Chapter 429: Henry On The Rooftop

Faye stepped out of Uncle PP’s shop after he finally drove her out through the front door.

She walked over to her car holding the tied bundle of dried purple lavender she had bought from him. She was just about to open the driver’s door when a sudden movement up above caught her eye, and she noticed Henry sitting near the top of the shop’s roof.

Faye tossed the lavender onto the front passenger seat, closed the door, and locked it securely. Using her wolf ability, she gripped the side ledge, hoisted herself up, and scrambled directly onto the roof.

Henry was busy staring intently at a small storefront located far down the street. He was completely focused on whatever he was looking at through the distance, but he remained instantly aware of the feet landing onto the roof tiles beside him.

"Hello, friend..." Henry said softly, his eyes staying fixed right on that same spot down the block.

"What are you doing up here, buddy?" Faye asked, brushing a bit of loose dust off her palm.

"Fixing the roof," he said plainly.

Faye glanced down at his feet, noticing a cluster of wide, jagged holes scattered across the wooden rooftop boards.

"Are you fixing the roof?"

"I was, but then I found something more interesting than fixing the roof..."

Faye rolled her eyes, shaking her head. Henry had a strange habit of switching his focus every five minutes. The guy had literally changed his sports activities so many different times back at school without ever finishing a single season.

Faye sat down right beside him on the warm wood, her legs dangling over the edge as she wondered where his full attention was focused. She leaned her back against the slope, deciding this was a good moment to ask Henry about something that had been bugging her mind.

"Henry, do you know what kind of were-witch your mother was?"

Henry paused, his shoulders stiffening as he slowly turned his head to look at Faye.

"Why are you asking?"

"I realized that there are different kinds of were-witches," Faye began, resting her chin in her hands. "Recently, I found out that there are witches who are called Dry-Born because of their complete lack of magic. Something like that... But tell me, what kind of witch was your mother? My mom was a were-witch, but she died when I was two, and I don’t know what kind of witch she was.... I don’t know what kind of person my mom was..."

Faye hardly ever talked about her mother to anyone because she possessed almost zero actual memories of the woman.

"My mom was a coven witch... but when my brothers burned me, she became a solo witch..." Henry said, his tone dropping flat and dark.

"What is a coven witch?" Faye asked, turning toward him with curious eyes.

"They are true-blood witches," Henry explained, looking out over the town again. "They are born with magic, and when they turn ten, they join a coven and share all their magic together. But when the coven leader dies, they all die too. My mom killed all the witches, and then she got all their magic for herself."

Faye blinked, her lips parting. "Wow, how many witches did she kill?"

"I have no idea..."

Henry became completely quiet after saying that. He looked down at his hands, clearly wanting to say something more to her, but he looked too scared to actually let the words out of his mouth.

Faye caught the sudden change in his body language instantly.

"What is it?"

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Yeah, sure," Faye answered without hesitation. "I am your friend."

"I can’t. You will not want to be my friend after that..." Henry turned his head away, staring right back toward the shop he had been watching earlier.

Faye chose not to pressure the boy about whatever heavy secret he was carrying inside. She did not think of it as any kind of big deal, and she certainly didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable on top of the roof.

Still, as she leaned back against the shingles, she couldn’t help but wonder what kind of terrifying secret could possibly make her not want to be his friend anymore.

"So what on earth are you looking at...?" Faye asked, smoothly changing the topic to clear the heavy mood.

"A fish..."

Faye scoffed, raising an eyebrow at him. "Do you want to steal someone’s fish? If you want a fish, go buy one or go catch one in the lake."

"I like eating meat... it’s my favorite food," Henry said, his tongue tapping against his lip. "But that fish looks like one of the fish you and Malo are searching for... It’s changing shape, and the color is blue..."

Faye froze. She turned her head instantly, locking her eyes onto the brightly lit glass aquarium sitting inside a shop window far down the street. A bright blue creature was swimming inside the glass tank, visibly stretching its long body and morphing its shape against the water.

Faye quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket, opened her photo gallery, and began scrolling fast through her saved notes. Bingo... she found the exact picture match on her screen.

"Elastic Seahorse, a sea fish that can stretch and change its shape..." Faye read aloud, a bright smile breaking across her face. "Good boy, Henry. I promise I’ll get you a roasted lamb after this..."

"Hooray... a full roasted lamb..." Henry cheered, his eyes lighting up with pure excitement.

He got so incredibly happy that he began bouncing up and down right where he sat on the roof. Under his immense weight, the old wooden boards snapped instantly, and Henry plummeted straight through the rooftop, falling down into Dre’s dark bedroom below.

It was bright daytime outside.

Before the piercing sunlight pouring through the fresh hole could hit her skin, Dre immediately shifted into the shadows, pressing her back flat against a nearby wall.

"Henry, what is wrong with you...?" Dre hissed, glaring hard at the boy lying flat on her broken floor.

"Sorry, Dre..." Henry apologized quickly, rubbing the back of his head as he sat up among the splinters.

Dre looked straight up through the hole in her ceiling. "And Faye, what are you doing on the rooftop?"

Faye stood up straight near the edge, waving down through the fresh opening.

"Hello, just sunbathing... It’s really amazing. You should try it..." Faye said, before suddenly remembering who she was talking to. "Oh, you are a night walker... sorry"

As she took a step backward to get a better angle, her left leg hit a rotted hole in the ceiling, and she fell straight through the roof as well.

Luckily, Pali was standing directly below the opening in his store, reaching out just in time to catch her safely in his arms before she hit the hard floor.

Faye looked up into Pali’s face, finding him staring down at her with a completely deadpan expression.

"Hi again... and thank you."

Pali set her down on her feet, pointing a long finger straight at the front exit.

"Didn’t I tell you to go home...?"