“Define seniority,” Peter cut in.
I had to resist the urge to reach through the mirror and throttle him.
“In order of seniority,” I said, my voice firm, “From the first people to be introduced to the Hillsglade House situation to the most recent, we each take our turn. Hopefully the new people, like Kathy and the kids, will be able to pick up some details here or there, or amend their questions. Everyone else stays quiet, unless you have something to add.”
There were a few nods.
“My name is Blake, I’m, as far as I can tell, a fakery that grandmother Thorburn put in place to take the hits while Rose figured out how all of this works. Because our family has enemies. As you’ve all seen. Things have hit a climax, all of those enemies have mustered forces, and now that Jacob’s Bell is starting to grow, they want to fight to decide who gets to be in charge. Just about the only thing they can all agree on is that they hate the Thorburns.”
“Because of bad karma?” Peter asked
I gave him a look, but judged it was a good thing to help clear up with the others.
“It’s complicated, but that’s it in a nutshell,” I said. “Telling people about this stuff is a fast track to getting more bad karma. Getting involved with the sort of things Grandmother got involved with is a faster track. The lawyers are a part of that. Those are the bullet points for what you need to know about why this is happening. Rose is gone, and you guys are… like I said, nobody wants to be the one to tell you ‘hey, magic is real‘, so you’re-”
“Human shields,” Kathryn said.
“Basically,” I answered.
She nodded.
“Cat’s out of the bag,” I said, “We’re trapped, and honestly, we don’t have a lot of options. We could wait until sunrise, but I don’t think we’ll get that far, playing the defensive game. If we fought, well, I don’t think all of us are going to beat all of them, because there’s an awful lot of them.”
I saw a few nods, fatalistic glares, and tension running through people’s bodies.
“That’s why I’m proposing the fire,” I said. “Fire gets people’s attention. Rose wanted to play a game of chicken. She’s betting on the fact that the people out there are too scared of the monster on the fourth floor to keep her in a straightjacket and padded room somewhere, or whatever they’re doing with her. By setting a fire, we’re escalating the game of chicken and take away the sense that they’re in control. That’s one advantage of the strategy.”
“There are disadvantages,” Alexis said, her voice still a little odd from the spiritual infusion.
I held up a hand. “Hold on. Hear me out. There’s more to it. Look at the big picture. We’re holed up in here, and the monsters and friends of the major groups in the area are hounding us, pounding on the door. Meanwhile, the others should be holed up in their individual homes and demesnes, watching, waiting, and keeping their metaphorical doors locked.”
“Ahh,” Peter said. “I like this kind of thinking.”
“I thought you would,” I answered.
“Clarify?” Kathryn asked.
“The ones who aren’t monsters are, for the most part, people. They have their own worries and concerns,” I said.
“What’s going to happen if we lose this game of chicken?” Peter asked. “What’s my enemy planning right this second? Are we ready to make the next move? Am I safe? We’re fighting for our lives, but they’re tense. They’re… are they singular or plural? The powers?”
“Mostly families,” I said. “One mostly-singular guy with a talking angel-dog and a lot of favors he’s just called in.”
“Yeah. So they’ve got their own drama to handle, then. Tension in the ranks?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“With the fire, we add to the tension. See what snaps. Number one way? You see it every day. ‘This deal expires! Stock is running out! Hurry! Don’t think, just act!‘ Take away their time.”
“That’s more subtle than what I was considering, and some of these people manipulate time, so…” I shook my head a little. “We’ve got help out there. Not a lot, but Rose is there, so is Corvidae. I’m… flexible in terms of how I can move around. If we can draw them out, we can target them.”
“While the house is on fire,” Alexis said.
“While the house is on fire,” I agreed. “It might scare some of the Others-”
“It scares me!” Ty raised his voice.
I held up my hands. “Hold on. In order. Alexis.”
Alexis glanced over the room.
“I have concerns,” she said, her voice still a little odd, “and by their nature, they’re concerns I can’t share.”
“That’s bullshit,” Ellie said, still upstairs, watching us through the railing.
“No, it’s not,” Tiff said, “Seconding that statement.”
“I’ll back it too,” Ty said.
I resisted the urge to snarl with frustration. “That’s really not helping.”
“It’s the truth,” Alexis said. “My turn to talk, right?”
I could still sense the spirits within her. Her voice was eerily clear, almost clearer than anything I’d ever heard.
“Go ahead,” I said, though I couldn’t meet her eyes.
She might have thought it was out of anger or frustration. It wasn’t.
“There are other factors at play. You can’t go with your gut because you’re not entirely you. You… put a spirit inside of me to give me the energy to keep going. That you can even do that should be a clue that there are forces at play inside you that aren’t purely Blake.”
I’d unconsciously shut my eyes, following her words.
The word that stood out to me, oddly enough, was entirely. A few hundredths of a second’s hesitation partway through speaking the word.
Not entirely myself.
“Stop,” I told her.
“She’s supposed to say her piece,” Peter said. “You laid down the rules, don’t break them right away.”
“I’m not,” I said. “Just… I can’t stand here and let her keep saying what she wants to say without full disclosure. The spirit I gave you, it’s giving me an in. A way to see what you’re saying or feeling. I don’t know.”
I managed to meet Alexis’ eyes.
“If you keep talking, I might be able to figure out something I shouldn’t. I may already have an inkling from what you just said. I don’t… I can’t convey how badly I want to figure out what’s going on. I feel like it’s a matter of life or death, a question of my existence. But I want to play fair with you more.”
In the seconds of near-silence that followed, with only the pounding on the door, Alexis folded her arms. I saw her turn her hand over, as if she was studying it for changes. She clenched her fist.
“‘Kay,” she replied.
Just like before, I was able to read her tone, getting a sense of her attitude.
Pretty fucking powerful implications for a damn one-letter response.