But this…this was something more. Because Raven—or Crow—was someone more to us. He had a bit of our hearts. And we, I liked to think, had a bit of his.
There in the falling twilight, his power glowed gold and black, flashes of silver, green, blue, and white shot through it like lightning hopping summer-fragrant air.
The glow surrounded him and flowed like slow honey to wrap Delaney. For a moment, several heartbeats, they were both surrounded by power. Then it drew away, almost reluctantly, from Raven until only Delaney was glowing.
Crow released her from the hug, and she turned to Frigg and held out both her hands.
Frigg took her hands, and the power drained away from Delaney.
I expected Frigg to glow, but she didn’t change at all. It was her job to give the power a place to be kept safe and undisturbed. She didn’t actually have to touch the power at all.
The ground at Delaney’s feet pulsed with gold and all the colors of sky and night and earth and water. That pulse rushed out like a neon stream and flowed up the tree trunks.
Bark and limb glowed for a moment, briefly. I heard a sigh of voices singing, a song so old and sweet as to be impossible.
Then the glowing power, the distant song, the sweet fragrance of warm summer wheat was gone.
The dusk wind stirred the firs, a softer ocean song than the one that charged at our rocky shore.
“Good?” Delaney asked Frigg.
“Perfect. Almost like you’ve done this before.”
They released their handclasp, and Crow sauntered over, kicking a couple pine cones like he’d forgotten what dirt felt like under his shoes.
“Nice job, Delaney. Now let’s go get that beer and barbecue.”
He patted her shoulder and walked out of the circle of trees. Frigg motioned for both of us to follow him, which we did, leaving her behind to secure the holding place.
“You okay?” Delaney asked.
“Me? Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know. You’ve been acting a little weird lately. I thought maybe you didn’t believe I could do this anymore.”
“Wait.” I caught her arm before she could walk any farther. “I don’t doubt you. I’ve never doubted you.”
At her look, I amended, “Not when it comes to the job or your gift. You are the one and only. I know how good you are at this. It’s just…I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. We both know Bathin owning your soul isn’t a good thing. I keep thinking, maybe this will be the moment we find out what kind of consequences we’re going to have to pay for that deal.”
“You could ease up on the worrying a little,” she said. “It’s making me jump at shadows. We both know if something really terrible is going to happen, Jean will give us advanced warning.”
“I know,” I said. “Sorry.”
She smiled. “It’s good. Let’s go wish Roy a fond farewell before the party winds down or somebody calls in a report of Mrs. Yates’s penguin being kidnapped again.”
Since at least one of those things was a very real possibility, we got to the car and the party as quickly as possible.
~~~
What had started as a going-away barbecue for Roy had turned into a town-wide, multiple-bonfire, food and drink thing.
Everyone was down on the beach.Everyone.
With weather this nice, I wasn’t surprised. But as the sun sank into the ocean and the stars popped in a sky clear enough we’d be peering at the Milky Way soon, even more people arrived, laying out blankets, lanterns, candles, and starting fires for their family and friends to gather around.
It was one of those spontaneous, wonderful things that didn’t happen very often.
I found a spot on a big rock up near the rise of the shoreline where I could keep an eye on the whole event. When the restaurants had realized where all their customers were headed, they’d brought out tables and awnings and food. All that delicious food was irresistible, and I’d filled my plate. Twice.
