There's an Invisible Man Sleeping in My Bed

Chapter 28

            Colt managed to keep himself in check on the last few minutes to Thalia’s house. Focusing on the surroundings; the houses that increased in size the closer you got to the lake and the tree-shaded lawns that stood in front of them, and the movement surrounding them, a bird fluttering across the street and the man pushing a machine that appeared to be eating the grass. On second glance, the machine reminded him of something he’d seen pulled by animals at Oxford.

            Remembering the past kept him distracted until he was in Thalia’s kitchen, with her facing him, brow furrowed and her teeth sunk lightly into her bottom lip as she looked in his general direction. That reminded him of everything the man, Guy Woodman, had said about him. Colt felt the familiar heat of his anger flood his veins and didn’t hold it back this time.

            “That…that creature speaks nothing but lies and half-truths,” he snapped, dropping Thalia’s hand and beginning to pace in front of her. “I have never deliberately done anything that would endanger my friends, and even by accident, it has only happened a handful of times. Certainly I caused problems for William when his family believed him mad because of me. And there was the instance with priests believing Ravinger possessed, but those were isolated instances that we were able to deal with in a manner that returned things to normal. Certainly neither blamed me for their misfortunes!

            And yes, perhaps some of my friends have often ended up in peril of some form or another, but it was hardly my doing. More often than not it was a symptom of the times or something that they had embroiled themselves in! Far more often than not, it was because of me that they survived.

That anyone, anyone at all, would attempt to twist the facts so that I appear as some kind of…bogeyman, is beyond offensive. I would never, in any way, allow friends of mine to remain in danger or force them into dangerous situations. These people…they are fear-mongerers and liars. What do they expect to achieve with the spread of such untruths?”

            Thalia’s eyes followed the movement of his voice, the only part of her that wasn’t still before she spoke. “They want me to convince Will to help them by scaring me into it. I can’t imagine they thought you’d hear about it. I’m afraid this is only the beginning of what they’ll do and we don’t know what that will be. We…we need to be very careful.”

            The worry in her voice blew through him like a winter wind, freezing his anger out. He moved until he was in front of her, gently laying hands on her shoulders. “We will be. And you needn’t worry yourself. I’m here for you, no matter what they try,” he said, staring into her eyes and hoping she understood that he wasn’t about to let anyone hurt her.

            She met his eyes for a long moment then bowed her head. If she had been any other woman, he’d have guessed that she was about to cry. But he knew Thalia now, and knew she was far stronger than that. He thought she might be thinking things through as she so often did. She was far more introspective than even Gregory had been, often making him wonder what was going on inside her head.

            Then her chin lifted, the frown and worry lines having been smoothed from her face. “Who are Ravinger and William? I assume it’s a different William from my cousin.”

           Her sudden change of subject left Colt blinking at her for a moment. Then he smiled. “Gods, yes. William was a friend of mine who was, oh…four before Gregory? Yes, four before Gregory. I met him when he travelled to the capital for his knighting. Once we got past his initial belief of me being a demon, we got on famously. Unfortunately some of his family’s servants heard him and me speaking and decided he was mad. Long story short, they locked him in a tower until I broke him out. I left immediately after since I’d only have caused him more difficulties. I heard that his family accepted that his ‘madness’ had been cured after a month or so.”

            “And Ravinger?”

            “He was the captain of the Duke of Saxony’s personal guard. I met him when he was still training himself. I used to help him spar when I could, and watched his back as he rose through the ranks. He distinguished himself in battle and even saved the life of one of the nobles. That’s why the Duke appointed him as his guard’s captain. Or at least that’s the reason we were told. Those were unsettled times and I think it was the fact that Ravinger had no ties outside of the Duke’s household that was the real reason he was chosen,” Colt said, then smiled as a memory resurfaced. “And gods, could he drink. I saw him drink a man twice his size under the table one night and was still in good enough shape to do his rounds as normal the following morning. I never did find out how he was able to do that.”

            A faint frown returned to Thalia’s face. “So all of your other friends really have been men.”

            Colt shrugged. “It wasn’t something I did on purpose. But, after the first century or so, I found that most women I saw were…less intellectual than I would have liked. I enjoy good conversation and most of the women I encountered had difficulty talking on any of the topics that interested me. And it was easier to meet men, since they traveled alone more often. I do try my best not to expose myself to crowds of people.”

            She nodded. “Alright. I think we’re going to have to tell Will about you.”

            It took him a minute to process her words then another to realize she was bringing the conversation back to its original path. He shook his head, part of him figuring she’d spent the time he’d been explaining to think things through completely. “I would really rather not. I cannot imagine that it will end well.”

            “I worry about what will happen to him if the group realizes he’s not the one they’re looking for.”

            Colt sighed. “I don’t think they’ll do anything. Currently, thinking they’re crazy is keeping your cousin safe. He doesn’t have to feign disbelief. And I worry that if they realize it’s not him, they’ll come after you next.”

            She stared up at him, the blue-grey of her eyes darkening slightly. Finally, she nodded. “You’re right. We don’t have enough data to be making any kind of plans yet. But…if it comes to it…”

            He nodded, glad she couldn’t see the expression on his face. He managed to keep his voice even as he replied “Then we tell him.”