Midnight Blue-Light Special
Page 49
“Then she’ll probably be in trouble for losing it.” Mike looked at the charm thoughtfully. “You sure it works?”
“Sarah started picking up on Margaret’s presence as soon as I took this off her so, yeah, I’m sure it works.”
“But does it work for people who aren’t her?”
“Only one way to find out,” I said, and looped the chain around my wrist, drawing it tight.
The effect was instantaneous. The soothing static of Sarah’s close presence cut out, replaced by silence. There was a shriek of dismay from the walkway above us, and Sarah ran into view, grabbing the railing and leaning far enough out that I was briefly afraid she might lose her balance and fall. “Verity! Are you hurt?!”
“I’m fine, Sarah! I’m fine!” I unlooped the charm from my wrist, holding it up so she could see what was going on. The static immediately snapped back on. A mild headache came with it, like whiplash from that brief psychic silence. “We just wanted to see whether that necklace I took off of Margaret was what she used to block your telepathy.”
“It was,” said Sarah. She was looking at me like I was a ghost. “Please don’t do that again. I thought you’d died or something.”
If I’d suddenly vanished from her “view,” that was an understandable thing for her to think. “I won’t,” I said, and put the charm back down on the table. “Did they find you a room?”
“Yes, but there’s no Internet in this building.” Sarah looked even more distraught. “Artie’s going to be so worried.”
“So call him.” That would probably worry him even more, since “the Covenant found me and they have telepathy blockers but don’t worry, I’m fine” wasn’t the world’s most reassuring statement. That couldn’t be helped. “We’ll get the network up as soon as we can, but none of us is a computer genius, and it hasn’t been a priority.”
Mike eyed me. “I work in network administration.”
“Only one of us is a computer genius, and it hasn’t been a priority,” I amended. “Maybe you can help Uncle Mike get things set up. In the meanwhile, call Artie, tell him you’re not dead. It’ll probably be good for your nerves.”
“Okay,” said Sarah, and turned, vanishing back into the office. Ryan and Istas appeared a moment later, heading for the stairs.
“This day just never lets up,” I muttered, finally fishing my phone out of my pocket. I opened it and scrolled to the missed call log. Then I blinked. “Shit.”
“What?”
“The call I missed while I was at Sarah’s. It was from Dominic.”
“Verity—”
“No. I’m not letting him know we suspect him.” Suspect, my ass. Margaret had a telepathy blocker. I was ready to lock him up and throw away the key. Still. I hit “redial,” raised the phone to my ear, and waited.
Dominic picked up before the first ring had finished. “Are you all right?” he demanded.
“Yes,” I said, as calmly as I could. “Barely. Is she?”
“Peter found her before she regained consciousness. What did you hit her with? A brick?”
“Actually, it was Sarah. She managed to catch her from behind with a vase while she was looking for me. Nice timing on the phone call, by the way. It nearly got me captured.”
“Oh, God.” Dominic sighed raggedly. I realized for the first time how worn he sounded, like he was being yanked in too many directions at the same time. “I need you to do me a favor. It may sound like I’m trying to walk you into a trap, but I swear, I’m not.”
I was done believing him when he said that. I was still willing to play along. “I’ll listen if you’ll answer me one question.”
“Anything.”
“Are you the one who told them they needed to be using anti-telepathy charms?” If I didn’t ask, he’d suspect; Margaret’s charm was missing, after all.
Dominic’s sharp intake of air wasn’t quite a gasp, but it was a close cousin. “They’re what?”
“I’m taking that as a ‘no.’”
“Is Sarah all right?”
That was the only good question he could possibly have asked. “She’s shaken, but she’s not hurt, and they’re not going to find her again.” If I’d been thinking, I would have moved Sarah the second the Covenant came to town. I didn’t think. “What do you need me to do?”
“Get to Sunil and Rochak. The plan for tomorrow includes sweeping their neighborhood, looking for signs of cryptid inhabitation. They need to shut down the café and get out of there.”
Shit. Even if this was a trap, it wasn’t one that I could ignore. Sunil and Rochak were even more defenseless than Sarah, and they thought they were safe. Dominic and I were regulars. They knew us. They’d open their doors for him and welcome him in gladly.
I couldn’t save their sister. If there was a way for me to save them, I had to take it.
“On it,” I said.
“Thank you.”
“Just take care of yourself, okay? I’m worried about you.”
“You’re not alone in that.” Dominic laughed unhappily. “Sometimes I wish I’d never come to this cursed city. It’s changed everything.”
“Life does that,” I said.
“Yes, but—”
He stopped mid-sentence. I waited for him to continue, only to finally realize that the silence on the other end of the phone was absolute. He wasn’t even breathing. I pulled the phone away from my ear, checking the screen. The connection was dead. He’d hung up on me . . . or someone had hung up for him.
“Well,” I said, with a sigh. “Isn’t this going to be fun?”
“I’m going with you on whatever fuck-crazy errand you just agreed to,” said Uncle Mike.
I looked up at him and smiled thinly. “I stand corrected. This isn’t going to be fun. This is going to be a party.”
Convincing Sarah to stay behind wasn’t nearly as hard as it would usually have been. She’d been scared, and that was something she wasn’t used to. Uncle Mike got her set up in one corner of the main room with a pile of computer pieces I didn’t recognize. She settled in to connecting wires and configuring settings, looking happy as a clam. I guess we all have our comfort zones.
