After our initial greetings and introductions, Willow and I had hiked around the yard so the Boys could have Nessa to themselves. The yard around the dilapidated but storybook-style cottage was mostly a tangle of wildflowers, vines and errant tree roots. Willow knew the names of all the birds, and she could even tell me the scientific names of some of the creepy crawly critters. We managed to fill the time getting to know each other. We'd both had very different lives, but at the same time, we were both part of worlds that were far outside the normal. And now we had something big in common. Both of us had had our hearts stolen by one of the notorious Boys of Wynter. Of course, Willow was in a much more sturdy relationship with Stryker. I was still unsure just how steady things were between Maximus and me. All I knew was that my secret crush on him had bloomed into an insatiable love.

By the time we climbed the back stoop to the kitchen, Nessa was busy slicing up peach pie and topping it with ice cream. There was a good fifteen minutes of pie inhalation where the only sounds in the kitchen were the sighs of satisfaction.

"Wow, wow, wow, best peach pie ever." I put the fork down.

Nessa had the fine lines and white hair and whole grandma package, delicious pie included, but there was no missing that magical twinkle in her eyes. And her devotion to the Boys was evident with every smile and touch. You could even hear it when she was busy scolding them about spending too much time in Jemma's bar.

Nessa reached over and squeezed Maximus's hand. "It so nice having the Trouble Troop back sitting around my table." She looked at Willow and me. "I can tell you every white hair on my head came from these four. In my long years as a caretaker, I raised six different sets of Boys, but these four were my favorite. Rowdy as they were, each had a quality that made them extra special." Nessa's slightly clouded eyes sparkled when she looked at Flint. "Flint was the smartest kid to ever walk through my door. It always made me sad to think he wouldn't go on to become a world famous scientist. He was always inventing things."

"Still do," Flint muttered just before he plowed a forkful of pie into his mouth. "My banshee earplugs would make me a millionaire if people in the real world needed a way to drown out banshee screams."

Nessa turned to Wilder and I could almost hear a breath of pride as she looked at him. "My beautiful picture of a boy, Wilder. The quietest of the bunch but still just as rambunctious as the rest." Nessa turned to me. "If you want a cool head in a hot situation, that's Wilder. Oh, the crush my Danique had on him. She'd throttle me now for bringing it up, but Danique thought the universe rotated around Wilder."

Wilder lifted his palms. "Doesn't it?"

Nessa rolled her eyes before they landed on Stryker. "Stryker was the problem solver. If things got out of control, that's when Stryker was at his best. Isn't he just wonderful?" she asked Willow, who heartily agreed. "I'm so glad he found someone to make his heart whole."

Nessa turned to Maximus. "And then there is my beautiful blond boy who could down an entire pork roast all on his own. Even at the age of ten, Maximus was bigger and stronger than any full-grown man on the island. But he never abused that physical power. He could easily have used it to bully or intimidate people, but he was too good natured for that." Nessa took hold of my hand. "I'm sure you've already discovered that about him. There is no one more filled with courage than Maximus."

My throat grew tight as I looked at Maximus. It was obvious Nessa's gushing compliments made him a little uneasy, but she was right about all of it. "I've never met anyone like him," I said quietly.

"You mean anyone who could eat an entire pork roast on his own?" Wilder picked up the last piece of pie and put it on his plate as Maximus looked on with longing.

Nessa caught the exchange. She patted Maximus's arm. "You don't think I baked just one pie for you four? Max, you could finish a whole pie on your own when you were only eight years old." She looked at me. "And he did too. Stole it off the windowsill and slipped away with the darn thing. When he returned with an empty pie tin, these guys were waiting for him with the last of my eggs."

Maximus rubbed his chest. "Oh yeah, forgot about that. Stryker nailed me so hard, I had a welt on my chest for days. But still, the pie was worth a little egging. Danique totally outplayed you guys too. She'd filled another pie tin with the whipping cream Nessa had made for the pie. She smashed it in my face and then ran screaming out the door, afraid I was going to get her back."

