At the thought of Seanna, his jaw tightened. All Gabriel’s life, he’d refused to hate his mother. She wasn’t worth it. Even as a child, he’d tolerated her much as one might tolerate a debilitating condition. Accept that it exists and learn to deal with it, and if it goes away, then count that as a blessing but understand that it might return.

For fifteen years, he’d understood Seanna might return. Then Olivia found proof that she was dead, and Gabriel had finally exhaled. His mother was out of his life forever.

And now, perhaps, she’d come back, and for the first time he felt not just anger, but a lick of something dangerously close to rage. Like a child who wants to stamp his feet and say, “No, no, no!”

You will not come back now, Seanna. You will not. He was inches away from a perfect life, and she would not ruin that. Would not.

“Hey, Lloe.” It took a moment to realize what Olivia was saying. When she called the dog Lloe, it sounded like Thloy, more of a complex exhalation than an actual word. He still struggled with the hound’s full name, which sounded something like Thl-oy-r-gan. When he had to say it, he did so quickly, in hopes speed would cover mispronunciation.

The hound hopped off the fun-house steps. The move was awkward, the cŵn’s joints having never quite healed, but that didn’t stop her from leaping when she saw them. She walked to Olivia and waited for her ear-scratch. Then she looked at Gabriel, and he was never certain whether that look meant she expected the same from him or she was telling him he’d better not try it. Perhaps she was simply acknowledging—with some chagrin—that he was still there.

They started for the exit. Olivia was talking. He listened—he always listened—but it wasn’t the kind of chatter requiring his undivided attention. She wasn’t ready to discuss the vision. She’d be processing that while talking about something inconsequential, perhaps to ensure he wouldn’t broach the subject until she was ready.

It was in that state, listening to her while processing thoughts of his own, that he became acutely aware they were not alone. He looked about.

“Everything okay?” Olivia asked.

He started to say yes automatically. He might encourage Olivia to pursue her preternatural abilities, but he found it difficult to share his own.

“I had the feeling…” He looked around without finishing.

“That someone else is here?”

“You sensed it?”

“I thought I saw someone run behind the kiosks earlier. I figured if you didn’t, it was just a vision.”