chest. It was the first time he had ever hugged his grandfather, and his chest burned, for he knew it was too late. The old man would never know how he felt.
Sometime later, Will pulled himself together and got to his feet. Staring down at his grandfather, he knew he couldn’t bear to leave the old man there, so he bent down and tried to lift him. It was a stupid idea, for he knew he couldn’t possibly carry him all the way back to his house, but he was beyond rational thought. He was surprised to find Arrogan much lighter than he had expected.
Was he always so frail? Will couldn’t believe it. The old man had always been larger than life, both his personality and his actions. The body was still a significant burden, but he managed to get him into his arms and stand again. Then he began to walk.
Unfortunately, despite his initial success, carrying his grandfather turned out to be impossible. Will made it into the woods behind the house, but stumbled soon after, and in the end he was forced to drag the body. The best he could manage was holding his grandfather’s chest and letting the feet drag as he went.
It was slow going, and it would be hours before he made it back to his grandfather’s home.
Chapter 27
It was dusk by the time he finally made it to the house, and he found his mother and Sammy standing in the front yard, waiting for him.
“Put him down,” said Erisa, and when he did, she bent and checked for a pulse.
“He’s dead,” said Will.
“I’ve been doing this most of my life,” said his mother. “I had to be sure.” Then she stood and stared into her son’s eyes. Without warning, she slapped him, hard enough to sting his cheek.
As Will rubbed his face, she continued, “Do you have any idea how stupid that was? How worried we’ve been?”
“I couldn’t leave him,” said Will.
“But you could leave us?” she rebuked him. “Don’t ever do that to me again, William. I thought I’d lost you for good.”
He’d never seen such a look of fury and anger on his mother’s face, but despite the intensity of her gaze, Will was numb. Too much had happened. His mother lectured him for several minutes, and he was grateful when his cousin tugged on her arm. “Please, Auntie, let him be. We’re all tired.”
“Why don’t we go inside?” suggested Will, his tone soft.
His mother and cousin looked at one another, then at the house. Sammy spoke first, “Maybe you can talk to him.”
Him? “Who do you mean, Sammy?” asked Will.
Erisa pointed at the porch. “That one.”
It was then that Will finally noticed the cat grooming itself on the porch, directly in front of the door. “Oh. The goddamn cat,” he intoned matter-of-factly.
“William!” reprimanded his mother.
“Sorry, Mom. That’s what grandfather named him. Why didn’t you just step over him?” he asked.
“Try it,” suggested Sammy.
He did, and was alarmed when the cat stood up and hissed at his approach. Will had never really gotten along with the cat. During his years with Arrogan, the two of them had developed a truce of sorts, which was to say that Will fed the cat whenever he appeared, and for its part the goddamn cat ignored him the rest of the time.
Even so, it was just a cat. Will started to step over it, reaching for the door handle, but immediately changed his mind when the cat growled. Its hair was standing out in all directions, and it gave every sign that it was about to start a blood feud with him. “What the hell?” swore Will. “He’s never been like this before.”
The goddamn cat didn’t back down. Instead it began advancing on him, fangs bared and back arched. He almost thought it might be rabid, but as soon as he stepped off the porch the cat relaxed, though it kept its eyes on him, wary for any sign that he might try to approach the door again.
“There’s something wrong with that animal,” cautioned Erisa. “He may be sick.”
Will stared at the cat for a long minute, during which the animal never blinked. To all appearances, mundane and magical, it looked to be a normal cat, but he could see a deep intelligence behind its green eyes. “I think it knows he’s dead,” Will said over his shoulder.
“Well we aren’t spending the night outside,” said his mother. “One way or another we’re going inside.”
“Do you think