother’s furniture.”
“Thanks. We need to think about bringing some of yours over as well, sweetheart.”
“Yep, we can do that, but there’s no rush. Dad and Joe’s rooms are being sorted first, so we’ve plenty of time,” Fran replied.
“It’s good having so many people living in the castle again. A place this big needs to be filled. Boys, I expect lots of grandchildren and grandnieces and nephews.”
