Fell had stopped the car five minutes ago. I surveyed the factory without moving a muscle besides my eyes. Taking it in.
I couldn’t help but feel that if I asked, Rose would say no. That she was contrary, on a level, that if I said white, her first impulse would be to say black. On a level, that was fine. It was good to have something to keep me in check. Tiring, frustrating, but good.
But I still wasn’t going to budge or comment.
“We don’t know enough,” Rose said.
“We’ll never know enough,” I said, before I could remember to keep my mouth shut.
Maybe I was the one who was contrary, now that I thought about it.
“If you want to argue a point, Blake, this would be a good time.”
“I think this thing needs to be stopped,” I said. “There are an awful lot of reasons. Some personal, some relating to Evan, some relating to Conquest, and some general ones. Maybe, if we wait a day or two, it’ll be the same. Someone’s not going to make their way out here and stumble on the demon. But a week? Two weeks? Then it gets a little sketchier. We have to wonder.”
“So we wonder,” she said.
I continued. “Black Lamb’s Blood suggested it’s the diabolist’s responsibility to handle this shit. We had that responsibility thrust on us, in a way. If we’re going to do any good in our short, violent existences, this is one way.”
“Not if you’re giving that bound being to Conquest,” Fell said.
Not helping.
“Black Lamb’s Blood said a lot of things,” Rose said.
“What I’m asking is just… if we don’t stop it, who will? And is anything really going to change if I wait until the day after tomorrow? Do a little more research? Or is it going to be what it is? Something scary and unfathomable, where we can only make educated guesses in how to deal with it.”
“A little more education can go a long way here, when we’re relying on educated guesses,” Rose said. “Hell, we could find a Tesla coil or something, spit out electricity. Or get a neon sign maker to do a diabolic circle. We could have better resources, too”
“That sounds marvelously tacky,” Fell said. “I’d be offended on behalf of practitioners everywhere, if you tried it and it actually worked.”
“Not helping, Fell,” I said.
“But if you’re asking whether we’ll actually make strides worth the risk of waiting?”
“I am,” I said. “Let’s say we have to do this. I can’t speak for us, but I can speak for me, and I kind of do have to do this.”
“If you’re asking,” she said, repeating herself a little, “and if we have to weigh it against the chance that we might not get another chance, and all the consequences that would entail? I guess it comes down to you.”
“Me?”
“I don’t know if you’re in good enough shape to do this,” she said. “Prove you are. Get out of the car, without Fell’s help, without Evan’s, and get the gas can out of the boot. Walk to the treeline, so we can start on our evergreen protection circle.”
I reached for the door handle.
“Blake.”
I stopped.
“Start by telling me you’re up for this.”
“I think I have to be,” I said.
“That’s not an answer. Think carefully before you open your mouth again. Because if you say yes, and you aren’t… this is over before we begin. You can’t afford the loss that comes with a lie.”
I sighed.
“I think I can do this,” I said.
“Okay,” she said. “You’re hedging it a bit there.”
“I am,” I admitted. I didn’t waste any more breath.
I prayed I was telling the truth.
I opened the car door, and I forced myself to move.
My legs barely budged. Stiffness had set in. It was more like I occupied a corpse than a body.
I used my hands to lift my right leg, moving it over to my right, then did the same with my left.
I slid out of my seat more than I climbed out.
“Don’t forget the kit,” Rose said.
I winced, then bent down to grab the roadside kit. Flares, matches, emergency candles for setting on the road, a teepee, a blanket… it was heavy.
I held it with both hands, my arms straining against the bandages.
I reached the trunk, and let the roadside kit fall to the ground.
“Shh,” I told Evan. I popped the locket open and drew a ‘wind’ rune on the gas can, then rubbed my finger against the lid to get more of the dark grit that had accumulated, and did the same for the roadside kit.
“Shh?” he asked.
“I’m cheating a bit,” I admitted. “Don’t tell.”
“Okay.”
I moved the gas can over to the side of the car and filled it with some gas from Fell’s car, using the squeeze pump. I shut the trunk and began my long trudge over to the treeline.
The factory loomed there, pale and heavily decorated, the windows ominously dark.
Even the moon seemed to shed less light hereabouts. The snow typically reflected light, illuminating an area, but we were far from the city, there was less light to go around, and even the movement of a cloud over the moon made a huge difference.
I swayed a bit as my feet sunk a bit too far into the snow.
My hands were shaking, even as they gripped the bag and the half-full can. I wondered if one or the other would just slip from my grip.
But I still reached the treeline.
I set the kit down, and I got out the deflector mirrors that had come with it.
“You did it,” Rose said.
I nodded.
“Fell just said something, and I’m going to take his word on it.”
“Yeah?” I asked. The word was curt, cut short because I didn’t have a lot of breath to spare.
Reduced lung capacity? I thought of the ‘wind’ rune I’d drawn on my chest. Fuck.
“If you are cracked, if spirits are taking up residence, maybe your spirit needs a bit more encouragement than usual.”