Heretics book 3 - The Apocryphile Press

284 :: JOHN R. MABRY
“So if I can’t ignore them, and I can’t fight them, what do
I do?” he asked her.
She hummed to herself and gave him a wicked little grin.
“As soon as you embrace them, you know, they’ll stop tormenting
you.” She leaned over and whispered, “Just like
you, they only want to be loved. Why don’t you invite them
to dinner?”
:: 59 ::
Richard opened the door of the Friary uncertainly. He
dared not hope. He removed his raingear and rounded the
corner into the kitchen. The sour faces at the table brought
the news before any words were said.
Dylan, Susan, and Kat sat with the collective energy of
deflated balloons. They stared at the table, and didn’t even
bother to look up when Richard entered the room. “Okay,
I’m guessing not much movement on the Mikael front?”
Dylan shook his head, obviously lost in thought. Terry, at
least, kissed Richard on the cheek, and then turned to
resume his sandwich-making activity. For several minutes no
one spoke.
“So what happened?” Richard asked, as Terry set a platter
of sandwiches on the lazy susan before them.
“Well, we went to see the grandfathers and grandmothers,
to ask their advice,” Dylan said, reaching for a sandwich.
Terry slapped at his hand. “Grace,” he said. “Just because
it’s a hard day doesn’t mean we have nothing to be grateful
for. You’re the offender, you can say it.”
Dylan scowled at him. He had tried to be the hero, not the
offender. But he realized Terry was just channeling Brian in
his partner’s absence.