Page 9 of A Mastery of Monsters

Unsurprisingly, I didn’t get a good look at Virgil’s house when I was drunk, and even if I had, I wouldn’t have remembered.

But he did a thorough enough job of describing it when I was sober that I was able to find it.

It’s a literal castle in miniature form.

The house has an immaculate yard with bright green hedges, neatly trimmed trees, and a paved walkway up to the front door.

And the main front section looks like a chess piece.

A rook. But if it was covered in thick green ivy and tacked onto an already existing house.

It’s like a quaint cottage mixed with a medieval castle.

And it feels on-brand that Virgil lives in a place like this.

I go to the front door, which has an intricate metal design over the wood and a brass knocker that I lift and bang down because when else will I have a chance to use one?

Shortly after, the door opens, and an East Asian–looking girl appears. Her black hair is loosely tied back from her face with a white ribbon, and she wears a cream blouse with the sleeves pushed to her elbows and tweed pants. It’s a similar aesthetic to what Virgil rocks. “Yes?” she asks.

“Um… I’m looking for Virgil…?”

She studies me for a moment, and then a grin breaks out on her lips.

“Oh, you’re August .” I scowl. There’s something teasing to the way she says my name, but I don’t know her like that.

And it makes me wonder what she knows about me.

“Come in!” She waves me inside, and I step over the threshold.

“Shoes off, please. Slippers over there.”

The entryway is a small octagonal room with yellow patterned wallpaper that looks decades old, and the space is decorated with antique furniture and accents. I take off my shoes as instructed and set them next to three other pairs. I pick the black cloud slides.

As I’m putting them on, I notice the brown ones the girl is wearing and that her left foot is made out of something other than skin and bone—rubber, maybe. I look away so I won’t be the asshole who stares like I’ve never seen a disabled person before.

She smiles as I straighten. “Welcome to McIntosh Castle. I’m Corey.”

“August,” I say. “But you already know that.”

“I was hoping I would get to meet you.” She tilts her head and regards me. “He said he told you to run, and you didn’t.”

I stiffen. He told her about that thing we fought. “I don’t like to back down.”

“Good. That’s what he needs. The worst possible partner would be someone who encouraged this self-sacrificial thing he insists on.”

My brow raises. “Partner?”

Corey moves on like I haven’t said anything. “I have a patron to deal with right now, so you can follow me into the sitting room, and I’ll fetch Virgil.”

I trail after her into the hallway. We pass several rooms on the main floor, many of which are devoted to books.

Some have tables inside while others more prominently feature winged armchairs and fireplaces.

We go into one of those rooms, where a white man is sitting with a cup of tea.

He looks like he could be in his midforties, with curly, gray-flecked brown hair that goes to his shoulders, a mostly trimmed beard and mustache combo, and tortoiseshell glasses.

I notice he’s wearing a Hawaiian shirt and try to keep the judgment off my face.

He seems like the sort of guy who strikes up conversations with strangers in grocery stores.

“Sorry, Bernie,” Corey says. “I’ll get the books now.” Of course, a dude who wears shirts like that would prefer to be called Bernie instead of Bernard. She turns to me. “And I’ll grab Virgil for you.”

I sit next to the man and pull out my phone so I’ll have something to stare at. I know Mom would think it was rude, but she isn’t here to stop me. The couch is stiff like no one was ever supposed to sit on it, and I shift, trying to get comfortable.

Despite my conversation avoidance tactic, Bernie asks, “New student?”

“Uh, no, I don’t go to Queen’s.”

“Ah.” He nods to himself. “I used to teach there. I’m on a sabbatical now. Health reasons. They have wonderful libraries, but I love coming to borrow from this collection. It’s special.”

“Right…” I glance at the doorway, willing Virgil to show up so I can stop being engaged in small talk.

“If you don’t go to Queen’s, does your family live here?”

“My dad teaches at St. Lawrence.” I know he would rather work at the university, but the college had openings and Queen’s didn’t.

“My mom is missing.” I always add this now.

I don’t want people thinking that Dad raised me by himself or that I have some terrible relationship with my mom.

That I’m not mentioning her because of something she did.

Though, she did leave. And we did fight before that.

But if she’d come back like she was supposed to…

I guess I don’t know. What would have happened?

Would I have stayed the old August, or would the new version, the one who disappointed her, have appeared anyway?

Bernie’s smile slips off his face. “I know what that’s like. Family is the most important thing, don’t you think?”

