The butterfly took off, joining its brethren as Jerry led us into a small clearing at the base of an ancient tree. Its canopy was heavy with leaves despite winter having stripped the leaves from the surrounding trees. Its trunk was wide and thick, and its roots burrowed deep.
Grass, far greener and bushier than it should have been spread in a circle around it. Tiny flecks of light flickered and shone where they were trapped in the tree's branches.
"Impossible," I breathed.
No tree as old and steeped in magic as this one existed in the park. Of that I was sure.
"Not impossible," Jerry corrected. "The tree is a manifestation of the barrow. The stronger and more steeped in magic the barrow becomes, the bigger the tree will get and the more it will affect its surroundings."
I raised my eyebrows, impressed in spite of myself. If the tree got any bigger, humans would voyage from states away to see it. No way would something like this go unremarked.
Anton moved toward Liam and Nathan, pausing to confer as I stared up at the tree, lost in my thoughts. Connor wandered away, hands clasped behind his back as he carefully watched those around us.
It left Jerry and me standing awkwardly beside each other.
"How's business?" I asked, not knowing what else to say. I wasn’t the best at chit chat and it showed.
Jerry shot me a look.
"Small talk never hurt anyone," I said defensively.
He let out a small snort. "Spare me vampires making small talk."
"You'd rather we bury our fangs in your throat?"
He lifted an eyebrow, his expression almost amused at the thought of seeing me try. "Your fangs would break before they ever pierced my skin."
I grimaced. That was probably true. I had never been sure exactly what Jerry was—it was considered rude to ask—but I'd always suspected he had a little bit of troll in him.
A troll's skin was thick and nearly impossible to penetrate. My tiny fangs wouldn't even feel like an insect bite to him.
"How's your business?" Jerry asked, turning my previous question back on me.
I lifted a shoulder. "It's going."
Some days were better than others, a fact I was sure he would understand.
"Do you remember the friend who got me the job with you?" I asked casually, hoping Jerry could help me answer a few unknowns about the captain.
Jerry twitched, but other than that gave no reaction to my question. If I hadn't been watching him so closely, I would have missed it.
"Why do you ask about him?"
"No reason," I said, playing the game. "I got a phone call saying he was in town and wanted to meet. I was wondering if you planned to catch up with him."
That got his attention.
Jerry shook his head. Once. "No, he knows better."
That was unexpected. I'd always been under the impression the two were friendly. At least friendly enough for Jerry to give a stray vampire a job despite his obvious dislike for us.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Jerry's hesitation was marked. He cast an uneasy glance at the rest. "This isn't the place to have this conversation."
He was probably right, but I didn't have time to set up a private meeting with him. Travis was already in town, and something told me I wouldn't be able to avoid him much longer. I'd already put it off for too long by not going home last night to meet with him.
"Keep it general and we'll be fine."
