clad in black leather or dulled and scuffed metal mail, waiting for God knew what, tapping their swords against their battered shields like in some sort of gladiator movie. Back in her seat, she stuck the muzzle out of the window a little, and the people who’d noticed her shifted in place, probably nervous.
She hoped they were nervous. She really was a good shot, and the law was definitely on their side. Plus, that lovely older lady with the fantastic skin had joked about unmarked graves. That might come in handy if all these people surged at once.
What they were doing wasn’t normal, though, and neither were the people waiting to rush the property, with their spiked weapons, swords, shields, and what on earth were those dog-looking creatures that were as big as elephants? She’d never seen anything like that in a zoo before. It felt like she was dreaming, which was probably why she was going along with it.
“Pete, Jessie said something about magic. Do you think it could be real? This would make more sense with magic. Anything makes sense if you just call it magic.”
“Hogwash. Magic is about as real as flying pigs.”
“Well, now, didn’t you say you saw some sort of flying creature the other day? Maybe not a pig, but…”
“You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you? It’s all that”—he made bunny ears around his rifle—“‘sleep aid’ stuff you give me. You’re just looking for an excuse to ship me away like your friend Denise did to her husband.”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. Her husband had… I can’t think of the name. He needed medical help. He needed to be in a safe place for his condition.”
“I know what the term is—tired of the ol’ ball and chain. Well, I’ve still got all my faculties, thank you very much. Aside from that sleep stuff you give me, I’m right as rain. We’ve seen animals like that a million times in the magazines.”
She affixed her glasses to the end of her nose, squinting down on the animal in question. It had what looked like a dog snout, front legs longer than the back, and enormous teeth. It was literally the size of an elephant, but it lacked a trunk, so it wasn’t an uncommonly ugly elephant.
“No, Pete. My vision isn’t great, but something is wrong with that animal. It looks like a drunk came up with it.”
“That’s just because you don’t go to the circus.”
“She didn’t just mention magic once. She keeps mentioning it…” The pitter-patter of feet made her freeze up, turning to look out the open door and into the hall beyond. A doll stopped as it passed by, looking at her with a sad little smile on its cherubic face. It waved, of all things, and kept going, the first time she’d actually seen one of them moving. “I think this house might actually be magical, Pete. I’m not kidding. I don’t think ghosts are this good at moving things.”
Pete muttered something as the light suddenly dimmed, dark shadows unfurling from the sky.
Martha turned back and looked out the window, same as Pete, ducking a little to glance upward.
“What in the hell?” he said softly, a toothpick in his mouth and his gun at the ready. “Was there supposed to be an eclipse today?”
“I don’t remember seeing anything like that in the paper.” She tsked. “Jessie doesn’t get the paper. It’s magic, I tell you. If we can have UFOs, we can have magic.” She let her words drift off for a moment.
“UFOs aren’t real and neither is magic. There’s no magic out there. Mother Nature can be savage. And all those people are clearly trying to get in here and get the goods. There’s a lot of expensive stuff in this house. Even just those weapons in the attic. Those would go for a lotta money. Don’t worry”—he pulled the bolt hammer back, checked inside, and slid it into place—“they won’t get very far onto this property. They think they can take the goods, then they got another think comin’. You ready? They look like they’re getting antsy.”
“Well, I guess.” Martha leaned forward. “I just think this is really outlandish. Magic is the only explanation.”
Jessie had mentioned different rules for magic, like different laws, Martha guessed. This situation would make more sense if the magical rules were along the lines of barbarianism.
Nearly convinced, she squinted through the sudden low light and prepared for the onslaught.
Twenty-Two
The gargoyles took to the sky, hiding in the darkness