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“Yes. The Celts viewed them as harbingers from Otherworld.”
Gun glanced at me. “Do you think the stag is delivering a message to someone in Fairhaven?”
“I think it’s more likely he was drawn here by the otherworldly energy,” I said. Between the crossroads and the Falls, there was no shortage of magical power.
“Someone should guide him back through the crossroads before a random hunter shoots him.” Camryn stood and began to clear the empty plates from the table.
Gun ran his napkin across his mouth. “Gee, thanks for that lovely image.”
Camryn’s scream split the air.
Gunther nearly knocked over his chair in his effort to escape the visitor. “Dear gods, what is that thing?”
I jumped to my feet and immediately spotted the five-fingered problem. The greenish hue and decomposition marks didn’t help the fact that the hand was moving without a body. “Everyone, this is Claude. Claude, these are my friends, Gun and Cam.”
Gun’s upper lip curled. “I know you’re fond of naming objects, but this might be a bridge too far.”
“Claude isn’t an object. He’s a revenant.”
The hand scurried up the spindled leg and came to rest on the table.
“Hey, buddy,” I greeted him. “What’s the matter? Did Timmy fall down the well again?”
Camryn glanced at the mousse on the counter. “I’ve lost my appetite.”
I patted the hand. “Claude saved my life.” The revenant appeared at Bone Lake during the kulshedra battle, dragged me out of harm’s way, and then disappeared into the woods.
“I thought revenants were extinct,” Gunther said.
“Not this one. He showed up out of the blue.”
“Where’s the rest of him?” Cam asked.
“Good question.” I looked at Claude. “Where’s the rest of you?”
He pointed east.
Gun reluctantly returned to his seat. “That hand has seen better days. It looks like the castoff of a dismembered ghoul.”
Claude responded by raising his middle finger.
“Why are you such a misfit magnet?” Cam asked.
The term had upset me as a child—along with weirdo, different, freak—but the truth was that I would never be like everybody else, no matter how hard I tried. Such was the life of a goddess reborn.
Claude whipped toward Camryn and crouched in a menacing position.
Gun laughed. “I think he’s defending your honor, Lorelei.”
“Why are you here?” I asked the hand.
Claude swiveled to face me.
“I don’t think he’s willing to tell me in mixed company,” I said.
Camryn lingered by the sink. “Then he should’ve waited for your guests to leave instead of barging in here.”
“He’s a revenant. Manners fell by the wayside a long time ago. Claude, would you mind waiting for me in the parlor room?” As the revenant scrambled across the floor, I spotted a black item he’d left behind. Unfortunately, Gunther saw it first and pounced.
