Rituals (Cainsville 5)

"But the Cwn Annwn made a deal of their own," I said. "They negotiated with some mysterious power to heal me in exchange for the souls of human killers. Like those the sluagh target. According to your own book, the Cwn Annwn sometimes give those souls to the sluagh."

"There is no possible way Ioan would have promised Matilda to the sluagh."

"You know where I had that first vision of it, right?"

"In Grace's apartment."

"When I saw the sluagh in your book, it said it accepted my invitation. That it was welcome to make contact because of that. Which I suspect means it can't just swoop into Cainsville uninvited."

"Of course not." Patrick got to his feet, taking the book from me and putting it back. "But if you're suggesting--"

"What exactly is Grace's building? It seems mostly vacant. Ricky opened a door to an apartment earlier this fall and got a blast of cold air that wasn't from an overworked air-conditioner. When Grace reopened that door, it was an ordinary apartment. So what is going on there? What's the big secret?"

"I can't tell you."

I glowered at him.

"I can't," he said. "I've been warned that if I break your contract with the elders, I lose my place on the council, which means you lose an ally when you're going to need one most."

"If I don't understand what her building really is, how do I come up with explanations for why the sluagh were in it?"

"You ask Ida. Just don't expect answers. You need a theory--with evidence--for her to confirm."

"If that theory is in your books, Patrick, say so," Gabriel said. "This is not the time for riddles."

"The answers are in that apartment building. Where Grace currently is not, being locked in a meeting with Ida to discuss what happened this morning. Which means you can go there and see what you find."

"In Grace's apartment building?" Gabriel said.

"This is the one we're talking about, is it not?"

"I'm clarifying, because I'm sure you cannot mean the building where Olivia already encountered the sluagh."

"Don't go in that particular room."

Gabriel's look was cold enough to make even Patrick inch back.

"Go in the apartment Ricky saw," Patrick said. "The sluagh won't appear there."

"As they did not appear in the visions created by your book?"

"I still think that was a self-induced vision..." He trailed off as Gabriel's look froze a few degrees more. "Stay in the hall. Take the hound. You'll be fine."

--

We stood outside the apartment where Ricky got that arctic blast. Lloergan sat beside us. Patrick perched on the front porch, after saying loudly, "I'll just wait out here while you kids get Liv's stuff from her apartment."

As expected, the door was locked. As also expected, Gabriel's touch unlocked it. I opened the door and then staggered back, hit by a blast of icy air.

Gabriel caught my arm as I surged forward.

"I'm not going to race past you," I said.

"No, but you'll get as close as you can, which will eventually be too close."

Lloergan grunted.

"Thanks for the support," I said to her.