Page 90 of Ever After

“Were you always such a glass-half-empty sort of person?”

“No, it came on me suddenly. Oddly, it was about the same time as I met you.” I start to laugh and his mouth quirks. He’s beautiful in the moonlight that’s filtering through the branches. He pulls me to him and kisses my temple. “You okay now? That blood scared the shit out of me.”

“I’m fine.” I consider the strength that someone must have to cause that to happen in a person, but that’s not something I want to dwell on at this moment.

Levi waits a beat and then says, “So, what now?”

“We walk and see if we can find the path again.”

“I think these are the woods that the lady in the cafe mentioned.”

“Really? What makes you think that?”

“I told you earlier that I thought we were on a familiar road. I reckon it’s the one that goes by Dowran Hall.”

“Didn’t she say the villagers won’t come here after dark?”

“Yes.”

“Spiffing. I can see this will continue to go swimmingly.”

He kisses me, his lips soft and so familiar. When he pulls back, he whispers, “How about we walk along the edge of the wood? Then we can try and find the road and avoid catastrophising.”

“Is that even a word?”

“If it isn’t, it should be.”

“What about the car?”

“I think it’s safe to leave it until tomorrow when the sun is shining. Those zombies⁠—”

“Faux zombies.”

“Okay. I’m pretty sure those faux zombies haven’t passed their theory test yet.”

I nudge him, hearing his laugh. “So, we walk, then?”

He nods and we fall into step next to each other. At first, we make a great effort not to make any noise, but that’s impossible in a wood covered with leaves and stray branches. In the end, we settle for moving as fast as we can while being cautious. The last thing we need right now is one of us breaking an ankle or leg. I contemplate kissing the ground when we find a rough path that seems to be heading back towards the road.

After a few moments of walking along it, Levi asks, “How powerful does a spirit have to be to do that—r-raise the dead?”

I sigh. “I don’t know. I’m not sure if I really want to find out either.”

“I don’t think that’s possible now. Boynton’s spirit is obviously fixed on us.”

“But why?” I ask. We stop walking and turn to each other. “That’s what’s bothering me. Branok and Xander have been locked in different places for centuries. Boynton is obviously part of that story and not in a good way. Why is he suddenly so bothered about us?”

“Maybe it’s not just us. Didn’t the lad at the cafe say that another family ran away from the cottage?”

“Well, most people don’t like ghosts, in general. If they saw or sensed Branok….”

“Right. But Branok’s haunting seems… benevolent. Maybe a bit grumpy about having people in his space? Whereas, Boynton is pure evil. Like he hates us and wants us as far from Porthkrogour as possible.”

“Yes. Possession and horrific dreams and horrible faux zombies are not exactly welcoming.”

“Something about you has obviously wound him up. It does seem to be the most important element of your skill set.”

I shove him and he laughs. “We should have gone to the Maldives,” I say. “I remember saying that and being shot down.”