Page 21 of Kat Bethel

“You’re like a pushy grandma.” I rolled my eyes at her.

“I am a pushy grandma, dear.”

I chuckled and tossed a fry in my mouth. “If you’re going to make me eat, it’s gonna cost you.”

That made her laugh. “How much?”

“Information. I’m writing a book, and I’m gathering local lore.”

“Dudleytown,” she answered knowingly.

“You’ve done this before,” I teased.

“You don’t intend to go there do you?” Her eyes landed on the scorch marks on the table knowingly.

I clicked my tongue like the idea was inconceivable and casually moved my plate to cover the obvious burn marks. “Of course not.”

“Right.” The word dragged, but I knew she didn’t believe me in the slightest.

“One answer equals one bite of food.”

“You drive a hard bargain.” She smiled.

I put my hand out to shake on it, and she put her soft wrinkly hand in mine. Then I made a show of eating another fry. “What’s there?”

“Some ruins of a settlement.” She shrugged. “A little bad blood and misfortune. Like everywhere else.”

“Fair enough.” Some places were tainted more than others though. “But what’s the story that’s whispered to the children every night to warn them.”

She chuckled at my assessment. “Once upon a time, in England, A Dudley betrayed a king.”

“Shame on him.”

“He was punished for treason, but his family fled here and bought the land.” She hesitated. “Furious, the king hired a witch to curse the entire family.”

“The king of England hired a witch.” I lifted an eyebrow. “During the height of the Church of England?”

Wouldn’t be the first king to hide his true beliefs, but it didn’t sit right with me. Especially since I knew the kings of that time weren’t fans of my family.

I took a bite of the sandwich and chewed slowly as I considered it. Perhaps that bad blood was deeper than I knew.It wouldn’t be unlike my family to burn royalty. “Did the witch have a name?”

The Rinah family didn’t come into existence or power until the Ruin of Roanoke, so we didn’t have many strings in Europe. But we’d had our share of witches that went back to the old world to stick their fingers in a king or two's tea.

She shook her head.

Boo.

I took a giant bite of sandwich while I considered what to ask next. “Most villages or cities have methods of keeping their monsters at bay. Anything like that? It’s usually hidden in a nursery rhyme or children’s song.”

That was usually one of the best ways to find the cracks in a monster’s immortality. The locals survived these things for generations. They were always the best equipped to expose weaknesses even if they didn’t fully understand the meaning of their traditions anymore.

“My grandma always said to never go into the Dark Entry Woods, because it’s an entrance not an exit.” She shrugged. “She lived on the outskirts.”

“Perfect.” That’s exactly what I was looking for. “Did grandma do anything you thought was weird, but she was weirdly anal about doing?”

She made a face like I surprised her, then laughed. “You know. She put bundles of dandelions outside the forest.”

Dandelions?