Part 3 (2/2)
He shook his head. ”There are only two we can link directly to Bonville-his wife and Maureen.” He shrugged, antic.i.p.ating my next question as to how Maureen was connected. ”He was having an affair with her.”
Dude was a playah for sure. Wondered what this Bonville guy looked like.
”So the other five are simply missing?” Rhonda said, her previous questions about the Shadow People unanswered.
Dags nodded. ”There was talk the others were somehow involved with Bonville, but no one ever knew in what way. Since there wasn't any tangible link between them and him?” he sighed. ”They're not really a part of the official investigation.”
I narrowed my eyes at Dags-why did I get the impression he knew a lot more than he was saying? I mean, not that I really knew this guy or anything. There was just something...
...odd.
Nona held up her hand. ”So you think Dr. Bonville has something to do with the Shadow People and Maureen's death as well as his wife's the other missing employees?”
He nodded.
Mom shook her head. ”Poppyc.o.c.k.”
I looked at mom with shock. Hadn't I warned her about using words like that? She was so going to get type-cast like that.
Dags and Rhonda started to protest but Jemmy held up her hand. ”Why you think that, Nona?”
”Because he has the reputation of a magician. A magician in this day and age--given that meaning--isn't going to ally himself with Shadow People.”
Uh--I scribbled on my board. WHY NOT? And where did she suddenly get this fount of knowledge when earlier she didn't know anything more about Shadow People than we did?
Rhonda reached out over the table and flipped the Big Book open. A few more pages to the right, then the left, one right and-- ”Because it says so right here,” she pointed to a rather ornate page in the book. I stood up and leaned over the table to see just as Dags, Jemmy and Tim did the same.
”Okay, I can't read that,” Dags said in a dejected voice. ”It looks like an ancient dialect of Finnish.”
”Actually it's Gaelic,” Rhonda said. ”First generation--though not far removed from second gen, B.C.”
I could feel the geek-meter in the room rise to the red-o-doom.
I scribbled and put the board under her nose. YOU WANT ME SCREAM? WHAT SAY?
”Scream?” Dags looked at me. ”You can't talk but you can scream?”
”You really don't want her to do that,” Rhonda held out her hand. ”Just everyone sit down.”
We did.
”Shadow People, otherwise known as Shadow Folk--according to this tome--are in essence, elemental human spirits.”
Uhm.
What? Wikipedia didn't say that.
And that definition is like a kazillion light years away from Brownie.
Dags shook his head. ”So--what does that mean? I know what elemental is--being of the elements. There are elementals that control each of the five realms. Earth, air, fire, water and spirit.”
Rhonda beamed. I mean, she was glowing she was so happy to have found another information spout. ”Exactly. But Shadow Folk are basically humans who transcended life in this physical plane, gaining a bit of elemental attachment.”
I erased with the back of my hand, scribbled. THOUGHT U SAID NOT HUMAN.
Rhonda pursed her lips. ”No, I didn't say that. The emails from Maureen said they didn't seem human.”
Oh. So much for that great memory of mine.
Steve put a finger to his chin, a sign he was processing all this. ”So how does this happen? This transcendental mingling of human spirit and elemental?”
I turned my thoughts back to Daniel and wondered what time it was. I did not like the idea of him being alone.
”The Book doesn't say. What it does say is that these creatures have been around as long as the planet itself--existing before people from what I can tell. And they have mischievous streaks and are known in several countries. Domovoi in Slavic folklore, tomte in Scandinavian, lares in the Roman dieties, and wirry-cow in Scotland, a tonttu in Finland and here--”
We all waited. G.o.d she was being dramatic.
”We call them Brownies.”
There was that dead silence again.
”You're s.h.i.+tting me,” Dags said in a deep voice.
Well, so much for Wikipedia. I told you.
”Brownies?” Nona looked at the book. ”You sure you read that right? I mean, your ancient Gaelic is up to date, right?”
That's about the time it hit me: how come Rhonda, whom I always a.s.sumed was younger than me, can read Gaelic?
What, do they teach that in schools now?
”Well aren't Brownies supposed to look like little people?” Nona asked.
And to be honest--I'd kinda had that image in my head too.
”Well, they might have looked like little people centuries ago, before the disbelief in magic became the social norm,” Steve said. Everyone looked at him. ”But over the centuries they've become shadowy because of our perception.”
”How so?” Jemmy said.
”Well, think of myself and Tim. Not everyone can see us, even when we pull our energy together and become corporeal. Which tells me that different people have different filters. Ways of viewing the world. Much like a channel on a television.”
Dags nodded slowly. ”I'm getting there--”
Glad he was. I was still stuck on Brownies, and I wasn't getting the image of some movie with a Brownie swimming in a Stein of beer out of my head. Oy.
”Think of it as the picture's only as good as the television's reception. Bad reception, bad picture. I don't think we as humans have the necessary capabilities to see them clearly anymore, so we see shadows. As to what they are--” he shrugged. ”I feel that's still debatable. They might be Brownies--but I'll hold my opinion on that for now.”
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