“Batty has been going on and on about it for weeks. That’s why he gives Pie rocks to take.”
“What?” I feel very confused right now. “What rocks? What are you talking about?”
“He’s a stonemason. His magic is in stone. And he comes from that world. His rocks ran out of power centuries ago. But when Pie takes them through the door and brings them back, they are recharged. He can fly again.”
“Does Pie know she’s doing this?”
“Probably not. But that’s beside the point. Batty has been through many worlds. He’s told me that we’re the nicest monsters he’s ever met and he’s going to be staying here forever.”
“Wonderful,” I grumble. I was holding out hope that the monsters would move on to another place. I never worked out any of the details of that hope, but if they’re attached to Saint Mark’s it probably doesn’t matter.
“Oh, and he said one more thing. He said the saints were all bad. Very, very bad.”
“What saints?”
“The Saints of Saint Mark?”
“Who the hell are they?”
“Honestly, Pell.” Tomas laughs. “You’re joking, right?”
“No. I’m serious. I have no idea who Saint Mark is. Pie looked him up on her pocket phone once, but all she said was that we might’ve lived in the real world at the same time.”
“Well, first of all, he’s not a he. It’s an organization. And the members are all called saints.”
“OK. So what?”
“They’re like…” He pauses to pick his words carefully. “Very bad people. They are a group of assassins. And you—well, not you. But you”—he spreads his arms wide, like this ‘you’ means the entire sanctuary—“you are all their weapons. But not you, Pell. You’re the caretaker of the weapons.”
One of the monsters offers up an opinion I don’t understand and Tomas smiles and points to him. “Yes. Exactly. You are the quartermaster, Pell.”
I just stare at him for a moment. Because that word—‘quartermaster’—it knocks me back in time and I suddenly feel like I’m falling. The next thing I know, Tomas is all up in my face snapping his fingers at me.
“Pell? Hello? Are you with us?”
I push his hand away. “What are you doing?”
“You… went somewhere for a moment.”
“What do you mean?”
“You went stiff, Pell. And silent. And your eyes glazed over. What happened?”
“Nothing happened. I didn’t do that. I was thinking about that word ‘quartermaster.’ But only for like half a second.”
Tomas makes a face that says, No, Pell. That’s not what happened. But out loud he says, “I think you might need some lunch. Go eat something.”
I’m about to take him up on that, because now that he mentions it my stomach is rumbling, but then Tomas grabs my arm and points to a broken bit of tomb. “Have a seat and listen to the good doctor give out kissing pointers, Pell. Cookie will bring it to you.”
And it’s nice, this caretaking.
Even though I have technically been being taken care of for centuries, this time and place. These monsters. Tomas. Pie. It all feels very different in a whole new way.
CHAPTER NINETEEN – PIE
A girl and herself.
No friends and no fun for her.