The Tales and Tellings of Hallows' Grove (MLM)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE.

                Henry had stopped at the police station to tell Charlie about the charm he'd found, and Charlie had taken the book with a grim nod and a promise that he would "fix it by morning."

"Aren't you worried your shop's going to close?" Edward asked, staring at the Potions & Candles sign through the window and rain. "You're never there anymore."

"I have more important things to think of right now," said Henry.

Edward's frown did not soften. "Henry, I need you to be okay after . . ." he shook his head. "I just need you to be okay."

Though simple enough to say, Henry found he couldn't force the reassurance past his lips. He couldn't tell Edward that he would be okay because it felt like a lie. He briefly thought of himself, maybe a hundred years afterwards, and how his life would return to the same detached thing it was before Edward had come. When he'd been an observer in time and nothing more.

The car trembled, though they were not yet near the forest. Henry tensed and turned to look at Edward when Edward suddenly covered his eyes with his hands, his other arm coming around Henry's shoulders to hold him close. He was freezing.

"Don't look!" he warned. "They're here. So many of them. Don't look, Henry."

Henry clenched his jaw. If he removed Edward's hand now, he would see a corpse with milky-blue eyes. Despite the cold, Henry leaned in close to Edward and murmured, "O-Okay."

Henry gripped the hem of Edward's jacket tightly, his fists curling tighter and tighter until it hurt. The car still trembled, and Henry redoubled his efforts. Finally, what felt like several too-long minutes later, Edward grew warmer and the Hillman Minx stood steady.

Henry could feel the chill disappear around them, the frost melting off the windows, but Edward only hugged him tighter. "They're gone," he breathed into Henry's hair. "They're gone."

Henry straightened slowly, keeping one hand on Edward's jacket as Edward kept a hand in his hair. "They're getting stronger."

"It's more than that," said Edward. "You didn't see their faces, Henry, they were all looking at you. This was personal."

"Vera," Henry deduced. "She must know we're getting close to stopping her."

"But why would any of these people even want to help Vera? They couldn't all have known her in their past life!"

"Wandering souls are wandering for a reason," said Henry. "Very rarely, one will come out actually remembering who they are and what kind of person." At this, he gave Edward a pointed smile. "But most need a purpose. And here they have someone telling them where to go and what to do. Kill the witch."

"They'll have to kill me first," said Edward at once. "Wait, hang on, they already have."

Henry gave a breathless chuckle and Edward's smile faded. "All right?"

"Hm? Yes, mhm, yea."

"Henry?"

"Mm?"

Edward covered Henry's hand with his own. "You're shaking."

Henry looked down and saw that his grip on Edward's jacket was relentless, his knuckles white.

"Sorry," he murmured, started to pull his hand back, but then Edward caught his wrist and held Henry's fingers to his own cheek. He pressed a soft kiss to Henry's palm.