She did not stay long after that. When she was gone, Annabel offered Mae a cup of tea. Mae shook her head.
“If you took an interest in law,” Annabel said, “it would make me very hap—”
“You can’t ever let that woman in the house again,” said Mae.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Mavis!”
“Annabel,” Mae said, “I—when I knew her before, I can’t talk about it. It’s private. But she was terrible to friends of mine. She scared me badly. I don’t trust her. I don’t want her here, or—or around you.”
“It seemed like her client’s custom might be a valuable asset to the firm,” Annabel said slowly, and Mae’s heart sank.
She was usually able to persuade people, to make them see things her way, but it had never worked with Annabel.
“When you and your brother disappeared,” Annabel began.
“Oh, not this again!”
“Hear me out, Mavis. When you disappeared, I was very—” Annabel cleared her throat. “I was very distressed. I realize that your father has pulled away a lot from you both in recent years, and I have been absorbed in my work and not compensating for the loss. I regret that.”
“Um,” Mae said. “Okay.”
“If you two ran away under the impression that I would not care,” Annabel said, “I did. And while your behavior was extremely reckless and irresponsible, I know I was at fault as well. If you wish me to turn away this client for your peace of mind, I will. I should cut back on my work anyway, and—we should make an effort to eat together.”
Annabel was probably just saying this because she felt she had to, because she didn’t want the girls down at the tennis club to gossip about her delinquent children, but she’d said that she would turn the magicians’ messenger away all the same. Mae was so relieved she wanted to cry.
“All right,” she said. “It’s a deal.”
She thought of something and fumbled at her neck, untying the cord that held her talisman in place. If the magicians had sent a messenger to visit her mother, they could send demons.
“Could you wear this, Annabel?” she asked, getting up and holding it out. “To seal the deal,” she added, and gave Annabel a smile she hoped would be convincing.
Annabel looked pleased at the gesture and absolutely horrified by the necklace, which looked like a huge dream catcher, gleaming with bones and gems.
“Thank you, Mavis,” she said bravely, tying it on and tucking it immediately under her blouse. “It’s very unique. Does it have any … occult significance? I know you like that kind of thing.”
Annabel probably classified anything from reading horoscopes to outright Satanism as “that kind of thing,” but she was being terribly good about this. Mae went behind her mother’s chair and then leaned down and circled her shoulders with both arms, giving her a brief squeeze.
Annabel’s back went rigid, but she put a hand on Mae’s arm, so Mae couldn’t tell if she was embarrassed or pleased by the gesture.
She let go, but before she did she whispered into her mother’s ear, “It keeps away bad dreams.”
She remembered that in the night, when she dreamed that her father was at the window, saying that he was sorry and he loved them and he wanted to come home. Mae didn’t open the window because she knew better than to believe her father, even in a dream, and then there were ravens at her window, there was a storm, there was something waiting outside for her and it was angry.
She woke up dreaming of a thunderclap loud enough to splinter the sky, and found herself lying in a bed full of broken glass.
The window was shattered. There was nothing outside but the night.
Mae went downstairs and made herself some coffee. It was fine, she told herself. She was fine. She could get a new talisman from Alan today.
She sat there with her coffee going cold until Jamie came downstairs. His face hardened when he saw her.
“Didn’t hear you come in last night,” Mae said. “Where were you?”
“Where d’you think?” Jamie asked. “Gerald says he’ll meet us all after school.”
“Oh he does, does he?” Mae inquired. “And it took you the whole evening to make the appointment?”
Jamie went red. “I can hang around with whoever I want,” he muttered. “You are.”
It hurt that he was ready to be angry without letting her explain; it hurt that he’d kept what was happening with Gerald from her, and kept the magic from her before that. Mae held her coffee cup tight.
“Yeah,” she said. “Guess I am.”
4
Asking the Wrong Questions
You’re quieter than usual,” Nick remarked.
He was the one driving to the graveyard. Alan was sitting relaxed in the passenger seat beside him, body stretched out long and loose, without the tension his shoulders always held when he was driving. He’d said hello when they first got in, then seen their faces and fallen tactfully silent.
