Wanted: Undead or Alive

You Win Some, You Lose Some

For all the obvious reasons, Nick couldn't meet with us in person. He put me on speakerphone and invited Mx. Landry to join the conversation.

Holly Warwick, Moose, and I sat around Holly's kitchen table with my phone in the center. Baby Zoticus napped in his swing. When I commented on the uniqueness of his name, his mother told me it meant "full of life." From Death, came life. I sort of loved it.

Nick kicked the conversation off by asking Moose if he was okay, even though I'd already explained that he was fine.

"I'll be a fuck's lot better when I get out of this witch's house," Moose said.

"Don't be an ass, Moose. That's what got you in trouble in the first place," Mx. Landry said.

Moose crossed his meaty arms and pouted like a child.

I took the next few minutes to explain the details of the situation as I understood it. "Did I get it right?" I asked Holly afterward.

"Yeah. That's pretty much it," she said.

"Pretty much, or exactly?" Nick asked. "There is no margin for error in this."

Holly said she couldn't think of any more accurate way to explain it. "I'd rather not go into detail about my relationship with Valynais, but in broad strokes, Olivia is correct."

"I take it Sathanas doesn't know about the child?" Nick asked.

Her gaze darted to the baby. "No one knows. Nobody at all, except you. Please—"

Nick cut her off. "You don't need to beg. It's not our secret to tell. I will give you my mother's information, though. Get in touch with her. She'll know how to help better than anyone. You can't raise such a child on your own. It's not safe for you or for any of us."

She nodded. "I understand. Thank you."

"Mx. Landry will come to the house and stay with the baby," Nick said.

"I'm not really a kid person," Mx. Landry said.

"You're the only one who will know how to get the child to safety if this goes sour. The celestials are involved. We can't leave anything to chance."

We could all clearly hear Mx. Landry's great sigh. "Fine."

"Holly, you're going to need to go outside the perimeter of your warding. It's the only way to draw Sathanas. We'll be ready for him."

I thought Nick was promising a bit more than he could deliver, but I was loyal enough, or maybe hopeful enough, to keep my mouth shut.

"It's not the only way," Holly said. "If Valynais comes, Sathanas—"

"If Valynais and Sathanas both show up, it's going to be a war. There's no way we can guarantee the safety of your neighbors under those circumstances. Valynais needs to let us manage this."

"Can you guarantee the safety of my neighbors if he doesn't come?"

"I can guarantee their odds are better."

Nick asked if I still had the sphaera captivitatis.

"It's in the Honda."

"Get it out and hold it in your hands and do not set it down again until you attempt to use it. Moose?"

Moose grunted.

"You're the guard, my friend. It's on you."

"I won't let you down, boss."

"I'm aware. Give Mx. Landry twenty minutes to get there and waste no time. The faster we move, the less likely unexpected circumstances will arise."

We hung up and the three of us spent an awkward and tense twenty minutes in Holly's kitchen. She paced back and forth across the width of the small room. Moose sulked in his chair. I retrieved the fancy bowling ball from the Honda and held it in my lap while I made embarrassing attempts at small talk until Holly finally paused her pacing long enough to ask, "Will you please just stop?"