Part 21 (1/2)

”And all this bulls.h.i.+t about being friends?” Steven asked. ”You know I'm going to give it to you because you're holding my friends. I have little choice.”

”I don't know how you found it,” the man said, ”but there's a couple of other objects I've lost over the years. Well, not lost really, I'm more careful than that. They were stolen from me. I'm hoping you might have a source for the others. I'd like them all back, if I can get them.”

”I might have a source,” Steven said. ”What's to stop you from just tracking me to find them?”

”If they were in a place where I could get at them,” the man said, ”I'd have already recovered them. Sure, I'll track you. Why not. You're an interesting fellow. And those two, out there,” he nodded towards the clearing where Roy and Eliza were still floating, ”they're hoots, the old man especially.”

”He's my father,” Steven said.

”Whatever,” the man said. ”But wherever you got it, I couldn't get in. If you can locate my other objects and bring them to me, we'll be good friends.”

”Hardly,” Steven said. ”It's still all by force.”

”So there are more objects?” the man said. ”More objects that you don't know anything about? What they do, who they belong to? Sounds like it.”

Steven pressed his lips together, remaining silent.

”I'm going to let your friends go,” the man said, ”and I'm going to protect you from Vohuman so you can continue to return to me the items that are mine. That's a fair bargain.”

”I've always heard that making deals with a demon is a bad idea,” Steven said.

”People say all kinds of things,” the man said. ”I wonder how many of them are actually friends with a demon?”

”I do have a source,” Steven said. ”I don't know if your objects are there or not. I don't consider them mine. If you give me detailed descriptions of the items you're after, I'll look for them. If I find them, I'll give them to you.” Steven handed the planchette to the man. ”Provided that once I do so whether I have the items you want or not you'll leave me and my friends alone.”

”Deal,” the man said, taking the planchette, ”provided you agree to keep the terms secret between the two of us.” He turned the planchette over and looked through the gla.s.s at himself. ”Ah,” he said, closing his eyes. ”I've missed that. I'm so glad we've met, Steven.”

As Steven watched, the bodies of Roy and Eliza slowly moved towards them and then around their chairs and back into the tent. As they pa.s.sed, Steven could see that their eyes were still closed. I wonder if they heard any of this, he thought.

”No,” the man said, ”they didn't. And you won't be able to tell them about the deal you've made with the devil.”

”Is that what you are?” Steven asked. ”The devil?”

”I don't know,” the man said, standing up. ”What would you call someone who chops up little boys just for the pleasure of a chase?”

”If not the devil,” Steven said, ”you're pure evil.”

”Don't forget our agreement,” the man said, turning to walk towards the forest. ”I'll expect you to live up to it.”

”You'll have to give me descriptions,” Steven said as the man walked away from him. ”I want a complete list before I start looking.”

”And you'll get it,” the man said, his voice beginning to fade. ”I know where you live.”

Steven watched as the man entered the woods and disappeared. The sky was beginning to lighten sunrise was on its way. Steven remained seated in the camping chair, still angry from his interaction with Aka Manah. He racked his brain for options, for some way to get out of the deal he'd just made.

I don't know what ninety-nine percent of those items at Eximere do, anyway. They're useless to me. Returning a few to this demon is no skin off my back, especially if it keeps us safe.

But try as he might, he still felt wrong. The deal might not involve any more than a little of his time, but the idea of doing anything to help the monster that killed Robbie and June made him feel sick. And trapped.

Friends.h.i.+p indeed, he thought. I still feel f.u.c.ked.

The light began to increase. He expected to hear birds responding to it, then he remembered where he was.

Still a while before it's fully up, Steven thought. I'm not going to wake them. Let them sleep. I can explain all of this later. I'll start the coffee.

Chapter Fourteen.

”Judith,” Steven said, ”this is Eliza. Eliza, Judith.”

”Nice to meet you,” Eliza said.

”Yes, isn't it?” Judith said, eyeing Eliza from top to bottom.

”And here is the book I borrowed,” Steven said, handing Varieties of Demonic Repression back to her. ”There was a deposit.”

”Oh, yes,” she said. ”That. I'd almost forgotten. How much was it?”

”A thousand,” Steven said. ”Cash.”

”You'll have to take a check,” Judith said, reaching into a handbag by her side. ”We don't keep money like that around the house.”

”Sure,” Steven said.

”I trust you found it useful?” she asked as she looked for her checkbook and a pen within the handbag.

”I did,” Steven said. ”Very useful.”

”And you were able to resolve your problems with the demon?” she asked.

”Yes,” Steven said, ”as resolved as they're going to be.”

”If only life were like the movies,” Judith said, opening her checkbook and beginning to write. ”There would be a big explosion at the end and everyone would be fine. I'm guessing you cut a deal.”

”I can't talk about it,” Steven said.

”Typical demon request,” Judith said, ripping the check off her checkbook and handing it to Steven. ”I'm not surprised.”

”We're grateful to you,” Steven said. ”We would never have made it through without your guidance. And the book. Although it was completely wrong about how to deal with it.”

”You have to completely believe you're fighting against it to gain any kind of a bargaining advantage,” Judith said. ”They can read minds. If they know you're about to negotiate, you don't get much.”

”So you really did us a favor with all the misdirection,” Roy said. ”The mirrors, the amplification, all of that were never going to work. It was about getting a better deal with the demon.”

”And did you?” Judith asked Steven.