"I'll get that second pie." Nessa had a hard time standing. She said the cancer had slowed some, but it made her weak and tired all the time. Because Nessa was only half witch, she was not immortal. She was stronger and probably able to fight off cancer a lot longer than a mortal woman, but it seemed the ravages of the disease were taking their toll. And it was obvious from the expressions around the table that her loss was going to be significant to all of them. As Maximus had mentioned to me on the trip to the island, Nessa was the only mother they'd ever had.

Stryker stood up from the chair. "I'll get the other pie, Nessa. You sit."

"How is Danique?" Wilder's question made Nessa smile.

"I wondered when you were going to ask that." Nessa reached forward and turned her tea cup between her hands. "To tell you the truth, I'm worried about her." Nessa stared down at the blue and white china cup in her hands. "Danique never forgave me for letting you four get taken off the island. She somehow thought I could have stopped it from happening. I was never really able to explain to her why it happened. After that night, our relationship was never the same. And then when she went off to that prep school and college, I hardly ever saw her. She's taken up with some man who is a big shot lawyer in the city. I've never met the man, but I don't like him. I think he's all wrong for Danique. She always sounds upset when she calls. We talk now more than ever, mostly because she knows I'm dying and our time together is coming to an end." That last sentence sent a quiet, sad lull around the table.

Stryker placed the pie in front of Nessa. She smiled brightly. "Oops, looks like we need another round of pie. Put your plates forward if you want seconds."

All four men slid their plates across the table in unison, which made Nessa laugh. "Some things never change. Except, of course"—she tilted her head toward me—"Trex, the ferryman. Just like everyone else, I assumed Trex was an immortal with a hideously disfigured face. Who knew a whole family of fishermen . . . and women were standing behind that veil." She dropped hefty slices of pie on each plate as she spoke. "Did you boys want ice cream this second round?"

That question earned her a chorus line of lifted brows.

"I'll get the ice cream." Flint pushed out of his chair.

Nessa wiped her hand on her napkin and sat back. "Maximus mentioned there's something going on and it involves a witch. Vapour is trying to cause chaos outside the realm?"

I leaned forward, deciding the men had their mouths too full of pie and ice cream to talk. "My father was kidnapped and taken to a cave in Vapour's realm. Maximus saved him."

"That's my Max." Nessa reached over to the pie plate and cut him another slice, which he gladly accepted.

"When my father was held captive, a hunched over figure in a hood and veil, just like the one we wear on the ferry, came in to cut a piece of his hair and scrape skin from the inside of his cheek."

"Walt said the hooded barber was wearing a silver ring with a three sided knot. Like the one you have on your dresser." Maximus managed to add in over bites of pie.

"Then he was definitely being visited by a member of the witch's realm. Hair and cheek samples?" Nessa sat back in thought and sat forward quickly. "We used to call it the Frankenstein spell because it brought dead people back to life."

Flint wiped the side of his mouth with his thumb. "But we think Vapour is using it on the souls in his realm. We are sure one of the creatures we met up with was an infamous serial killer from the nineteenth century."

"Oh my," Nessa said. "If he's using the damaged souls who were sentenced to his realm, then he's releasing some of the most dangerous creatures the world has ever seen, even when they were mere mortals." Her face paled and she fanned herself.

I reached for her hand. "Nessa, are you all right?"

"Yes, yes I'm fine. It's just shocking to hear that some witch has stooped low enough to help Vapour with such a plot. Although, if I'm completely honest with myself, I know at least three who would, indeed, stoop so low."

Nessa fanned herself again. Willow got up to get her a glass of water.

"Sometimes this island heats up like it's located at the equator. Does Feenix know what's going on, or is he too preoccupied with his nymphs to notice?" Willow handed Nessa the glass and she took hold of Willow's hand. "No disrespect to your people, my dear. You know how highly I think of you."

Willow squeezed her hand. "Of course, Nessa."

