“Could you wait before you open the door?”
“Why?”
“I want to set up the radio and prepare the spray, just in case.”
“You do that. I’m going to eat first.”
“You brought food?”
“No, I’m going to run across the street and get the Chinese food I ordered.”
“Did you get me egg rolls and fried rice?”
“Of course.”
“And green tea?”
“I’ll get you green tea,” he said over his shoulder as he headed out the door.
Eilonwy busied herself downstairs unpacking a portable AM/FM radio. It was silver with a black handle, and no bigger than a thick book, but weighted at the bottom so it wouldn’t tip over. More importantly, it had an antenna, and a dial that could be tuned between stations. Then she took a blue glass spray bottle, one that could hold about two cups of liquid, out of the suitcase and placed it on the table.
Eilonwy could see out to the street through the front and side exit doors. The main windows were boarded, but the doors weren’t for fire safety reasons. She could see Taran across the street waiting in line for her tea. Satisfied, she turned on the radio and listened for a specific kind of static, one with a low hum that could barely be heard, and then she spoke.
“I know you can hear me, and that Taran has been talking to you. We want to buy this building and turn it into a coffeehouse. We aren’t trying to get rid of you, but we want to be sure you won’t scare everyone away. We can’t afford to open a place just for it to close in a year.”
Taran came back into the restaurant with a white bag and two drinks.
“Here’s your tea,” he said, handing her a so-called environmentally friendly hot cup with a tea bag tag hanging over the side. “I’ll get utensils from the kitchen.” He put the bag on the table. Taran hated to use plastic anything, especially single-use items.
“We are going to have dinner,” Eilonwy said to the ghost, wherever it was. “You are welcome to join us and chat. The radio is set up so you can have a voice. It’s not a trap. The electric charge canhelp us see you better. I suspect the reason the electricity upstairs is sketchy is because you use it to manifest yourself.”
She tapped the spray bottle. “I warn you, though, this is a mixture of vinegar, salt, and dandelion water that will drive you away if you become violent.”
“My sister is serious about safety,” Taran added and placed wet utensils on a cloth napkin on the table.
“Wait, let me clean the table off,” Eilonwy said, and took a box of alcohol wipes out of the suitcase.
“Point stated and confirmed,” Taran joked.
They sat at the booth closest to the side door and ate, the radio hissing static nearby.
Between bites, Taran asked, “How are we going to get Uncle Ric to release our money?”
“I have a plan. We will appeal to reason. If that doesn’t work, we’ll get the Mavens involved. They will intercede on our behalf.”
Taran grimaced. “Do we really want to alert the witch council? I know they were friends with our mother, but that might call unwanted attention to us.”
“True, which is why he will cooperate. I know he doesn’t want us to have visibility now, with Mom and Dad gone, but he may get fetched, and then we’d have to take care of ourselves and Wren. If he doesn’t like that, we must have a backup plan,” Eilonwy insisted.
She was referring to the Fae practice of the rulers in the homelands banishing some of their fully Fae people to wander the earth and create half-Fae children until they were fetched back. The laws of Fae, however, still applied to them and their children. Parents were required to present exceptional offspring to whichever court they served. In this case their father, Ewan, and uncle, Ric, were brothers from the court of shadows.
Their mother, Joanna, and their mother’s sister, Janelle, were full witches and had married the brothers, not knowing they were Fae. Once they found out, they had hoped their children would be safe under their protection. It was a foolish hope.
Ewan had intended to present his talented children to their queen so he could be permitted to stay in the Fae lands, but Joanna objected, and she was more powerful than he was. Ewan then slowly poisoned her so she couldn’t hide them. Then he poisoned her sister, Janelle, once she suspected. Ric was furious with Ewan, and it ended badly. Eilonwy knew how badly. Taran only thought that Ewan had been fetched back.
“Wren is taking Aunt Janelle’s death hard. I’m worried about her,” Taran finally said.
Eilonwy saw a mist form at the top of the stairs but didn’t tell Taran. She didn’t want to alert the ghost that she saw her. She also didn’t want to stop the conversation. Ghosts all seemed to enjoy listening to gossip.
