“I thought your columns were nonsensical originally, you understand,” he said. “But I followed your bits and dribblings. You actually helped me make my initial contacts among the fringe of the Community. People with minor objects and other hangers-on.”
“Glad I could help,” I said bemusedly. “Now, if you don’t want to die, I suggest you step back through.”
Gilling looked back over his shoulder toward the rip. “Almost too late for that. I really must apologize. When you asked to join us, I didn’t take you seriously. I didn’t think you could possibly have the kind of power you demonstrated back there.”
I almost said “what power?” like an idiot. I barely managed to stop myself in time. Realizing I needed to seem as cool and powerful as possible, I didn’t confess my ignorance. Instead, I nodded as if I completely understood whatever it was he was hinting at.
“Quite impressive,” he continued, watching me. “You were immune to both a sonic attack and a thermal projection.”
“You mean the hammer and the rag doll, right?”
“Ahem,” he said, as if I’d soiled myself. “Naturally.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I can be hard to take out.”
“Quite,” Gilling said. “But I’ll tell you what really impressed me, what made me come after you for more information. The knife did strike home, didn’t it?”
I took a half step back just in case he was planning another test. My pistol twitched in my hand.
Gilling made a calming gesture. “Again, let me apologize. We behaved abominably. You are possibly the most powerful rogue I’ve ever met.”
I frowned at him. “How do you figure that?”
His hands spread wide again. This guy really liked to talk with his hands.
“Don’t be modest,” he said. “You resisted the powers of three others. No one there could touch you, I’d wager. Rheinman’s blast went right by you and hit Caroline. That was quite a shock for us. I knew that it couldn’t be something as simple as a shielding force that cocooned you, preventing harm. No, if it had been that, you wouldn’t have been vulnerable to Fiona’s knife.”
“You mean the kid who slashed me?”
“Yes. After you stepped out, she held her blade aloft to show the rest of us it was stained with your essence. I inspected her blade immediately. That was the moment I became intrigued. I had to follow you.”
“What for?” I asked.
“Why—to offer you membership in my coven,” Gilling said. “After all, you did say you wished to join us, didn’t you?”
I wasn’t sure if I should be flattered or violently pissed. The cultists might or might not be murderers, but I was certain they had stabbed me.
“What’s happened to you people?” I asked, honestly confused. “You look like normal enough individuals—housewives, schoolkids, laborers. How could you turn into a group that sits around in a circle and bleeds things?”
“May I sit down?” Gilling asked, as politely as always.
I gestured toward the chairs around the table. The shimmer in the midst of the sliding glass door had turned into an orangey glimmer. I suspected it was about to go out. It reminded me of a fire, just as Gilling had suggested.
“Your question has merit,” he said. “Let me ask you how you have fared since you came into contact with these objects of power. Have you killed anyone?”
I opened my mouth to retort with a harsh no, but the word died in my throat. I recalled the Gray Men I’d met in the cellar with McKesson. They may not have been officially human, but in my book they counted for something.
“Nothing human,” I said. “And only in self-defense.”
“Commendable,” Gilling said, nodding. “So the man you killed in this room attacked you?”
“Who?”
“Hugo was his name. He used to work for me—before you killed him.”
I realized, then, who he meant. I frowned. There was blood and glass everywhere underfoot. The body was gone, but there was clear evidence of foul play at the very table Gilling had sat beside.
“Oh, you mean your cultist friend. We didn’t kill him. He came through and—he landed badly. You see your rip? It formed right in the middle of the sliding glass door. When he stepped through…”
Gilling turned his head and inspected the scene. The torn curtain luffed in a breeze and the balcony was revealed.
“Ah,” he said, nodding with regret. “I failed him. My aim is admittedly still poor.”
I thought about what his words meant. He was the one who had opened the pathway from the mansion to this hotel room. That was his power, and it was an impressive one. I could immediately see why he was the leader of his group. My eyes drifted down toward his rings. I couldn’t help myself. It had to be one of them. Why else would he wear so many? I supposed he wore them all to hide the one that mattered.
Gilling caught the direction of my gaze. A faint smile played over his thin red lips. “So, you have not yet taken a human life.”
“The night is young,” I snapped.