“Things’ll go better. Addison’s burying her grandmother today. Whatever happened with earth, I’m sure it was because of the stress.”
“Make sure she’s ready. You can’t risk another failure.”
“She’ll be ready.” I gesture to the door. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a funeral to get to.”
21
It’s a half-mile walk to the cemetery. I’m reminded of this because the shoes I’ve chosen to wear are pinching my heels so hard I’m sure to have wet blisters by the time we’re done.
Nana’s back and is lying in the same bed as she was when I first arrived. All my sisters are here, and Feylin stands beside me. We haven’t said much to each other, but he also hasn’t been an arrogant jerk, which I appreciate.
My mother takes a silver-encrusted amethyst pendant from a box and approaches my grandmother. “She will walk.”
“She will walk,” we repeat.
She drapes the necklace over Nana’s head, and my grandmother’s eyes pop open. She sits up stiffer than Bela Lugosi rising from his vampire coffin, and takes my mother’s hand as she slides off the bed and onto the rug.
Her eyes are open, but they’re vacant as she shuffles slowly toward the front door, which is wide open for her—for this walk.
She wears a gorgeous peacock-blue caftan and black flats. Even in death, Nana’s got seriousdrip. Go, Nana.
Feylin stands beside me quietly as we follow her out the door.
Once we get outside, the sidewalk’s packed. People are bunched together tighter than race cars rounding the last turn of the speedway. All of Castleview’s waiting to escort my grandmother to her final resting place.
My father and mother walk behind Nana, with Ovie and Charlie beside them. Feylin and I follow with the rest of my sisters behind me.
The porch vine dips, and a blossom kisses my face as I walk down the steps. Feylin glances over, a brow lifted in question, but I just shrug.
No, we haven’t talked aboutthe shower incident.That’s what I’m calling it. What’s there to talk about? He saw me naked. I saw himverynaked. Nothing more to say.
My cheeks flush just thinking about it.
The going’s slow as we make our way through Castleview proper. Nana leads the charge. When you’re dead and walking, you can’t expect it to be fast.
We make our way past the shops in town to the cemetery on the outskirts. Nana knows where to go. She stops at an open plot, and my mother steps up beside her.
Nana opens her mouth wider. For a split second, recognition flashes in her eyes as she takes all of us in. Her gaze lands on me, and a chill washes down my spine.
She lifts her arms. “To you I shall pass it all.”
Magic erupts from her chest, screaming out into the crowd as a great gale blows our hair and ruffles our clothes.
A blue halo buoys around my grandmother. It pulses once, a small thing, a fraction of what our power should be.
That’s why we’re getting married, isn’t it? So that the blue halo can be bigger?
The magic slowly dissolves and fades. The spark in Nana’s eyes dims as she lies down in her casket. My mother takesthe necklace from her, and a wizard priest begins the ceremony.
“Did you see the magic?”Blair asks me later.
We’re back at the house. While we were attending the funeral, a magical caterer was dropping off casseroles big enough to feed that giant statue of Paul Bunyan out in Oregon.
Anyway, I’m sitting on a bench beside Blair while nibbling a dish that I think has chicken, green beans and fried onions on top.
I really hope those are fried onions.
“What’re you eating?” she asks.
