Life After Death

Corryn: ghost mousse

{Corryn}

The rest of the family in the Torninc came down for lunch, and I excused myself to wander the house. As I suspected, Nick shimmered out of a wall and walked with me.

"Mikaela said I could plant whatever I wanted, so long as it was brightly colored," he told me. "And then she decides that the only spot that I hadn't done anything wild needed some violets. It's my grounds."

"You're her estate," I replied. "I thought she might be shouting at you. Mikaela's not so insane that she shouts at inanimate objects."

"Well, I may have been not listening to her," Nick admitted. "But she told me that I could do what I wanted. From up above, that white spot is the eye for a dragon. The Torninc and the grounds all form a huge, winged dragon. Isn't that neat?"

"Did you tell her this?" I asked.

"It was going to be a surprise," he grumbled. "Now she's mad at me and I'll have to apologize and fix the damn daisies."

"You could do white violets," I suggested. "Is that all you've been up to? Sculpting dragons out of flowers?"

"Well, I can't do much more around here," Nick pointed out. "Half of you boys have moved out. It's boring here."

"Three is not half," I replied. "And I'm definitely not one of 'you boys'."

"Dagonet is never here, Hazel's never here and you, Gawain, Parsifal and Lionel are all moved out." Nick opened a door to the observatory and stepped inside, looking up at the clouds above us. And here I thought we were on the first floor. "And when Dagonet is here, he's working in his lab with change magic, and I couldn't monitor him if I wanted to."

"He's still working with it?" I sat on a bench, watching Nick pace in front of me.

"His defense is that he hasn't found a cure for Galahad yet," Nick replied. "You've seen him; his hair is already darkening, his temper is more volatile. He's not the same as he was even three years ago."

"And he's been researching longer than that," I mused. "I'll talk to Guinevere and Gawain. Maybe one of them can talk some sense into that boy. I'm worried about him. Anything else going on in the Torninc? No other problems?"

"Full moon was two nights ago," he pointed out. "Galahad is getting worse. He pulled one of my doors off its hinges. One of the twins turned him into a gerbil before he could go anymore damage. But it was very frightening for a moment."

"Why isn't Quinn's ring working any more?" I questioned. "Isn't that the whole point of the ring?"

"It's full," Nick said. "It doesn't affect Galahad in any of his appearances, but it's full. Giving it to Mordred means that he has more change magic to access. That's not a good thing."

"Mordred?" I laughed. "Is that Mikaela's contribution?"

"You think all the boys' names are funny," Nick pointed out.

"All of the boys names come from one human book," I said. "It's about a king and his knights and all of their deeds to protect the kingdom. And all of those knights? They are now Mikaela's sons."

"You'll have to find me this book," Nick told me. "Or I'll ask Mikaela for it. Sounds interesting."

"So I need to talk to Gawain and Guinevere about Dagonet, research more about Galahad, and see how we can release the change magic out of that ring," I summarized. "Safely. Does Quinn know?"

Nick stopped pacing for a moment, and looked uneasy. "Not that it's dangerous," he said. "Only that it doesn't work. Mikaela and Juliet are afraid of what could happen to the ring if Galahad finds it or Dagonet is allowed to experiment with it."

"Sounds fair," I agreed. "Are they almost finished with lunch?"

"Not at all," Nick told me. "You want to find some dessert?"

But before I could protest, Nick grabbed my wrist, pulled me up from the bench, through several walls and ceilings to emerge next to the oven. My brother was stirring something on the stovetop, but turned when he heard Nick.

"You let my brother in the kitchen?" Ryon asked skeptically. "You know he's a terrible cook?"

"Compared to you, sure," I replied. "But I'm not terrible. I have survived."

"I'm looking for your chocolate mousse from yesterday," Nick interrupted. "Have you seen it?"

"I don't know why you're asking me, it's your refrigerator," Ryon pointed out.

"Out of politeness," Nick told him. "You may have another purpose for the chocolate mousse."

"Only that it is to be eaten." Ryon watched Nick as the boy carefully unwrapped the bowl and held his hand over it. It shimmered for a moment and then vanished.

"It wasn't supposed to do that," he admitted. He snapped his fingers and the mousse reappeared. "There."

It was the ghostly form of a chocolate mousse. I stepped closer to it, almost in disbelief. I knew that Nick had a lot of powerful magic at his disposal, but I hadn't thought how much that meant.

"So you could have done this the whole time I lived here and you didn't?" I demanded. "Don't get me wrong; I'm grateful, but I..."

Nick stuffed a spoon in my open mouth. It was chocolate and though the taste wasn't exactly like the real version, it was heavenly.

"You've said it yourself, faeries are less bothered by you when you're ethereal," Nick pointed out. "So eat your mousse and stop complaining."

With a little reverence, I picked up the bowl and the spoon and found a clean spot to sit on the counter.

"You've found his weakness, Nick," Ryon laughed. "Well done."

"If chocolate mousse is Corryn's only weakness, he must have been formidable indeed," the boy mused. "I wish I had gotten to see how Juliet took him down."

"She didn't play fair," I mumbled over the chocolate. "And Mikaela came back from the dead. I can't be expected to prepare for that."

"You should have met her family," Nick told me. "Staunchly loyal, embarrassingly loud, loved parties and wine." He smiled at the memory. "They were the source of every scandal from the past three hundred years. I loved them."

"Are you telling us that Mikaela was the normal one?" Ryon asked.

"Well, her father was a Seren, but her mother was something different." Nick shrugged. "Affairs were common in this household. Judith is unusual, even by normal standards, however."

"Ryon, this is delicious," I told my brother, who only raised an eyebrow.

"Do I complement spells I know you can do?" he asked me. "Please. Chocolate mousse is a child's dessert."

"Ouch," Nick commented. "How long are you staying?"

"Until Lunete is awake, I suppose," I looked down at the empty bowl, wondering where all the chocolate actually went. I could see through my stomach; so there couldn't be any chocolate there. Still, I was grateful. It wasn't often that I got to eat real food, and though I also didn't need to, I was constantly around kitchens, smelling the food, seeing the dishes.

"Corryn, Lunete is already awake," Nick told me. "Guinevere and Gawain already returned to Donlin."

"They left me?" I asked with dismay. "Now what am I supposed to do?"

"What were you doing before?" my brother countered. "At least here more people around to converse with. I can imagine Lunete takes up most of their time."

"But they... are they really gone?" I questioned.

"Without a second thought," Nick confirmed. "Though I imagine they can just summon you back without too much concern. Can't you take care of yourself?"

"It's not that," I grumbled. "I just don't like being forgotten." I set the bowl down on the countertop next to me. "And anyway, I'm already dead. How could I not take care of myself?"

"Corryn, if you can find some trouble with a day's ride, you leap into it with open arms," my brother remarked. "I'm surprised your ghost has managed this far."

"Thanks a lot, brother."