“Be selfish if you need to,” he said.
I nodded.
The silence lingered.
“Blake?”
“I’m in a bad place. So much worse than you can imagine. So I’ll start you off slow.”
“Sure?”
“Evan!” I called out.
Evan appeared. Sparrow form, alighting on my reaching finger.
“Blake?” Alexis asked.
“This is the kid I was accused of murdering,” I said.
“Sure?” she said, sounding very unsure.
“The diagram taped around the apartment is a really shitty magic diagram, for protection,” I said.
“You’re worrying me.”
“You’ll be more worried when I’m done,” I said. “Can you call some of the others? I’ll explain what’s going on, I’ll suffer the consequences, but I’ll explain. Then, when some of my other friends arrive, you can decide if you want in.”
6.02
I took my time changing clothes, then stepped into the washroom. No time to shower, but I wiped down with a wet washcloth, got my hair damp and got it as tidy as I could manage. When I made my way to the living room, they’d already settled in, Alexis looking impatient, Joel typing.
I sat on my futon, elbows on my knees, hands sticking out. Evan hopped from one finger to the next.
“This waiting is killing me,” Alexis said. She leaned on the back of the armchair that Joel sat in. She was short enough that the back of the chair covered her from the chest down. “Give us a tidbit? Something to assure us you haven’t gone completely around the bend?”
“Easier if we wait for the others,” I said. “Once I get started, there’ll be questions, and it’ll be too easy to get caught up in explaining myself. Better if I explain the once, give you an out, and then give proof to anyone who stays.”
“I know you’re not a murderer, Blake,” Alexis said, “But this is harder to buy.”
“I know,” I said. “But if it was easy, I might have done it already. There are costs here.”
“Uh huh.”
Joel was still focused on his phone, texting, looking up only to check on me, to gaze at the small bird.
“They’re your friends?” Evan asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “I consider those two family. Joel’s my landlord, and he’s one of the nicest guys I know. Alexis saved my life.”
“I’m not sure if I should interrupt your conversation, if you can call it that,” Alexis said, “But I really didn’t.”
She looked so worried. I hated worrying her.
“You did,” I said. “I don’t think I would have lasted any longer out there.”
“You don’t give yourself credit. You’re tough.”
“She’s the person you were talking about when you talked about your tattoos.”
“Yeah,” I said. “But let’s maybe not get into something that intimate.”
“Non-sequitur much?” Alexis asked.
I smiled a little. “I’m sorry.”
There was a knock on the door.
Alexis answered it.
Tiffany.
“What happened to you?” she asked.
How bad did I look?
“I’ll explain when everyone’s here,” I said, once again. I was surprised they’d called her, but couldn’t ask why while she was here.
The others arrived. Goosh, Tyler, Joseph. No Amanda.
Two hours until midnight.
“Okay,” Alexis said. “No more stalling. Explain.”
“When my grandmother passed, she made my cousin Molly Walker her heir. Molly inherited a trove of magical knowledge. The other locals arranged to have her killed, because they thought that knowledge was too dangerous.”
“Magic?” Tyler asked.
“Magic. Spirits, ghosts, goblins, monsters… all real,” I said.
“Is this a game, or an A.R.G., or-”
“No,” I said. “It’s real. In the past few days, I’ve almost been killed maybe a half dozen times. In two hours, maybe more, maybe less, everything starts going to pieces. Disaster. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but it’s bound to be pretty ugly.”
“What, specifically, is going to happen?” Joel asked.
“The less I say, the better. One of the reasons this stuff isn’t common knowledge is that there’s a possibility for collateral damage. If I provide all the info, you’re a part of it, and you might be in danger because of your relationship to me, or I might be in trouble if you slip up, when I have responsibility over you.”
“It’s… kind of hard to buy,” Tyler said.
“I know,” I said. “But I’ve only got two hours to get ready. If this is going to be two hours of me convincing you, or two hours of explanation while I hold your hands, then it’s not going to be enough. I guess I’m asking for a leap of faith here. A willingness to leave your old life behind, if it comes down to it, and lend me backup.”