“I don’t like funerals.” Alora sat on the low tree branch with Uncle Charles, watching the smoke rising from the pyre in colorful swirls. A result of Nordamen’s magick or some kind of chemical reaction, Alora wasn’t sure which, and didn’t really care. “And now I realize, all this time it was my empathy making me cry whenever anyone else is crying.”
“Your Aunt Lena used to do that, and she didn’t have an empathy gift.”
“Hmmm... maybe she did have empathy gifting and we didn’t know it.”
Uncle Charles smiled, one of those sad ones where your mouth curves and your cheeks move, but your eyes are still kind of droopy. “The only funeral you ever went to in Montana was your Aunt Lena’s.”
“I know.” Alora leaned her head against his shoulder. “And you want to know something awful, Uncle Charles? I’m kind of glad I can’t ever lose Kaevin the way you lost Aunt Lena. I don’t know how you stood it.”
He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but then he pressed his lips together, shaking his head.
“What?”
“Nothing important. We can discuss it another time.” His shoulder lifted as he breathed in. “Funerals aren’t really such a bad thing, you know. It’s a time to celebrate a person’s life and remember all the things you loved about them.”
It felt good to let herself cry. Kind of cleansing. She wished she could ask Laethan if that was part of empathy or just normal. But she could never ask him anything again. He was the only person who understood her, and now he was gone. It wasn’t fair. He’d never gotten to travel, and he’d been excited about going to Serenshire. Nothing was fair about it. Nothing.
“Why does God let you love somebody and then take them away?”
“Wow. I’m not sure I can really answer that, but I’ll try.” Uncle Charles paused, obviously trying to come up with some pithy philosophical statement. “I think... I think it’s because death is a part of life. Everyone dies eventually, so you have to enjoy them while they’re alive. Kind of like a bouquet of flowers. The trick is to treat all your friends like beautiful cut flowers. You cherish them every day, knowing they won’t last forever.”
Alora looked up through wet lashes. “That’s kind of corny, Uncle Charles.”
“Yep. That’s be
cause I’m kind of corny.”
With a sigh of contentment, she laid her head back on his shoulder. “I like corny.”
~24~
Alora covered her mouth to stifle her giggles. It was right there, on the front page of the Bozeman Post.
“Sergeant Justice Meets Montana Justice,” Beth read out loud in a twangy reporter voice. “Sergeant Justice, star of the television reality show, Unseen Secrets, was arrested in downtown Bozeman, Montana on Friday night. Justice was charged with one count of indecent exposure and one count of public intoxication. Justice defended his behavior, explaining that he’d been abducted by aliens while changing clothes in the men’s locker room at his hotel gym. Evidently, the aliens dropped him in downtown Bozeman when they recognized he was, indeed, a slime-ball.”
“Good Grief Charlie Brown! Did it really say that?” asked Alora.
“Well, I made up that last part. But the rest is real.” Beth laughed. “I told you it would work.”
“I just wasn’t sure I could transport him, since I’d only seen him on TV. How did Wesley get into the locker room at that hotel?”
“In a tuxedo. Justice is such a narcissistic jerk—he insists all his men wear tuxes when they drive him around. The hotel had seen so many guys in tuxedos, they didn’t give Wesley a second look.”
“Wesley said he would call when Justice was changing clothes, so I was really relieved when he showed up in his underwear. I was afraid he wouldn’t have anything on!”
“You didn’t transport out of there and leave your phone lying on the ground, did you?”
“No, Markaeus was waiting in the truck down the street. When Wesley called, Markaeus flashed the lights. I transported Justice to me and zipped away before he really had a chance to see me. I transported right into the truck, and we drove away.”
“Well, it worked like a charm. So, that takes care of Justice. And I think that nurse is moving back to Billings. That’s everything on this end. What about Tenavae? What about all those portals Markaeus made?”
“Oh, Markaeus sealed both the new ones. Of course, the other two were already sealed.”
“Good. At least Daegreth is safe for now... Karen was worried.”
“Karen was worried? Not you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. It’s just complicated.”