Page 103 of Dead Heat

“What if there are only five cards?”

“Not playing with a full deck. Got it.”

Max tilted his head. “I see what you did there. Anyhoo, I thought we cards could coexist, you know? Live and let live.”

“These other cards are the same species as you?”

He nodded.

“And I’m guessing they’re the standard cherufe.”

“If by standard you mean evil and intent on destruction, then yes.”

“And you didn’t want to play their volcanic reindeer games?”

“They were planning another eruption, and I couldn’t bring myself to do it. It was one thing to cause earthquakes when nobody lived nearby, but there are villages now.” He shook his head. “Even worse, they were hoping if they caused enough destruction, the humans would start sacrificing again. They miss the old days.”

“Why leave? Won’t they just cause an eruption without you?”

“A single cherufe is capable of tremors that aren’t even felt by most humans. Add another and you might register a 2.0 on the Richter scale. You get the idea. Leaving was the best way to help those people. It takes all five of us to reach catastrophic levels.”

“You mentioned in the forest you were told this was a safe haven.”

He nodded. “The others won’t give up easily. I had to flee somewhere that would make it difficult for them to drag me back.”

I wrapped my arms around my knees to stave off the chill. “Who told you about Fairhaven?”

“One of the villages. At night I liked to linger nearby and listen. It was the closest I’d ever get to feeling a part of somewhere, you know?”

I did know. Max longed for a place where he felt safe and welcome. He wanted a home.

“One night I overheard someone talking to their friend about the Fairhaven crossroads, that they heard this was a good place to come if you were in trouble. There were people here who would help.” He knocked on the column. “Seems like you’re the people.”

“Those villagers owe you a great debt,” I said.

“Meh. I didn’t leave so anyone would owe me. I left because it seemed like the right thing to do.”

“You’re wrong about those cards, Max.”

“How so?”

“Must be a short deck because from where I’m sitting, there’s only one king.”

Monica was the first to arrive to implementHome Alone: the Castleedition. She carried a large tote bag in one hand and a brown paper bag in the other.

She marched past me into the foyer and stopped to dump her leather jacket on the coat rack. “This is the most useful thing you own,” she remarked.

“I happen to think it’s my kettle, but to each their own.”

“You could use a microwave to boil water, but where would you put your coat? It would have to lay on the floor.”

“I could drape it over the back of the sofa or hang it on the back the chair in the kitchen. Those are the options until I get more furniture.”

She stopped just short of an eye roll. “Where’s your hand?”

“Claude? He’s around here somewhere. Centuries-old revenants tend to keep their own schedule.” I nodded at the brown bag. “You packed a lunch?”

“I always bring my own lunch when I’m working. I have Celiac. I can’t risk cross-contamination. The last thing you want when you’re staking out a target is to spend the next hour in a public restroom.”

---