Page 70 of Concluded
It was strange.Jerry’s words didn’t change anything about Dee’s past or about his current situation.But just hearing them—knowing that he wasn’t the only person to have experienced this and that someone empathized—somehow made it all feel less oppressive.“It all worked out for you?”he asked, needing a little more reassurance.
“We’ve had fifty years together.I won’t say we never argue, ’cause we do, now and then.We’ve both had to compromise sometimes.But I think I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”
A little of the tightness in Dee’s soul loosened.“I don’t know if we’re getting fifty years.We just met, and now the world’s going to shit….”
“Yeah, that’s tough.Me and Art, when we first met, we just had a serial killer to deal with.Art got kidnapped and tortured and almost died; it wasn’t Armageddon, though.”
Dee snorted.“Achilles also got kidnapped and tortured and almost died—or worse.And here I was, thinking our meet-cute was unique.”
Jerry stood, took Dee’s bowl, and lumbered into the kitchen to dish up seconds.He also filled a glass with water and brought them both over.“You’re only our second houseguests,” he said, handing them to Dee.“Do you know Ralph Crespo and his husband Anton?”
It took Dee a moment to remember.“No, but I think I heard of them.Is Ralph, um, a dragon?”And here he was, living in a world where questions like this made perfect sense.
“Yep.Anton’s a gnome.Great guys.Anyway, when they met, Anton was kidnapped and tortured and almost died.We could start a club.”
They’d all survived, at least so far.Maybe a relationship begun in adversity wasn’t doomed.They were all tough cookies, it seemed—good people to have as allies.
Maybe they all really did have a chance.
* * *
When Achilles reentered the cabin,cheeks pink from the outdoor chill, the very first thing he did was hurry to Dee’s side for a quick visual inspection.“Are you all right?That last charm didn’t take too much out of you?Did you get enough rest?”It was embarrassing and sweet.
“I’m fine,” Dee insisted.“I checked on Ish a few minutes ago.He looks comfortable.He said some things, but I don’t understand the language.”
Achilles sighed as he sat down.“Probably Homeric Greek.He’s sort of been stuck onThe Iliadtoday.”
“Achilles dies at the end.”
“Not in the actual text.Lots of other people die, but Homer doesn’t mention Achilles kicking it,”
“But we all know he’s going to because of the prophecy.”
Achilles made a dismissive gesture.“As far as I know, angels aren’t oracles, so I’m not taking it as a bad omen.Hey, do you mind coming outside with me for a bit?Art and I have been talking, and I don’t want to put you on the spot without discussing things with you first.”
That was also sweet, although Dee worried about what Achilles was going to say.
He had to borrow one of Art’s coats, which was ridiculously large on him even though Dee himself was not a small man.Then he followed Achilles out the door, through the garden, and to a picnic bench next to a firepit.“This is a really nice place,” Dee said as he took a seat.
“Would you want to live somewhere like this?”Achilles looked a little worried.
“No.I’m not the wilderness type.Vacation, maybe.I never went to summer camp as a kid or did anything outdoorsy as an adult.”
“And I’m kind of attached to takeout Thai and streaming video services.But yeah.Vacation.Sorry I sort of abandoned you in there.”
Dee grasped his hand across the table.“It’s fine.I enjoyed chatting with Jerry.”Dee had told a few little tales from his life, while Jerry taught him about some of the local flora and fauna.He seemed especially fond of some nearby ravens and was confident he’d recently discovered a new subspecies of lizard.It was a balm to listen to someone so enthusiastic about matters most people would consider trivial.
Achilles, uncharacteristically hesitant, looked down at their clasped hands.“Art wasn’t a field agent—not normally, anyhow—but he ran the lab for years.He’s smart and knowledgeable and… I don’t know.Analytical?He thinks carefully about stuff.None of those things are my strengths, so I’m glad to have him as sort of a sounding board.”
“For what?”Dee wanted to know, although he dreaded the answer.
“I feel like, with our enemies, we’ve been purely defensive and piecemeal.Putting out their fires.Which makes sense, because that’s what the Bureau has always done.And man, there’s a lot of fires right now.”
He paused again, and a large black bird—probably one of Jerry’s ravens—landed on a nearby branch.It stared at them, ruffled its feathers, and uttered a long series of varied croaks and trills, some of which sounded as though they’d been borrowed from other bird species.It seemed to be trying to communicate something to them, although sadly neither Dee nor Achilles spoke its language.Dee remembered Achilles saying that there were no bird shifters and wanted to ask if Achilles was positive about that.Might Achilles wish to become a bird temporarily?And bring Dee along too?That would be pretty cool.Something to think about in the future.But he didn’t say any of this aloud because he didn’t want to sidetrack the important conversation.
“I think,” Achilles said, “we need to be proactive.I know we can’t defeat evil forever, but if we could at least face these particular antagonists head-on, maybe we’d get somewhere.”
“Whoarethese particular antagonists?Aside from Ashley Dunn and some bears and maybe a good chunk of Washington, DC?Who’s in charge?”