“And here we are,” Corey says, coming back into the room with a stack of three books.

She sets them down on the table and then stamps and signs some slips of paper about an inch bigger than a bookmark before offering them to Bernie to sign.

She’s missing the pinky and middle fingers on her left hand, though her movements are precise and practiced, like she’s used to managing without.

She tucks the papers into the books and hands them to him. “Due in three weeks.”

“Thank you.” Bernie takes his books and stands. “Nice to meet you,” he says to me.

I nod without saying anything.

As he goes to leave, Virgil comes into the room. He beams at the man. “Bernie! Glad I caught you before you left.”

They hug, clapping each other on the back. Virgil is so much larger than the other man that the guy gets knocked forward. Bernie says, “I’m sorry I can’t stay, but I’m sure I’ll be back soon enough. I don’t suppose I can expect you in one of this year’s candidate pairings?”

Virgil’s beaming smile sags. “I’m working on it.”

Bernie’s head dips. “You deserve to be a part of it. Don’t ever let them make you feel otherwise.

You’re a bright and capable young man.” His voice gets heavy, as if he’s struggling to get the words out.

“I see so much of Davy in you. You have all the potential in the world. Should you compete, I hope you’ll have a better result than he did. ”

The corner of Virgil’s lip twitches. “Thank you.”

Bernie claps a hand on Virgil’s shoulder as he strains to keep a smile on his face. Then Bernie says goodbye to us all and leaves.

Virgil sighs as the sound of the front door shutting reaches us.

“Wow, it’s almost as if you didn’t enjoy being compared to his dead son,” Corey muses as she sinks onto the couch next to me.

“Technically missing,” Virgil says.

Corey gives him a look. “If he were alive, there would be—” She cuts herself off, looking at me. “Well, we’d know if he were still living, wouldn’t we? I wish he were, for Bernie’s sake, but he’s not.”

“I know.”

I guess that explains Bernie’s reaction to me talking about my missing mom. He has a son, missing and presumed dead. And like with Mom, no one believes his son is still alive. Great, now I share a common tragedy with a guy who wears Hawaiian shirts.

Virgil bites his lip. “He should have taken more time off. Davy hasn’t even been gone a year yet.”

Corey shrugs. “He wants to keep busy, I’m sure.”

I frown. Bernie told me he was on sabbatical. That’s basically the definition of taking time off.

“Bernie used to tutor Virgil,” Corey says to me. “Both of us, actually. Him and Dr. Liu, who’s usually the librarian here, though he’s on sabbatical until the new year.” She leans toward me. “But enough about us. You live on the island, right? How is it? Are you going to Queen’s in the fall? How—”

“I was thinking this would be a private conversation,” Virgil cuts in, leaning against the doorframe.

Corey pouts, turning to him with wide eyes. “But—”

“I’m immune to the pout.”

She drops the expression. “It was worth a try.” She turns to me. “Well, I’m sure we’ll have lots of time to get to know each other.”

“Presumptuous,” Virgil mutters.

“Is it?” The corner of her mouth lifts up. “I guess we’ll see.” She pats my leg and leaves the room.

And then it’s just the two of us. He meets my eyes. “Corey is the interim librarian here. Though I guess she’s technically in training.”

“Are you a librarian too?” He definitely looks the part with his round glasses and the blazer he’s casually wearing inside his own house.

“More of a ward of the library. I’m not interested in the job or research like Corey, more of a fiction guy.

Dr. Liu was kind enough to let me live here when I had nowhere else to go.

And when I… Well, there was an issue with my attending schools, and that’s when Bernie volunteered to tutor me, so I did my schooling at McIntosh Castle.

Corey joined eventually. I’ve called this place my home for a long time. ”

The fact that he was homeschooled explains a lot. Both he and Corey exist on some separate plane, from their clothing to the formal way they speak.

He crosses his arms over his chest. “The question now is what you’re doing here.”

I straighten. “The same day we were attacked by that thing at Big Sandy Bay, my brother disappeared. Or left, technically.”

Virgil raises an eyebrow.

“I get it. Sometimes people go missing or take off or whatever. My mom has been MIA for a long time now. But this is different. I think he’s in trouble, and I need to find him. He left a note…. He said that monsters are real.” I look at Virgil expectantly.

He clears his throat. “You think I might know something? About the monster or your brother?”

“Yes… I mean, both, or one or the other. Do you?”

“I might.”