Waiting For Sunrise - The Books Of Beginning AU

23. Fall Blows In

"Get in! Get in!" Emma yelled over the keening of the wind. Abigail scowled as she came barreling through the doors, followed a couple of others - Ray and Tilly and Filipe. 

"I was gettin' in, no need to shout," Abigail said stubbornly. She wasn't actually mad at Emma, of course, she was just cold, cold and grumpy because the thin fabric of her clothes had been soaked through. Already a small puddle was forming at her feet, which she proceeded to add to by wringing out the waterlogged tips of her two braids. 

It had been just over a week since Emma had thankfully recovered from her bout with Nerii poisoning, and the heat that had lingered over New York City for months had finally broken. The wind whipped through every street, no matter how obscure, and carried with it copious amounts of rain. Fall was coming in fast, and coming in with a storm at that.

The others brushed passed Emma and Abigail and into the belly of the church, leaving a trail of droplets in their wake on their way to deposit their wares. Abigail grimaced as she watched them go.

"Miss B ain't gonna be happy about all the storms. They make thievin' harder and the church more messy and if they get as wild as the one tonight is gearin' up to be, she has to come down from the belfry and move all her work papers."

"I still don't understand why she wants to be up there all the damn time, anyways," Emma replied. She rocked on her heels, waiting for Abigail to remove her muddied boots and leave them against the wall, all polite-like.

"None 'a us do," Abigail said. "But do you wanna be the one to question her?"

Emma thought of Miss B's sharp tongue and steely eyes, her perfect posture and commanding presence, and the way she could tell when Emma was lying almost as well as Kate could. "No way in hell."

"Exactly."

They didn't talk after that, just made their way to storage in comfortable silence, so that Abigail could peel off her wet clothes and put on a fresh blouse and skirt. She came padding back out in her socks and then together, she and Emma linked arms and headed to help count the day's profit. 

"Where's your siblings?" Abigail asked as they strode briskly through the halls.

"Michael's on kitchen duty!" Emma said gleefully. "Ben burned himself on the stove so Addie came and dragged Michael in to help her roast some veggies while he got patched up. I managed to avoid bein' recruited for it, though."

"That's good. I wouldn't wanna eat anything you made, anyways."

"Hey!"

Abigail laughed loudly. "Jus' kidding. How'd you get out of it, though? Addie doesn't take shit from anyone, so I doubt she jus' let you lollygag all day."

"I was already on my way to Rafe's magic lesson," Emma answered.

"Oh, right," Abigail said. "I forgot you had class today. How'd it go?"

Emma's face split into a full blown grin. "I finally did the candle lighting spell in one go!" 

"You did! That's great!" Abigail practically jumped out of her skin and onto the other girl, engulfing her in a tight hug. Emma squeezed back with all her might.

"I know! Rafe said I was real good today."

"I knew you'd get the hang of this magic thing eventually," Abigail said. "Mark my words, Emma, you an' me are gonna be fantastic witches someday. We're gonna run the whole of Manhattan."

"Damn right," Emma agreed. "Eat your hearts out Jake an' Beetles!"

The pair burst into giggles, pulling each other down the hallway and into the main area. They made their way to the place where the day's take was being counted, the place where an altar had once been placed. Four or five kids, most of them with hair a little wet from the rain, were sorting through everything, supervised by Kate as they did so. Emma pulled her hand from Abigail's and dashed over to embrace her elder sister.