The Kingdom

you out. I’m seeing things, I guess. Like you did that day at the laurel bald, remember? You thought for a moment I was someone else.”

“I remember.”

“We concluded it was lack of sleep. The mind playing tricks.” He was trying very hard to convince himself. Who had he seen just now when he looked at me? What had he seen? “You called it something that day.”

“A waking dream,” I murmured.

“A waking dream. Yes, that’s exactly how it felt. Well.” He glanced at me. “That was interesting.”

“You’re not going to tell me about it?”

“No, I think we should just let it pass,” he said. “Moving on…”

But we both fell silent, as if entrapped by the heavy weight of our secrets. The shadows lengthened at the edge of the woods, and the sunlight on the steps was dappled now, filtered through the branches of the evergreens. I felt bone-weary from all the physical labor at the cemetery, and yet an odd restlessness gripped me.

Suddenly, I thought of that vision I’d had at the falls of the couple naked and entwined at the water’s edge as creatures looked on. As the very earth seemed to pulsate with dark, unspeakable passion… .

I shuddered violently.

“What’s wrong?”

My cheeks colored as I glanced away, but he leaned forward, taking my chin in his hand to gently turn me to face him. “I’m sorry if I upset you just now. I don’t even know why I said that.”

“It’s not that. I was thinking about something you said after dinner the other night when we were going through those pictures.” Not exactly what I’d been thinking about, but I could hardly tell him the truth. “You said there was a certain eccentricity about Luna and Bryn and Catrice. You called them witches. What did you mean by that?”

“It was just a joke, but there’s always been an air of mystery about them,” he said. “An element of mysticism. Somehow they’ve managed to thrive while the rest of the town languishes. But I suspect that’s more a matter of smart investments and good genetics than witchcraft. Despite the talk.”

I glanced at him. “What talk?”

“The usual small-town gossip mixed with mountain folklore.

“There’s an old rumor that the Daughters of our Valiant Heroes was once a coven.”

I glanced at him, startled. “I thought it was a historical society.”

He shrugged. “Like I said, it’s an old rumor.”

The breeze had a distinct chill now. “Why didn’t you say anything about these rumors when we were at the falls looking at the Drudenfuss?”

“You already seemed a little spooked. And it’s no big deal. A town like this breeds superstition and gossip, especially when it comes to those three women. They’ve always been close, always a little different and now that they’ve reached a certain age with no families to speak of—”

“What about Sidra?”

“Ah, yes. Sidra.”

“Why do you say it like that?”

He was silent for a moment. “Sidra is a bit of an enigma herself, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“She is different,” I agreed. “But I like her. I think she has an old soul. She seems much more mature than other girls her age.”

“Little wonder, given her condition. She was born with a severe heart defect. The doctors didn’t think she’d live past her twelfth birthday, but somehow she’s managed to defy the odds.”

I thought of the girl’s pale complexion and those guarded eyes. She looked fragile, but I’d always sensed an inner strength. Now I knew why. I also wondered if her condition had something to do with her ability to see ghosts. But that wouldn’t explain my situation. There was nothing wrong with my heart. I’d always been the picture of health.

“Where’s her father?” I asked.

“He died years ago. Suddenly, as I recall. I don’t remember too much about him except that he had money and he was a good deal older than Bryn.” Thane watched the water for a moment. “Why all the questions about Luna and her cohorts?”

“Is that how people around here refer to them? Luna and her cohorts?”

“Just a figure of speech. Anyway, why all the interest?”

I hesitated, still considering how much I should tell him. “Something happened earlier and I’ve been trying to figure out what it means. I saw Catrice in town and she asked for a ride home. Then she offered to give me a tour of her studio. She never said a word about anyone else being there, but Bryn and Luna were in another room. And then I saw Hugh coming up the path to the studio as I was leaving.”

“So?”

“Why didn’t she mention that the others were there? Why did Luna and Bryn stay out of sight? Don’t you find that odd?”

“I take it you do.”

“Very odd. I had the distinct impression that they had all gathered at the studio to…observe me.”

“To observe you,” he repeated. “That’s—”

“Disturbing. I know.”

“And maybe a little paranoid,” he suggested. His tone was light, but I had a feeling he meant it. I did sound paranoid.

“Why would they want to observe you?” he asked in a cautious tone, as though wanting to placate but not encourage me.

I hugged my knees tighter. “I don’t know. But it’s not my imagination. Something strange is happening to me here, Thane. I have this awful feeling…this premonition…” I looked past him to the mountains. “You must feel it, too,” I said in a half whisper. “It can’t just be me.”

He glanced away. “What do you think is happening to you?”

“I don’t know, but it has something to do with the flooding of Thorngate Cemetery. And Freya’s death. Maybe even Wayne’s attack and that hidden grave in the laurel bald. They’re all connected somehow. There’s a design here, some bigger scheme, and I know it sounds insane, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve been brought here for a reason.”

“You were brought here for a reason,” he said. “To restore a cemetery.”

“But think of the circumstances.” A hint of desperation crept into my voice. If he hadn’t thought me paranoid before, he certainly would now. “The donation that brought me here was made anonymously. Why? And why restore Thorngate now after years and years of neglect? Why hire me when there are other restorers in the state with far more experience?”

“Your credentials are impressive,” he reasoned.

I shrugged.

“Why else do you think you were brought here?” he asked softly. “You’ve never been to Asher Falls before, have you? You don’t have family here.”

“I don’t know why. But there’s a tie. I know it.” The breeze blew a dead leaf against my leg, and it clung for a moment before tumbling away. “Remember that day at the falls when I told you I felt a vibration? It was strong, like the pulse of an electrical current, but you couldn’t feel it because it was coming from within. It’s like this place, this land…even the mountains are calling out to me, and something inside me is responding.”

An emotion I couldn’t name flashed across his face before he rose and put out his hand. “Let’s take a walk.”

Angus followed us down the stepping-stones, but he wouldn’t come out on the wooden walkway. Instead, he remained on solid ground, keeping watch while we strolled to the very end to gaze down into those murky depths.

As the sun slipped toward the treetops, the shade from the forest deepened the shoreline to black. I leaned over the railing, peering through the shadows and algae, straining to see the headstones and monuments of that watery graveyard. If I stared long enough, would I see Freya’s ghost float to the surface?