“Then you better do what you can to make sure they win,” Arnold said, reaching for Miss Gee. “Come, help me to the summoning room.”
Jesse and Murphy heard the last bit from the grand staircase. Murphy stopped Jesse from taking the last set of stairs. “Come, there is another way into the room. A secret set of stairs.”
Jesse said very quietly, hoping only Cid heard him, “We will have your back. When you need us, look to the screen.”
Cid handed Sariel’s sword to Father Simon. “I take it you know how to use this.”
“It’s not standard seminary training, but I have wielded a toy lightsaber in my youth.” The priest tucked it behind him, making sure he could reach it when he had the opportunity to use it.
Cid patted the man on the back. “I’m really good with a machete, but I don’t see one around here.”
Kiki looked out the window and pounded the sill of the common room. “I feel so helpless. What kind of hell are they facing inside?”
Alan, who had poured a triple ring of salt around Kiki, lifted a chair into the circle. “Sit. Trust Cid…”
“And Jesse,” Gary said, pocketing his phone as he walked in. “That was Wayne. Jesse stole his clothes and cash out of his wallet. He’s going to pound Jesse when he sees him next. I’m going to bring Wayne another set of clothes and shoes. Who takes another man’s shoes?”
“Jesse,” Kiki said and smiled. “So you think Jesse is in there with Cid?”
“Yes.”
“Then I think the odds have increased.” Kiki’s eyes twinkled.
“What do you want us to do, Boss?” Gary asked.
“Pack up all our stuff. If it’s Scrub’s or Clark’s, pack it too. We’ll sort everything out once we’re clear of this place. Hook up the trailer to Jesse’s truck. We’re not leaving his house. I have a feeling that the farther we’re away from here, the less distraction Cid and Jesse will have.”
“Ah, this increases the odds even more,” Alan said. He took a marker and wrote in large block letters on the whiteboard: WE HAVEN’T DESERTED YOU. WE HAVE TAKEN THE PAWNS OUT OF PLAY. ALAN. “When we leave, we’ll post this in the window so they can see it. We’ll leave Cid’s truck, just in case they need a quick getaway.”
“Since this is a duel, August, I will send in my seconds,” Arnold said from the doorway.
“Seconds? Two against one is hardly good sportsmanship, but you were always a cheater, weren’t you.”
“You have Bridgeton. You are two,” Miss Gee said walking into the room. She rolled the carpet as if it were something she did every day. “If you want this silly duel, then you’ll have to separate. Bridgeton will fight Cid, and you, August, will fight Father Simon.”
“The black man?” August asked as if he was asked to clean up someone’s waste.
“I am Berhanu, son of Thato,” Father Simon announced. “The reason I tell you this is so you will know who has ended your existence.”
“I’m Augusto Borgia, owner of Gadus.”
“You cannot own someone who doesn’t want to be owned,” Father Simon said. “Come on, Augusto, stop hiding behind your great-great-grandson. I know you are nothing more than the filth that accumulates under spoiled salsa jar lids.”
“How dare you!”
“You’re the rancid meat of a forgotten abattoir. The metallurgical slag of a coal mine…”
“Stop! I’ll show you what I am.” August walked out of Bridgeton’s body, a solid shadow.
“And you call me a black man,” Father Simon scoffed.
Bridgeton wavered and stumbled backwards. Cid took advantage of the tall man’s confusion. Cid grabbed him and bound his wrists behind him with the chain from his crucifix. He then led him to a corner, righted a chair, and with Father Santos’s help, bound him to it. He then poured a thick line of salt to stop August from reentering his body.
Jesse eased himself down the stairs, using the glow from Murphy’s body to light his way. At the bottom, he saw a work-hardened man of his later twenties. His red hair was long enough to hit the collar of his cotton work shirt. His eyes were dark brown in death. Jesse imagined they had been much lighter in life. Most redheads of his acquaintance had warm brown eyes.
Faye turned and put her hand on her heart and patted the step, indicating Jesse should rest. He did so even though he was curious to what was happening in the room. He could see some things through the upper cuts in the wood screen but not enough to get a good indication of how things were going.
“Close your eyes in order to open another inside the room,” a voice in his head instructed.
Jesse obeyed without question. It took a few starts and stops but he found himself gazing at the action through a set of very familiar eyes. Does he know I’m in his head? he silently asked the guiding voice.
“He is too busy to question the fullness your visitation gives his body.”
Jesse watched the scene before him. Father Simon had removed his shirt. His body seemed thin when covered by his vestments, but his bare chest bore tight muscles sculpted into a lean body. There were scars that would later be explained by his relating the torture he had endured as a child.
The negative elemental morphed into a humanoid who towered over his opponent. His skin was thick and sleek as a seal. He manifested a head with large bug eyes
