The second SUV, an unmarked one, was pulling in as Dani led them to a gate in the fence. As he paused to wait for her to open it, Magnus noted that Teddy and Decker were stopping to wait for the others. He briefly considered waiting as well so that Liam could see that his mother was all right. The boy had been anxious at being separated from her on landing, but it was extremely cold, and Allie was already in a weakened condition. He decided the less time they spent in the cold, the better, and quickly followed Dani through the gate when she held it open for him.
A short sidewalk led to a large deck that started halfway along the back of the house and wrapped around the side. Magnus wasn’t terribly surprised when Liam and Teddy Jr. caught up to them as they mounted the steps to the deck. The boys didn’t say anything; they merely fell into step on either side of him, Liam’s anxious gaze shifting between his mother and where he was going as they crossed the deck.
Magnus had just opened his mouth to assure the lad that his mother would be fine when the sound of a door opening drew his attention.
“Come in, come in. Out of the cold,” a pretty blonde greeted them, smiling in welcome as she held the door open.
“Oh, Mabel, hello,” Dani sighed, pausing briefly to hug the woman before leading the way past her and into the house.
Magnus nodded in greeting as he led the two boys inside, and then found himself entering a kitchen with an L-shaped counter that he followed Dani around to make room for the others now trooping into the house. A dining area was situated past the kitchen, separated only by the counter, and Dani led himself and the boys to stand next to the table before stopping, and turning back to look Allie over briefly.
“How long until the sedative wears off?” Magnus asked.
“Not for hours,” Dani assured him. “Which is fine—she needs the rest.”
He nodded in agreement and then the sound of creaking wood caught his ear. They were standing almost under a large archway into a spacious entry with double doors on one end and a curving staircase at the other. The creaking was someone descending the wooden staircase, he realized as a redhead hurried down to join them.
“Dani, love.” The newcomer enfolded Dani in a warm and welcoming embrace, rocking her slightly from side to side. “It’s been too long, dear.”
“Only since last summer, Elvi,” Dani protested as she hugged her back.
“As I said, too long.” The woman Magnus now knew must be Elvi Argeneau smiled at him over Dani’s shoulder, and then pulled back to tell Dani, “Steph should be down in a minute. She has been excited ever since she heard you were coming.”
“Oh, I—” Dani began, and then paused as a squeal drew their attention to a young woman bounding down the stairs at speed. She was almost a carbon copy of Dani except that her blond hair was up in a ponytail. Dani’s sister, Stephanie, was Magnus’s guess, and he watched with interest as she rushed to them and threw her arms around the doctor with another happy squeal.
“Dani, Dani, Dani! I was so happy when they said you were coming too.” Stephanie pulled back to eye her in question as she added, “But I can’t believe you were willing to take time off work to do it. You never do that.”
“Well, Allie needed help, and it meant getting to spend some time with you, so . . .” Dani shrugged and then kissed the young woman on the cheek. “It’s good to see you, sis.”
“Good to see you too,” Stephanie chirped, and then glanced around, her expression becoming concerned as it landed on Allie. Releasing Dani, she crossed to peer down at her, murmuring, “This is her?”
“Allison Chambers,” Dani said quietly before Magnus could respond. Moving to join them, she added, “She’s had a rough time of it the last couple of days and needs a blood transfusion.”
“She’s had a rough time of it for most of her life,” Stephanie said, her voice somewhat distracted and her eyes pulsing with a glow that brightened and then darkened before brightening again. “But she’s given up everything for . . .” Pausing, she turned and stared past Magnus and then smiled and breathed, “Liam.”
Magnus turned to see the boy standing a couple of steps back with Teddy, watching them with interest, and then Teddy nudged Liam and said, “That’s Stephy. She’s weird sometimes, but cool. You’ll like her.”
“Yep, that’s me. Weird but cool Stephy,” Stephanie chuckled, the glow fading from her eyes as she stepped forward and offered her hand to Allie’s son. “A pleasure to meet you, Liam. Your mom is going to be fine. My sister will make her well, Magnus will make her like us, and you’ll never again have to worry about losing her. The two of you won’t have to run anymore either. It’s all going to work out.”
“Promise?” Liam asked, his expression serious.
“Cross my heart,” Stephanie assured him. “I may be weird, but I’m never wrong.”
“Weird’s okay,” he assured her, accepting her hand and shaking it. “Mom says she’s weird too. I like weird.”
“Well, now that that’s settled,” Elvi said lightly. “Magnus, Liam, I’m Elvi Argeneau. Welcome to my home.”
Liam stepped forward and offered his hand, saying politely, “Hello, ma’am. Thank you for having us.”
“You’re more than welcome,” Elvi assured him, and then asked, “Would you like to see the room where you and your mom will be staying? That way we could tuck her in and let her rest.”
“Yes, please, ma’am,” Liam said softly. “Mrs. Tricia says Mom needs her rest.”
“That she does,” Elvi said solemnly, and took his hand, then smiled at Magnus and gestured for him to follow before turning to lead Liam to the stairs, saying, “Your mom’s done a fine job with you, young man. You’re very polite.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Elvi.”
“You’re welcome,” Elvi said, and then called out, “Teddy, are you coming too? The girls are watching movies in the upper porch and you can take Liam there after he sees where he’s going to sleep and where his mom will be.”
“Can I, Mom?” Teddy asked, and Magnus paused at the bottom of the steps to wait.
“Yes. But be good and not too much noise while Liam’s mom is sleeping,” Tricia said firmly.
“Okay,” Teddy called, barely waiting for her words to finish before rushing past Magnus to latch on to Elvi’s free hand as she walked up the stairs. It was exactly what Magnus had expected and why he’d paused. So the boy could get past him on the stairs. As he now followed the trio, Elvi announced, “Liam, you and your mother are going to be staying in the tower bedroom.”
“You have a tower?” Liam asked with interest.
“Yes, and that’s where you’re staying.”
“Where am I staying?” Teddy asked.
“In the blue room next door to Liam’s so you can find each other easy in the morning,” Elvi answered promptly.
Magnus smiled faintly as the boys began to chatter excitedly, and then glanced to the side. The stairs curved around on themselves and he was now parallel to the archway, though above it. His gaze landed on Stephanie, who stood in the arch watching him as Dani followed him upstairs. Her eyes were pulsing with that glow again, and he stared at them silently and then turned his face forward again, aware that she wasn’t really seeing him at all. She was seeing into him. He’d encountered an Edentate like Stephanie before. A no-fanger who hadn’t come out of the turn insane, but one with a special gift like Stephanie’s, and it had been a gift . . . and a curse. He hoped Stephanie did better under its burden.