I blinked at her. She looked perfectly serious. “Agent Prescott.” She shook her head. “Your, ah, friend from Pennsylvania. Ryan Prescott.”
Her lips formed an O of surprise. “His name is Prescott?”
My mouth fell open in return. “Are you kidding me? How can you not know his name?”
Mrs. Kendricks cleared her throat, unable to meet my eyes. “Well, we were never formally introduced.”
“But isn’t he –” I stopped and glanced at Olivia, who was looking at the two of us like we were speaking gibberish. “Isn’t he Mr. Kendricks?” I asked quietly.
“Excuse me?”
“Isn’t he –” I cleared my own throat, “Stacy’s, um, you know.”
“Oh.” Mrs. Kendricks let out a long sigh. “Yes.”
“Does he know?” She shook her head sadly. “Why not?”
“I never saw him again. I had to leave home before he returned.”
“Oh. Oh! That’s why your mother was mad at you.”
“Yes,” she admitted. “I waited as long as I could but when I started showing, I had to tell Mother. Warwick was no place to be a pregnant teenager, especially when the father was nowhere to be found.” Olivia gasped as she finally figured out what we were talking about but Mrs. Kendricks just stared off into the distance.
“Mother sent me to live with her sister in Kentucky,” she went on. “I was supposed to give the baby up for adoption after she was born but I couldn’t do it. I just stayed there until Anastasia was old enough to put into daycare so I could start working to support her. Eventually we ended up here.” Mrs. Kendricks smiled. “I can’t complain, though. It all worked out well in the end.”
“Does Stacy know about him?”
“I never told her. Ryan and I met under very unusual circumstances, remember. He almost died saving my life and I showed him my gratitude the only way I could. But he had to leave the next morning and we never saw each other again until last night. That’s a little hard to explain,” she added wryly, “even to someone as worldly as Anastasia.”
“How did you know he was still alive, then?” She gave me a quizzical look. “You told me a while back that Stacy’s father was still alive. How could you be so sure if you didn’t know his last name and you never saw him again?”
“I was a pretty fair witch even back then. He was in bad shape before his friends found us so I made a bond with him that night, something that would let me know me if he, well, died. It’s still going.”
“A bond? You mean like the one he made with Olivia?”
“Nothing that strong, just a little feeling in my heart whenever I think of him. I doubt he even knows it’s there. Don’t tell him,” she grimaced. “He might be upset with me.”
“I have no intention of talking to him at all if I can help it,” I assured her, “but aren’t you going to tell him about Stacy?”
She hesitated. “Maybe after all this is over. Last night notwithstanding, we’re at cross-purposes at the moment.”
“Last night?” I frowned. “At our house?”
“No, afterwards. He and I, ah, spent some time catching up on things.” A pink glow tinged Mrs. Kendricks’ cheeks and Olivia sucked in a shocked breath.
“Is she talking about sex?” she demanded. “They’re not married!”
“He’s the father of her daughter,” I pointed out.
“That’s even worse! She must have been just a kid! He should be in jail!”
“It’s been nineteen years. I think the statute of limitations is up.”
“That doesn’t make it right!”
“Is something wrong?” Mrs. Kendricks asked.
“Sorry, Olivia has some strongly-held beliefs about premarital sex.”
“Ah. Well, I won’t apologize for it, Olivia,” she said to the empty space to Olivia’s left. “Marriage license or not, Ryan and I still love each other very much. He never married either,” she added with a shy smile.
“So are you going to marry him?” I asked her. “After all this is over, I mean?”
“Well,” she cleared her throat delicately, “let’s worry about that later. For now, you two go home and I’ll see if I can find that cat. Or cats,” she added ruefully.
“We can help,” I offered.
“No, go home and get some real rest. Let Susie know we’re going to need her later.” A door banged loudly somewhere in the building and Mrs. Kendricks checked her watch. “That’s probably Mrs. Phipps. I’d better walk you out so she doesn’t think you’re trespassing.”
