Dragoncrest Cliffs and when the maidens stood around the altar

by some stroke of luck, her mother's call caught her between trips. coraline reached erzulie on the heels of dionysus's arrival, and cast the boy a pitying look as she passed him to greet erzulie with a kiss to her cheek. she knew little of him or his fathers, but she knew that they were dead, and that life would be very bleak for the boy now. at least, that was what she imagined.

but she thought very little about it. more important things filled her thoughts. maman, coraline said, anxiety in her voice. mireille... the words caught in her throat, and she couldn't finish. there was nothing she could say that her mother didn't already know. she just wanted to hear her say that it would be okay — that it wasn't as hopeless as it seemed. she wanted to hear it whether it was true or not.