Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Complications
When I turned back and climbed up the hill, my steps were light. I was barely winded at the top, and a new sense of excitement coursed through me.
Camazotz? I asked, pausing right inside the front door.
The whole agreement between us seemed fuzzy.
Had I confirmed with him I wanted to stay?
If he didn’t want me there, I could still call Mindy.
She wouldn’t hesitate to turn around and come back to get me.
When he didn’t respond immediately, I wondered if we were close enough for our mind speak to work. Had he even heard me?
Corvus? Are you still here?
Yes. I decided to stay until you need me. I hesitated. Had I overstepped? Why had I assumed he wanted me here? I had a strong suspicion he spent most of his time alone. I took a step back outside.
Good, he said, finally. I took a few relieved steps toward the hall. I’d hate to waste the food.
I didn’t bother reacting, since he couldn’t see me roll my eyes.
He could probably sense my relief. Winding my way through the large house, I dropped down onto the edge of my bed and kicked off my shoes.
I was staying. At least for a week, possibly six.
Here in this sprawling house masquerading as an abandoned monastery.
The stone-lined rooms were cooler than the warm summer air outside, but my bare feet seemed scandalous somehow.
I glanced at my suitcase. I had only packed enough for a couple of days away, and nothing in there seemed practical or suitable for living in the mountains.
Definitely no hiking shoes. The smart thing to do would be to check and see if the person whose room I took over had something more appropriate to wear, but then again, the smooth stone felt good under my tender soles.
When had I last gone barefoot? My feet were free for the first time since my childhood.
A faint memory of ditching my cheap flip-flops when the toe part broke loose and running through the sandy streets of my hometown bubbled up.
This memory wasn’t too bad, but I shut it down out of habit.
I stepped out into the hallway. His door was still closed. Was he even in there?
I headed to the kitchen. I hadn’t been hungry this morning, but now that things were settled, however temporarily, I was starving.
I had looked in the narrow kitchen the night before, but not long enough to take it in.
Since I would be here for a while, I was curious what exactly I had signed up for before reading the fine print.
The stove caught my eye because it was emitting so much heat that it seemed to glow.
It looked old, the indigo enamel chipped in places, but clearly still worked.
A pot of something fragrant bubbled on the front burner.
The lid rattled slightly, steam letting out a fragrant burp.
I decided to see what else his kitchen had to offer.
Under a wide window was an old stone sink, complete with a rusty faucet and a view of the mountains in the distance.
Was there warm water up here, piped up from the hot springs?
Did we have to boil it first? A large wooden table dominated the middle of the room, ancient but solid.
Mindy’s bread sat where she last left it, abandoned knife, crumbs, and all.
A single chair sat next to the table, the wood dark with age.
The only other piece of furniture in the room was an old baker’s rack-type-thing.
A couple copper pots, green with patina, sat on the open shelf, matching the one on the stove.
The right wall was bisected by a thick wooden door, and I opened it to find a smaller room beyond it.
Despite the lack of a refrigerator, the space was cool.
The room had been built out of giant rectangular slabs of stone with only a high window to let out any heat.
Shelves lined each wall, but they were mostly bare.
A bowl of apples perched next to a smaller bowl of berries.
Smoked sausages hung from the low rafters, and a couple of earthenware jars sat on the top shelf.
I wasn’t sure how long they’d been there.
What excess food was he talking about? I grabbed an apple and turned to leave, spotting a covered triangle on a shelf by the door.
I peeked under the coarse cloth to find a fresh-looking hunk of yellow cheese shot through with blue veins.
Smiling, I took the plate out to the bigger room, prepared to dine on cheese, bread, and apples, when a loud dong sounded from above my head.
Corvus, take care of that.
Take care of what? I asked, displeased with his mysterious demand. Where was he anyway?
The man at the door.
What? I dropped the food on the kitchen table and sprinted toward the front of the house.
A man at the door? The hallway stretched before me, and I cursed the size of the house and the lack of communication from my new host. I slid around the corner on the smooth stone, but the front room was empty.
