Mercedes sat up straight. “Seriously?”
He nodded. “It’s simple. Sven and I were among a landing party that had been exploring the Great Lakes. We thought they were the sea. During a bad storm on Lake Ontario, we got tossed to its southern borders. We travelled inland, looking for help. One by one the party ended up dying until it was just Sven and me. We came to where Harmony Glen sits now and I found your ancestor bound by magic in a clearing. Once she cursed me, I must’ve been screaming in pain, and Sven came to rescue me and got cursed too. She escaped and after we regainedconsciousness, we both went looking for her. It’s when I found her that we got into our altercation that led to the place where I spilled her blood. I did try to chase her farther, but learned I can’t go too far before I start to rot.”
“Oh, that’s horrible.”
Magnus shrugged again. “It could be worse.”
“How could it be worse?” she asked in disbelief.
“I could be scared of cocks like Finn.”
Chapter
Seven
Mercedes choked on the coffee. “Wait…he’s scared of what?”
Like, if he was truly scared of that, how did he deal with his own package?she wondered.
Magnus’ red eyes were twinkling with humor. As he grinned, she could make out a single dimple in his cheeks. “Roosters, crows, and chickens. It’s a glashtyn thing. It’s a lot funnier to tell people he’s afraid of cocks though, right?”
That was the sense of humor she fell for in the texts.
She chuckled. “Okay, that makes much more sense. I was trying to figure out…never mind what I was trying to figure out.”
“Sorry, it’s just too funny not to say cock.”
“I’m sure Finn appreciates that immensely.”
“No, not really.” He leaned back. “Tell me about the ghosts.”
“What would you like to know? It’s kind of hard to sum them up as a whole, they do have personalities and feelings. I mean, they were once people.”
“Any monster ghosts in the house?”
“No. All were human. All I’ve met so far, that is.”
Except one. The one that didn’t particularly like her much didn’t feel human. She hadn’t had a chance to figure out thatghost, or whatever it was yet, but the other spirits were quite vocal and excited about being seen.
“Well, that’s a bit disappointing.”
“Why?”
“Hoping for some old friends,” Magnus sighed sadly.
“Maybe be happy they’ve moved on?”
He nodded. “I am. Still, how much fun would it be to have a monster ghost or something?”
“Your ghosts do want to be taken seriously. They’re just there waiting in limbo until they can move on.”
“Can you interact with them?”
She nodded. “I can. I can touch the ethereal plane. Actually, my first boyfriend was a ghost.”
His eyes widened, but there was also a moment she caught something like, maybe jealousy flash across his face? Whatever it was, lasted only a moment. “Oh, really?”
She nodded. “Yep. I do try to keep the fact that I commune with the afterlife to myself, though.”