a ritual. They had to burn him in a witch fire and sear the flesh from his bones to accomplish the tragic act. Those bones were buried here.
I knelt in front of the headstone.
Percy covered it with vines before I could read it.
I smiled at him and brushed them away, and he let me, pulling back until I could see the black stone. I read the name that had been etched into the memorial. “Percival Channing Goode.” I looked up. “That’s an incredible name.”
The room hummed around me.
“You keep saving my life.” A soft vibration rippled over me. “I just wanted to thank you.”
Brushing dirt off the stone, I looked for dates. There were none. But there was a saying at the bottom. Igne natura renovatur integra.
Since my Latin was beyond rusty, I cast a spell, drawing the lines of reveal on the air and pushing the bright hot symbol toward the stone. The letters transformed into Through fire, nature is reborn whole. They stayed that way until I released the spell.
I stood. He’d saved my life I didn’t know how many times. He deserved his privacy. “I’m sorry I bothered you, Percy. I won’t do it again. Just . . . just thank you. For everything.”
An entity took shape before me. Vines rose and formed a human shape and then fell away to reveal a revenant. A man. Percival Channing Goode, in all his glory.
When I’d first seen a picture of him, the one Annette now had in her room, my initial impression was that Percy could’ve given Lucifer Morningstar a run for his money. And I was not wrong.
The man was nothing short of stunning. My grandmother sure knew how to pick ’em. Inky black hair. Startlingly blue eyes. A full mouth and strong jaw. His clothes were a little dated. Late sixties, early seventies. Not a great time for fashion. But he didn’t just pull it off, he made it look good.
“Percival.” I didn’t try to hide the surprise in my voice.
He tipped an invisible hat. And just like I could tell Samuel’s eyes were blue, I could tell Percy’s were too. Brighter than the rest of him. The color impenetrable. His stance was guarded, but I stepped closer anyway.
And I suddenly had nothing to say. I rubbed my hands together and stuffed them into my jeans pockets. “So, how have you been?” I rolled my eyes inwardly. What was up next? The weather. Hockey? Did ghosts get into hockey? If Ruthie had WiFi, surely Percy had ESPN.
A charming grin slid up to those beautiful blue eyes, and he lifted a shoulder.
“Can you talk?” I asked.
He pressed his mouth together and shook his head.
While I was burning to know why, I kept that flame to myself.
He put a hand on my face. Or tried to.
Just like with Samuel, I only felt a coolness where his fingers would’ve been. “We’re going to have to learn sign language.”
He smiled and nodded.
“Hey.” I thought of something I could ask him. “Did you know there’s a cave underneath the house?”
He nodded, put an index finger over his mouth to shush me, then cupped a hand over one eye. Which was weird until it sank in.
“Pirates,” I said, astonished.
He encouraged me to take it further with a summoning wave.
“Smugglers.”
He pointed at me, and I could practically hear him say, “Bingo!”
“Wow. Do you know what they smuggled?”
He spread his hands. A bunch of stuff, apparently.
He had a small scar on his face. I asked, “What happened?” before I remembered he couldn’t answer.
He dismissed my question with a shake of his head, but I looked closer. It didn’t look so much like a scar but more like one of the vines that covered the house. “Is that from when I pulled you across the threshold into the passageway?” My stomach clenched at the thought. It was the only time I’d seen him hurt. “When you withered and turned to dust?”
He didn’t answer.
“Percy, I’m so sorry.”
He stepped to me sharply and shook his head.
“But it’s my fault.”
Another shake, this one sharper. He pointed to the door. Was he kicking me out?
I started to leave, but he stopped me by blocking it with his arm. He lowered his head and pointed to himself then pressed his palms together as though in prayer.
“You’re apologizing to me?
He nodded.
“You’re asking for my forgiveness?”
Another nod.
“That’s ridiculous. There is nothing you need to be forgiven for.”
The smile he flashed me was blinding. Yep. Ruthie sure knew how to pick ’em.
“Thanks, Percy.