Faerie Winter - Janni Lee Simner [73]
Kyle quivered against me. I wouldn’t let him go back to Brianna, even were she willing to have him. My responsibility. “He’ll stay with me.” I’d promised to take care of him, and one way or another I would.
Kyle stopped shaking and looked up, his eyes wide.
Mom set the plastic pig back on the bed, picked up the frog. “Liza. You can’t do everything. Especially when, if I understand properly, Karinna is to teach you now. You’ll be leaving, for a time at least, whether I want it or not, won’t you?”
I pressed my lips together. “I’ll figure it out. This needs doing, too.”
“I didn’t say it didn’t. You’re good at many things, Liza, but has it occurred to you that maybe you don’t know much about how to raise a child?” I opened my mouth to protest, but Mom went on. “And has it also occurred to you that if Kyle is going to live with you, he’ll be living with me, too? Charlotte and her father are working on the house. We’ll be able to go home soon.” Mom handed me the frog and reached down to wipe a smudge of dirt from Kyle’s cheek. “We’ll do this together, Liza. He’ll stay with us.”
“Stay with you?” The strained hope in Kyle’s voice made my chest hurt.
I let out a breath, surprised at the weight Mom’s words lifted. I handed Kyle the frog. “You’ll stay with us. Me and Mom.”
“I like Tara,” Kyle agreed. He solemnly tucked the frog into his pocket.
Hope nodded. “We’ll all help, too. Afters stick together. I’ll tell the others.” She slipped out of the room and down the stairs.
Kyle smiled slyly and drew something out of his pocket for me in turn. A small plastic dinosaur.
“Oh, Kyle, how did you—” I thought of Ethan and Ben, of that walk with Matthew through the forest not so long ago.
“Matthew.” I squeezed the dinosaur so hard my hand ached. “Where is he?”
“Hurt,” Kyle whispered. “Outside.”
The last of my thoughts came clear. When I’d seen Matthew, he hadn’t known his name. A wolf running, his shadow dissolving behind him. I shivered in my thin nightshirt. In the vision he’d been lost beyond all calling back.
But that was—had been—the future. It might not have happened yet. I headed for Kate’s dresser, searching for clothes.
Allie grabbed my good arm. “Liza, you need rest—”
I pulled away and removed my sling. I managed to get a pair of Kate’s pants on one-handed and dug through a drawer for some socks.
“He’s all right,” Mom said quietly. “As far as any of us can tell, he’s just frightened and not ready to change back. He ran all the way to Caleb’s town and back. That would take a lot out of anyone.”
He hadn’t known his name, but he’d known to run for help. Or maybe he’d just remembered the journey he’d started what seemed so long ago, to bring Caleb to our town, and the promise he’d made then was what had set him back on the path. “Matthew’s in trouble.” My visions had been clear about that much.
“It can wait,” Mom said, though she didn’t sound happy about it.
“If Liza’s visions speak true, it may not be able to wait.” Karin walked around the bed toward me, one hand guiding her along the frame. “And her summoning may be some help. I will go with you, Liza. We will do what we can.”
Caleb frowned at that. So did Allie. “You’re terrible patients,” she said.
Karin laughed. “Knowing us both, did you expect otherwise?”
Allie helped me pull a sweater on over my nightshirt while Kyle lined all the plastic animals up on the dresser in front of me. Somewhere among the blankets he’d found Matthew’s hair tie, and he set that in front of the toys, like a path for them to follow. Caleb searched the drawers, digging out more clothes for Karin.
As I stepped into my boots, I remembered something else I ought not have forgotten. “Caleb, you have to see to Mom, too. Not just because of her wrist. She’s ill again, though she won’t admit it.”
“No, she isn’t.” Allie sounded puzzled. I looked to Caleb. Maybe Allie couldn’t see it, but surely Caleb could. He’d healed Mom before.
Caleb seemed very interested