Eula had said that Curtis was her great-great-grandfather, and Curtis hadn’t disagreed.
Though he hadn’t agreed, either. He hadn’t said anything at all, in fact. The two of them were just…staringat each other.
Meanwhile, Ethan was looking back and forth between the two of them in shock, while Sylvie and Henry were just staring ina more generally confused sense, looking around, clearly trying to work out what was going on.
So Eula was the only one of them who could see Curtis, then. She supposed that it made sense, if Eula really was his – his great-great-granddaughter.
“I take it there’s something weird going on here that I can’t see,” Sylvie said, her voice cautious but calm. Chloe suspected that she might have more experience than the average human with the supernatural, given that there was a witch resident in her town and she also apparently sold fresh produce to hellhounds.
“That’s one way of putting it,” Chloe said. “I, uh, think this might take some explaining.”
“The ghost of my great-great-grandfather is sitting right there,” Eula said, pointing at Curtis. Sylvie and Henry’s heads swiveled to look at the empty chair. “I recognize him from the old family photos. That’s definitely him. There’s no fooling these old eyes, even if they’re getting on a bit. And the photo has been on the mantlepiece since I was just a girl. I’d know that face anywhere.”
“Or,” Chloe amended, “maybe it won’t take that much explaining after all.”
Sylvie glanced around the store, which was about half-full – it was obviously in a bit of a lull at this point, not too busy.
Seeming to come to a decision, Sylvie quickly went over to the counter, where Emily was restocking the display case. She asked Emily whether she was able to take over for the rest of the day; when Emily replied in the affirmative – with an addedDo you think I’d say no when I’ve been trying to get you to rest all week?!– Sylvie came back to the table.
“I feel like there’s a conversation we all need to have, in a place that’s not here,” she said, in a tone that brooked no argument.
“I agree,” Ethan said.
There were nods all around, with Eula still looking a little dazed, and Henry just looking confused.
“Where should we have this conversation?” Sylvie went on. “We can go back to my place, if you don’t mind sitting among boxes of diapers and a half-finished changing table that neither of us has been able to assemble.”
“No,” Eula said, starting to sound more like her old self. “We’re going to my place.”
Curtis seemed to snap out of his fugue state at that.~I would also like to go to Miss Eula’s house. Perhaps there will be some answers there.~
“I’m still not even sure what the questions are,” Sylvie said. “But we can work all of that out at Eula’s house.”
Chapter 9
There were a lot of ways that Ethan had anticipated today going, but, he was pretty sure, this was not one of them.
Though for him, at least, the fact that Curtis was apparently Eula’s great-great-grandfather wasn’t quite as surprising as the fact that Ethan was having polite – if slightly strained – conversation with ahellhound.
His pegasus was not best pleased with the situation, kicking up its hooves and yelling that it was bad enough that it was having to put up with a ghost, but it absolutely drew the line at hellhounds.
Ethan told it to pipe down, even though he was somewhat inclined to agree. The hellhound’s aura was enough to put anyone on edge, and while Ethan knew that Henry couldn’t help it, it was still off-putting. Obviously the other people around Girdwood Springs had gotten used to it, given that they all seemed to get along well with him, but Ethan wasn’t at that point just yet.
Sylvie was just finishing laying out a dazzling array of cakes that she had brought with her from the bakery, and Eula poured everyone tea from an enormous chipped pot. Even Curtis got acup, despite his obvious inability to drink its contents, and he nodded his thanks.
“Okay,” Sylvie said as she sat down carefully, then pierced Ethan with her gaze. “Take it from the top. What is goingonhere?”
While the situation was obviously outside of his usual realm of expertise, taking charge of a meetingwassomething that Ethan knew he was good at.
“First things first,” he said evenly. “I need to know how much you all know. About…” He hesitated. He didn’t want to give away the existence of shifters if Eula and Sylvie didn’t know, especially if it meant making things difficult for Henry.
“About the existence of supernatural beings other than ghosts,” he finished.
Sylvie exchanged a glance with Henry, who then exchanged a glance with Ethan. Henry nodded, which Ethan really hoped meant that Ethan was fine with revealing his nature to the others.
“I’m like Henry,” he said, and when Henry nodded again, he continued. “Well, notlikelike him. I’m not a hellhound, but Iama shifter.”
This statement – which he would normally expect to bring astonishment, or at least some degree of surprise, was met by very little reaction whatsoever.
