Gypsy Rising

Anna staggers out of there, shuddering like she’s also been traumatized. My eyes pass over her, trying to see into the door when it opens, but only catching glimpses of bodies blocking the view.

“What the hell is going on?” I call across the damn—

A chill slinks up my spine, and my eyes dart back over to the redhead in lingerie, as she does some stretches in front of a reflective surface.

“Wh-what the hell is Anna doing here?” I ask, my chest physically aching from the sudden surprise of such a very, very alarming thing. “She’s a dead ghost!”

Vance shoves past me, eyes wide and bewildered, staring at her with the same incredulity.

“Ah, Anna,” Marta says like it makes sense. “She doesn’t like me, so she doesn’t come around me much. She’s afraid I’ll salt her to her third grave. She keeps a safe distance from me.”

Marta makes a face of concentration, her eyes suddenly narrowing, and Arion hisses out a breath. “Move again, and I slice as fast as you can wiggle. Don’t underestimate me again, and don’t make me bloody my daughter’s pretty new floors on the first day she gets to call it home.”

Arion’s holding back, and she knows it. He looks ready to kill, but knows he can’t.

“What do you mean the first day she gets to call it home?” Emit asks as he looks around.

Then I really, really look around. It’s amazing what the passive eye can genuinely gloss over when only a shred of attention is focused.

It looks like a regal hotel from the roaring twenties, if memory serves. From the lavish gold touches, to the delicate fabrics…and all the edges are finished.

“How long were we in that room, exactly?” I ask to no one in particular.

“Just a few hours,” Arion answers absently, as his eyes rake over the fine marble floors.

Marta releases him when she realizes she’s lost his attention.

“Well, aside from occasionally seeking out my daughter, showering in Violet’s suite next to the padded room, and sticking your head out to ask Shera to bring you food, you’ve been in there for five months,” Marta states dryly, and then smirks. “I didn’t even have to suffer much while I waited for you to fuck it up. And you all did it at once, so kudos for doing it in one clean break. Shows you care a little.”

“It’s a hiccup, Marta. She’s not free,” I state dismissively.

Her eyes turn cold. “She’ll not be turned into Idun, or you’ll not live another day. I’ll cut you down every twenty-eight—”

“Not in my house, Mom. Take the alpha threats elsewhere,” Violet calls from across the room, eyes directed solely at Marta, who just huffs in annoyance.

I glance around again, and my brow furrows when I notice the Simpletons congregating in one large room with a giant screen. It’s a theater off to the back. They all have on their wireless headphones as they walk by us, moving toward that room like they’ve had drills just for the occasion. Just as they finish piling in, the intro to the movie starts and the door closes.

“This is supposed to be a good night,” Violet tells us all. “And right now, you’re making it tense for all of them. Please. Go.”

“Violet, we really need to—”

“What, Vance? What do we need to do? Talk? Could have done that yesterday before I broke up with you. Or the day before that. Or the one before that. All you want to talk about is Idun, though. I tried talking about all this,” she says as she gestures around. “All any of you wanted to talk about was Idun. Even your ‘pillow talk’ turned into Idun talk.”

She gives me a pointed look, and I finally realize why she rejected the quickie I tried to steal. It wasn’t because it was a quickie. It’s why I was making it one...

I wish she wasn’t so damn tempting, when she’s prickly. Maybe not quite this prickly, but in general, it’s my favorite mood of hers.

“Not once have you noticed the Michelangelo of five-month jobs. The ornate carvings on the bannisters, or hand-stitched draperies on all these massive windows—things done by all the people in here you walked right by on your way to watch Idun TV in their home.”

Okay, now I’m starting to get worried that she really is breaking up with us. Anna props up beside her, grinning darkly at us.

I don’t like that Anna is magically back. Far too suspicious timing.

Not to mention…she’s a salt pile in a fucking urn.

“Go,” Violet says again.

“Violet, we need to be here if you are. If Idun—”

“I’m not playing Idun’s games, and I’m tired of you trying to drag me into them. While you’ve all been sitting around waiting for her to act so you can react, I’ve been trying to finish my one purpose. The only reason I exist is because of them. That’s heavy, and you’re all watching TV while I do it alone.”

Arion starts toward her, and she lifts a hand, eyes glistening again.

“If you make me cry, I will hate you tonight. Don’t upset me, because I’ll set them off if I start crying. Please don’t do that to them or me. Not tonight,” she says again before turning and walking into the room that has a crying baby.

Fuck’s sake. How much can possibly change in five months?

“Set who off how?” Emit asks in a confused tone as he backs toward the door.