“Yeah, you found it.”
“And do the Vespers live here, do you know?”
“Yeah, they do.
“Thank God,” she said, sagging a little. “I don’t think I could have walked much further. Did you know this place isn’t on Google maps? And no one in this town gives information very freely.”
“What do you want with the Vespers?” I asked. If she was a member of the Kildare coven, she wouldn’t draw attention to herself by asking where the Vespers lived. And yet, I still felt unaccountably nervous.
“I’m actually just looking for one. Her name is Wren? Wren Vesper?” My surprise at hearing my own name must have shown on my face. The woman eyed me suspiciously. “Is that who I’ve found? Are you Wren Vesper?”
There seemed no point in lying. I’d already given myself away. “I… I am.”
“Wren Vesper,” the young woman repeated, her face breaking into a relieved smile. “I’m not sure I’ve ever been so happy to see anyone in my life. I have something for you.” And she pulled a black backpack around onto her hip so that she could unzip it and dig around inside.
“Sorry, but… who are you?” I asked, taking half a step back from her as she pulled something from the bag, something large and rectangular and wrapped carefully in a swath of velvet fabric.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I should have introduced myself first,” the young woman said. She unwound that fabric from the item in her hands to reveal a very old and tattered book which she held carefully out to me. “My name is Jess Ballard, and I’ve traveled a very long way under strict instructions to give this to no one but you.”
3
Ididn’t reach for the book. I couldn’t seem to move. I stared down at it, a dozen emotions chasing each other around inside my head, making me feel almost dizzy.
Who was this stranger?
Where did that book come from?
Was it dangerous?
Was all of this some kind of trap, like I’d touch the book and turn into a toad or something? That sounded about right for Sedgwick Cove.
As I stood there, paralyzed, I heard the woman heave a quiet sigh. I tore my gaze from the book, and looked up to find her looking at me with eyes full of warm sympathy.
“Are you going to take it?” she asked. “It’s kind of heavy.”
I shook my head. “I… no, I don’t think I… not quite yet,” I whispered.
“Fair enough,” she said. “I’ll just put it back in my bag, for the time being. It’s not exactly the kind of thing we should leave lying around, you know?”
I nodded, because somehow, Ididknow. I watched the book disappear back into her backpack. I felt an odd sense of relief as sheyanked on the zipper—like the book had been staring at me, and now I was free from the intensity of its gaze.
It’s a book, I reminded myself.Books can’t stare at you.
That’s no ordinary book,a voice in my head replied.
“Is it okay if we sit down for a minute?” the woman asked, after an awkward silence. “I’ve walked a lot today.”
“Huh? Oh. Yeah, okay. I’m not sure…” My gaze darted to the house, and she didn’t miss it.
“I don’t think anyone’s home. I rang the doorbell before you rode up, but no one answered.”
I bit my lip. Rhi was down at the Sedgwick Cove Library for her monthly cookbook club meeting, I knew that. My mother was probably home, but out in the gardens somewhere, and I felt like a helpless child calling for her. As I struggled over what to do, Jess piped up again.
“I think there’s a stone bench over there, a little ways along the garden fence. Maybe we could just sit there for a few minutes? I’m sure you have questions,” she suggested gently.
I couldn’t think of any nefarious reason she’d want to sit with me on a bench where anyone could see us. So, I nodded, gestured wordlessly to the bench, and she followed me over to it. As I sat down, the flowers around me nodded in the breeze, brushing against my legs and arms. A bright cluster of purple asters bent over the fence and nudged my shoulder.
Asters. Asteria.
