so.”
“You think so?” She shook her head. “Oh, honey. This is going to be just as bad for you.”
Chapter 10
Adeline refused to let us back around the cabins, but she did walk with us through the forest. Knowing that Vince and I were in some capacity more than friends made her open up a little more about what life would be like for him, but she was still hesitant to share too many specifics. I kept asking for details, and she finally snapped at me that she wasn’t going to give Charlie any more information than absolutely necessary.
Then she apologized, and quickly changed the subject. She wanted to know how Vince had become infected.
I told her about meeting Walter. Charlie held his tongue the entire time, but when I got to the part where Stark had showed up using Walter as a bridge, and she called me a liar, he couldn’t stay quiet any longer.
“He knew me when he saw me,” he said from the ground. “I should have made more of it, but I didn’t. I think he went after the only weapon he thought could defeat me, and summoned Stark.”
Adeline stopped walking, considering his words. I saw thin beads of sweat forming on her brow. “That’s really it for Stark, then? He’s gone to the Other Side for good?”
“If I can help it,” Charlie said.
“And that boy is out there, calling him up to see if demons can kill each other.” She wiped a hand over her face. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“I suppose he saw some irony in it,” Charlie said bitterly. “If you don’t mind my asking, when did werewolves start summoning?”
“I mind you asking,” Adeline responded. “Around here, it’s only been the last five or ten years, as far as I know. The thought was to fight fire with fire, but the ones who meddle with demons usually end up sold by the pound on the black market. Seems most of the demons would rather work for warlocks, and werewolves make good bait for finding new employers. It’s been a real lesson in natural selection to weed out the stupid. You said his name is Walter?”
I nodded. “He said his parents lived in Stonefall.”
Adeline grimaced as she looked at Martha. “I’ll see if I can find him. We have our own justice for these situations.”
“What are you going to do to him?” I asked. “He was scared. He didn’t know.”
“He infected a bystander,” Adeline said, unimpressed. “Our gift isn’t something to treat lightly. It’s for his elders to decide.” She looked at Martha, and then at Charlie. “I’d like to speak with Annie alone for a minute, Martha, if you wouldn’t mind taking that back to the car.”
Martha bent down to pick Charlie up, and he gave a low growl before stalking away from her.
“He reads my thoughts,” I said to Adeline. “If it’s something you don’t want him to know, you’d better not tell me.”
“It’s something I’d just rather say between the two of us,” she said, still eyeing Charlie as he left. “He’ll know eventually, anyway. When Martha asked if we could help your friend, that’s all she said he was. A friend.”
I took a deep breath, shaking my head. I wasn’t sure how any of this was relevant. “It’s kind of a new thing. Well, we’ve been friends for a long time, and I guess we kind of recently decided that maybe we’ve wanted to be more than friends for a long time, but—”
“This will probably destroy that relationship,” Adeline said. She looked me in the eye without blinking, and I knew that she regretted having to tell me. “If I had known, I might not have offered to help, but what’s done is done. I’m not saying you have to end it, because that won’t do any good. I’m saying that this is a part of him now. More often than not I find that late converts like Vince prefer someone who also has the gift. He has two lives, and he will never reconcile them. You’ll never understand that.”
I reached to clutch my sumac pendant without realizing it, and Adeline
“You think so?” She shook her head. “Oh, honey. This is going to be just as bad for you.”
Chapter 10
Adeline refused to let us back around the cabins, but she did walk with us through the forest. Knowing that Vince and I were in some capacity more than friends made her open up a little more about what life would be like for him, but she was still hesitant to share too many specifics. I kept asking for details, and she finally snapped at me that she wasn’t going to give Charlie any more information than absolutely necessary.
Then she apologized, and quickly changed the subject. She wanted to know how Vince had become infected.
I told her about meeting Walter. Charlie held his tongue the entire time, but when I got to the part where Stark had showed up using Walter as a bridge, and she called me a liar, he couldn’t stay quiet any longer.
“He knew me when he saw me,” he said from the ground. “I should have made more of it, but I didn’t. I think he went after the only weapon he thought could defeat me, and summoned Stark.”
Adeline stopped walking, considering his words. I saw thin beads of sweat forming on her brow. “That’s really it for Stark, then? He’s gone to the Other Side for good?”
“If I can help it,” Charlie said.
“And that boy is out there, calling him up to see if demons can kill each other.” She wiped a hand over her face. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“I suppose he saw some irony in it,” Charlie said bitterly. “If you don’t mind my asking, when did werewolves start summoning?”
“I mind you asking,” Adeline responded. “Around here, it’s only been the last five or ten years, as far as I know. The thought was to fight fire with fire, but the ones who meddle with demons usually end up sold by the pound on the black market. Seems most of the demons would rather work for warlocks, and werewolves make good bait for finding new employers. It’s been a real lesson in natural selection to weed out the stupid. You said his name is Walter?”
I nodded. “He said his parents lived in Stonefall.”
Adeline grimaced as she looked at Martha. “I’ll see if I can find him. We have our own justice for these situations.”
“What are you going to do to him?” I asked. “He was scared. He didn’t know.”
“He infected a bystander,” Adeline said, unimpressed. “Our gift isn’t something to treat lightly. It’s for his elders to decide.” She looked at Martha, and then at Charlie. “I’d like to speak with Annie alone for a minute, Martha, if you wouldn’t mind taking that back to the car.”
Martha bent down to pick Charlie up, and he gave a low growl before stalking away from her.
“He reads my thoughts,” I said to Adeline. “If it’s something you don’t want him to know, you’d better not tell me.”
“It’s something I’d just rather say between the two of us,” she said, still eyeing Charlie as he left. “He’ll know eventually, anyway. When Martha asked if we could help your friend, that’s all she said he was. A friend.”
I took a deep breath, shaking my head. I wasn’t sure how any of this was relevant. “It’s kind of a new thing. Well, we’ve been friends for a long time, and I guess we kind of recently decided that maybe we’ve wanted to be more than friends for a long time, but—”
“This will probably destroy that relationship,” Adeline said. She looked me in the eye without blinking, and I knew that she regretted having to tell me. “If I had known, I might not have offered to help, but what’s done is done. I’m not saying you have to end it, because that won’t do any good. I’m saying that this is a part of him now. More often than not I find that late converts like Vince prefer someone who also has the gift. He has two lives, and he will never reconcile them. You’ll never understand that.”
I reached to clutch my sumac pendant without realizing it, and Adeline
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