“Sarah started picking up on Margaret’s presence as soon as I took this off her so, yeah, I’m sure it works.”
“But does it work for people who aren’t her?”
“Only one way to find out,” I said, and looped the chain around my wrist, drawing it tight.
The effect was instantaneous. The soothing static of Sarah’s close presence cut out, replaced by silence. There was a shriek of dismay from the walkway above us, and Sarah ran into view, grabbing the railing and leaning far enough out that I was briefly afraid she might lose her balance and fall. “Verity! Are you hurt?!”
“I’m fine, Sarah! I’m fine!” I unlooped the charm from my wrist, holding it up so she could see what was going on. The static immediately snapped back on. A mild headache came with it, like whiplash from that brief psychic silence. “We just wanted to see whether that necklace I took off of Margaret was what she used to block your telepathy.”
“It was,” said Sarah. She was looking at me like I was a ghost. “Please don’t do that again. I thought you’d died or something.”
If I’d suddenly vanished from her “view,” that was an understandable thing for her to think. “I won’t,” I said, and put the charm back down on the table. “Did they find you a room?”
“Yes, but there’s no Internet in this building.” Sarah looked even more distraught. “Artie’s going to be so worried.”
“So call him.” That would probably worry him even more, since “the Covenant found me and they have telepathy blockers but don’t worry, I’m fine” wasn’t the world’s most reassuring statement. That couldn’t be helped. “We’ll get the network up as soon as we can, but none of us is a computer genius, and it hasn’t been a priority.”
Mike eyed me. “I work in network administration.”
“Only one of us is a computer genius, and it hasn’t been a priority,” I amended. “Maybe you can help Uncle Mike get things set up. In the meanwhile, call Artie, tell him you’re not dead. It’ll probably be good for your nerves.”
“Okay,” said Sarah, and turned, vanishing back into the office. Ryan and Istas appeared a moment later, heading for the stairs.
“This day just never lets up,” I muttered, finally fishing my phone out of my pocket. I opened it and scrolled to the missed call log. Then I blinked. “Shit.”
“What?”
“The call I missed while I was at Sarah’s. It was from Dominic.”
“Verity—”
“No. I’m not letting him know we suspect him.” Suspect, my ass. Margaret had a telepathy blocker. I was ready to lock him up and throw away the key. Still. I hit “redial,” raised the phone to my ear, and waited.
Dominic picked up before the first ring had finished. “Are you all right?” he demanded.
“Yes,” I said, as calmly as I could. “Barely. Is she?”
“Peter found her before she regained consciousness. What did you hit her with? A brick?”
“Actually, it was Sarah. She managed to catch her from behind with a vase while she was looking for me. Nice timing on the phone call, by the way. It nearly got me captured.”
“Oh, God.” Dominic sighed raggedly. I realized for the first time how worn he sounded, like he was being yanked in too many directions at the same time. “I need you to do me a favor. It may sound like I’m trying to walk you into a trap, but I swear, I’m not.”
I was done believing him when he said that. I was still willing to play along. “I’ll listen if you’ll answer me one question.”
“Anything.”
“Are you the one who told them they needed to be using anti-telepathy charms?” If I didn’t ask, he’d suspect; Margaret’s charm was missing, after all.
Dominic’s sharp intake of air wasn’t quite a gasp, but it was a close cousin. “They’re what?”
“I’m taking that as a ‘no.’”
“Is Sarah all right?”
That was the only good question he could possibly have asked. “She’s shaken, but she’s not hurt, and they’re not going to find her again.” If I’d been thinking, I would have moved Sarah the second the Covenant came to town. I didn’t think. “What do you need me to do?”
“Get to Sunil and Rochak. The plan for tomorrow includes sweeping their neighborhood, looking for signs of cryptid inhabitation. They need to shut down the café and get out of there.”
Shit. Even if this was a trap, it wasn’t one that I could ignore. Sunil and Rochak were even more defenseless than Sarah, and they thought they were safe. Dominic and I were regulars. They knew us. They’d open their doors for him and welcome him in gladly.
I couldn’t save their sister. If there was a way for me to save them, I had to take it.
“On it,” I said.
“Thank you.”
“Just take care of yourself, okay? I’m worried about you.”
“You’re not alone in that.” Dominic laughed unhappily. “Sometimes I wish I’d never come to this cursed city. It’s changed everything.”
“Life does that,” I said.
“Yes, but—”
He stopped mid-sentence. I waited for him to continue, only to finally realize that the silence on the other end of the phone was absolute. He wasn’t even breathing. I pulled the phone away from my ear, checking the screen. The connection was dead. He’d hung up on me . . . or someone had hung up for him.
“Well,” I said, with a sigh. “Isn’t this going to be fun?”
“I’m going with you on whatever fuck-crazy errand you just agreed to,” said Uncle Mike.
I looked up at him and smiled thinly. “I stand corrected. This isn’t going to be fun. This is going to be a party.”
Convincing Sarah to stay behind wasn’t nearly as hard as it would usually have been. She’d been scared, and that was something she wasn’t used to. Uncle Mike got her set up in one corner of the main room with a pile of computer pieces I didn’t recognize. She settled in to connecting wires and configuring settings, looking happy as a clam. I guess we all have our comfort zones.
