Part 10 (1/2)

”You seem half there,” Roy said. ”You sure you can drive?”

”I'm sure,” Steven said, starting the car. ”Where to? Gig Harbor?”

”No time like the present,” Roy said, sitting back in his seat.

”So I did that?” Steven said, pulling the car from the curb. ”I'm the reason he did that to himself?”

”You're the reason an ent.i.ty did that to him,” Roy said. ”You didn't do it, neither did Robbie.”

”The poor kid,” Steven said. ”He didn't deserve that.”

”I'm worried much worse will come to him,” Roy said, ”if we don't get this figured out.”

”Please forgive me for not getting up,” Judith said, setting down her emptied gla.s.s of protection, and reclining on her day bed in the same pose they'd seen in their earlier visits. ”I have a condition, brought on by a psychic attack years ago, and it comes back on me every now and again. It flared up on me yesterday. I'm afraid it's quite painful.”

”Sorry to hear that,” Steven said.

”Have you ever had s.h.i.+ngles?” Judith asked him.

”No ma'am,” Steven said.

”You?” she asked, turning to Roy.

”Once, years ago,” Roy said.

”Ah, so you know the feeling,” Judith said, ”of just wanting to blow your brains out. This is very similar.”

”Well, thank you for working with us, considering the circ.u.mstances,” Steven said.

”I must admit,” Judith said, ”that after each of our visits I've wondered what's come of your adventure, so I do enjoy getting an update.”

”The woman, the mother of the child, she's a dead end,” Roy said. ”We tried to win her over, but she wasn't persuaded.”

”That's unfortunate,” Judith said. She reached for a bell on a table next to the bed and rang it.

G.o.d, not more cuc.u.mbers, Steven thought.

”I'm going to ask Clara for some tea,” Judith said, ”and I hope you'll have some. It has the most soothing effect. It's about the only thing that calms my flare-ups. So the woman is out, that's too bad. What else?”

”We met with a family member, who told us quite a bit about Evie that's the mother,” Steven said. ”Some of her history, how she was taught the gift but rebelled against her father. Now she's denounced it, but the family member Evie's uncle thinks Evie is a liar and doesn't believe anything she says.”

”Sounds like an astute man,” Judith said.

”You rang?” Clara said behind them.

”Some more red tea please, and settings for our guests,” Judith said. Clara turned to leave.

”And what else?” Judith said. ”There's more, isn't there?”

”Yes,” Steven said. ”We met with the child.”

”Without protection?” Judith asked, alarmed.

”Correct,” Steven said. ”I guess we didn't think it through very well.”

”Well put,” Judith said. ”I see you're both intact, what about the boy?”

”He bit the end of his finger off,” Steven said. ”And told me it was my fault.”

”As it was,” Judith said.

”It wasn't Steven's fault,” Roy said. ”You told us the token June had would protect everyone in the house.”

”It most certainly was his fault,” Judith said, sputtering. ”Do you think he would have bitten his finger off had you not tried to talk with him?”

Roy was silent. Somehow Judith had deflected Roy completely.

”There's more,” Steven said. ”He has a marking, similar to my own.”

”How do you know?” she asked.

”I have a planchette, like the one you used,” Steven said. He removed it from his pocket and handed it to her. ”Robbie knew I was marked, even without the planchette. His markings are on his palms.”

”That's because he hasn't matured yet,” Judith said. ”They'll flip like yours once he's finished p.u.b.erty.” She glanced at the planchette Steven handed to her. ”This is ancient. Where did you get this?”

”It was a family object I've had for years,” Roy said. ”We didn't realize what it did until we saw your planchette last time we were here.”

”You see these markings?” Judith said, pointing to them with a twisted finger. ”Ancient. Let me see your hand.”

Judith held the planchette over Steven's hand, examining the markings. Then she pulled away from the planchette quickly, raising a hand to her chest to catch her breath.

”My,” she said, taking deep breaths. ”I would ask you to remove that object from my house immediately, but I suspect the engravings are what's keeping us safe. You used this to examine the boy's markings?”

”Yes,” Steven said.

”d.a.m.n,” Judith said. ”Now listen to me. You have to make sure these engravings around the gla.s.s don't get smudged or dirtied in any way. And I strongly suggest you keep this wrapped in black velvet. Keep it in a jar, and drop some cedar shavings into it before you seal it up. That way the eye won't be turned against you.”

”The eye?” Steven asked.

”The gla.s.s,” Judith said. ”You look through it at things, but things can look back through it at you. The creatures you're fighting now know about this eye. You'll have to take precautions, or they'll know your every move.”

”What about the markings on it? You said they're protecting us?” Steven said.

”Yes,” Judith said. ”The markings are powerful not because of the markings themselves, but because of their age. These are very old. You have a very rare eye.”