her?”
“Again, Devries, practically nothing. She has the same two Shielding Spells in place. I’ve no idea what she’s been doing. I can feel something about her, though.”
His face became even unhappier than was usual. He drew in a breath and held it, and then let it out.
“Beneath that outward polish, she is very deeply twisted. There’s a blackness, like a canker, at the center of her soul. Someone hurt her, once upon a time. And all she’s dreamt of, ever since, is hurting someone back. Make sure it isn’t you.”
Cass had sensed pretty much the same, hadn’t she? The second warning on that subject, so I told him I’d bear it in mind.
“And that’s the entire sum of my knowledge on the matter,” Willets finished up. He brought his narrow hands together. “We won’t know how much danger we’re in till we find out what Hanlon stole.”
But I was already starting to get a clearer picture. That second set of murders, last night. Anderson butchering his family, then killing himself. Did this thing Hanlon had stolen merely make a person like a ghost? Or was there more to it, far worse than that? I didn’t feel too optimistic about the way that things were starting to unravel.
I reminded myself that it was still a bright day outside. This place was even worse than the basement, the unnatural darkness pressing in on me. The doctor was looking slightly impatient, which was odd for a man with so much time on his hands.
“You’ve something else to tell me?” I asked.
“Something I’ve noticed, yes.”
“About?”
“You, man. Usually, you’re straight out through the door once we’ve finished talking. Yet you’re still sitting here.”
My thoughts were half elsewhere.
“Excuse me?”
“I sensed things about the Tollburns, and I sense them about you as well. You’ve another question, haven’t you? On a completely unrelated subject?”
There was a scrabbling noise from the corner of the room, but it didn’t bring my head around. There wasn’t much that I could hide from him. I’d resigned myself to that a long while ago. And so, my mind went back to the vision that I’d had last night.
I remembered what I’d been told by Amashta. So I asked him, exactly as she’d advised, “What does the word ‘T’choulon’ mean to you?”
He looked utterly dumbstruck. His eyelids narrowed, making the pupils burn even fiercer. And the permanent furrows on his brow grew more pronounced.
His head gave a shake, like he couldn’t quite believe what he’d just heard.
Then he said, “It’s not a word, Devries. It’s a name.”
He peered at me gravely.
“Where exactly did you hear it?”
A squirrel had snuck in and joined the pigeon on the rafter by the time I’d told him everything I knew…which wasn’t much. The two creatures took no notice of each other. They merely perched there, side by side, gazing down at Lehman Willets. I was staring at him too.
The bright red in his pupils seemed to dance and flicker slightly.
“It came to you in a dream?”
“Maybe something more than that,” I said. “A vision.”
“You’re a visionary now?”
I didn’t particularly care for the hint of dark sarcasm in his tone.
“Who or what exactly is T’choulon?”
See, I hadn’t mentioned Amashta yet. And he seemed to understand that I was holding something back from him. I’m not sure that he liked that very much. But this seemed to be a matter of importance, and excited him. His fingers wrapped themselves around each other nervously for a few seconds. And his head went down and swayed from side to side a little. He looked utterly consumed in thought.
Then, at last, he got himself calmed down. He put his palms on his thighs, and then straightened on his camp bed.
“Early on in my researching days,” he told me, “I got a notion that was unusual at the time. That if I tried to plan everything, do everything to schedule, then I wouldn’t get as far as I might, simply because
“Again, Devries, practically nothing. She has the same two Shielding Spells in place. I’ve no idea what she’s been doing. I can feel something about her, though.”
His face became even unhappier than was usual. He drew in a breath and held it, and then let it out.
“Beneath that outward polish, she is very deeply twisted. There’s a blackness, like a canker, at the center of her soul. Someone hurt her, once upon a time. And all she’s dreamt of, ever since, is hurting someone back. Make sure it isn’t you.”
Cass had sensed pretty much the same, hadn’t she? The second warning on that subject, so I told him I’d bear it in mind.
“And that’s the entire sum of my knowledge on the matter,” Willets finished up. He brought his narrow hands together. “We won’t know how much danger we’re in till we find out what Hanlon stole.”
But I was already starting to get a clearer picture. That second set of murders, last night. Anderson butchering his family, then killing himself. Did this thing Hanlon had stolen merely make a person like a ghost? Or was there more to it, far worse than that? I didn’t feel too optimistic about the way that things were starting to unravel.
I reminded myself that it was still a bright day outside. This place was even worse than the basement, the unnatural darkness pressing in on me. The doctor was looking slightly impatient, which was odd for a man with so much time on his hands.
“You’ve something else to tell me?” I asked.
“Something I’ve noticed, yes.”
“About?”
“You, man. Usually, you’re straight out through the door once we’ve finished talking. Yet you’re still sitting here.”
My thoughts were half elsewhere.
“Excuse me?”
“I sensed things about the Tollburns, and I sense them about you as well. You’ve another question, haven’t you? On a completely unrelated subject?”
There was a scrabbling noise from the corner of the room, but it didn’t bring my head around. There wasn’t much that I could hide from him. I’d resigned myself to that a long while ago. And so, my mind went back to the vision that I’d had last night.
I remembered what I’d been told by Amashta. So I asked him, exactly as she’d advised, “What does the word ‘T’choulon’ mean to you?”
He looked utterly dumbstruck. His eyelids narrowed, making the pupils burn even fiercer. And the permanent furrows on his brow grew more pronounced.
His head gave a shake, like he couldn’t quite believe what he’d just heard.
Then he said, “It’s not a word, Devries. It’s a name.”
He peered at me gravely.
“Where exactly did you hear it?”
A squirrel had snuck in and joined the pigeon on the rafter by the time I’d told him everything I knew…which wasn’t much. The two creatures took no notice of each other. They merely perched there, side by side, gazing down at Lehman Willets. I was staring at him too.
The bright red in his pupils seemed to dance and flicker slightly.
“It came to you in a dream?”
“Maybe something more than that,” I said. “A vision.”
“You’re a visionary now?”
I didn’t particularly care for the hint of dark sarcasm in his tone.
“Who or what exactly is T’choulon?”
See, I hadn’t mentioned Amashta yet. And he seemed to understand that I was holding something back from him. I’m not sure that he liked that very much. But this seemed to be a matter of importance, and excited him. His fingers wrapped themselves around each other nervously for a few seconds. And his head went down and swayed from side to side a little. He looked utterly consumed in thought.
Then, at last, he got himself calmed down. He put his palms on his thighs, and then straightened on his camp bed.
“Early on in my researching days,” he told me, “I got a notion that was unusual at the time. That if I tried to plan everything, do everything to schedule, then I wouldn’t get as far as I might, simply because
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