The Mysteries of Holly Diem (Unknown Kadath Estates Book 2)
Page 29
“Do you really want to quarrel?” April gave Holly a sober appraisement, much to Holly’s amusement. “This all seems rather petty.”
“Nothing of the sort,” Holly rejoined, popping a piece of melon into her mouth and chewing it thoroughly. “I simply refuse to accept limitations, dear. If you will forgive some advice – and I know you will – then I would suggest you do the same.” Holly smiled. “It will make things so much more interesting for all of us – Preston in particular.”
April added a cinnamon twist to her collection.
“I will say this much,” Holly added, with a distracted air. “You may think you know something of me, now that my unfortunate family history has become public. You may think that you have taught me a lesson, or taken my measure.”
April smiled thinly.
“That would be a mistake.” Holly’s voice was light and generous, but the look in her eyes was icy. “The secrets you have learned pale in comparison to those I know. What you really are, for example – your maker and your origins. I know all about the lure embedded inside you, and the way you use it. I admire your tenacity, April, and your lack of scruples. I brought you and Preston here for a reason, after all. That game is nearly set to begin, and I have such high hopes for the two of you. Yael as well, of course, and Sumire – but you are definitely among my favorites.”
Another pause.
“Unless…”
A long sip of tea.
“Unless you decide not to play along,” Holly concluded, smiling pleasantly. “Consider carefully, dear. After all,” Holly added, with a flamboyant wink, “your lease is month-to-month.”
April bit the head from a gingerbread man. I touched nothing at all.
I know too much about witches, these days.
***
“You like her?”
“No.”
“You like her.”
“It’s not that.”
My decision, come back to haunt me.
“Don’t lie. It’s obvious. Boys are so obvious.”
“I’m not lying. You’re misunderstanding the situation. You missed a bunch of stuff, you know.”
I knew this was coming from the moment I allowed Yael to walk out of the Tidal Chamber, pride, health, and virtue intact. That was not at all what April had asked – told – me to do. Up until now, I’d done such a good job, too, following instructions.
“I do know. Whose fault was that?”
I considered the usual suspects.
“Mine.” I did my best to appear chastised, and braced myself for consequences. “But, it was all for your benefit! I was worried about you getting involved, especially after what happened to Sumire. Madeleine wanted your limbs, too…”
“You were looking after me, then? How sweet. Nothing at all to do with Yael Kaufman, then?”
I didn’t respond. That seemed the safest. Defiance is out of character for me, where April is concerned, so we were both in unfamiliar territory.
“You played the hero, Preston.” Curled beside me like a cat, head resting on my leg. Eyes never leaving the television. “You played the hero for her.”
“I did not. I rescued you.”
“You did that. You did some other things in the process, though, didn’t you? Things that didn’t exactly need doing? Unless…”
“I got you out safely. Anything else was incidental or advantageous. For us. For you. Like always.”
“Really? The way you stood up for Yael, then, with Madeleine Diem and her lawyers. Was that incidental or advantageous?”
There was no point in wondering how she had heard about Yog & Sothoth. April just knows things, sometimes, and it is best not too many questions.
Particularly when she’s already mad.
“Advantageous.” I meant it. “The Cats of Ulthar fall all over themselves to do Yael favors. Holly and Jenny both treat her like an old friend or something. She’s worth having on our side.”
“Our side? Or yours?”
“Don’t start.”
April started flipping channels; one after the other, a slideshow of kinetic image, with no discernable means or end. I suspected there was a message embedded in the intervals, the channels she lingered on for a few seconds and those she dismissed instantly, the alternation of blank screen with instances of frenetic color and sound.
“Yael is skinny.” The channels flipped faster now, a fraction of section of dark, and then a burst of light and sound. “And bossy. Scrawny rich girl.” Venom dripping from each syllable. “Sometimes the boys on TV like that, though. Do you like that, Preston? Because she’s stuck up? Do you want to take her down a peg, Preston? Do you want to put her in her place?”
“Stop it.”
“Underneath you?”
“Stop. Enough.”
“Make me. Why do you like her, Preston? Do you think she’s pretty?”
“Not really. Too skinny, like you said. Can we stop this, please? This whole situation is a misunderstanding.”
“What’s to misunderstand?” Eyes like the space between the stars, tracking movement like a snake, fragrant skin dotted with beads of perspiration. “You disobeyed me, Preston.”
“That’s not entirely…”
“Yes. Entirely.”
She is enrapt by the blur of media, the truncated nonsense of rapid channel surfing.
“It wasn’t a good idea, okay? Not right then. Yael is protected, you understand? Hurt her, and we make all sorts of enemies. Ulthar. Jenny. Even Holly. We could lose our place in Ulthar, you know.”
“Funny you mentioned our landlady. Holly kept too many secrets, and they caught up with her. That lesson isn’t lost on you, is it?”
“No.”
“Fess up, then. Tell me all about it. What you want to do, and how, every detail. Confess, Preston.” Her voice sparkled with malicious joy. “Confess and be forgiven. Then maybe – just maybe – I’ll help you make it happen. If you’re good.”
“April…”
“And you have been good,” she said, turning off the television. “Haven’t you?”
The hum of the screen as it powered down, the crackle of static electricity as she runs her hands across the carpet.
“Haven’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, damn it. You know. You know already.”
“I know you like her.”
“Okay, fine. I like her. I do. Not the way you think, though.”
“Oh?” Staring at the dead screen as the moving lights still populated it. “Then enlighten me, Preston.”
I looked for words, and found them as I usually did – blunt, cumbersome, and lacking.
“She’s nice.”
Expectant silence.
“…and?”
“That’s it, really.” I would have breathed a sigh of relief, if I dared. “She’s a likable kid. I dunno. If I did anything extra during this whole nightmare – and I don’t think I did – it was about Lovecraft, not Yael. That cat looked after you. An army of fucking Toads, and an elderly cat squared off with them, to the death. You gotta respect that.”
A tense moment, as April glanced up at me. She frowned.
There was no lying to her.
So, why was I…?
The TV clicked on again.
“I liked Lovecraft, too, Preston.” She flipped channels. “I had no idea you were so sentimental.”
“I’m not. Usually.”
“It’s cute, really.”
“Rather not be cute, if it’s all the same to you.”
The television flickered, black and then moving pictures.
“You know, Preston,” she said, closing her eyes, “if you keep telling lies, then something bad will happen to you.”
I was counting on it.
THANK YOU for reading the second volume of The Unknown Kadath Estates Trilogy – The Mysteries of Holly Diem!
Please keep an eye out for Volume Three – The Floating Bridge.
&n
bsp; If you would like more of Yael Kaufman’s adventures, please try The Night Market, currently available on Amazon.
For another series by the same author, check out The Central Series on Amazon.
Thanks for reading!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Zachary Rawlins lives with his lovely and amazing wife, Chloe, and their genius Corgi, Ein, in an 80-year-old Tudor in Oakland, California. During the day, he works in the environmental industry. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, photography, building computers, and writing books like this one. He can be reached at spook_nine@yahoo.com with compliments, questions, or lucrative publishing offers.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Xingtong Lu (Xi Lu) is a professional illustrator and graphic artist with a variety of publications and shows to her credit. You can buy her art book Oxygen here (featuring a story and foreword by Zachary Rawlins), or contact her at westwest2@hotmail.com for further inquiries.