“I thought they kept stuff like that from happening,” her mom said.

“Well, yeah, probably, but I’m not going to ask a bunch of sentries to be my maids.”

“I think that’s understandable,” her dad said, jumping in. “And the place probably could use a good cleaning.” He looked at her mom. “Does that sound okay with you?”

Her mom mustered up a tight smile. “Sure. Of course.”

“Thanks,” Laurel murmured, looking away. Part of her wished she hadn’t asked.

EIGHTEEN

LAUREL SAT IN HER CAR FOR SEVERAL MINUTES, just staring at the cabin. Her cabin, or very nearly. She’d been here often enough in the last year—on her way to and from Avalon, as well as the times she’d come to see Tamani last fall. But she hadn’t been inside since moving to Crescent City almost a year and a half ago. Where the lawn wasn’t blanketed in two seasons’ worth of leaves, it grew long and shaggy and the bushes had grown high enough to cover half of the front windows. Laurel sighed. She hadn’t thought about the yard when she packed her cleaning supplies. The most obvious solution was to bring David next time, along with a lawn mower and hedge trimmers, but that would be painfully awkward at best.

Another day; she certainly had enough to do for now. She popped the trunk, picked up a bucket full of sponges, rags, and other cleaning supplies she’d packed that morning, and lugged it toward the front door.

The door squeaked on its hinges as she walked into the cabin. It was weird to walk into a totally vacant house; houses were meant to be filled with stuff and people and music and smells. The wide front room that took up most of the bottom floor seemed gaping now. A room full of empty.

Laurel set the bucket down on the kitchen cabinet and walked around to the sink, turning the water on. After a short gurgle a stream of copper-stained water poured out of the spigot. Laurel let it run for a moment and soon the water slipping down the drain was clear. She smiled, strangely comforted as the sound of running water filled the room and echoed off the bare walls.

She circled the downstairs, unlocking and opening all the windows, letting the crisp autumn breeze flow through the house, cleansing it of the stale, stuffy air that had been trapped inside for months. The window to the right of the front door wouldn’t open, and Laurel struggled with it for a few seconds.

“Let me get that for you,” a quiet voice said from just behind her.

Even though she’d been expecting him, Laurel jumped. She moved aside and let Tamani spray something from a small bottle on each side of the window before lifting the sash easily. He turned to her with a grin. “There you go.”

“Thanks,” she said, smiling back.

He said nothing, just shifted a little to lean up against the wall.

“I’m here to do some housecleaning,” Laurel said, gesturing to the bucket of supplies.

“I see that.” He looked around the empty room. “It’s been a while since anyone was in here. Ages since I was.”

They stood for long seconds in a cloud of silence that felt awkward to Laurel but didn’t seem to bother Tamani in the least.

Finally, Laurel stepped forward to hug him. His arms twined around her back, instantly finding the lump of her bound blossom and he jerked back as if shocked. “Sorry,” he said hastily, crossing his arms over his chest. “I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay,” Laurel said, her hands hurrying to the knot at her waist. “I was going to undo it as soon as the windows were open.” Her petals sprang up as soon as they were released and Laurel didn’t bother to suppress her sigh of relief. “This is one of the best parts about being here,” she said lightly.

Tamani started to smile, but his eyes fixed on the blue and white petals. “What the hell happened?” he asked, stepping behind her.

“Um…that’s the other reason I’m here,” Laurel admitted. “The cleaning was what I told my parents to get them to let me come.”

But Tamani was hardly listening. He was staring, aghast, at her back, his hands clenched into fists. “How?” he whispered.

“Trolls,” Laurel said quietly.

His head jerked up. “Trolls? Where? At your house?”

Laurel shook her head. “I was dumb,” she said, trying to downplay just how bad the situation had been. “I went to this party last night. They found us and ran our car off the road. I’m fine, though.”

“Where were your sentries?” Tamani demanded. “They aren’t just there to guard your house, you know.”

“I think they might have been…occupied with other things,” Laurel said. “When we got home, Mom said something about dogs fighting in the back.”

“You could have been killed!” Tamani exclaimed. He glanced at her back again. “It looks like you almost were.”

“A…woman found us, just in time. She chased off the trolls.”

“A woman? Who?”

Laurel handed Klea’s card to Tamani.

“Klea Wilson. Who is she?”

Laurel relayed the story of the previous night, with several interruptions from Tamani asking for clarification here, more details there. By the time she was done, she felt like she’d relived the entire ordeal. “And then she made us take the guns and we left,” she finished. “It was so weird. I have no clue who she is.”

“Who—” Tamani paused and paced a few steps. “There’s no way—” More pacing. Finally he stood still, his arms crossed over his chest. “I’ve got to talk to Shar about this. This is…problematic.”