Page 42 of Installment Immortality

These days, it’s relatively rare for me to encounter an intelligent species I’ve never heard of before. Even apart from all the time I’ve spent with various Prices, when I was working for the crossroads, they were happy to prey on anyone who fell for their brand of bullshit. Humanity didn’t really matter to them. There’s nothing so special about a human that they should get the attention of an entire eldritch entity to themself.

(Of course, we humans do have one thing going for us: numbers. We’ve managed to outbreed everyone else on the planet to the point where we’ve been given ownership of a whole layer of the afterlife, just so we’ll leave the other kids alone and let them rest in peace. There are people who genuinely resent the fact that former servants of the crossroads, like me, are still rooted in the starlight, rather than packing our ectoplasmic bags and getting the hell out of there before they have to force the issue.)

“What’s a Hockomock Swamp Beastie?” asked Arthur, before I finished gathering my thoughts enough to form the question.

Amelia gave him an indulgent look. “It’s not nice to ask for details before you’ve told me your name, hon.”

“Oh. Um, Arthur. Elsie’s my sister.”

“Which explains how a couple of Lilu can travel together and not cause all sorts of issues for each other,” said Phee. She turned her attention back to me. “Around here, since I’ve already told you everyone in the house isn’t human, it’s polite to identify your species, just so everyone can feel at ease. When we do have humans here, I put them up on the second floor, and I warn everyone to make sure they won’t run into unexpected humans in the halls and maybe have an issue that requires tarps and bleach to resolve.”

“Uh-huh,” I said.

“Lilu, huh?” asked Amelia. “Fascinating. Anyway, as I said, I’m a Hockomock Swamp Beastie. We have our own name for ourselves, but we’re rare enough that I find it easier to just use what the local humans do. Means there’s half a chance in hell you’ll have heard of us.”

“We’re from Oregon,” said Elsie.

“All right, substantially less than half a chance. Anyway. We’re related to the Jersey Devils, but try tellingthemthat. They have just as narrow a habitat as we do, but they got better press when they were discovered, so they think they’re super important.”

“Huh,” I said. Jersey Devils looked less human than thiswoman did, but their inhuman attributes were almost all defensive or survival-based: they could hold their breath for hours, and had nictitating membranes in their eyes, as well as the ability to stop off their nostrils and prevent themselves from breathing water.

Amelia nodded like she could see my whirling thoughts. “Anything you’re laying on my cousins, we can do that too. I’m also immune to most poisons, resistant to the ones I’m not immune to, and I never get bit by mosquitoes. Also, my skin doesn’t absorb water the way a human’s does—it’s more like a dolphin’s or a hippo’s—and that means I can lurk in the swamp as long as I need to without worrying about my skin sloughing off or rotting.”

“It looks like normal skin to me,” said Elsie.

Amelia winked at her. “Camouflage.”

“Did you need something, Mia?” asked Phee, sounding exasperated.

“Ah, yes!” said Amelia. “Just about to go the grocery run, need your credit card. Unless you’d rather I shop according tomylist, instead of yours.”

Phee wrinkled her nose and pulled a card out of her pocket, passing it to Amelia, who made it disappear.

“Cheers,” she said, and winked again at Elsie, then continued down the hall, off to her errands.

I turned to Elsie and Arthur. “All right,” I said. “You two get your stuff settled, and I’ll hang around here until dinnertime. After that, you go to bed, and I’ll go looking for the Covenant.”

“We’re not children anymore,” said Elsie. “We don’t have to go to bed when you tell us to.”

“That’s true enough,” I said. “But you’re not coming out to find the Covenant with me—I need to know where they are, and be ready to come up with a plan, before I’m willing to trust you to the field.”

“You said you needed help,” she said. “I drove all the way here.I’m not sitting on the sidelines while you go after the people who killed my mother.”

“And I don’t want you to,” I said. “But scouting is important, and we need intelligence.”

“Everyone remembers Artie as being so amazing with computers, while I’ve barely touched them,” said Arthur. “Maybe that means Iamamazing with computers, and I can start finding information if you just set me in front of a keyboard and wait to see what happens. It can’t hurt anything.”

“And if that doesn’t work, he can email Uncle Drew and get help that way,” said Elsie.

“Great. It sounds like you have a plan that involves staying here and not spiking my blood pressure through the roof for funsies,” I said. I turned to Ophelia. “I know they’re adults and you’re just our temporary landlady, but if you could please not let them leave the house tonight, that would be absolutely amazing.”

“I’ll keep them safe as houses,” she said.

“Great.” I looked back to Elsie. “You leave anything in the car?”

She nodded, and I disappeared to go and get it.

Ten

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