Page 92 of Demon and the Raven

“Yeah, but that’s because of the angle it sits on toward the road.”

“That’s some of it. But you know as well as I do that things appear and disappear that can’t actually be here.”

“I have no idea what you’re saying.”

“What I mean is, things in the cottage can’t just be here.”

“That wasn’t any better.” His scoff was warm and playful, which Shelby took as her cue to elaborate.

“You know, I can hear people dancing, laughing, and they’re in rooms that should be above us, but there’s no second floor here, so…what is that?”

“Yeah, what is that?” Lorne asked, then narrowed his eyes. “Or can you only guess?”

“My grandfather believed this cottage exists across planes and that everyone who’s ever lived here still does.”

“That’s amazing,” Shelby murmured.

“Which means that all that accumulated knowledge, as well as physical items, are here with us and can be accessed by the cottage at any given time.”

“Oh, that’s wild.” He grinned, his eyes glinting in the light. “And awesome.”

“Do you really think so? I maybe should have told you that before, but I wasn’t sure if you’d think it weird.”

“No, I think it’s wonderful. Truly. That’s how sometimes you can still smell in here things your grandmother used to bake, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Because she’s still here in the cottage.”

“In a version of it, yes. And that’s not to say that everyone is with us here, but that’s why my ancestors can come more easily through the veil than others, because if you lived here, then you always will.”

He took a deep breath. “That’s very comforting.”

“It is,” Shelby agreed, her eyes filling. “I can’t tell you how many places I walk into and I’m instantly cold or scared. Sometimes I hear screaming, crying, and even worse things…” She trailed off, glancing at Lorne, then back to me. “It can be overwhelming.”

“I’m sure it is,” Lorne soothed her.

She smiled suddenly. “But in here, it’s…and it sounds lame, but…” She stopped, shaking her head.

“G’head,” Lorne prodded her. “You can say.”

Quick breath. “It’s like a hug,” she admitted. “It’s so very safe.”

When Lorne grabbed hold of my hand, I turned to him. “Are you okay? Safe should be a good thing.”

“Yeah, but…if this home exists in different places, does that mean something dangerous, something evil, could be in here with us?”

I squeezed his hand back. “No,” I promised him. “And this I know for certain. The cottage was built on Corvus, and it’s where it lives in its sole physical form. The magic here with us is the only magic that matters.”

Shelby was nodding quickly. “I know we just met, but everything he said, I can feel that, like I can see you or the sun or the fireplace. Like it’s obvious that this cottage is a sanctuary. It feels like a fortress or a castle. No one that could hurt you could get in.”

“How do you know that?” He was staring at her, smiling now.

She shrugged. “I simply do. It’s been that way my whole life. The problem for me is, I can always tell when something is good, like this cottage. But I can’t always tell when something is straight-up bad.”

“Which I want to help you with,” I told her, taking her hand.

She grabbed mine with both of hers. “Yes. Please.”