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Phoebe bit into Marcus’s flesh, and her mouth was flooded with the scent-taste of heaven—of thewithin her, the notes echoed in his heart’s slow cadence
Evermore
Marcus’s thoughts and feelings coursed through her veins like quicksilver, a flash of light and fire that brought a kaleidoscope of i with it There were too e never mind absorb It would take her centuries to understand the tales that Marcus’s blood told
Ever
But there was one constant in the endless changing barrage of information: Phoebe herself Her voice, as Marcus heard it Her eyes, as Marcus saw them Her touch, as Marcus felt it
Phoebe heard her own heart answer his, the harmony perfect
Evermore
Phoebe lifted her head and looked into Marcus’s eyes, knowing that he would see himself reflected in hers
Evermore
37
A Fence Against the World
13 AUGUST
“My God, that’s a griffin!” Chris Roberts stood in the doorway to the kitchen in New Haven, holding a birthday cake and staring at Apollo
“Yes, he is,” I said, taking a tray of roasted vegetables from the oven “He’s called Apollo”
“Does he bite?” Chris asked
“He does, but I have soets anxious” The bottle in my pocket was filled with layers of different-colored blue liquids I took it out and gave it a shake “Come, Apollo”
Apollo obediently bounded over
“Good boy” I pulled the stopper on the bottle and dabbed a bit of liquid on the griffin’s forehead and its breastbone
Ardwinna stalked by with her bone She gave Chris a sniff, then settled down to gnaw on it
“And what the hell is that?” Chris demanded
“A dog She’s my birthday present from Matthew—a Scottish deerhound Her name is Ardwinna”
“Ard—whatta? Willa?” Chris shook his head and studied the gangly puppy, as all legs and eyes at theout all over her “What’s wrong with her? She looks like she’s starving”
“Hello, Chris I see you’ve met Ardwinna and Apollo” Matthew had Philip by the hand The an to dance around hiible Based on those I understood, he was telling Chris about his summer
“Blocks Granny Boat Marcus,” Philip said, reeling off the high points while he hopped in place “Jack Griff’n Gaie”
“Deerhounds are supposed to look that way,” I said, trying to answer Chris’s question “And don’t you dare give her a nickname Ardwinna is perfect, just as she is”
Ardwinna looked up from her bone when her na her attention to her treat
“Chris!” Becca bellowed, barreling through the house like a Tas herself at Chris’s knees
“Whoa Easy there Hello, Becca Did you miss me?”
“Yes” Becca was squeezing Chris so tightly I was afraid she ht cut off his circulation
“Me, too” Philip bounced up and down like an energetic tennis ball Chris high-fived him, which pleased my son to no end
Matthew divested Chris of the cake, which et for more of Becca’s attention
“Up!” Becca de her ar
“Please,” Matthew said auto for the bottle of wine on the table
“Pleeeeaaaassseee,” Becca said in a wheedling tone
I was going to go stark raving , though, Matthew kissed me
“Let’s settle for exaggerated courtesy tonight,” Matthew said when he was through “Beer, Chris?”
“Sounds good” Chris looked around at our new house “Nice place A bit gloohten it up a bit”
“We’d have to ask our landlord first It belongs to Marcus,” I said “He thought it would be a good place for the twins, now that they’re bigger”
Since Apollo arrived, it had beco family would not fit into my old place on Court Street We needed a backyard—not to mention better laundry facilities Marcus had insisted we use his sprawling mansion near campus while we looked for a place that was a little farther away from the hustle and bustle of New Haven, somewhere the children and animals could run It was not precisely our style Marcus had bought it in the nineteenth century when formality had been in fashion There was carved wood everywhere you looked, and more downstairs reception rooms than I knehat to do with, but it was fine for now
“Miriam hates this house, you know” Chris’s lips curved up at the mention of Phoebe’sthat Matthew and I speculated about endlessly
“She doesn’t have to live here, then,” I said tartly, feeling a bit defensive on behalf of our new home
“True If she does coot plenty of room” Chris took a sip of beer
I looked at my husband in triue I planned on collecting it as soon as Chris left
“Has anyone seen the box with the cutlery in it? I’ed around in the piles by the sink
Chris reached into the box nearest to him and produced a spoon “Ta-da!”
“Yay you! Magic!” Philip bounced up and down
“No, sport, just an old Boy Scout trick: open boxes, look in boxes, find stuff Simple” Chris handed Philip his spoon and looked at Matthew andto know that word?”
“We no longer think so,” I said, stirring some bits of raw meat into Philip’s beet puree
“Short of spellbinding, there is no way to keep the twins away froic away from the twins,” Matthew explained “Philip and Becca don’t fully understand what ic is—yet—or the responsibilities that come with it, but they will In time”
“Those children will be spellbound over odparents, so you can take that as a serious threat”
“Only Baldwin thought it was a good idea,” I assured him
“That guy has got to learn to relax,” Chris said “Now that I’ht, and have to talk to him occasionally, I’ve learned he has no life outside of what he thinks is his duty to his father’s memory”
“We talked a lot about fathers and sons this suhters, too In the end, even Baldwin caic, well, story tiers in the air in an iic
“You ic in front of theriffin yours? Did you conjure him up for the children to play with?”
“No, he belongs to Philip” I looked at ic-wise And a pro witch, too”
“And how did you get Apollo here?” Chris said, concerned only with the practicalities, not the bigger question of how ain New Haven “Does he have his own passport?”
“It turns out you can’t send a griffin on conant “I checked both cat and bird on the form, and they just returned it to me and told me to correct my mistakes”
“Sore subject,” Matthew murmured to Chris, who nodded in sympathy
“We could get Ardwinna onto a plane, and she’s twice his size I don’t see e couldn’t just srumbled
“Because he’s a griffin?” Chris said I glared at hiestion” e bit into Marcus’s flesh, and her mouth was flooded with the scent-taste of heaven—of thewithin her, the notes echoed in his heart’s slow cadence