“Undoubtedly,” he said. “Keep thinking about it. You’ve just uncovered the source of little men from other worlds. The truth behind both ghosts and goblins. All the things we’ve sought to erase from our consciousness with the clear light of modern science.”
“So, you’re saying our science simply isn’t sufficiently advanced to understand these things yet?”
“Correct. And what a society doesn’t understand it rejects and labels as heresy. Welcome to the ranks of the heretics, Mr. Draith.”
He smiled at me, but I didn’t smile back. He’d given me a lot to think about, and I didn’t like most of it. I tried to remember my immediate goals. I wanted to know who was killing people I came in contact with and why. I wouldn’t mind learning about my past life either—regaining my lost memories one way or another. Barring that, I’d settle for finding out how I’d lost them and who was responsible.
“Is your cult—excuse me, coven, responsible for the mysterious murders around town?”
Gilling licked those bright red lips. “There have been a few regrettable deaths,” he said. “Hugo is a case in point. Others have sought to steal our objects. We thought you were one of those, an attacker.”
I told him of my persecution, of the inevitable demise of those who came near me. He listened closely and his frown grew as I went on.
“We’ve been aware of the deaths. But our purpose has been experimentation and greater understanding. We’ve not engaged in any kind of assaults upon individuals.”
For some reason, I thought he might be telling the truth. For one thing, the rift I’d stepped through before had led to the world of the Gray Men, not the basement of a ring of cultists. On my list of suspects, the Gray Men had moved up a notch, despite the shady nature of the cultists. I decided to proceed on another topic.
Gilling raised a hand to stop me. “This conversation seems more like an interrogation, Mr. Draith,” he said. “Let me understand our relationship. Are you interested in joining us or not?”
“You kidnapped my friend Holly and manacled her in your dungeon. You were going to kill her. Why would I want to join you?” Beginning to wonder if he was trying to delay me, I figured it was high time I checked up on Holly and Jenna.
“She’s not as innocent as she seems, Draith.”
“Really?” I asked, but his words didn’t really surprise me. I knew she was a thief and was quite capable of lying.
“We had good reason to pursue her, let me leave it at that—but she was awaiting questioning, not murder. Think about it: why would we want to bleed humans when less problematic sources of fuel are so abundant? Now, I really must insist—” Gilling said, moving to rise.
“One last question,” I said. “Do you know Robert Townsend?”
Gilling opened his mouth, then paused. He sat down again. He tilted his head to one side, glancing around what had been Robert Townsend’s hotel room. I knew he had sent Hugo here, which indicated there was some connection to Jenna and her missing husband.
Finally, he leaned forward conspiratorially. “Yes, I do. Have you seen him—lately?”
I shook my head. “I’m looking for him too.”
Gilling nodded slowly. “He’s a slippery fellow.”
My eyes narrowed. Was he lying? I’d found Robert’s shoe in his dungeon. Had he killed him in that dungeon?
“Are you telling me Robert was a member of your group?”
“Yes,” Gilling said, turning around in his chair and closing his eyes.
Had Robert Townsend really stepped out on his newlywed wife on purpose? It seemed odd, as he’d left behind his lucky ring. In support of the self-styled technomancer’s claims, however, I’d found a shoe, not a body. One other thing had been bothering me about Jenna’s story: these rips, when they appeared, had never consumed anyone. You could step into them, but they didn’t drag you in. That was further evidence that Robert had left purposefully.
Suddenly, a wink of light blossomed around Gilling. I pointed my gun at Gilling and almost fired, but I realized that he was already a blur of flesh and clothing in a ripple of space. I stepped to the edge of the rip and his flaring outline. “Come back out of there!” I shouted.
He lifted his hand one more time. Was he giving me the finger or waving at me? I wasn’t sure, but after a second, he stepped away and disappeared. I stood behind in the room, cursing. If I followed him, I had no idea what I was walking into. Damn.
The rip closed and I examined the spot where it had been. There was a handy pool of blood on that exact spot, provided by the dead man named Hugo. I nodded to myself. He’d sat at the table, very close to the blood, on purpose. He was thus able to leave at will.
Shaking my head, I left the room and the Lucky Seven. I needed to see Jenna, but first I had to find Holly. I had too many women in my life right now.