forth. I hoped I was hitting him just below the ear—that’s where I pointed with the towel, at least. But I couldn’t see blood. I couldn’t see anything.
There were no sounds, either. I yanked the shovel handle back, pulling it outside the circle. The blade was clean, but …
A portal suddenly opened. There was no buzzing or cracking noise this time. The entire floor inside the red circle just vanished. The shop rag fluttered down into the Empty Spaces.
A swarm of drapes flooded up through the hole, swirling at the edges of the circle but unable to cross it. I stepped back to see how high they could go. It looked to be about twelve feet, well below the ceiling above.
I stepped back farther. It was like looking at a giant aquarium filled with drapes instead of water—minus the aquarium. I didn’t want to be anywhere near it.
With my ghost knife in hand, I watched them swarm, hoping the circle could hold them all and knowing there was little I could do if it didn’t. It held, and after a few seconds, the drapes dropped out of our world and the floor reappeared. From off in the corner, a man sang in Spanish about love and death, with accordion and sax accompanying him.
The next man wasn’t easier, but it was quicker. I made sure to turn him the other way so the knife would enter below his left ear rather than his right. I had the idea that that would make it quicker, and I was right.
When the drapes swarmed in again, I turned my back on them and went for the third man, because fuck them. They scared the crap out of me, and I was tired of being afraid.
My hands were itching badly. The watercooler was just across the room, but I didn’t wash the slime away. It seemed right that I should suffer during this job. These men were. Somewhere, somehow, I’d acquired a taste for penance.
Once the last man had vanished into the Empty Spaces, I walked to the back of the room toward the watercooler. It was half full. I dribbled the water over my hands and forearms; the slime the drapes left behind vanished at the water’s touch, but my skin was still raw. Sweat ran down my back. The radio played another song with lyrics I couldn’t understand. I felt terribly, painfully lonely and, at the same time, grateful to be alone while I worked.
“Is that what you plan for us?”
I yelped and jumped to the side, backing against the wall. A push broom and other long-handled wooden tools clattered to the floor.
It was Fidel. He was three feet from me, scratching furiously at his neck. He’d stripped down to a sleeveless undershirt and those fancy green linen suit pants. I didn’t like the bitter, desperate smile on his face.
Summer and Ty appeared beside him. Summer’s expression was fierce, but her eyes were red, as though she’d been crying. Ty gaped at me.
“Let me ask again, Ray.” Fidel’s voice was quiet. “Is that what you planned for us all along?”
“We could see them,” Ty said. He held his injured shoulder high and his arm close to his chest. The burn must have been bothering him badly. “Mostly. We know what they were.”
“And you killed them,” Fidel said. He scratched furiously at his arm. Summer did the same. “I didn’t think you had it in you, baby. But why did you put them in that summoning circle, hey? You calling up more of these creatures?”
“That’s not what the circle is for,” I said, but Summer didn’t let me continue.
“You tried to stop that woman from hurting Bud, but you weren’t trying to save his life. Right? You just wanted to kill him here so you could call up more of these things.”
“Summer—”
“I’m right, Ray. Just admit that I’m right.”
“You don’t understand,” I said. “As soon as that symbol wears off, you’re going to be like those guys I pulled out of the SUV. How long have you been itching?” Summer stopped scratching her arm.
Ty glanced at Fidel. “He said they would start eating us.”
“What bullshit,” Fidel said.
“Once you’re dead, they carry you away and let more into our world. If you die outside the circle—”
“This is bullshit, Ray!”
“They get loose!” I shouted at him. “And they do this to other people!”
“Fuck other people!” Fidel leaned into my face. “I got to watch out for myself!”
I almost said:
Ty’s expression was uncertain. I thought I’d had him convinced that the drape was killing him, but it was pretty clear he wanted to be unconvinced. He was still looking for a way out. “Did Arne tell you to say that?”
“Where is Arne?”
Fidel and Summer rolled their eyes. Ty said: “He said we should meet him up here. He said he could make things right.”
Arne had brought them running to him by giving them false hope. Maybe I should have done the same thing. Maybe I should have lied. It would have been easier than this.
But what had I expected? They weren’t going to line up inside the circle like victims of a firing squad.
“Ray.” Fidel’s voice was low and urgent. “Did your good friend Wally make you bulletproof?”
“No,” I blurted out with more anger than I’d intended.
