Earthshaker

Chapter 13

Chapter 13At Duke's urging, I went to both funerals. I surprised myself, because I'd thought I'd cried myself out...but I just kept finding more tears. Kept finding new depths in what turned out to be a bottomless pit of sadness.

I probably should have called it quits after the first funeral, to tell you the truth. It was rough, but at least I could fade into the woodwork and mourn in peace, more or less.

The first funeral was the regular "human" one, and it was all about Aggie the local celebrity weather woman. It drew the bigger crowd by far, leaving standing room only at the church and a mob at the cemetery. Lots of notables and fellow celebrities up front, tons of fans and curiosity seekers in the back. Too many phony tears all around; too many insincere tributes from dimpled and square-jawed colleagues I knew Aggie had hated, delivered in strong voices with excellent elocution. News crews shooting the proceedings, whispering into mics flagged with the logos of competing stations. Logos on lapel pins and tie tacks, too; I was surprised they didn't slap a logo on the coffin.

There was a wake afterward at Aggie's favorite watering hole, the one with all the imports and crazy martinis. Would have been nice except for the Aggie highlight reels playing on the five widescreen TVs, reminding me wherever I turned of what I'd lost. Plus the drunks telling stories of what she'd supposedly said and done; I had my doubts about more than a few of them.

By the time I got out of there, I was almost as pissed off as I was sad. The distraction was probably a good thing; I probably should have left it at that instead of going to the second funeral.

But if I hadn't gone, I might not have met the Lady of the Alleghenies. In other words, my next big lead in the case of Aggie's murder.

And everything else, as it turned out.

I'd never been to such a beautiful ceremony, and I doubt I ever will be again. This second funeral, the one for the extraordinary side of Aggie's life, was a fitting tribute to a beautiful soul and a life well-lived.

They held it on a hilltop in the game lands across the county line. Everyone gathered at three in the morning in the deepest dark of night; those who couldn't see in the dark or generate their own light carried flashlights or flickering torches.

We stood in a circle, silent, around a wicker cross. One by one, we stepped forward and draped things of Aggie's over the cross—shirts and jackets and dresses and jewelry. Then, we turned off the flashlights and doused the torches. Plunged into pitch blackness, we hugged each other, one at a time. Wept on each other's shoulders. Strangers embracing in the darkness, sharing sorrow without a word. Without a pretense.

Chills ran up my spine each time I touched someone new. Fresh tears welled up and rushed forth. Each time, I wondered who was there; each time, I wondered if it was her. If it was Aggie, face hidden in the darkness of that moonless night, holding me once last time. In my mind's eye, in my heart, it was her, every time.

After a while, the darkness began to lift. I looked around in the dim twilight before dawn, blinking in amazement. The hilltop meadow was overflowing with extraordinary beings of all description—more of them than I'd ever seen together in one place.

There were men with the horns and legs of goats, women with the wings of swans. Zipping faeries not much bigger than mosquitoes, red-and-black striped salamanders with the eyes of humans. Nymphs looking down from mid-air, gnomes looking up out of burrows. Things made half of ice, half of fire; things made of mist, things covered in fur or leaves or both.

As the sky grew ever brighter, all these remarkable creatures gathered in concentric circles around the cross. Began to sing the most beautiful song I'd ever heard, a song of rising, indescribably potent feeling. I hummed along with it, picking out a few words here and there, a few snatches of phrase—but later, I found I couldn't remember them. They belonged only to that moment in time, and then they were gone.

As the sun finally rose, our song reached its peak—and the birds joined us with their dawn chorus. Out there in the woods, with so many of them everywhere, they drowned us out. For a moment, we held the final note, letting the birds' chirps and whistles and cries swirl around it. Then, all at once, we stopped...and so did the birds.

That was when I felt her. At that moment. As we stood in the meadow and looked around at each other—centaurs gazing at dryads gazing at sirens gazing at goddesses. All of us silent again as the sun rode up on its track, casting beams as if by magic, as miraculous as if we'd never seen them before.

That was when something moved through me. A whisper, a shiver, a dream. Someone moved through me.

And not just me, I could tell. Everyone trembled and smiled at once, swaying and sighing. Transfixed by sheer delight. Looks on their faces you wouldn't expect at any kind of funeral. Looks of pleasure.

Just as the presence left me, I heard words in my ear. Felt warm breath there, too, but when I turned, I saw no one.

Aggie. It must have been Aggie. It couldn't have been, but it must have been. Aggie.

The words echoed in my head. Goodbye, my friend.

Wait! I focused my thoughts on her and tried to ask questions. Desperate questions I needed to answer. Who did it? Who killed you?

But there was nothing. Just silence in my mind, silence all around. She was gone again.

I'm sorry.

Suddenly, then, everyone started moving again. One by one, they stepped or slithered or flew to the cross and took Aggie's things off it. From what I could see, everyone took something different than what they'd brought.

And then, they disappeared into the forest. Drifted away as if they'd never been there at all, leaving me alone in the meadow with Duke and the cross. The last thing draped over it, the final memento of her life, was a silver locket on a chain. Inside was a four-leaf clover.

I slipped it around my neck and turned. Tears streaming down my face.

And that was when I realized Duke and I weren't alone after all. One of them had come back for me. One of the mourners.

A woman with flowing brown tresses and a simple white gown, both dusted with wildflowers. Her face was radiant as she gazed at me, violet eyes glittering in the morning sunlight.

"Ms. Charmer?" Her voice was warm and smooth. Soothing like Duke's. "I'd like to talk to you about Aegle."

"Have we met?" I said.

She nodded. "Don't you remember me? My name is Laurel." She smiled and bowed. "Though I've also been called the Lady of the Alleghenies."

I searched my mind for some memory of her but came up empty. "I'm drawing a blank. You're sure we've met?"

She looked disappointed. Then shrugged it off. "It'll come back to you, I'm sure. Meanwhile, let's talk about Aegle...about Aggie. I know something about the person who's responsible for her death."

I exchanged a quick look with Duke. "Who's that?"

"Me, I'm afraid," said Laurel. "It's me."