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last year’s bracken and this year’s new growth. As I listened, I noticed the gentle thump of hearts beating, the whining of mosquitoes, inhalations, all quiet except for Satan’s rattle. My mother held her breath. Why was that something I could hear? I covered my ears with my hands. It was impossible for me to hear people’s heartbeats. I couldn’t hear mosquitoes in the woods and a car that drove down the highway miles away. Except that I could.
    “ Dariana, would you mind if we went back to your house? I could use a hot cup of tea,” Grim said close to me. I flinched but he didn’t touch me. Why hadn’t I heard him move if I could hear so many other things?
    “ Yeah. Sure.” I followed Grim’s polite gesture ahead of him. Satan ripped a flaming branch off of the tree and walked in front. I watched him and realized that he had a cigar in one hand and the branch in the other. What happened to his broken arm? I must have imagined it. Broken arms didn’t heal in the time it took to mend a shirt.
    My mother walked beside me. She looked straight ahead and didn’t glance at me once. That was normal for her so why did it bother me now? We moved faster than my tired body wanted to move. I could feel every step all the way through to my head, where it ached behind my temples. I was glad to finally reach the end of the woods and see a long black car in front of me. That is, I was relieved until I realized that it was a hearse.
    “ Would you like a ride?” Grim asked. One uncle opened the door and disappeared in the dark depths leaving the door open for me.
    “ It’s a hearse,” I said.
    “ Not actually. It’s more of an arsenal.” I stared at him wondering what he was talking about. “I’m not going to deny that it’s carried its share of dead bodies, but most of them start out alive.” Grim made an awful sound that might have been a chuckle. Oh, he was trying to be funny. “You could walk. It is a lovely night for it.” I followed his gaze to the sky and heard an ominous rumble of thunder. After a moment’s hesitation I climbed inside. When the door closed behind me, I sat tense until we reached the house trying not to hear the breathing of the uncle who sat across from me.
    Inside the house I stood in the entryway watching the uncles take off hats and overcoats, throwing them on the console, then heading to the kitchen. My mother gave me a glance, and then followed the rest of them without a word to me. It felt like a slap in the face. Didn’t she care where I’d been?
    “ Are you hungry or has the taste of big brother dampened your appetite?” Grim asked me as he took his time removing his coat and hat.
    I shook my head. “No, I’m hungry.” I put a hand out on his sleeve as he walked by me. We both looked down at my hand, and I dropped it feeling self-conscious. “Grim, you don’t sound upset that I… you know… um… with Satan. You didn’t tell my mother. You must think I’m crazy.”
    He looked up at me and smiled. His face was not made for smiling. “I think that it’s perfectly natural to want to hurt my brother. There is nothing crazy about that. I doubt I would want to taste that flesh though.” He grimaced. “He cannot have tasted very good.”
    I was surprised at the giggle that came out of me. He grinned. “Don’t worry, niece. I think after a nice hot bath and a big meal, not to mention a good night’s sleep, you’ll feel much better.”
    I nodded and started for the stairs. A hot bath sounded good. I heard voices murmuring from the kitchen and realized that Satan hadn’t come in with the others. “Where is Satan?” I asked.
    “ Oh, probably looking for his coat. He doesn’t like losing things. Are you still cold?”
    “ Cold?” I shook my head, and in spite of the wet clothes and wet hair I wasn’t nearly as cold as I’d been before my walk in the rain. I felt strange without the iciness; it had been my constant companion for as long as I could remember. Is