real.
“She can hear you,” I informedhim. “That’s why we’re here, butt plug.”
“You didn’t tell me that, either,” Isaac griped. He didn’t have the sense to be embarrassed. He had gone into the Marines straight out of high school and thought he was attractive to women, and maybe he was. Being an idiot doesn’t seem to be too big of a deterrent to women when the idiot in question is six foot three, well-muscled, smooth featured,and confident.
“Knights don’t tell anyone more than they have to,” Sarah informed Isaac. “Now be quiet and let the grown-ups talk.”
And Isaac actually shut up. It really must have been her place of power.
“What is he?” she asked me. “He’s not a spirit. He’s not an astral projection, either.”
“He’s Isaac Roberts,” I said, hoping to personalize him a little. “A private in the Marine Corps.”
Hercool stare told me that she was no fool. “I asked what he was. Not who.”
“That’s a little complicated,” I said.
Her expression didn’t change.
“You know how some beings use faery rings to take shortcuts through time and space?” I began. “They travel through some in-between place…”
Sarah nodded. “I call it the Twilight Isle.”
“Don’t we have enough names for that place without making new ones?”I was mildly annoyed. “Is something wrong with Limbo? Or the Dreamtime? The spirit paths? The fourth dimension? Hyperspace?”
“What’s really bothering you?” she asked curiously.
I thought about it. “Our world is weird and melodramatic enough without giving things even more romantic names. If I were going to make up my own name for that place, I’d call it Hank.”
“That’s because I respect magic,”Sarah snapped. “And you don’t want to admit that you’re afraid of it. I suppose it would be harder to kill magical beings if you allowed yourself to feel awe.”
“Well, if you’re going to get all insightful, I’m going to stop arguing,” I shot back.
Her mouth made a reluctant smile that she tried to hide by sipping from her coffee. “Get on with your story.”
“Anyway, I found Isaac in a faery ringin the Great Smoky Mountains while I was hunting a wila,” I continued. “She had enthralled him and stuck him in that in-between place when I performed a countercharm that let me see him. The only way I knew to deactivate the damned thing was to kill the wila that had summoned it.”
I looked at her with a touch of challenge. “Which I did. If you think that makes me a murderer, go ahead and thinkit.”
“What I think is my concern, and I don’t need your permission to do it,” Sarah answered levelly.
“When he killed her, I woke up and walked out of the ring,” Isaac finished. I think he was a little worried about the way the conversation was going. “I was stuck like this. Tom here says that the only reason he can see me is because of that counter-thing he did.”
And no, I hadn’t given Isaacmy real name.
“That evil bitch killed two of my friends,” Isaac added. “And she made me love her anyway. Tom isn’t no murderer.”
There’s nothing like being defended with a double negative.
Sarah didn’t respond to Isaac’s words directly, but she did reassess him. “So this is actually your material body? It’s just out of sync with our reality?”
Isaac looked uncomfortable. “I guess so.”
“Why haven’tyou starved?” Sarah asked bluntly.
“Isaac discovered this weird ability while he was obsessing over some beef jerky in my car,” I explained. “If nobody is looking at a thing, and he focuses on it for a long time while he’s in contact with it, he can drag it onto whatever plane he’s on. That’s the only reason he’s dressed right now. If he stops making contact with the object, the thing eventuallyrematerializes. But eating something or wearing it keeps him in touch with it, so to speak.”
Sarah’s brow wrinkled. “So when you use the bathroom, does whatever you
“She can hear you,” I informedhim. “That’s why we’re here, butt plug.”
“You didn’t tell me that, either,” Isaac griped. He didn’t have the sense to be embarrassed. He had gone into the Marines straight out of high school and thought he was attractive to women, and maybe he was. Being an idiot doesn’t seem to be too big of a deterrent to women when the idiot in question is six foot three, well-muscled, smooth featured,and confident.
“Knights don’t tell anyone more than they have to,” Sarah informed Isaac. “Now be quiet and let the grown-ups talk.”
And Isaac actually shut up. It really must have been her place of power.
“What is he?” she asked me. “He’s not a spirit. He’s not an astral projection, either.”
“He’s Isaac Roberts,” I said, hoping to personalize him a little. “A private in the Marine Corps.”
Hercool stare told me that she was no fool. “I asked what he was. Not who.”
“That’s a little complicated,” I said.
Her expression didn’t change.
“You know how some beings use faery rings to take shortcuts through time and space?” I began. “They travel through some in-between place…”
Sarah nodded. “I call it the Twilight Isle.”
“Don’t we have enough names for that place without making new ones?”I was mildly annoyed. “Is something wrong with Limbo? Or the Dreamtime? The spirit paths? The fourth dimension? Hyperspace?”
“What’s really bothering you?” she asked curiously.
I thought about it. “Our world is weird and melodramatic enough without giving things even more romantic names. If I were going to make up my own name for that place, I’d call it Hank.”
“That’s because I respect magic,”Sarah snapped. “And you don’t want to admit that you’re afraid of it. I suppose it would be harder to kill magical beings if you allowed yourself to feel awe.”
“Well, if you’re going to get all insightful, I’m going to stop arguing,” I shot back.
Her mouth made a reluctant smile that she tried to hide by sipping from her coffee. “Get on with your story.”
“Anyway, I found Isaac in a faery ringin the Great Smoky Mountains while I was hunting a wila,” I continued. “She had enthralled him and stuck him in that in-between place when I performed a countercharm that let me see him. The only way I knew to deactivate the damned thing was to kill the wila that had summoned it.”
I looked at her with a touch of challenge. “Which I did. If you think that makes me a murderer, go ahead and thinkit.”
“What I think is my concern, and I don’t need your permission to do it,” Sarah answered levelly.
“When he killed her, I woke up and walked out of the ring,” Isaac finished. I think he was a little worried about the way the conversation was going. “I was stuck like this. Tom here says that the only reason he can see me is because of that counter-thing he did.”
And no, I hadn’t given Isaacmy real name.
“That evil bitch killed two of my friends,” Isaac added. “And she made me love her anyway. Tom isn’t no murderer.”
There’s nothing like being defended with a double negative.
Sarah didn’t respond to Isaac’s words directly, but she did reassess him. “So this is actually your material body? It’s just out of sync with our reality?”
Isaac looked uncomfortable. “I guess so.”
“Why haven’tyou starved?” Sarah asked bluntly.
“Isaac discovered this weird ability while he was obsessing over some beef jerky in my car,” I explained. “If nobody is looking at a thing, and he focuses on it for a long time while he’s in contact with it, he can drag it onto whatever plane he’s on. That’s the only reason he’s dressed right now. If he stops making contact with the object, the thing eventuallyrematerializes. But eating something or wearing it keeps him in touch with it, so to speak.”
Sarah’s brow wrinkled. “So when you use the bathroom, does whatever you
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