I told them everything that had happened. When I got to the part about her walking me to another door so I could return they all frowned.
“I think Wesley is over there,” I said as I sipped from my second bottle. “I think he’s there and this thing — thishim— has him.”
“You’re not suggesting we cross over?” Aurora asked.
“Not right this second,” I replied. I wasn’t ruling out a return trip. “Besides, I’m not sure that thing is still active.” I pointed to the symbol. “It’s not whispering to me any longer.”
Galen balked. “Whispering?”
I turned sheepish. “I didn’t mean to cross, but it was calling to me. I wanted to see if I could understand the magic I was feeling.”
“And?” His expression was hard, a muscle in his jaw pulsing.
“Booker surprised me when he said my name and I just kind of slipped over.”
“Slipped over?” Galen stepped away, making sure not to touch me, and crossed his arms over his chest. Yup, he was definitely mad.
“Please don’t turn this into a thing,” I whined. “I’ve had a really hard day.”
“You said it was only an hour,” Aurora pointed out. “We had a really long day searching for you.”
I cringed. “Just give me an estimate,” I pleaded. “Are you going to be mad thirty minutes or three days?”
“Forever,” Galen snapped.
We both knew that wasn’t true. The man was quick to anger but he got over it just as quickly. “Okay. I’ll wait.” I smiled and kicked myfeet on the tailgate, looking between faces. “I’m sorry I freaked you out,” I said to Booker. “I didn’t know that was going to happen.”
“You might have known that something was going to happen,” Booker countered, “but I’ll give you a pass.”
Aurora hauled herself up next to me. She gave a fuming Galen a dubious look, then focused on me. “Was it really your mother?”
It was a question I couldn’t answer. I wanted to — I wanted guidance — but I had trouble wrapping my head around it. “Maybe?”
“Her body is here,” Aurora argued. “We’ve all seen it.”
“Maybe it’s her soul,” Booker suggested.
That had me eyeing him closer. “Her soul?”
He bobbed his head. “Souls can be on one plane when the body is on another. What do you think Heaven is?”
I’d never really given it much thought. “She asked the right questions,” I said.
“What does that mean?” Galen was still angry but he was interested. It looked as if his fingers were twitching to touch me but he was determined to remain angry.
“She didn’t ask about my powers, or if I had magical friends,” I explained. “She asked if I was happy.”
“What did you say?”
I gave him a sunny smile even as I recognized he wasn’t ready for it yet. “I said that I was happy. I said I was in love and getting married.”
“Maybe,” he muttered.
I didn’t take his words to heart. “I told her your name. I wasn’t certain if I should, but she asked if Marjory was your mother and seemed relieved that you hadn’t turned out like her.”
“She and my mother grew up together,” Galen replied. “My mother was a few years older.”
“I’m guessing they weren’t best friends forever.”
