“And that day will be revelatory for those of us who’ll be teaching,” Eric said.
“And those of us who’ll be doing both,” Jared added. As a vampire, he was a hell of a fighter, and was going to help Cutter with physical training. He’d also teach a class on vampires and other supernatural creatures—fact versus mythology, how to vet a vampire as friend or foe, that kind of thing. Other than that, though, he was going to be a student, too. That had been his idea. “Celia and I never had anyone to teach us,” he’d told me. “Maybe if we had, we could have seen Lilith coming. Could have fought better.”
Honestly, his reasons didn’t matter because I wanted him at the school. He cared for Allie. I knew he would never hurt her—at least not physically. And he’d protect her with his life.
I forced my attention back to Eric’s suggestion. “So you’re sayingForzawill pay for Stuart’s care?”
“We’ve already talked with Father Corletti about making sure we have skilled medical staff on site,” Cutter said. “We have to ensure the students’ well-being. And the staff’s.”
“And you forget how massive the budget forForza Scurais, even with the recent cuts.”
“ButForza’s already funding the remodel,” I protested. The school is going to be located in the Greatwater Mansion, a cool-yet-spooky old mansion once owned by a man who dabbled in the occult. Stuart ran across it when he and Bernie first got into real estate, and it had been so run down, the price was next to nothing.
He’d intended to buy it for our family, despite the fact that it was about a billion times too big for our little group of four. Then when Father Corletti started making noises about me training potential Demon Hunters … well, there was the mansion, looking remarkably like a potential boarding school.
Fortunately, Father Corletti loved the idea, and for months construction crews had been working overtime. It must have cost a fortune. Would they really add to that? Could they?
“They can, and they will,” Eric said in response to my question. “I’ll call Father Corletti myself, but you know I’m right. For one thing, it’s the right thing to do. For another, we all know that we need to keep an eye on Stuart. He might say something else, and if he does, we need to hear it.”
“So we’re moving?” Allie said, looking from me to Timmy and then to Eric.
“That’s up to your mom,” Eric said, then turned to me. “Had you and Stuart decided?”
I drew in a breath, then nodded even though the truth was that we hadn’t decided anything yet. Moving full-time into the school meant leaving the house that I loved with the backyard that connected to Laura and Mindy’s backyard. It meant really—likereally—being the headmistress for this new school. Because if I was living on site, then there was no way to escape that reality, no matter how unprepared I might feel.
And what if I wanted to come back? This house would have a renter, and I’d be trapped. Plus, was I really ready to make this my life? Timmy’s life? Because if I moved, then he moved, too. And once that happened, wheels would be set in motion. Wheels that would almost assuredly move my little boy away from other options and firmly toward the family business.
Oh, God.
“Kate,” Eric said gently, “Timmy will always have options. And the house will stay like it is. I promise.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t surprised that Eric knew what I was thinking, but I didn’t understand what he was saying. “How? For that matter, how do you know?”
“We talked about it. Stuart and me, about the house. I’m renting it. And Eddie’s going to stay here with me.”
Allie jumped up. “You’re not staying at the school? Neither of you?”
He shook his head. “Not at first. Maybe later. Father Corletti thought it made the most sense for me to be off-site.”
“Why?”
But Eric only shrugged without answering. Didn’t matter. I understood. The school was supposed to be my baby, but if Eric was on site full-time—the man I spent my youth training and working and fighting with—then I’d use him as a crutch, letting him guide my decisions at a time when the school needed one voice.
Plus, it was going to be strange enough for Allie to have her mother be in charge. Having her “uncle” living on site, too, would lead to that annoying kind of finger-pointing. No matter what, Allie was going to stand out. No sense making it worse.
“I get it,” I said, and Allie looked between us with a scowl. “It makes sense,” I told her. “At least until we’re settled. Plus, this gives you a place to come hang out with your dad where you don’t have to remember to call him Uncle David.”
“Fine,” she said, though she sounded less than thrilled. “But you’re not moving either?” She turned her attention to Eddie.
“Can’t. What? You think you’re gonna move that cat into a place that size?”
I glanced around for Kabit, our grumpy, opinionated tomcat, but he was nowhere to be seen. Still, Eddie was right. Kabit was a creature of habit. He’d hate the move.
“Besides, I got Rita to think about,” Eddie continued, referring to the woman he was dating. “Live there and it’ll be hard to keep the truth from her. Not without lying even more than I do, and that don’t seem fair.”
“You really haven’t told her?” I’d always wondered how much Rita knew. Among other things, she’d seen Eric lose it at Allie’s fifteenth birthday party—he’d been having demonic possession issues—and I’d always assumed that Eddie had broken down and given her the full scoop.
“Come on, girlie. You think I’d do that without telling you? Asking you?”
