Mr Damon sat forward, his head cocking slightly as his gaze ran over my face. “That’s a very odd question to ask.”
My eyes landed on his with a steady regard. The one thing the Walker hadn’t gotten right about him was the fact he wasn’t quiet, obviously being the first to speak up. “Yes, it is.” I nodded once, and I groaned inwardly when I felt Tristan under the table rubbing against my legs. I stalled, placing a quick hand under the table and pushing his face downward when he started sniffing at my crotch. The Walker for the tiger had most definitely been right. I cleared my throat again and acted like I was brushing off my pants, glancing down when Tristan ignored me and placed his huge furry head on my lap under the table. I shot him a stern look, but I quickly looked back up since no one could see him down there. “Um…” Think dammit. “Oh yes. Did you feel the extra energy?”
He was staring at me oddly, but his gaze was sharp. “Yes, I did.”
I flicked the pencil at the group. “And the rest of you?”
One by one they nodded.
Not the One, though. He was still resting lazily on his chair, one elbow on its arm and his chin in hand with two fingers over his mouth. With the gaze of a fucking tiger, he drawled, “Why have you come here, Ms Jules?”
“Jesus,” I muttered, sitting back on my chair and running a hand over my face. No matter how much I tried to fool myself, I was not really able to handle the weirdness of this situation. I shook my head, staring up at the ceiling. “This is just too damn bizarre.” I was sure they were staring at me like I was crazy, but I didn’t really care. I inhaled heavily, trying to calm myself. Eventually, I let my head drop to stare at his nose. “I’m here because of Walkers.”
He froze, as did everyone else. But he recovered the fastest, flicking a finger in my direction. His voice was no longer bored but now blunt in the extreme. “You have our direct attention, Ms Jules.”
I nodded once and then started. “Everyone I asked into this room had a Walker.” I waited a beat, letting that settle in for them. “As I tell you what happened, please bear with me. It’s easier to use your names—even though they weren’t really you.” Another deep inhale, and I rolled my head on my shoulders. “It all started about a month ago when Leric, Roselle, and Reese, plus four guards—whose names I can’t remember—asked to visit the current Kings and Queens. Leric, in the entirety of his time with us, never stated what his true purpose for being there was. He only said that he was needed…” For the next half-hour I told the story of what had happened, stumbling over my words a few times when I had to think on my feet and flat out lie because I didn’t want to get into the physical relationship I’d had with the Walker Leric. I finished it off with the truth of how I had figured out they were Walkers, and how I had killed them, releasing their essences back to the bodies they actually belonged to.
Because that was what a Walker was. Someone, at some point, had stolen the barest bit of these people sitting around the table with me right now. They had taken their essences from them—using the direct contact needed—and put those essences into the bodies of the dead to create walking and talking versions of the individuals. With one mastermind behind it all. Licking my dry lips, I cleared my throat and glanced down at the notepad in the extending silence. “That about sums it up.”
Staring at the blank page, I murmured, “We have a real situation outside the Temple. The target appears to be me for some reason, since I was the one befriended and used as a gateway into the Manor. The point being, whoever was behind it didn’t try to kill us. That wasn’t the objective. The spirit behind this wanted us to trust him through Leric. I have no clue why the spirit chose him, other than he has the most magic inside his essence, which may be the only reason.”
I licked my lips again. “Anyway, I’ve already noticed marked differences with some of you compared to the Walkers. With your help, if you’ll answer a few questions I have, I could possibly narrow down when the spirit touched you.” Nibbling at my bottom lip, I peered up to the silent spirits. “Would you all be willing to answer those questions?”
Slowly, they all nodded.
Except for the One, again. He was sitting completely mute, watching me like…well, like a tiger. So much so, I could feel his keen eyes roving my face, not missing any tiny detail. I turned my attention directly to Roselle. “Your hair. When did you have it waist-length last?”
Her eyes widened. “That was at least…” She glanced to Reese. “What, maybe, ten years ago?”
He nodded. “My wife’s hair’s been short for some time.”
I nodded, jotting her name down on a blank page and marking it with ten years. I leaned over the table a bit, glancing across to where Mr Damon sat. I asked, “Who would think you shy? Or more importantly, have you ever been the quiet type? And if so, when?”