“Why would anyone want to sneak into a library?” I asked skeptically as she led the way out into the hall.
“You’d be surprised. Good morning, Mrs. Phipps!” she called. A rail-thin woman with gray-white hair paced slowly towards us from the foyer. “She’s been here longer than I’ve been alive,” Mrs. Kendricks whispered. “She mostly just dusts the shelves but I don’t have the heart to let her go.”
“Good morning, Mrs. Kendricks.” Mrs. Phipps’ voice was as dry and creaky as a rusty gate. “And who is this?” She squinted at us through the thick lenses of her glasses.
“Peter’s sister is in the library club,” Mrs. Kendricks explained. “He just dropped by to say hello.”
“Hmm. You don’t look at all alike.” Mrs. Phipps tsked under her breath. “And you should be wearing proper footwear, young lady. A library is a hallowed institution, it deserves respect.”
All three of us blinked in unison. “You – you can see me?” Olivia stammered.
“Of course I can,” Mrs. Phipps replied primly. “I may be past my prime but everything still works. I’ll start upstairs, if that’s all right, Mrs. Kendricks.”
“Oh, ah, yes, that’ll be fine, Mrs. Phipps.” We stood there and watched Mrs. Phipps make her slow and tottering way down to the end of the hall and vanish around the corner. “Well, that was … unexpected.”
“Are you sure she’s not a ghost?” Olivia asked doubtfully. “She looks like someone dug her out of a tomb this morning.”
“Mrs. Kendricks can see her,” I pointed out, “so probably not. She’s not going to be a problem, is she?” I asked Mrs. Kendricks.
“No, she’s fine. She didn’t even realize Olivia is a ghost. What was that about footwear, though?”
“Oh, ah, Olivia’s just wearing what she died in. Her, uh, nightgown.”
“Peter!” Olivia protested, clutching her skirt again. “Don’t tell her that!”
“I see,” Mrs. Kendricks said, hiding a smile, “or I guess I don’t see. All right, I’ll call you later, Peter.”
“What should I do if Prescott shows up at our house?” I asked anxiously.
“Call me immediately,” she said seriously, “and then run.”
27
The passage of time is subjective. Some things just drag on forever, like waiting for Mom and Dad to wake up on Christmas morning. Other things zip past faster than you want them to, like the clock on the wall when you’re stuck on the last page of the test.
Sometimes time can alter your perception of time. I remember us visiting the Fort Worth Zoo one summer. It’s maybe an hour’s drive from Hellburn but back when I was ten, it seemed like it took all day, especially stuck in the back of the van with Susie. Today, I wouldn’t think twice about hopping in the car and zipping up there for an afternoon. The distance between Fort Worth and Hellburn hasn’t changed in the past eight years but now it hardly seems further than the corner store. Time and space have shrunk over the years.
Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity explains the relationship between space and time and the speed of light. Among other things, it describes how time slows down for you the faster you go, which is the exact opposite of my own personal experience. The faster I drive – staying under the posted speed limit at all times, of course – the sooner that stop sign way down the road suddenly pops up right in front of me. Conversely, sitting at the railway crossing waiting for a freight train to pass takes longer than most NFL
games. Einstein was a smart guy but his theories really don’t have much bearing on real life.
His most famous equation, E = mc2, has nothing to do with time – it describes the relationship between mass and energy – but I think it encapsulates the variable nature of time perception very well: Expectations = motivation x consequences2. My expectation of how quickly something should happen is a function of my interest in it happening times the square of the consequences if it doesn’t happen. In other words, the more I care about something and the bigger the problems it might cause me, the shorter the time I’m willing to wait. When reality fails to align with my expectations, that’s when I start to get stressed out.
There used to be a time, not all that long ago, when I could drive up to the house and not wonder what might be waiting for me inside. I turned off the car and carefully surveyed the property but everything seemed perfectly normal. “Do you see the cat anywhere?” I asked Olivia.
