The bell tolled in the background, and I tried to shut it out, to think clearly.
If I refused, claiming the victory, I’d have denied him what he wanted. I’d remove the Behaims from the playing field.
But would I be risking what he’d suggested? The ten of swords, the loss I couldn’t recover from?
It went both ways, didn’t it? If I’d refused to play fair, I’d have lost Rose’s trust.
If I played fair here, would I gain it?
What was that worth?
This wasn’t what I’d wanted at all. I wasn’t reducing the risk to my friends. If anything, I was condoning it, allowing him to get whatever weapon I’d heard about. He’d still be free to send zeitgeists and test or wear down the house’s defenses.
“This was a fair competition, with rules established in advance. We played by the rules, we kept the civilians out of it,” I said. “Interrupted as it was, there was no clear winner.”
“Wuh?” I heard Evan, a short distance away.
“I agree,” Alister said.
“What?” I heard Evan, again.
“I’d offer you help in standing, but there’s only so much I can do from this position,” I said.
“I’m fine,” he said. He found his feet.
“Take your bogeymen back before we have an incident,” Sandra said. “If you want to wreak havoc, do it after dark. Alister, I believe you’re late.”
“I am,” Alister said.
Wasn’t he eighteen?
I didn’t ask.
“Fine,” I said.
“Turn around!” Evan called out. “Back to the house! Hup two three four!”
One of the Others near him swatted in his general direction, annoyed. Evan avoided it, taking wing.
“I’ll see you later, Al,” I said. “We can pick up where we left off, maybe.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” He answered. “I learned so much about you.”
I took the faster route back to the house, beating Evan there by leaps and bounds.
They’d put a board up to cover the broken front window. It made my navigation a little harder.
I saw Tiff, reading.
“Tiff-”
She dropped her book, uttering something inarticulate that was made up entirely of vowels.
“Can you get Rose?” I asked.
“I’m here,” Rose said.
“It’s done. It was resolved… amicably,” I said. “I wasn’t able to slow him down.”
“Okay,” she said. “Thank you for keeping me in the loop. Though I’m not happy you delayed my minions from arriving.”
“We’re okay?” I asked.
“No,” she said. “But we’re better than we were.”
“Just don’t fucking try to bind me again,” I said.
“We’ll see,” she said. “I won’t unless you give me a reason to. Which you probably will.”
“You gotta answer some questions, Rose,” I said.
She folded her arms. “I don’t have to do anything.”
I was pretty ready to break some more windows at that point.
“But I can invite you in,” she said. “No mischief, no harm intended. Just… get inside.”
11.05
I stepped back into the house, though there weren’t many surfaces to work with. Too many windows, glass panes and mirrors had broken in the course of the priest’s raid.
My eyes scanned the surroundings. Here and there, things had been written down in chalk. Runes, symbols, and diagrams. It looked like the metaphysical equivalent of boarding up the windows.
“Thank you, by the way,” I said. I didn’t want to sound ungrateful, but it was hard enough to get the words out that it might have affected my tone. I shouldn’t have had to ask to come back inside.
“We’re not friends,” Rose said. She didn’t turn around as she knelt to pick up a piece of glass she’d spotted at the foot of a bookshelf. “This isn’t us cooperating. This is me admitting that I’d rather have your cooperation and Evan than not have either.”
“Okay,” I said, biting my tongue to keep it at that.
“Where is Evan?”
“On his way with your creations.”
“Right.”
Tiff, Ty, and Alexis appeared in the doorway, standing by the kitchen.
“You’re back,” Ty commented.
“Mission was a failure,” I answered. “But things aren’t any worse off, and I do have information.”
“Share,” Rose said.
I bristled at the order. “Alister, like Laird, isn’t held back by the Behaim rules.”
“We know this,” Rose said.
“All signs point to Alister being made head of the Behaim family. Very soon. With the appointment, presumably, comes a gift. Some kind of weapon. Evan and I met him, he forced our hands with his cards.”
“The implement,” Rose said. “There are weak points, but they’re hard to target. He tends to take the initiative and hold it. You don’t surprise a guy who’s as good at reading events as he is.”