Mia started laughing.
“What did I say?” Mike asked, puzzled.
“Nothing that can be explained unless one is on a therapist’s couch,” she said.
Cid came out of the kitchen. His face was beaming. “I did it. I successfully lied to Candy. I think she had a hangover and just wanted to get off the phone. She’s having a party tomorrow night and asked if I can stay at your house,” he said to Ted.
“Whatever, dude, my casa is your casa.”
“If I’m going to be bright tomorrow, I better hit the hay,” Cid announced.
“I’ll show you two boys where to sleep. Come on, lover,” Mike put a firm hand on Ted’s shoulder. “Let go of Mia’s hand. Seriously, I’m going to start calling you Octopus,” Mike complained.
“You know I’m going to be taller than you,” Ted warned.
“Kid, you’re going to be taller, smarter, and somehow actually get this marvelous young lady to marry you. But right now, you’re a smart-mouth punk whom I shall endeavor to save Mia from.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Mia said.
“Mia, someone has to look out for you.”
“Ted’s a good guy, Mike.”
“I’m a good guy, but when I’m around my girlfriend, I’m not thinking too clearly,” he admitted.
“Thank you for being gallant,” Mia said.
“Okay, troops,” Mike said, addressing the boys. “Up to the third story.”
Mia watched them climb the stairs before she got up and gathered her equipment and tidied the living room.
She picked up her stuff and walked outside. She used the light of the ever-increasing moon to find the car. She put the equipment in the back of the station wagon as Glenda had instructed earlier. Glenda would drive Cid’s mother’s car while Mike drove the wagon. The farm had an old truck which Mike used but claimed it was a gas guzzler. It was parked on the other side of the wagon. Mia, who had always been interested in vehicles, walked around it, checking out the 1990’s idea of a sturdy truck.
She heard the screen door slam and looked over to see Mike striding across the yard towards her.
“I was just admiring your truck.”
“It’s old, but it gets me from point A to point B. It’s not much to look at, but it’s all we can afford.”
“Before I forget, if this all goes upside down and we’re left in this time, there are three books in the attic of your mother’s Lund family home. Two in a dresser in the attic, and a third tucked in a secret room at the end of the attic space. They have pictures of flowers in them. They can be auctioned off for hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you wait, even more. There is a ghost there now. You may want to go in daylight.”
“Why are you telling me about this?” Mike asked. “Aren’t you going to be there?”
“It’s just a precaution,” Mia said. “Mike, I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. If we don’t find Burt in the next two days, or if he doesn’t have the candle to break, then my life changes drastically.”
“Why? Wouldn’t you follow the same path?”
“My path, with a few exceptions, was filled with pain. A pain I would endure for the sake of the future of humanity, but it’s impossible to retrace steps when there are so many variables to consider. Plus, in my timeline, there are deaths that I can stop from happening.”
“That would definitely change things.”
“Yes. For example, how could I stand by and watch a woman hang herself in the hollow or three teenagers be abducted and slaughtered by demons for thinking they found an abandoned treasure trove, but actually belonged to a demon family. Later, I will pay restitution for this crime. It almost killed me. Ted and my conception of our first child was orchestrated by an entity who rules Purgatory. The timing had to be perfect to bring into this world a sage who will counsel the world through very difficult times. I’m sure that’s out of play now. So there won’t be a Brian or a Varden. If I don’t fix this, I will lose my children.”
“Couldn’t you have more children?”
“I know you’re young and don’t understand. Mike, you can never replace a child.”
“Will you go back home?” Mike asked.
“I don’t know. Probably, just to return Murphy to his trees. Maybe Wyatt Wayne will offer me sanctuary until my body changes. You see, Mike, I’m going to end up with wings. No matter what I do, I end up with wings. It’s genetic. Also, I have demon genes, and as I grow, the genes become an alternate personality that… well… causes a lot of problems. But if I’m raised by demons, well, maybe I’ll have an easier life.”
“I don’t need to know any more, Mia. We’re going to find this Burt and make him break that candle,” he vowed. “One last question. Why did you marry that goof upstairs?”
“His love of comic books, graphic novels, and the like, help him to see me not as a freak of nature but, in his words, ‘something wonderful.’ I need his counsel and love to see myself as a superhero and not an assassin. His, Murphy’s, and Burt’s attention stop me from being a bitter person. He brings laughter into my life. Prior to him, there was little joy.”
“But you have him now…”
“Too early. Instead of an adult who’s already made his decision to become a paranormal investigator, he’s a child with a possibly wondrous future ahead of him. I’m not going to stand in the way of that,” Mia vowed. “And there is something else. Promise not to tell? I don’t want to frighten the boys.”
“What?”
“Demons have a second sense that alerts them when
