“You don’t need to.”
“I know what you’re feeling. I felt a bit of it, when I saw the escape clause in the contract, if we wanted to back out of this. That there was a way out. Except I think this is a trap too, in a different way.”
“No, Blake. We can do this, we just need to do it safely.”
“I don’t think this is a situation where we can do things in half measures. We can’t be half-heir and half-witch hunter.”
“What’s the alternative? You really want to do this? Follow the path grandmother set before us, making infernal bargains to deal with our enemies, while somehow trying to get out of debt with whoever our ancestors got in debt with?”
I stood, making my way to the kitchen. “I’m not saying I want to deal with devils or any of that. I’m saying I don’t want to pay a price like the one we pay for ‘awakening’, if we’re not going to use what we paid for.”
She spoke to me from the toaster. “I get a say in this, you know.”
I moved through the kitchen, looking for something easy to make foodwise. Bonus points if it didn’t leave me feeling like crap afterward. In the heat of the conversation, I was making more noise than necessary with the cupboards and drawers. “You get a say, but it’s ultimately me making the decision and paying the consequences, isn’t it?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of attached to you, metaphysically. You die, I’m going to be a goner too.”
“You think. Either way, I’m the one who got injured,” I said. “I’m the one who has stitches in my hand and a cut on my face.”
“At least you’re alive,” she retorted.
We were interrupted by a pounding series of knocks on the door. Rose turned her head so quickly that the loose strands of hair flew out to either side.
I remained where I was, staring at the door.
The knocking repeated.
“Whatever this is,” I said, “I might need help.”
She took her time responding.
A third set of knocks, harder than last two others.
“Like I said,” Rose told me, “We’re attached to each other. I’ll back you up. Go.”
I nodded.
I grabbed a t-shirt from the backpack and pulled it on as I approached the door, stopping to peek out through the glass at the side.
Relief hit me in a wave, even in the moment my heart sank.
As the door opened, I saw two men in uniform.
One of them was very familiar. I’d glimpsed him in the odd dream I’d seen, just before meeting Rose.
Police.
The other man spoke first. “I’m RCMP officer Pat Macguin. This is Chief of Police Laird Behaim.”
“Hi,” I said, guarded.
“Would you give me your name, please?” Laird Behaim asked me. He had an intense gaze. Pale blue eyes to go with very dark, straight hair, just starting to gray at the sideburns.
I’d seen him in the vision. The man with the pocketwatch at the table with all of the blonde women. I needed a moment to get my mental footing. I searched for a response “Um.”
“It’s not a hard answer to give,” the RCMP officer said.
“I just woke up from a nap, a little bit ago,” I said. “Sorry. I’m a little muddled.”
“Your name?” he asked.
There was no dodging the question. “Blake Thorburn.”
Laird Demill raised his eyebrows. “Paul’s son? No, wait, that would be…”
“Peter. He’s my cousin. My dad is-”
“Bradley Thorburn, by process of elimination. Yes.”
The RCMP gave Laird a look.
“I’m fairly familiar with his family,” Laird said.
“You’re alone, Mr. Thorburn?”
“Only person in the house,” I said.
“You’re injured,” the RCMP officer said, to me, “A cut on your cheek? Can I ask what happened?”
The sudden change of direction caught me off guard. It didn’t help that this Laird guy was staring at me, studying me while the officer quizzed me. He would be weighing my answers.
There was a danger here. I felt a chill, and it wasn’t just the cold air from outside.
I couldn’t get arrested, or I’d get dragged out of the house, far from any protection it afforded.
But this man, here, Laird Behaim, was an enemy. Would I be worse off if he realized I wasn’t yet ‘awakened’?
I couldn’t get caught in a lie, and I wasn’t too sure I wanted to look like I was trying to word things too carefully.
“Car broke down by the side of the highway. I tried to take a shortcut through the woods, because I could have been hit in the highway. Something cut me.”
“Where were you at four o’clock this morning?”
“Sleeping, I think. I kind of woke up early, so I’m not sure. Can I ask what this is about?”
“In a minute. Can anyone or anything confirm your location?”
“Joel Monte, my landlord and friend. I woke him up to borrow his car, maybe around five. He’s going to be upset, the car broke down and I had to leave it behind. I haven’t even had time to think about getting a tow, if it hasn’t been towed already.”
“You said. His number?”
I gave it. The RCMP officer glanced at the chief of police, who walked down the stairs, phone up to his ear.
“That’s a different area code than the one in Jacob’s Bell. You woke up early, borrowed a car from your landlord at an unholy hour, and decided to drive to another town to visit…”
Laird was nearby, in earshot. I wasn’t sure the RCMP officer was safe, either. “My cousin Molly inherited this place. She isn’t here. I’m not sure where she is.”
“You can understand where I’m a little confused about this sequence of events,” he said. He sounded unimpressed. “Why?”
There was no good answer to give. “Can I ask what this is about?”
“Answer my question, first.” He wasn’t playing ball.
Damn it. What was I supposed to say? I didn’t have time to think.
When in doubt… honesty.
“The car broke down, and coming here seemed like it was less hassle overall. Molly wasn’t here. I thought I should stick around.”
All true.
“Which doesn’t explain why you were driving in the first place.”
“It sounds stupid. I had a bad dream. I decided to go for a drive, get away.”
He gave me a look that conveyed a whole idea. ‘That does sound stupid‘. But he was too polite to say it out loud. The inconsistency of my actions, he must have thought I was on drugs.
Laird returned to the porch. The look he gave me, too calm, too casual, made me shiver.
“Landlord confirms the time,” he said. “And a car was found on the side of the highway.”
I jammed my hands in the pockets, where the cold was starting to numb my fingers. “If you visit the sandwich shop at the rest stop, just a little up the road from where the car was picked up, the manager and a middle aged blonde woman can confirm. She gave me a ride here.”
“We’ll check,” the RCMP officer said.
“What’s this about?” I asked. I knew, but I wasn’t supposed to know.
“Can we step inside?” Laird asked. “You look cold.”
“Not without a warrant,” I said. Better to seem unfriendly and overly emotional than risk letting an enemy inside safe territory. “What’s this about?”