“Why are you whispering?” she asked irritably. “It can’t understand you.”
“It might,” I argued, although I really had no idea if that was true. I should have asked Mrs. Kendricks about familiars when I had the chance. “Is it out there or not?”
Olivia rolled her eyes but dutifully looked around. “I don’t see it.”
Neither did I but there were at least a dozen places in the garden where it might be lurking. Still, sitting out here wasn’t going to do anyone any good. I got out and walked around to open Olivia’s door. “If it tells Agent Prescott that I’m opening the door for no reason, he might wonder what’s going on.”
“I think he’d wonder more about you talking to yourself all the time,” she sniffed as she got out.
“Why are you being so difficult all of a sudden?” I headed for the front door and she had to scurry through the gate before it closed.
“I’m bored!” she complained. “I wanted to go out and do something and we just keep driving back and forth to the library.”
“Sorry if the current crisis is inconveniencing you.” I opened the door carefully and peered inside. Everything was still and quiet, which was either very good news or very bad news. “It’ll all be over in a few hours.”
“And then what?”
“What do you mean?”
“What happens to me? Do I just stay here being dead or do I go to Heaven or what?”
“We’ll find out tonight, I guess. Are you coming in or not?” She stepped inside, looking dissatisfied, and I closed the door behind her. “Go watch a movie if you need something to do. Just keep the volume down. I have to check on Dara.”
Olivia made a grumpy sort of noise and walked through the den door as I headed down the hall. I listened at my bedroom door and then peeked inside. Dara was still sound asleep – although I knew that already, since Olivia was still haunting me – but Lilith was gone. Uh-oh. I stepped all the way in to make sure she wasn’t playing on my computer but the room was otherwise unoccupied.
Maybe she’s with Susie again. I ran across the hall and tried her door but it was locked. “Susie?” I called. “Is Lilith in there with you?”
“None of your business,” she replied testily. That meant yes.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing. Go away.”
This approach clearly wasn’t going to get me anywhere. I needed to figure out what Lilith was up to and put a stop to it before I lost Susie completely. I pressed my ear to the door but all I heard was a muted mumbling. I need my own familiar to listen in on them, I thought in frustration, and then inspiration struck. No, I need an invisible spy. I ran down the hall towards the den.
“Peter!” Mom was at the sink rinsing out a cup. “There you are! Where have you been all morning?”
“Oh, ah, I was just out running an errand,” I hedged, eyeing the door to the den.
“Is Dara up yet? I tried to wake her up for breakfast but she’s completely out of it. Did something happen to her last night?” she asked worriedly.
“No, she’s fine,” I assured her. “She was probably just up late on the computer or something.”
“I swear, that silly game of yours will be the death of the both of you some day,” she said, shaking her head dolefully.
“It’s just a game, Mom,” I sighed. This wasn’t the first time she’d predicted my demise by computer game.
“Well, she should be more like her sister,” she insisted. “Lilith’s already up and helping Susie.”
“Helping her do what?” Maybe I didn’t need a spy after all.
“She didn’t say,” Mom admitted, “but the two of them have been locked in her room all morning. We’re so lucky Lilith decided to come by and visit, don’t you think? She and Susie have really hit it off.”
“Yes,” I said unenthusiastically, “really lucky.”
“She’s been such a positive influence on her, too! Did you see what Susie was wearing this morning?” Mom was practically giddy with excitement.
“Um, yeah, I did.”
“This has been the most amazing week. I can hardly wait to see what happens next!”
“I can,” I muttered to myself. “So is there anything else going on today that I should know about?”
“No, just the usual list of chores.” She perused the calendar on the fridge but today’s square was blank, a rare occurrence in the Collins household. “I may go down to the museum and help out with the exhibits. You could come along,” she added hopefully.
“Gee, I’d love to, but I still need to take a shower and I’ll probably lie down for a bit. I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that! Are you feeling all right?” She reached up to feel my forehead but I fended her off.
