Page 94 of The Witching Hours

David managed to regain enough presence of mind to close his mouth. Clearly reaching for the courage required tofunction so far out of his element, he took a last, longing look at the front door. I imagined he was conflicted about going out the way he came or seeing this through. Honestly, I couldn’t have advised as to which was the better option.

Neither of us rose as David approached.

“David,” I said, “this is Aeskilas. “He represents the crew who’ve been trying to motivate y’all to find other digs.”

“Hello,” David said again, this time to Aeskilas.

Aeskilas pointed at the chair between us. “Want something to drink?”

“It can be anything,” I added as David sat down. “Nothing is too hard or outrageous for your guest to conjure up.”

David looked around. “Like this, ah, room?”

“Indeed!” Aeskilas sounded cheerful at the prospect of being challenged. Aeskilas reached into an invisible breast pocket underneath his beaded chest plate and withdrew twenty one-hundred-dollar bills. He arranged them in a perfect fan shape on the table then said, “Two thousand dollars. If I can’t make the drink you want, exactly the way you want it, the money is yours.”

Poor David looked like he’d just walked into a sanitarium where the guards had been locked up by the patients. “Uh. Well.” He looked between us before saying, “Sazerac.”

Aeskilas looked mildly impressed. “Well done, Master of the House. Will that be with or without ice?”

“With a rock, please,” David said.

Aeskilas reached into the air and suddenly he was holding a crystal tumbler with rich, dark amber liquid over a rock with a lemon twist. He set it down in front of David, and both palms up, said, “I await your judgment.”

By the gods, it seemed Aeskilas was enjoying himself.

David picked up the drink and looked at me.

I believed it was safe, but knew there was no way to be one hundred percent sure. So, I said, “Mine is okay.” I lifted what was left of my daiquiri and took a big swig through the pretty straw.

David sipped and almost swooned with pleasure. “Holy Cow,” he said. “That’s… Well. It’s beyond perfection.” Looking at Aeskilas, he said, “If you’re a bartender, you get top prize.” He looked at the money on the table. “And I guess you get to keep the two grand.”

“Well, that depends,” Aeskilas said.

“On what?” David set his drink down looking wary.

Aeskilas deferred to me. “Since it was her idea, I’ll let your mentor explain.”

“Seems we have proof that we’re sharing our reality with other species,” I began. “They have business that requires coming and going.” David looked at the hole in the dining room wall. “They call the opening in the dining room wall an egress. It had already been in use for a long time before this house was built and apparently it isn’t something easily moved to another location. Your presence interferes with them conducting business. So.” I stopped to make sure David was following.

David looked at Aeskilas. “So. You want us gone.”

Aeskilas raised his chin. “Before meeting with Ms. Danann, I would’ve said so, but I believe she’s proposed a solution that’s even better.”

I went on. “If you stay in the house, you’re a known factor to Aeskilas and his associates. You and your family close off the dining room and stay out except for cleaning and maintenance. No furniture of course. You can enjoy the rest of the house without interference. In fact, you’ll have their protection. No one and no thing will hurt your family or property while this agreement is in place. Aeskilas says you’ll be so safe you can leave the doors unlocked if you choose.”

David blinked a few times.

“Tell him about the toll,” Aeskilas said.

That got David’s attention. “Toll?”

“Yes,” I said. “Every time an entity uses the portal, they’ll make a goodwill deposit. Like a toll. You could perhaps leave a basket in the dining room for that purpose, near the door, where you could retrieve it from time to time without disturbing the premises, empty the contents, and put it back.”

Aeskilas shoved the fan-shaped two thousand toward David. “Every time a traveler uses the portal, going either way, they’ll leave a hundred-dollar bill. On a daily basis, that should never be less than this amount and could be much, much more.”

I could see that David was stunned. Since Aeskilas and I hadn’t discussed specific amounts, I was wide-eyed myself.

“That’s…” David had done a quick mental calculation.