Drew’s father had built this treehouse several years ago, intending for his younger sons to play in it. However, every time Cadence and the rest of their group came over, they almost always found themselves climbing the rope ladder and lounging around in the top of the oak that spanned most of the width of the back yard. Even today, though it was a bit chilly and beginning to mist, the treehouse was the place they went to automatically.

Taylor and Sydney were leaning against the wall, snuggled up under a blanket they had brought up so long ago, it now smelled of mildew. The girls never seemed to mind, however, and today was no different. Kash and Jon had also found spots on the floor, while Cadence had positioned herself on one of the windowsills. Though she was still with the group, she was able to gaze out the window and mentally drift away a bit when so inclined.

Jack was not presently with them. Throughout the funeral and the graveside service, he had been acting a little odd. Cadence wasn’t exactly sure what was going on with him, but she was concerned. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but he seemed fidgety, jumpy almost. Hopefully, she would have the opportunity to speak to him soon.

Most of the guests who had accompanied the family back to their home stayed inside where it was warmer and drier, but Cadence could hear a few voices drifting from under the back-porch awning up to the treehouse. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, nor did she care, but she thought her friends all needed to be cautious if they decided to talk about what happened. Other people in town might start to question it, and she had no idea what her friends might say and what others might believe. She knew that their memories had been altered somehow, that Elliott had taken care of that while they were still at the hospital, though she had no idea what the Guardian Passel did in order to alter human memories. She was curious to know exactly what each of her friends thought had happened. For now, however, a code of silence seemed to have descended upon them as no one was saying anything at all.

After several minutes, Jon finally spoke up, saying, “It really was a lovely ceremony, wasn’t it?”

Cadence knew he had found a way to be both tactful and sarcastic at the same time, choosing a canned comment to make that sounded cheesy and condescending, and yet, completely sincere at the same time.

“It really was,” Taylor agreed. “I mean, I know you’re being a jerk and all, but it really was a nice ceremony.”

“I wasn’t being a jerk,” Jon said a bit defensively. “I really thought it was a nice ceremony. That’s all.”

“Well, it sounded sarcastic,” Taylor retorted.

“I’m sorry you felt that way,” he replied.

“All right, children,” Sydney said. “That’s enough. It was a lovely ceremony and…. she really would have loved it,” she added, holding back a fresh batch of tears.

Cadence was just about all cried out. She had spent the majority of the morning sobbing into her father’s shoulder. She could tell by her friends’ faces that most of them had been crying quite a bit as well. Except for Jack. His face showed no tear streaks, and he seemed to be holding up fairly well, which Cadence thought peculiar.

“I just… I just can’t believe she’s gone,” Taylor said, staring up at the ceiling as if she could see right through it.

“I know. Me, too,” Cadence agreed. In an effort to prevent herself from crying again, she decided to do some probing. “Can you believe what happened? It just seems so….”

“Surreal,” Jon said, completing her statement.

“Yes, surreal,” Cadence agreed. “I mean, who would have ever thought that someone would go that way, you know?”

“Can we please not talk about it, okay?” Sydney asked through her tears. “I mean, I can’t even look at rocks now without thinking about poor Drew. It’s just so tragic.” She burst into tears again and hid her face in Taylor’s shoulder.

Cadence was puzzled now. Rocks? She didn’t want to upset Sydney but she needed to know more. “What do you mean?” she asked. “When you see a rock, what do you think of, specifically?”

“Really, Cadence?” Sydney asked. “Don’t you know?”

Taylor sighed. She had been with Sydney every day since Drew’s death. “She’s just so afraid that she is also going to trip and have a rock slice her throat,” she explained, as Sydney’s wails grew louder.

“I see,” Cadence said, nodding her head. “The way that Drew fell and sliced her throat on a rock.” Really? That was the best Elliott could come up with? And yet all of these people truly believed that this is what had happened, including the doctors and nurses he spoke to at the hospital. No one had questioned anything, so they must all, in fact, believe that those were the events that occurred.

Cadence was tempted to ask if any of them remembered anything else from that night, but she knew she was sworn to secrecy. The first rule of Clandestine Ternion was that no human was to know of its existence without reason. Otherwise, all humans would constantly live in fear of being killed by Vampires or caught in the crossfire of a careless Hunter.

Just then, she saw Jack step out into the yard, and she decided to try to talk to him to see if she could figure out why he was acting so strangely. She excused herself and carefully picked her way down the rope ladder, wary of falling in her long dress and high heels.

“Hey,” she said as she approached him. He was talking to one of Drew’s uncles but excused himself when he saw her coming over. “How are you?” she asked. “I haven’t really had a chance to talk to you.”