Page 39 of Demon and the Raven

“Don’t I have to be? Isn’t that what it means to love a witch?”

For that, at the next stop sign, I kissed his neck softly, with only a slight nibble.

“Knock it off, you’re gonna give me goose bumps,” he muttered. “Now, what all do you hafta do for Lammas?”

My sigh was long. “In another week, week and a half, I have to start baking bread, but Amanda and Declan will help me.”

“How much bread are we talking?”

He had no idea. To prepare for the first of August, I would need many different kinds. I also had corn dollies to make, decorations to put up, like the wheat and lavender wreaths, and much like I’d done for the solstice back in June, ones made of St. John’s wort for protection. “So much,” I whimpered. “Not only bread. Biscuits and muffins and lots of jam.”

“Jam?”

“I make persimmon and strawberry jams every year. You’ll love them.”

“I’m sure I will, but honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a persimmon in my life. I would have no idea what one looked like.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll educate you on all kinds of fruits and herbs.”

“Oh, gee, I can’t wait.”

The sarcasm was not lost on me.

SIX

Lynette Fornell, a.k.a. Aurora Moon, lived in the older part of town, where Lorne had lived with his brother and niece when he first moved to town. Unlike the newer developments, the houses here stood on larger plots with enormous mature trees, and Lynette’s house, which had been her parents’ before they moved to Miami two years ago, used to be called home by a very large family. But as is the way of things sometimes, when you go off to college, you end up staying in that new place or moving somewhere else for your new career. That was what happened with her three older brothers and two younger sisters. Years ago, the four-story Greek Revival home had been filled with love and laughter, as Lynette’s grandparents and her aunt had all been in residence there as well. It had been, Amanda told me, a place she had loved to visit. They had been close once, she and Lynette, but that was before Amanda’s world had been turned upside down, first by an assault, then by her family abandoning her and being shunned by friends. Lynette had been one of those who turned their back on Amanda when she was needed the most. Now, she and Amanda never crossed paths, Lynette always quick to scuttle out of the way of the person who owned most of Osprey.

The house sat at the end of a tree-lined street that seemed dark and desolate, the gas streetlamps providing a subdued, eerie illumination. During the past week, we’d had a lot of summer storms, lots of rain and wind that accounted for the debris-strewn sidewalks, many of which were raised and cracked by roots of trees older than the town.

Lorne parked his police vehicle on the street, and the two of us got out and started up the many steps leading to the house. All the homes on the street were elevated, the driveways all on hills.

“I should have driven up there,” he said when we were on our third set of six brick steps. The manicured terraces flanking them boasted beautiful roses, peonies, shrubs, and ornamental pieces. I preferred the lush greenery and wildflowers of Corvus, but I could appreciate the planning and attention to detail it took to maintain something so perfect even in the face of blustery weather.

“This way we get to admire the landscaping,” I offered, smiling at him when he turned to look at me.

At the top, a heavy chain blocked the driveway, which meant Lorne would have had to park at a sharp angle. I pointed to it, and he nodded in agreement. Climbing the steps had been smarter after all.

Lorne eyed the uncanny, shadowy recess of the front-door columns. “Why are we here when it looks like this whole street is asleep for the night?”

“Ring the doorbell and see,” I suggested.

“Do you see a doorbell?”

“Actually no. Just use the knocker.”

“What?”

I grinned at him and pointed at the polished brass lion head.

“Why is this creepy?” he asked as he used it, the sound louder than he was expecting from the way he jerked away.

“Because the sky is dark, so is the street, and it’s eerily quiet. Also, you’ve had a weird evening before this. I’m sure everything feels a bit surreal.”

There was thunder in the distance then that made Lorne turn and scowl.

“Cue the storm,” I teased him.

“Why aren’t you on edge?”