When I got to the door, there was no one there.
As I was about to turn back and demand an explanation, a crunching sound hit my ears.
There was indeed a man who was now climbing over the broken front gate, a pile of grocery bags in hand.
He struggled not to drop them, but it made sense why he chose to bring them all at once rather than climb the blasted driveway a second time.
I shouldn’t have taken my shoes off in my room; otherwise, I could’ve run out to help him.
But the soles of my feet were delicate, and, having seen the ground up close a few days back, rutted with gravel and rocks, they’d have been bloody in no time.
I could ask my Monster to heal me, but he’d probably refuse to fix something I brought upon myself with my own stupidity.
So, I stood in the shadows and watched him approach.
It occurred to me that Camazotz had known the moment I had returned, and not only from the type of inner awareness we seemed to share.
He had some sort of mechanical sensor on the property.
Mindy had mentioned an electrical outlet, and if that was true, then I could plug my phone in and communicate with her.
Find out what was happening back at work.
The man coming toward me looked so normal, I struggled to understand what he was doing here. He looked about my age, but instead of the suits and trendy clothes I was used to seeing, he was dressed for the mountains in a long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans.
“Hello,” I cried out.
He stumbled, clearly surprised. “Hello.” He looked around.
“Are you looking for Benjamin?”
“Yes, just dropping off a delivery.” He held out the bags.
I nodded, pointing at my bare feet. “Sorry, he didn’t warn me; otherwise, I’d help you.”
“No, it’s fine. It does explain the size of his order, though. It’s not usually quite so much.”
So, this was the food he was talking about. Finally, something made sense. The man reached the door and passed me half the bags. They were heavy, and I set them down, reaching out to accept the rest.
“No, that’s okay. I usually take them to the kitchen.”
“Alrighty then, follow me.” I turned to lead the way. “Did he already pay? Or do I need to find you some cash?”
“No, it’s covered.”
We didn’t speak again until the bags were all on the kitchen table next to my abandoned lunch.
We studied each other. Unsure of my role at the house, besides no longer having to worry about going hungry once the cheese and stew ran out, I didn’t know what to say.
But the man continued to stare at me. So, I stared back.
His features were heavy with dark eyebrows and a striking forehead and jawline.
Instead of making him classically handsome, though, they gave him a sinister air, like an actor who always plays the evil character.
“Are you related?” he asked, finally dropping my gaze.
“To?”
“Benjamin.”
Duh. “Oh, no. Just a friend. I’m visiting for a few weeks. I’m Freya.” I held out my hand.
“Darryl.” He shook my hand, grip tight.
“Thanks for bringing all this, Darryl. Do you live around here?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, not really. I live over in Millers Glen, which is about an hour drive from here.”
“Oh. Well, thank you.”
But he was staring again, and I was tempted to ask him if I had something in my teeth. “Is something wrong? What am I missing?”
He grimaced. “I’ve never seen anyone up here before except Benjamin. And I’ve only seen him once. And, well, he’s kind of strange.”
I put my hand on my hip. I just told this asshole I was friends with my Monster. Was he actually fishing for information? Before I could say anything, he drew himself up to his full height until he almost loomed over me. “How do I know you’re supposed to be here anyways?”
His aggressive stance should’ve been intimidating, but the reality of my situation trumped his threat. I was the one with the powerful friend close by. Wait? Had he just said he had seen Benjamin in person? And he came back?
“He is my friend,” I repeated, slowly, in case he missed it the first time. “I’m here because he invited me up here. Thanks again for the delivery. If there’s nothing else…”
He watched me for a moment before finally turning to leave.
I escorted him out to the front door, staying on his heels, and watched as he picked his way back across the courtyard.
A soft chime sounded throughout the house when he crossed the invisible threshold.
A deep breath pushed out of me in relief.
I contemplated the front door, which was always wide open, noticing the pink of the changing sky.
It wasn’t my place to shut it, as much as I wanted to.