Occasionally one of the nymphs who lived with Feenix wandered down to the river. They were all lovely, but Willow was far beyond them in beauty and grace. I had never come face to face with an angel, but something told me those qualities came more from her angel half.

Flint had already finished his piece of pie. He put down his fork and sat forward. "Tell us more about this spell, Nessa. How do we destroy these creatures? Are they even destructible?"

"This spell is so rarely used." Nessa rubbed her chin in thought. "Flint, go to my bedroom and bring the leather bound book from the trunk at the foot of my bed." She reached into her apron and pulled out a long skeleton key that looked rusted and worn as if it had been around for centuries.

Flint took the key and headed down the hallway.

"I have only heard of this macabre spell being used two times, and both times were to bring back a loved one. And from what I heard, it didn't go well either time. The people who were brought back to life had taken on very different qualities. They were angry and violent, a monstrous version of the original."

"How did they get rid of them?" Maximus asked.

Nessa shook her head once. "I'm not sure how those mishaps ended."

Flint returned and placed an ancient-looking leather bound book in front of Nessa. She pulled a pair of reading glasses from her apron and flipped through several sections. You could almost smell the dust from previous centuries as she turned the pages over. Her gnarled fingers trailed down several pages as she skimmed the words. From my angle, I could see that most of the passages had illustrations and each was written by hand.

Nessa pushed her glasses up higher on her nose. "Here is the spell and someone has written in the margins 'spell caster beware'. This means that the results are not always what you expect."

"Seems like Vapour is getting exactly what he expected," Stryker noted. "What does it say about reversing the spell?"

Nessa's finger moved back and forth as she read. "It says the spell can last anywhere from two days to two years." She laughed, and it was a good, chalky laugh. The kind you'd expect from a woman who had seen and done it all. "I guess that's a rather broad range of time."

"Rather," Wilder repeated. "Does it say anything about reanimated souls? They could be a whole other problem."

Nessa closed the book and rested her trembling hands on top of it. "Well, I'm afraid I haven't been much help, but I can add in some of my own theories based solely on experience and the nuggets of brain I still have left up in this old noggin of mine. It seems to me, souls are a vulnerable entity in themselves. Obviously the spell has made them corporeal again, something a normal soul lacks. But I would venture to guess that those newly restored physical bodies are not as solid and strong as they were when the creature was a live human being."

"That's good to know," Maximus said. "Maybe we can just pound them into oblivion. Might actually be fun. Hell, who am I kidding? It would be amazing."

Nessa lifted her finger to make a point. "You need to let me finish, Max. I would also venture to guess that they are far less mortal because they have, in essence, already died. And you can't lose something you've already lost."

None of this was sounding good. "It seems like that would also make them fearless."

"I'm afraid Rikki is right," Nessa said. "They know they have the upper edge because they have already died."

"One thing I've noticed after ferrying souls across the river for these past few months is that souls hate to be cornered. They are like frantic cats with their hair straight up on end when they get trapped. I've had Steemer step on board. His massive size and weight tilts my boat." I nodded toward Maximus. "Even more than the human anchor here. I make Steemer sit in the center of the deck so that the weight is even. But when he sits there, he ends up walling off all the souls sitting along the starboard side. They always enter the ferry on edge, but when they feel like they're trapped between Steemer's massive bulk and the ferry railing, they go, quite simply, berserk. They start clawing each other. They even try to climb over the railing to return to that horrid river. I don't know why I brought it up. Probably doesn't help much in this situation."

I sat back with my lips sealed shut again, almost wishing I hadn't bothered to mention it.

Maximus thumped his fist on the table. "I think you're on to something, Rikki." He looked at Flint. "Remember when we cornered one of Vapour's creatures in Wynter? He knew he couldn't get past us. We had him trapped."

Flint nodded. "So he just turned into the flames. He wasn't afraid to die because he was already dead. Our lovely little ferryman just might have given us a weapon to work with. It's a start anyhow."

Maximus cleared his throat loudly. "One correction. She's my lovely little ferryman."

Nessa winked at me. "Looks like someone has finally melted the iron heart."