Haunted Moon (Otherworld/Sisters of the Moon 13)

“The magic left over from the Scorching Wars.” I softly let out my breath. The rogue magic of the sands was inherent in the lands down there, long ago imprinted during the Scorching Wars when the sorcerers laid waste to vast swaths of forest and grassland, leaving only charred, burned desert in their wake. The magical residue of battle had sunk into the land, turning it into a wild, dangerous place.

“Yes, and it’s not hard for them to harvest. Especially with someone like Telazhar. And especially since he does, indeed, possess one of the spirit seals.” Telazhar put down the papers and sat back. “Okay, so that’s where we’re at.”

I smiled softly. Since being around us, Trenyth had picked up some ES slang, but if I pointed it out, he’d find a way to deny it. So, instead, I just leaned forward and turned off the voice recorder.

“Got it. Thanks, Trenyth. And I suppose…well, I’ll fill in the Triple Threat on what’s going on. We’re all in this together, especially since Gulakah is putting the pressure on over here.”

I told him what was happening with the eggs and ghost harvests. “I’m going in tomorrow night to infiltrate. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

“Be careful, Camille. Gulakah is smart. You can’t trust anyone at his network. They’re all in his pocket, one way or another.” Trenyth stood up, letting my father take the chair again.

Sephreh just sat there, staring at me, a solemn look on his face.

“What?”

“Leethe is dead.” He lowered his gaze. It was the first time I’d heard his voice crack in a long, long time.

I stuttered, unable to speak. Leethe, our housekeeper and cook. She’d taught me how to manage the house after our mother died. She’d done her best to comfort me when he yelled at me for not keeping things just the way Mother did, and she’d covered for me when I came in late from partying. Leethe had been old when Father brought Mother back to Otherworld. But she hadn’t been old enough to die.

“What happened?” I didn’t want to hear—didn’t want to hear of a horrible death. Didn’t want to hear that she’d suffered.

Father let out a slow breath. “She was hanging out the washing. Apparently, when the new girl—she hired a young girl to help her lift the water and carry things—dumped the washing water, she spilled some on the flagstones in back of the house. On her way back inside, Leethe was carrying the clothes basket, and she didn’t see that the stones were slippery. She stepped on a slick spot and fell. She…hit her head on a sharp stone. It killed her instantly.”

I sat very still, searching for something to say. I was so used to deaths from battle and collateral damage. I’d seen eighteen people mowed down by the spirit demons earlier today, and while it wrenched me, it didn’t hit me like this news. Leethe had been comfort and home, and her arms had been big enough to embrace all three of us girls when we returned from Mother’s death ceremony. Leethe had been foundation.

Father cleared his throat. “Camille? Did you want to say anything to her family? They’re coming to pick up her body tomorrow.”

Of course they were. They’d seen the shattered soul statue and knew she was gone, just like I’d seen Mother’s and knew she had died. I wondered who had found it. Maybe her sister, or her niece? Leethe had been unmarried, and while she’d had numerous lovers, she’d never borne a child.

“Camille…Camille?” Sephreh’s voice cut through my thoughts.

Shaking my head, I tried to snap myself out of the fog. “Um…please, tell them…I don’t know what to say. There’s so much…she was such a part of our lives. I wish we could make it home for the funeral, but I don’t think we can.” I paused, and then, pressing my hand against the glass, I said, “Please tell them we loved her. She was family.”

Sephreh reached out then and pressed his fingers against the glass to meet mine. “I will, daughter. I’d better go now. But…”

“Yes?” My hand was still pressed against the reflection of his.

“When the civil war was going on, I kept thinking, if we win this, then I’ll bring my daughters home. And we won, but then Shadow Wing loomed larger and you couldn’t even think of coming back. I understood. But every day now, I think about you and your sisters and the dangers you face, and I worry.”

He leaned forward. “Camille, I want you to promise me, stay as safe as you can. Lean on your husbands when you need to. Tell your sister Delilah…she needs to let Shade help her. And Menolly…well, she needs to protect her wife.” Pausing, he waited for me to say something, anything.

After a moment, I said the words I’d been longing to say for months but had shelved on ice, believing I might never say them again. “I love you, Father.”

He leaned back, straightening his shoulders, and slowly withdrew his hand from the Whispering Mirror. “I love you, and your sisters. More than you will ever probably know. And now, good night.”

“Good night. Sleep well.”

The light in the mirror faded back into a milky swirl of fog, and I covered it with the black velvet cloth. I picked up the voice recorder and, carrying it with me, opened the doors leading out on the balcony. My floor was the only one that had a balcony, and we often gathered here when the weather was good, to watch the stars and talk.

But tonight the rain was coming down in torrential sheets, and I stayed out for only a moment before darting back inside and locking the doors. I quietly exited the study and, hearing Delilah and Shade on the steps, hurried to the landing to stop them before they rounded the curve leading up to the third floor.

“Father called. Trenyth was there. We have news of the war.” I paused, then went on. “And Leethe, she had an accident. She died.”

Delilah uttered a little “Oh,” but I knew that Leethe’s death would hit me the hardest. I’d been the one to turn to her time and again, just as my sisters had turned to me.

“I’ll take this and transcribe it before bed.” Delilah took the voice recorder from me. “You go rest. I know…you go rest.” She leaned down and kissed my forehead, then motioned for Shade to follow her up. I heard her explaining to him who Leethe had been as they vanished around the corner.

Turning back to my rooms, I opened the bedroom door. Smoky was reading—some suspense thriller by J. A. Jance. Trillian was doing sit-ups on the floor, and Morio was sprawled across the bed, one arm over his face.