Russel was waiting for me when I returned to Dragon Tower.

"Well?" he asked.

"If you want to know about the duel thing, yes there was one. And yes, I agreed to it."

He was grinning, "I'm a little surprised he went for it."

"What exactly is the story there? I would have guessed this was more of a Salamander thing to do."

"Probably. We were talking and he wanted to learn how to duel better and he seemed interested when I flirted."

"If both of you are happy, do whatever you want. None of my business."

"You know, just because you aren't that interested you can still go do things. Like dances or whatever."

"Probably. It's just… I don't know. It's hard to convince myself when I don't think I'm missing out on much."

Dances were for other people. The ones who wanted to spend the night in the arms of someone. Loud noises and I didn't get along either. There were just too much of…everything. And that wasn't me. I wasn't interested in crowds and strangers.

Small crowds were far more my thing. I'd rather be with people I already knew and with everyone having the same expectations. Maybe that was too much to ask, but I could still try.

"If you're okay with that."

"I think I am. Life's got a lot of different options for everyone, and an option may just not be for everyone."

Russel laughed, "Is there just a box of fortune cookies in your room?"

"You should meet my dad, he's worse."

"Maybe. You're out by Boston, right?"

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"About half an hour away."

"Please tell me you don't live in Salem."

"Not quite. Close enough to visit though."

Russel laughed harder.

I didn't know if Mom knew anything about the history between Massachusetts and witches before deciding to settle there with Dad, but she seemed to embrace it more than be afraid of it.

You'd think she'd run out of ideas, but every year she found a different witch or sorceress to dress as.

"Halloween must be a riot with you guys," Russel said with a giggle.

"You are not ready for a Stewart Halloween. Our neighbors hate it." So much glitter. And pumpkins.

"That a promise or a threat?"

"Yes."

He looked like I'd promised him a trip to a candy store. Then again the seance we held was his idea, Halloween being his favorite holiday too would make sense.

I doubted the others knew anything about Halloween. Maybe we could introduce them to it. Just to see what happens.

"Fantastic. I'll see you later then," Russel said as he waved and went out the door. The others were all busy this weekend. Between the Chaser team and being with Angelina, Celica didn't have a lot of time on weekends. Jarec was…doing Jarec things.

But that was fine. Tomorrow I was going to be stuck in a meeting most of the day.

I watched the door close and took a deep breath. The exercise with Vivian had made me tired, but it wasn't the bone deep exhaustion I'd gotten used to.

Maybe it was a sign of getting better.

I could only hope.

The pain wasn't so bad, but it was insistent. Like someone had stabbed me and just left the icicle in. Which was rude. I didn't want to be in the same room with him, but if I ever met Dearil Merripen I was getting my revenge. Somehow.

I went downstairs, maybe some tea would settle my nerves a bit.

I opened the cabinet and looked at my options.

The ceiling above me rumbled.

"What, is this about the thing with the knocking on the wall? I don't think me messing with stuff when the others aren't here is a good idea. One, the curse could make something go haywire and two, it doesn't exactly seem fair. I'll talk to them about it tonight."

It rumbled again. It sounded more like an agreement.

It was hard to argue with my history. The long list of things that hadn't worked as intended spoke for itself. I scratched at my left wrist where the curse was. The scars and spot of skin that was invulnerable. The eye shaped mark of the curse left behind by the grandfather I'd never met.

I hated it and desperately wanted it gone.

"I'm not scared," I told M. "I'm just playing it cautious. I don't trust that the curse isn't going to make my life harder than it has to be."

A pause of silence as I pulled the mint down followed by the green tea and lemon.

"I'm being ridiculous, I know. But…Am I wrong for being worried?" I put the leaves in the top and listened for the steam. I glanced at the wall in question.

It looked just like the rest of the walls.

Messing with ancient secrets by myself with even telling anyone was a bad idea. It was twice as terrible when I could barely defend myself on a good day. I hadn't succeeded in doing that once so far.

Not that I thought M would push me outright towards danger, but…

Just because something wasn't supposed to be dangerous, didn't mean that it was safe.

But I wasn't alone in this, none of us were. And that was okay.

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