Chapter 6 #5
“Who’s Gabe?” he asks, hovering in the doorway to the en suite bathroom, and I realize I’ve been so busy obsessing over his pajama habits that I never finished what I meant to say.
“My friend who’s a gatekeeper. He’s going to come out and look at the gate. If he can’t stay permanently, he’ll write a report for the council to use when they assign someone.”
He looks like he wants to ask about a million questions, but instead he says, “That’s great. Thank you.”
“No hassle. It’s my job,” I remind him, then instantly want to kick myself.
What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I just let him think I’m doing nice things?
“But, uh, we were wondering which is the closest airport for him to fly into? And is there someone who can pick him up? I don’t want to leave the estate with the gateway unguarded. ”
Sighing, he leans against the doorframe and runs a hand through his hair. “Are you sure we shouldn’t just close? If I’d known how dangerous this was before, I’d have done it already. I’m putting so many people at risk.”
“That’s not how I see it. Since you’ve been in charge, nobody’s been harmed. Nobody’s died. You’ve had a demon and a spirit on site, and most of the people who work here every day don’t know anything about it.”
“Daniel nearly lost the use of his hands,” he says bitterly, and I remember the scarring I noticed earlier. “The demon nearly killed Ewan and Josh. And Skye was possessed.”
I make a mental note to ask Josh exactly what happened when he banished the demon.
“I don’t think you get it, Kieran. Daniel didn’t lose the use of his hands”—fuck, did he?
No, he runs the farm—“Ewan and Josh didn’t die, and Skye’s possession has nothing to do with you.
Frankly, it’s a miracle he hasn’t been possessed a dozen times already.
If anything, I’d say working here has been what protected him.
” He doesn’t look convinced, so I continue.
“I’ve had to clean up after incidents where three hardcore demons came through a gateway a quarter of the size of this one and killed five people, with a dozen more hospitalized.
Trust me when I say you’ve done just fine here.
You had no idea what you were dealing with or who to ask for help, and you still managed to keep a hell of a lot of people safe and banish a demon. ”
“The ghosts did a lot of the hard stuff. And Josh,” he quibbles, and I don’t bother pointing out that a minute ago, he was willing to take the blame for all the bad stuff but now won’t accept any praise for the good. I get the feeling that’s just the kind of guy he is.
“Well, whatever, you’re doing fine. Closing now is just going to draw attention to the estate, and we want to avoid that.
Your ghosts are paranoid about people finding out about the gateway and exploiting it, and they’re right.
Not everyone who knows about the otherworld is dedicated to protecting Earth.
The best thing you can do is what you’re doing: carry on, take what steps you can, and let me and the Collective do our jobs. ”
He tilts his head. “The Collective?”
Oops. “Long story. Better saved for tomorrow.” Or another day. “So… airport?”
Nodding, he says, “Moline’s the closest. If he’s flying in this weekend, I can’t spare anyone on the staff to go get him, but Skye’s friend Tom is a part-time Uber driver. We could give him a call and see if he’s up for it.”
“That sounds good to me. How long’s the drive?”
“About an hour each way.”
“I’ll let him know. He probably won’t be here until Sunday at the earliest,” I add, remembering that the boys are home for the weekend. “Maybe Monday. But I’ll be here the whole time. I’ll even hang out in the gateway room.”
“Garden Suite,” he corrects absently, watching me thoughtfully.
“Whatever.” I shrug. “If you want, and you kick the ghosts out, I’ll even sleep on the couch in there.”
He cracks a smile. “After I set them up with a TV of their own? They’re never giving up that room.
” He takes a deep breath, then says, “You have the run of the estate while you’re here.
I’ll get you some keys in the morning. We’ll tell everyone that the owners have sent you to do an efficiency assessment or something. ”
I snort. “Great way to make everyone hate me.”
“It’ll stop them from asking you a million questions,” he counters, “while at the same time ensuring they answer yours. I have no idea what reason we’re going to give for your gatekeeper, so let me know if you think of anything.”
He doesn’t wait for me to reply before going into the bathroom and closing the door.
I hear the shower go on and take advantage of the opportunity to change into my sleep shorts.
One thing you learn early in your career as a hunter is not to sleep naked, ever.
You never know when you’re going to need to deal with something, and you don’t want your bits hanging out when you do.
I crawl under the covers, text Gabe, then settle in with my eyes on the bathroom door.
I can’t wait to see Kieran in his pj’s.