Circle of the Moon (Soulwood #4 )- Faith Hunter Page 0,28
hit me what she had done and I chuckled. “And you plan to move them to the new greenhouse.”
“Yep. So I got a question. I overheard Sam talking today. What happened to Brother Ephraim?”
If I’d had leaves at the moment I think they might have quivered at the question. “Um …”
“‘Um’ ain’t no answer. You know something, don’tcha.”
I sighed and decided on honesty, if not total and complete. Mud deserved as much of the truth as I could give. I put the glass on the table and took a cat up in my arms for the comfort. It was Cello, the quietest of the mousers and the least loving, except to the werecats who came calling from time to time. Right now, Cello let me hold her and I put my head to hers. She started purring, which was soothing. “It isn’t my story to tell, not all of it. But what I can tell you is that Ephraim came here to try and force me back to the church. He attacked me. Then he attacked an officer of the law. This was before you and I got to know each other. And it’s the darker part of our magic.”
“You kill him?” she asked, casually, as if murder was fine and dandy.
“Not exactly.” This was the part of the story that wasn’t mine to tell. I went on with what I could tell. “He was injured and dying. So I fed him to the earth. To Soulwood.”
“He tasted bad, didn’t he?”
I spurted a laugh that was as much relief as amusement. “I reckon he did. The land didn’t take him at first. He caused a few problems before I found a way to … absorb him. I reckon that’s a good enough word.” I pushed away the glass, and condensation made trails across the wood. “I killed him,” I said, softer. “That’s murder. Manslaughter at the very least.”
“I heard Sam say one time that some men need killing. I reckon the man who punished Mama fits that description.”
In church parlance punished meant raped. I hadn’t known that Mud knew that story. I tilted my head, less in agreement than to indicate that I’d heard the same argument.
“Your’n friends at PsyLED know about it?”
“Rick LaFleur guesses.” Paka knew everything. If she came back that might be a hold she would have over me. But Soulwood had a hold over her, so maybe they would cancel out each other out. Maybe.
“I think it’s best that we keep it between us, then, don’t you?” she asked.
I nodded. “You okay knowing all this grown-up stuff?”
“I’ll keep our secrets. And I’m good, long as you ain’t totally shutting out the possibility of a greenhouse. But, since we’un’s chatting, I need some clothes for school. I need two pairs of khaki pants to start the year on account of it being so hot. And some sneakers. I got a list. I been looking on my tablet and I like the prices at Kohl’s and Walmart.”
I smiled and drank some of her tea. “We can shop. You really want to go into business making teas?”
“Yep. Soulwood teas. Only the very best local ingredients, hand grown, hand harvested, organic. That’s what it has to say on the tins. But you gotta make up to Daddy so he’ll build us that greenhouse. You hung up on him. He’s gonna be mad.”
“Well. Okay, then. He’ll be mad.” I picked up the phone and dialed Rick LaFleur, my up-line boss at PsyLED Unit Eighteen. He didn’t answer, so I left a message telling about Larry and the shotgun blasts.
Mud and I spent the hottest part of midafternoon outside, deciding where to put the possible greenhouse, how to situate it so it got the best sun in fall and winter. But it was too hot to stay out for long. I had to work come evening, and so I called it a day in late afternoon, took another cool shower, and grabbed an hour’s nap.
• • •
It was evening. I hadn’t slept enough to make it through my usual twelve-hour shift without nodding off. I had dropped Mud off at Daddy’s and went in to apologize for my anger and rudeness. Not that I took the threat to kill churchmen off the table. Any who came on my property were still at risk of death. I just phrased it with a smile, as if I was discussing tea and scones instead of self-defense by shotgun. Daddy accepted the apology and brought up