“I’m going to see if I can find some Mackinac Island Fudge,” I announced. “It’s like chocolate chip cookie dough but better. You might like that.”
“Why do you have to get me a new ice cream when I have a favorite?”
“You got me new ice cream.”
“Because every single time we go to the ice cream shop you mention that you miss it. I don’t want you to miss out on anything.”
The sentiment was sweet but I laughed. “It’s just ice cream. The Superman is close. It’s not as if I was going to decide I couldn’t stay here over ice cream.”
“You’re missing the point.” He was stern. “I don’t ever want you to go without anything. Living on an island, it’s not always easy to get the things you need. If I can make your life better, even if it’s a little thing, I’m going to do it.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “This is definitely the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
He scowled. “Stop saying that. Although … .” He seemed to reconsider. “I’ll show you something even nicer when we get upstairs. How does that sound?”
“Like a good idea.” I dug into my ice cream with gusto. It really was as good as I remembered. “Did Marcia give you grief about ordering it?”
He bobbed his head. “But she put it in the case right after she got it. She assumed you’d be the only one eating it. That was weeks ago.”
There seemed to be more to the story, so I waited.
“She called me two hours after she put it out to warn me not to bring you because she had to order more,” he continued. “It’s turned out to be a big hit. She ordered a lot of it the second time; it came in yesterday.”
“And you didn’t think I was up for ice cream yesterday,” I guessed.
“I don’t think either of us were.”
We ate in companionable silence. I was the one to break it. “Where do you think Wesley was?”
“I’ve been thinking about it, but there are too many options.”
“Yeah. That’s where I’m at,” I agreed. “I don’t think he was in that building the whole time.”
“I have to check with the grounds crew tomorrow. Normally there’s someone there three days a week, if only to check the gate and the window to make sure everything is still secure.”
I slowly spooned more ice cream into my mouth and thought about our options. “What if we were to hex the cemetery to alert us whenever anyone enters?”
Galen gave me a sidelong look. “I’m not sure I understand,” he said. “Why would we do that?”
“Someone put Wesley in the cemetery. I very much doubt they did it during the day — that would be too risky — so they had to do it at night, right?”
“I guess, but the zombies are active at night.”
“Maybe that doesn’t matter to a dhampir.”
“You’re assuming Declan did this, but he’s on another plane.”
“That doesn’t mean he can’t come and go.”
“The plane Clive went to was only supposed to have one-way doorsfromthe island.”
“I returned.”
He worked his jaw, quiet for several seconds. “Maybe the ruleshave changed. Maybe Declan was trapped there for years but managed to find a way to open a different door.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “Then why does he want me?”
His answer was instantaneous. “A power boost.”
