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his presence at both ceremonies, but did not speak to him at the funeral home, or at the service, or when the next crescent moon came and they carried Caroline Scales’s body together to the massive plateau in Crescent Valley and cremated her body. It wasn’t until the crescent moon had passed, everyone had finally gone home, and the two of them were alone in the lakeside cabin that Crawford finally said something to his son.
    “I will never teach you,” he said, “another damn thing about being a dragon.”

    “So you’re Jonathan.” The older woman’s disorienting white eyes did not meet Jonathan’s own; instead, they focused on his belly. He could not be entirely sure she wasn’t about to gut him. Her voice dripped with distaste. “Libby speaks highly of you.”
    “Mayor Seabright.” Jonathan nodded, but didn’t offer his hand. He and Elizabeth had already agreed that Glorianna Seabright would never take it; and anyway he didn’t feel like touching her. This was a courtesy call, for his wife’s sake. Their wedding had been a small affair, a month or so after the funeral of Caroline Scales. The union ceremony had been conducted by a justice of the peace in a distant town (though not, Jonathan noted to his new wife dryly, the same one who had presided over his first marriage). Only Jonathan’s college friend Jack Alder and his fiancée, Cheryl, attended as witnesses. That was enough for Jonathan, but Dr. Georges (or Georges-Scales, she had to remind him to refer to her now) felt it was necessary to make this visit. She wouldn’t start their honeymoon until this was done; thus their visit to Winoka City Hall and its elaborately decorated council chamber.
    The mayor was important in my life, was all he got out of his bride. Beyond that, she wouldn’t say. Jonathan accepted the mystery—Liz would tell him in time—though he already knew enough about Glorianna Seabright to be disgusted and frightened.
    There was no weapon visible on her person, which meant nothing. “I hope you enjoy your fleeting visit to our town,” she snarled at him. Then she turned to his wife. “It was good of you to come to city hall, Libby. And to bring your pet. But I’m not sure why you’re here.”
    “I wanted you to know I’ll be leaving Winoka.”
    “Leaving?” Glorianna’s eyes narrowed. “Where are you going?”
    “Not far. Jonathan and I found a nice place in Eveningstar, a short drive away. I’ll continue my studies at the U.”
    “Eveningstar.” The mayor bit her lip and strode a few paces away on long, steady legs. “You’re going to go live with them .”
    “No one knows who I am there.”
    “Perhaps. I don’t suppose you would see that as a tactical advantage we could exploit.”
    “No. I see it as a chance to raise a child normally.”
    This got the old woman to laugh. “Normally! Do you think anything will be normal about a child the two of you would have? Whatever offspring you produce”—and she glanced at Jonathan again, though still not directly at his face—“will stand out from humankind like a chimpanzee among college professors.”
    “I didn’t come for insults.” Elizabeth sighed. “I wanted you to know where you could find me. If you ever wanted to . . .”
    “Wanted to what? Talk? Reconcile?” The mayor forcefully stepped into Elizabeth’s frown. “For years, you’ve had little to do with me or anyone else in this town. Do you think I’m shocked that you’re giving up the house your family worked so hard to build and leave for you?”
    Jonathan was able to restrain himself only because he and Elizabeth had already discussed this point. He already knew the strange twist of fate that had put his grandmother’s Pinegrove land into the hands of murderers, and then on to the woman he loved. By state law, the property was already half his again—and it would pass to any children they had. There was no need to relive here the town’s bloody history.
    “I’m not giving up