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“Why? He doesn’t know anything about me except my name,” I argued.
Matilda didn’t seem to hear me. She paced back and forth, deep in thought. “You should move. Pack up your meager belongings and hit the road. I can help you gather your things.”
Okay, her reaction was far more dramatic than I expected, even worse than Josie’s.
“I’m not leaving Fairhaven.”
She looked at me with surprise. “Why ever not? You’ve only been here for the beat of a butterfly’s wing. Are you that besotted with the place that you’d risk your life to stay? There isn’t even a Starbucks.”
“It isn’t that… I can’t afford to move again. The bulk of my money is tied up in this house.”
She gave me a withering stare. “If it’s the choice between being dead broke or dead, I know which I’d choose.”
My shoulders sagged. “I’m tired. I want to stay put for now.”
“You cannot take on The Corporation and, believe me, they will very much want to take you on.”
“Take me on as in fight me?”
Her face clouded over. “Much worse than that.”
I understood. The Corporation was the kind of threat my grandfather worried about. A group that would attempt to use me and, if they couldn’t, they’d destroy me.
“Does this mean you won’t break into the house with me?” I asked.
Closing her eyes, Matilda heaved a sigh. “Of course I will.”
“Because you want to, right? This is free will and not an obligation?” It was hard to tell sometimes.
She ignored my question. “Do you have a way in?”
“Yes.”
“Are we certain the djinn has left the house vacant?”
“No. Solomon is either a cleaner or the new Bruce.”
“And you think Bruce was some sort of caretaker or guardian?”
“Yes.”
She pursed her lips. “It is what it is. A bit of recon will tell us what we need to know. If he is there, it might be a blessing.”
“Why?”
She gave me a dark look. “Because then we can kill him.”
“What if I don’t want to kill him?”
“Why not? You killed the first guardian.”
“I didn’t intend to. I was only trying to extract information. The Corporation must have messed with his head as part of their protection scheme.”
“If that’s how they treat their own members, imagine what they would do to you.” She gave me a pointed look. “You should very much like to kill this djinn if you value your life. He’s a threat to you.”
“I’m not sure he is. He seemed to buy my story.”
“I don’t care. If he’s there, he needs to die.” She motioned to the summoning circle. “Do we require my trusty steed? I can bring her through.”
