7.01
Laird woke, free of any chain, handcuffs or rope.
I watched as he opened his eyes, groaned, and then stared in momentary confusion at the slice of pizza and the glass in front of him.
When he raised himself from the floor, he was treated to a view of me, Maggie and Fell. Evan was perched on the handle of the sword I held, while Rose was inside a full-length mirror, provided by Joel.
He took in the scene with care, very deliberate. His attention fell on the chalk circle around him. Three concentric circles, the first about five feet across, the third about nine feet across. Each had been elaborated on with an intricate, almost lace-like border that ran along the perimeter, pointed outward.
“What’s this?” he finally asked, while pinching the bridge of his nose, his eyes screwed shut.
“That’s pizza. Pepperoni and onion. The coke might have gotten a little flat since we poured it. You took a few hours to wake up. I was almost worried.”
“That’s not what I was asking,” he said. “The circle.”
“It’s a problem if any of your friends, family, or allies find you,” I said. “That circle means they shouldn’t be able to.”
“And if I ask for help or simply walk out?” he asked.
“Fell here has his revolver loaded with shot shells. It’s like a small shotgun, painful, debilitating, but it probably won’t kill-.”
Laird interrupted, “-I don’t need an explanation. I know what shot shells are. You’re offering hospitality with one hand and threatening to shoot me with the other?”
It was Maggie who spoke up, “The tried-and-true rules have a firm grounding in history, officer Behaim. The roads were dangerous at night, food was hard to come by. You couldn’t turn away someone at your door, and you couldn’t refuse a guest amenities, or you were sentencing them to death. You couldn’t abuse hospitality given for the same reason, because you’d be sentencing the next guy to death. But, all that said, nobody’s going to begrudge a man, a peasant, or a king their right to keep a weapon on hand if they know their guest is a potential threat.”
“And here I thought you were a novice,” Laird said.
“I have a lot of free time,” Maggie said, “Not a lot to do, I’ve become a bit of a student of history, as it happens. You learn relevant things all the time if you pay attention.”
“Blake’s recent bout of forgetfulness excepted, I’d say we’re all students of history,” Laird said. “I’d hope we’re all learning.”
Maggie smiled. “True.”
Rose, not smiling at all, said, “Yet you keep coming after us, and you get bitten worse each time. What’s that they say about insanity and doing the same thing over and over again?”
“I prefer to view it as one long, ongoing conflict, than a series of failures.”
“How convenient,” Rose said. “I’m not sure the universe agrees with you.”
“I’m not sure either,” Laird said. He rubbed at his temples. “Ah, my head.”
“Please excuse me if I’m not too sympathetic,” I said.
“Fully excused,” he said. He looked up, squinting a little at the light that came in from the window. “Well, this should be interesting.”
“Maybe,” I said. “But let’s handle the mundane stuff before we get to the interesting. You have food, drink, can I get you anything else?”
“Water,” he said. “Sugary drinks give me a headache, and I could do with an Aspirin, to start off. Whatever that goblin did hurt quite a bit, and it’s left my head pounding.”
“It smells too,” Evan commented. “My mom used to get me to eat my asparagus by telling me it would make my pee stink. You smell worse.”
“I do,” Laird said. He wrinkled his nose. “Am I being greedy by asking for a bucket of water, a washcloth, and maybe a change of clothes?”
“Bucket and washcloth are doable,” I said. “They can double as a chamberpot. We just had someone go shopping for us, but we didn’t get clothes.”
I almost said sorry, but I wasn’t so sure I was.
“A chamberpot, how medieval. My coat, then? It seems to have gotten the worst of it.”
“A plastic bag,” I said.
“Please. And… where is my implement?”
I pointed.
Laird looked. The watch sat on a nearby table, outside of the circle.
“We make no claim to your property, except to secure it. I don’t know if you can see from that angle, but there’s another circle to keep the zeitgeist spirit firmly in place.”
Laird nodded.
“Maggie,” I said. “Could you round up the stuff? I’d rather not take my eyes off him, Fell’s got the gun, and Rose can’t do anything.”
“No worries,” she said.
“First aid stuff should be in the bag by the door.”
“Yup.”
“The tables have certainly turned,” Laird observed. “Me, alone, my companion secured out of reach, virtually useless…”
He gestured toward his golden pocketwatch, and his gaze passed over to Rose.
Rose scowled just a little.
“…And there you stand, Blake, looming ominously, with me at your mercy. A great deal of help at your disposal.”
“Yeah,” I said.
“What happens next? Shall we repeat history, with the roles reversed?”
“I give you what you need, then finish the circle,” I said.
“Finish?”
I nodded.
“It’s an odd circle. Humans don’t lend themselves to being bound inside diagrams, for the most part. The details… who drew this?”
“Why would I want to open my mouth? To give you hints?”
“You don’t need to, but you can give me answers for the same reason you’re giving me food. I can’t reciprocate your generosity, really, unless I give you answers. It’s a win-win situation for you. You get karma by playing by the rules, or you get answers.”
“Win-win-lose, you mean,” I said. “I could give you vital information that leads to you breaking free and getting the better of me.”
“Does that mean there is vital information to be had?” he asked. “Information you’re insecure about?”
“I’m insecure about a lot of things,” I said. “Sharing information about the circle isn’t even in the top ten. I’ll explain the circle soon. For now-”
“-For now, I’ll stay put if it means I don’t get shot.”
I nodded.
Maggie returned. Rather than a bucket, she had a small trash can with a lid. Probably better.