“I’d sure like you to give me some answers today.” I rested my head against the stone. I didn’t want to wait until tomorrow for answers, especially when they would only lead to more questions. “Even a little bit of information will help me sleep tonight.”
“As you wish.” Gumbo leveled a glare at me, hopping off my legs to sit and face me. “Agatha’s spirit fractured when she died. Part of it went with her body, to ensure passage to the beyond. The other part is acting as Ephemeral Supreme, until you embrace your role.”
“What exactly does ephemeral mean?”
“Temporary.” Gumbo let out what I think was a chuckle. “Agatha was ready to pass in the end. She’s annoyed that part of her is still here.” He rolled to one side, exposing his chubby cat belly. “But you weren’t ready.”
“That’s probably my fault.” I risked a belly rub, grateful he didn’t attack my hand. You never know with cats.
“It’s no one’s fault, Simone. Things changed when your mother died, so Agatha gave you space. Perhaps more than she should have. You were supposed to return. Something happened that kept you away.”
“What?” It teased the edges of my memory again. A park bench. Tears of rage and shame. A determination to leave. A pull to stay.
“Wish we knew.” As if that settled everything, he returned to my lap. “We expected you twenty years ago.”
My heart stuttered. Twenty years ago, I was pregnant. I’d considered leaving Jeff. We’d gotten married instead. Treater’s Way had called to me even then, that much I remembered, but something kept it at bay, like a distant memory of a time when I was happier.
The only bright spot for me in the past twenty years had been my son, and in a fit of rage I’d damaged our relationship. Maybe irreparably. Bile burned at my throat.
“Jeff happened. Jeff kept me away.” It wasn’t entirely true, but it was close enough to feed the sick pool of betrayal still floating inside me. I could have built a life here, raising my son in the town where I grew up. Instead, I’d devoted myself to taking care of a man who couldn’t even do laundry. “Wherever you are Jeff, I hope all your clothes stay dirty forever.”
“Be careful, Simone.” Gumbo’s ear rippled. His eyes darted around.
“Why?” I swiveled my head. We were still alone, though it was getting dark. “What happened?”
“Your magic happened.” Gumbo hopped off me with a sigh, giving up on his hope for a nap lap. “You’re a witch, you know. Your words have power.”
“Huh?” My magic? I have magic?” I’d just begun to grasp that magic was real and apparently surrounded me. The idea that I had magic of my own was a step too far.
“Agatha chose you for a reason. A supreme is an extremely powerful witch.” Gumbo lifted one paw to clean between his toe beans. “Given the magic you wield when you speak out of instinct, I’d say you’re a word witch.”
“What’s that? I can say spells or something?”
“Eventually. You have a natural ability to understand different languages, and words probably come easy to you in difficult situations. A word witch usually has a power center in her throat, and it’s connected to her heart. So you recognize emotions, and they rise so you can speak them.”
Well, he was partially right. I did have a gift for other languages, and I definitely could read emotions. Whenever I felt my own, it was like a physical sensation in my heart and throat. But words coming easily in difficult situations?
“That doesn’t sound like me.”
“If you say so.” I hadn’t realized cats could sound so sarcastic. “If I’m right, and I usually am, your words have the power to soothe and the power to command if you let them. It’s a benefit to your patients, I suspect.”
“I definitely haven't been beneficial to my patients. At least not lately. Actually, I’ve barely had any patients. One in the past week. A strange case that led to a headache and heartache.”
“What about before that?” The way Gumbo was watching me, I had the sense that I was missing something obvious. But try as I might, I couldn’t figure out what it was.
Had I ever been a good therapist? I liked to think so. In college, and during my clinicals, I’d exceeded above and beyond my peers. It had even led to a shiny corporate job that paid boatloads of money and slowly sapped the life out of me.
Of course, I’d lost it a few years later when my son was born. Buteven my private clinic had thrived early on. Hadn’t it? It felt like a million lifetimes ago.
“I don’t know,” I finally answered. I didn’t know, and I was too exhausted and overwhelmed to think about it further. “But we should get back to the house. It’s getting late, and I thought I saw a dog earlier.”
“A dog?” The fur on Gumbo’s rat-like tail fluffed up. I couldn’t help but laugh. This cute little mystical protector was scared of dogs.
“Or a wolf? I can’t be sure. But don’t worry.” I scooped him into my arms, holding him close for a quick cuddle, then carried him all the way home as night settled around us. “I’ll protect you, buddy.”
CHAPTER 8
Ihad already decided I didn't want to meet with Ethan in the boardroom before I received his text suggesting we meet upstairs so we could chat privately. I’d managed to stumble to the bedroom the night before and grab a solid ten hours of rest.
