Through a Mirror, Darkly

Chapter 7

"All right, you two, guard the snowglobe," said Edwin. "I'm going to go visit Cat. The town is not his responsibility, but perhaps his cats can help us determine if anyone who raided Mick's shop has immediately bad intentions. Monty, meet us here tomorrow so Cat can teleport you home."

Charles wanted to tease Edwin about getting frisky with Cat, but instead he just said, "Right. Meet you back home."

Edwin nodded to Charles, then glanced at Monty. "Thank you for your assistance today." And then he turned and headed to the cannery.

"Right," said Charles as he turned on the spot. "I'm going to head back to London and see if Crystal found anything." He glanced into his bag to make sure the snowglobe was safe and sound, then started to walk away.

Monty stood there a moment, then called out in a sort of pathetic little voice, "Charles."

Charles spun back around and gave Monty a questioning look. "Yeah?"

Monty hesitated and gripped his hands into fists. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed his mouth. Then he walked toward Charles after glancing around. "Please. Don't leave me alone here."

Charles blinked in surprise. "Ah, right. I guess you need to spend the night. Here, I'll lend you a bit of cash for a motel..." He swung the bag around and started to dig through his backpack for a money pouch that held a variety of currency.

"No, it's not...it's not just that." Monty looked spooked. He stepped closer to Charles, then leaned in and whispered, "I know she's dead. But it's almost...almost like I can feel her. And if she's not really gone somehow, I don't want her to find me."

For the first time since they met, Charles felt sympathy for Monty. He'd always considered him someone who was complicit in Esther's evil deeds. And he was, to an extent - which he'd admitted to, to his credit. But Charles had failed to appreciate that at least part of his complicity had come from a place of fear.

As someone afraid of his own father, well, Charles could certainly understand that. He was also conscious of the fact that it must have taken a lot for Monty to tell him that, given the animosity that still existed between them.

Charles' core nature was to be kind. So after a moment of consideration, he nodded to Monty. "C'mon. Let's get a motel room. I'll stay with you til the morning."

"Really?" asked Monty, his eyes lighting up.

Charles resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, he just nodded. "Wasn't feeling too great about splitting up with Edwin anyway."

Monty fell into step beside Charles, keeping closer to him than he ever had before. He kept casting looks around the sleepy little tourist town as the sun began to set.

"My dad was a piece of work, too. Not a literal evil witch like Esther, but definitely not winning any father of the year awards." Charles stopped and turned to Monty. "Look, I get why you're afraid. And I won't blow smoke and say there's no chance, never. I am pretty sure Lillith got her for good, but you and I both know weird shit that happens all the time. And if she did come back, she'd definitely be right pissed. But me and my magic cricket bat, we've got your back, yeah?"

Monty looked up at Charles with wide, dark eyes. Then he stepped forward and glommed onto Charles, hugging him tightly for a moment, then backing off just as quickly. "I...I appreciate it. This way? There's a motel just off Washington Street."

Charles stood there, shocked by the hug. Before he could process what was happening, Monty had already backed away.

As they made their way down the street, Charles realized belatedly that he had been played. Monty could have easily transformed into a crow and nested in some out-of-the-way tree for the night. He didn't need a motel room.