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I explained the situation, trying to keep the panic out of my voice.
“Oh, dear God.” Myra’s voice was faint. “I don’t want you to be alone. Either come over here, or I’ll come over there.”
“No, Myra. Don’t leave the inn.Promise me you won’t go outside!”
“Okay, I won’t. I’m just scared for you.”
I looked up at David, wondering if I should tell her that he was with me. “I’m not alone,” I finally said. I bit my lip, searching his face for permission.
He nodded; his eyes wide.
“I’m with Dr. Preston.”
She hesitated. “Where are you?”
“I’m in my apartment. I walked with Dr. Preston to Poor Richard’s for dinner, and then we came to my apartment so he could help me with some research on the curse.”
“He knows about it?”
“I told him.”
“And hebelievesyou?”
I sighed. “He’s getting there.”
“Why didn’t he come back here for the night?” I was a grown woman, and Myra was still trying to keep track of the guys I took home.
“We were doing research, and I fell asleep on the sofa. I’m going to make him stay the night because I don’t want him to go out in the dark with that thing on the loose.”
“Okay,” she relented. “I just worry about you, Ellie.”
“I know, Myra. And I worry about you. I’ll see you in the morning.”
I hung up the phone and rested my head on the counter, overcome with exhaustion.
“What happened?” David said.
Lifting my head, I searched his face. “I told you that I have dreams every night. The animals beg me to save them. Then I usually get a visit from a monster. Tonight, I got Chip and the cat.”
David slowly sat on the stool beside me. “I’m going to ask you a question that’s not meant as an insult. It’s just…a fact-gathering type of thing.” He paused. “What type of medication are you currently taking?”
I shook my head with a snort. “I wish it were that simple.”
He still looked unconvinced, not that I blamed him. I wasn’t surprised he’d fallen back into disbelief. For a while, I’d wobbled back and forth looking for a logical explanation too. If he was like me, it was going to take a visit from a god or spirit to settle him firmly in the believer category.
“Did you find out anything about the badger?”
“No, not really.”
“Which is it? No or not really?”
His face scrunched in irritation. “Bloody Christ, Ellie. I’m sleeping on your sofa with you snoring next to me, waiting for some unseen boogeyman to show up. Then I’m awoken by you moaning and crying in your sleep. Why don’t you give me a chance to come to my senses? You scared me half to death!”
“I don’t snore!”
He tilted his head to the left and lifted his eyebrows. “Out of everything I just said, that’swhat you chose to fixate on?”
I scowled. “Well, I don’t.” I got off the stool and began to pace. “I’m sorry. But I have to stop that thing before it does any more damage.”
