Chapter 7 #2
Sure enough, there’s a covered plate at one of the place settings I laid earlier. But why, why is it beside Connor? Seriously. I set the table for six people; how can my luck be so bad that the only empty seat is next to the man who’s driving me crazy?
Unless it’s not luck…
I narrow my eyes on Skye’s innocent smile. Josh is studying his plate intently. Fuck my life, they planned this.
“Are you coming?” Connor asks, patting the chair in invitation.
His smug expression is a clear indicator that he knows what’s going on, though I don’t know if he was in on the conspiracy.
At least Daniel and Ewan seem to be oblivious.
But then, since they don’t work in the house, they haven’t seen how much Connor’s been watching me.
Trying not to show how reluctant I am, I slide into the chair and uncover my meal.
Maybe if I focus on eating, I can ignore the charismatic asshole beside me.
I don’t know why my brain is so stuck on him.
It has to be because he’s so attentive, right?
Some part of me really likes being admired.
That’s normal. We all want to be desired and wanted, right?
“Can you tell us what happens when your friend arrives? Gabe?” Daniel asks, carefully cleaning his plate with a chunk of bread.
“Well, he’ll go up and have a look at the gateway, get a feel for it.
He might want to talk to the ghosts and you all, though there’s really nothing you can tell him that he won’t see for himself.
He’ll see if he’s comfortable with the gateway itself, and then he’ll see if he’s comfortable here, with all of you. ”
“Wait, you mean he might not stay if he doesn’t like us?” Skye sounds shocked, but Connor just shrugs.
“You can’t expect him to live here, rarely even leaving the property, if he’s going to be miserable.”
I put down my fork. That’s something that didn’t occur to me. “But you said if he doesn’t want to stay, someone will be assigned. What if they’re miserable?”
“Then they’ll leave and someone else will be assigned. And so on until someone arrives who likes this place.” He must see the utter horror on my face, because he smirks. “Relax. You’re not all total assholes, and Mannix Estate is great. I’m sure someone will like it here.”
I stare at my food. The food I was so hungry for just a moment ago. Now, the thought of eating makes me sick. I was so sure this whole gatekeeper issue would be resolved quickly—if not tonight, then by the end of the week. To learn that it could go on indefinitely… I swallow down bile.
“We’re not all total assholes?” Ewan asks, breaking the tension.
“That came out wrong.” Connor waves it away. “I meant you’re all not totally assholes.”
“Thanks. That’s so much better.” Ewan shakes his head. “So when we do have a gatekeeper here, whoever it ends up being… what are they going to do?”
“It’s hard for me to explain, because I don’t fully understand it myself,” Connor admits.
“It’s like advanced math. You either get it or you don’t.
Gatekeepers are born with an innate ability.
You can’t learn to be a gatekeeper; you either are or you aren’t.
” He reaches out and nudges my plate a tiny bit closer to me, a prompt to eat.
“You okay, Kier?” Josh asks, and I muster a smile.
“Sure. Just… listening.” To reassure them, I pick up my fork. I have to eat, I guess. The last thing I need is to pass out from lack of food.
“So, gatekeepers are born, not made,” Daniel prompts.
“Right. And they have different levels of ability. Not all gatekeepers would be able to manage a gateway as big as what you have here, for example.”
Daniel shakes his head. “It feels so weird to call it a gateway now, after calling it a vortex for so long.”
Connor spreads his hands. “You can call it whatever you want. There’s no language police.
Anyway, a gatekeeper puts a door across a gateway.
Kind of. Summoned demons can still get through, and…
” He hesitates. “Uh, yeah, they need to stay nearby to maintain the door. It gets eroded by all the spiritual energy flowing through, so they’re constantly making repairs and adjustments. ”
“How’s that different from what our ghosts have done?” Skye asks, and Connor makes a face.
“It’s… okay, so what your ghosts did is like propping a door in an opening that’s too big for it.
There are gaps around the edges, and if anyone gives the door a shove, it’ll fall over.
It’s fine to keep out most critters, but the bugs still get in, and a predator can take it down.
” He pauses. “This isn’t the best analogy. ”
“It kind of makes sense,” Josh encourages. “Go on.”
“What a gatekeeper does is like fitting one of those mesh security screens with a good lock. Air still flows through, but you’d need, like, a super-determined bear to get through it.”
I put my fork down again. My plate is empty, and even though I still feel like I’m going to hurl, I do feel better for having eaten. “Is that what you didn’t want to say before? That summoned demons aren’t the only ones that can get through?”
“It’s not likely to ever happen. The number of recorded successful assaults on a guarded gateway is less than a hundred, and our records go back nearly a thousand years.
But yes, occasionally a demon will try to get through a guarded gateway and make headway.
That’s part of the gatekeeper’s job—monitoring the gateway and ensuring that nothing unsummoned comes through.
” He looks me dead in the eye. “And if it does come through, to protect everyone in the vicinity until help can come.”
I sigh. “Sometimes I wish for the days when I knew nothing about this. Then I remember that I was basically living with a time bomb in one of the guest rooms and a demon in the basement.” How much longer could we have gone before another demon came through the gateway and massacred us all?
Connor’s warm hand closing over mine surprises me. I jerk, but he holds on. “I wish none of you had to know anything about this,” he says, then adds, “But I’m glad you’re not dead.”
Somebody needs to teach him how to read a room.
Josh’s phone buzzes where he’s laid it beside his plate, and he snatches it up. “That’s the gate bell,” he says, opening the app that lets him access the gate camera. “It’s Tom.” He taps the screen to open the gate, then gets up, smiling at Connor. “Your gatekeeper is here.”
We abandon the remnants of dinner and troop through the house to the front door. I pause to peek into the guest dining room and see they’re up to dessert. That’s good—they’ll be ready for the movie soon.
Outside, the rain has temporarily eased to a fine drizzle, and we stand on the front steps getting damp as Tom pulls to a stop on the forecourt.
Immediately, the passenger-side door swings open and a man gets out, slamming it behind him.
I frown, because that’s rude, but on the other side of the car, Tom’s scrambling out too.
“Look, I said I’m sorry! She’s just a batty old lady. You can’t pay attention to anything she says.”
What the…?
Josh groans. “Oh no.”
Before I can ask, an old woman climbs out of the back seat and stands with her arms folded, glaring at the man I assume is Gabe. I blink, then rub my eyes.
“Is that Tom’s grandmother?” I ask Skye.
“Uh… yeah.” He sounds as stunned as I feel.
“Tom’s dead grandmother?”
“He, um, mentioned that Josh met her ghost. I guess I forgot to tell you. She decided to stick around and likes to ride along when he’s working ride share.”
I think back to the few times I met her when she was alive and shudder. On the plus side, neither Tom nor his customers can see or hear her unless they happen to come to the estate.
My gaze slides back to the man yanking an overnight bag from Tom’s trunk, who’s clearly an exception to that rule.
“Someone go suck up to Gabe now before he decides to leave before even seeing the vortex,” I demand, then when they all gape at me, I start down the steps. I’ll do it myself.
“Gabe?” I call, cutting off the torrent of apologies Tom’s making. “Hi, I’m Kieran. Welcome to Mannix Estate. We’re so very, very glad you’re here.” I pin a winning smile on my face and hold out my hand.