Hold Me Closer, Necromancer - Lish McBride [51]
After the nurse left, Tia clambered out of the bed and headed toward the window. She held the baby up so the crows could see him. She felt a little silly standing there, presenting her child. But she’d rather feel silly than not show them enough respect. She straightened her spine. The crows continued to stare, unmoving. Tia stared back. “I’d like you to meet my new son, Samhain Corvus Hatfield.” She said the words softly, but she knew the birds heard her because once she was done, they took flight. All except that first crow. He let loose a loud caw, then settled down to watch over the baby well after Tia had climbed back into bed.
I looked at the family tree, very detailed except for the blanks. All those empty roots stared back at me.
“You never gave it to him?”
She traced a whorl in the grain of the table with her finger.
“I took Nick’s advice. I never told Kevin about what we were, but it was like he knew somehow anyway. The marriage crumbled after that.”
“Because of me.”
She looked up sharply and gave me a stern look. “Absolutely not. Don’t ever think that, Sam. The marriage failed because there were too many secrets, too much keeping us apart.”
Even though I believed her, my heart still hurt as I pushed the family tree away. I felt like I’d been scooped clean and had my insides replaced with brambles. Every time I twisted around to think, a new thorn would bite into me. So many fresh pains, and I hadn’t even sorted out my old ones yet. So far being a necromancer sucked. Or maybe it was just being me.
The silence stretched between us. Questions bubbled in my head, but none I felt like asking yet. I cleared my throat. “You told me Corvus was a family name.”
“It is. Family Corvidae.” She tilted her head at me. “You never looked it up?”
I’d never felt the need to. I had been operating under the assumption that I was named after some long-dead great-uncle or whatever. Laziness had gotten the best of me. Laziness, and my belief that I could trust my mother. If only I’d Googled my name, I would have found picture after picture of the big, black bird. Still, there are worse things to be named after. I grimaced. “Good thing the hospital didn’t have a pigeon problem.”
She gave me a tiny smile and raised her mug to her lips. “If you’d seen the size of that crow,” she murmured, “you’d have done the same thing.”
13
I Put a Spell on You, Because You’re Mine
“So how did the whole binding thing happen?” I asked. She got up and poured what was left of the hot chocolate into my mug, whether I wanted it or not. She seemed calm, but I could tell that this was hard for her.
I wrapped my hand around the newly warmed cup and thanked her.
“You don’t have to tell me this all now if you don’t want to.” I knew it would be better if she did. Right now, any clue as to what was going on would help. But I couldn’t force any more out of her. Even though I was angry, I didn’t want to hurt my mother.
“No, it’s best to get it all out now.”
It was late at night when Tia woke. She threw back the sheet and slid out of bed. The floor felt cold on her feet. She slid into some slippers and pulled her robe tighter around herself.
The hallway was quiet except for a few rustling noises from the nurses’ station. Tia avoided the station and went straight to the nursery. She should have been surprised to see Nick there, but she wasn’t. He looked a little healthier. He’d gotten some sun, though he was still too pale, and he’d put on a few pounds.
“How’d you get in here so late?” She smiled to soft en the question. “Visiting hours are long over.”
He turned toward her, shoulders relaxing when he saw who it was. “You’d be surprised what talking can accomplish. One quick story about driving all the way