“I’m fine, Mom, I just need a quick nap, that’s all.” We both started when an orchestral fanfare blared from the den. “Sorry, I must have left the TV on!” I told her hastily. “I’ll take care of it.”
I double-timed it into the den and set my back to the door. Olivia was sitting on the couch with a remote in each hand and a scowl on her face. “I told you to keep the volume down!” I hissed.
“I can’t figure out which remote it is.” She pointed the right-hand one at the TV and pressed a button but nothing happened.
“It’s this one.” I grabbed it off the coffee table and tapped the volume all the way down to zero.
“Peter! I can’t hear anything!”
“It doesn’t matter right now. I need you to go into Susie’s room and find out what she and Lilith are doing.”
“Why don’t you just ask them?” She tried to grab the remote from me but I hid it behind my back.
“I did. They won’t tell me. Come on, it’ll just take a second.” She just crossed her arms and glared at me. “If Lilith convinces Susie not to help us, you might be stuck inside Dara forever.” That was probably overstating things but I didn’t have the patience to stand there and argue with a balky ghost.
“Fine,” she grumbled. She dropped her remotes onto the table with a clatter and followed me out. I watched Mom out of the corner of my eye as we passed the kitchen but she didn’t seem to notice anything amiss.
I stopped beside Susie’s door and gestured to Olivia. She heaved a put-upon sigh and stuck her head through the door. The result was very disconcerting but she stepped back after a few seconds. “They’re putting on makeup,” she reported. “Can I go now?”
“Makeup?” That sounded harmless but Lilith couldn’t be trusted. “Just regular makeup, nothing weird?”
“Eyeliner and mascara. It looks nice. Are we done?”
“What are they talking about?”
“Peter, eavesdropping on people is rude!” she protested.
“Unless one of them is an evil, manipulative demon bent on destroying our souls and consigning her sister to a fate worse than death,” I countered. “Get a move on.”
Olivia huffed her irritation but complied. This time she stepped completely inside Susie’s room and stayed there
forever, although it was probably only a couple of minutes. When she finally reappeared, she wore a doubtful frown.
“Well?” I prompted.
“Lilith said that witches are wasting their time trying to maintain their balance. What does that mean?”
“Not their balance, the balance. The balance of nature or life or something like that. What did Susie say?”
“She said it would be a lot simpler just to change things that needed to be changed but witches have rules and stuff to keep people from being hurt.”
“So was she agreeing with Lilith or arguing with her?” I asked uneasily.
“I’m not sure, actually,” Olivia admitted. “No offense, but your sister’s kind of strange.”
“That’s an understatement,” I muttered. “Well, at least she’s keeping Lilith away from Dara for the moment. All right, keep an eye on things while I take my shower.” Olivia made a face. “You can go watch your movie, just listen for trouble. And don’t do anything to Mom if she happens to walk in, okay?”
She agreed reluctantly and we went our separate ways. I crept into my bedroom and grabbed a pair of shorts to change into and then headed for the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and lathered and scrubbed and rinsed with alacrity, listening intently for shattering windows and screaming all the while, but all I heard was the rush of water from the shower head. I hoped that meant everything was okay.
I threw my dirty clothes into the hamper, remembering to empty my pockets this time, and came across Melissa’s panties again. I debated with myself what to do with them and finally just tossed them in as well. It wasn’t like Mom was going to be surprised by finding strange underwear in the laundry anymore.
The hallway was empty and I listened at Susie’s door, but all I heard was the faint cadence of someone talking. I couldn’t even tell which of them it was, let alone what she was saying, so I gave up and headed down the hall towards the den. Halfway there, I realized that trying to take a nap while Olivia was watching a movie would be an exercise in futility. Instead, I retreated into my room.
Daraxandriel was curled up on the bed hugging her tail, absolutely motionless except for the slow rise and fall of her breathing. I closed my door and just watched her for a while, feeling a bit wistful. Things used to be so good, I thought glumly, before Lilith showed up.
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