Ichabod Crowley series 3 The Thorn Tree

Chapter 14

The Temple of the Eastern Most Pillar
Mexico

Laurie and Vhen arrived to the temple in a gust of wind that immediately dissipated but not without ruffling a few feathers, specifically, throwing Bianca across the room.

"Goddammit!" Bianca fluttered her little plushy wings, "Why always Me!"

"Stop complaining," Medea scolded her, then directed her attention to the pair of new arrivals, "Did you get it?"

"Here," Vhen tossed a plastic baggy across the room and turned away, "Get to work."

"If the errand was beneath her highness..." Medea responded snidely.

"I don't mind being your delivery girl," Vhen cut her off, "I detest being ordered around by someone I don't trust."

The specter gave a barely intelligible grumble while Vhen tucked her legs together and knelt down next to the summoning circle. In the meanwhile, Bianca regained some of her composure and made an intense effort to skirt the both of them while making her way next to Laurie.

"So..." the harpy shuffled closer on her cloth and cotton feet, "How was it?"

"Kinda awkward," Laurie shrugged, "He's got a girlfriend now."

"Seriously?" Bianca couldn't stop herself from laughing, "Shut-in like him?"

"He was outside, mowing the lawn, and this lady was totally flirting with him."

"Ha! Well, good for him, and the, uh, the girl, how was she?"

"Seemed okay, a little rambunctious but, he's beating some manners into her," Laurie tilted her head back, pensively, "Think she plays some kind of sport, he mentioned something about a game."

They sat quietly for a time, waiting for Medea to finish her spell.

"Do you ever think it's kinda weird, I mean, how we've just sort of latched onto Ichabod?" Bianca wondered aloud, "We never really talk about...about her."

"Makes perfect sense to me," Laurie hanged her head in quiet lamentation, "There's a reason we stopped visiting the house when Victor started... " she shook her head, "'Cause you know that would be a pleasant conversation, 'Hi, how are you? By the way you only exist because we were helping your father drug your mom'."

"We didn't have a choice you know..."

"There's always a choice," Laurie whispered, "We were just too scared to leave."

The two bowed their heads in a pensive silence when a loud banging sounded at the door.