A Requiem Eternal

Chapter 13 - Blackmail

Kate loved many aspects of her new life. She loved not dreading coming home to a non-existent person taking up space that she wished he wasn't. She loved the happiness she and Tess found in just being alone together and finally having the time to find out about each other, instead having to spend every evening rushing her to bed to cover up for someone else's inevitable drunken behavior. Sometimes she wished she had divorced when Tess was two rather than now that she was sixteen. She was still so stupid then and had so many of her own lessons to learn. Kate only hoped her lost time in stupidity wasn't too long at Tess's expense, especially now that she felt Tess pulling away from her more every day. In the back of her mind, she knew it was just the natural way kids grow up. Still, it was bittersweet to watch feeling so powerless to change it.

Tess was spending more time with Daniel than she would like. Not to mention the fact that Kate hadn't really even met the kid yet. She kept reminding Tess not to get too attached to this place because they would be moving someday, though not too soon it would happen. She didn't want her to fall in love with Daniel and then try to move her away. Tess didn't need that heartache and Kate didn't need the problems it will involve.

She cut her a little bit of slack though because Tess was doing well in school for a change. She had settled into a group of friends she was comfortable with. More so than she ever seemed to be in the small town they used to live in. They weren't the popular kids. They were more on the eclectic side if she had to pin it down. They dressed different from the others, almost seemed to have their own language and inside jokes. Any other parent would have checked her room for drugs. She thought it wasn't about that though. She could remember wearing some pretty out there stuff herself. It was about being an individual. There was certain independence in being the weird one out. She could tell it was why Tess loved it there too. The very small part of Kate that wasn't worrying about Tess all the time was glad for her.

As for herself, she was drowning in work. She tried to be as busy as possible because she couldn't get Nori's warning out of her mind. Yet she couldn't bring herself to burn Sara's grimoire. With Nori's reaction, she suspected it might be true. She couldn't ignore Sara's cry for help. And she didn't want to destroy and forget about a story that could put her on the map. Even though she also knew there was sometimes danger in exposing the truth. Kate would take on the risk in a heartbeat if she were the only one in her life to consider.

She needed time to contemplate what she and Tess had to lose if she continued to translate the book. She put the book away and tried to forget about it. She didn't even go into her office anymore, as if it would keep whatever was in the house away from her. It had been unusually quiet considering she had broken her promise to read the book.

Kate left a lot of what she needed for work in there, like her computer for instance. It was pretty hard to be a writer without one. She spent a lot of time at the library working and tried not to give in to the urge research more about Sara. The last time she was there, Kate noticed a new sign in the lobby. "Until further notice, computer use will be limited to one hour, per day, per user.

"Crap," she thought to herself.

The time had come to confront whatever was lingering in her office. She went home and unlocked the door to her office for the first time in months. On her desk, the book was out of its hiding place and open with the red ribbon bookmark splayed diagonally across the page. She looked behind her hoping that she was the only one who saw it. She took a deep breath of relief remembering it was Saturday. Tess would be sleeping at least until noon. Her teenage sleeping habits saved Kate again. The melancholy of the entity attached to the book drifted into the room. Kate whispered to it while she shoved the book back into the shelf.

"Not now."

Kate hurriedly moved her desktop computer to the kitchen table. It crossed her mind it might be a good time to get out of the house for a while to think about what she would do next. Burn the book? Sell the house? Lose the money and be homeless on the streets with a teenage daughter? Who cares, she'd still have her sanity. Her mind whirling in nonsense possibilities, she rushed to the hook on the wall where her car keys hung. They were not there.

"Damn it."

She tore apart the house for over an hour. Furious, Kate continued looking for the keys until she stood up and stopped in her tracks with a solitary thought. She walked slowly to the open doorway of her office. The book was again open on her desk with the keys displayed on top of the book. She grabbed the book from underneath the keys and shoved it back through the slot with a spin. Keys in hand she ran outside to the car. She looked at her office windows with spite. She had won. As Kate was driving away, she glanced up to the window of Tess's room as she always did out of habit. A figure of a man held the curtains open looking down at Kate. Frantic, she pulled back into the driveway.

She bounded up the stairs leaping up as many as she could at once. Standing in the doorway of Tess's room she watched the man dissipate from solid to mist. She looked over at Tess. She didn't stir. In fact, she slept through the whole thing. Kate breathed in deep with relief as she descended the stairs on her way to the office to finish the fight. As soon as she hit the doorway, the book flew across the room hitting Kate square in the chest knocking the breath out of her from the force of its flight. It fell to the floor in front of her. The red ribbon bookmark floated to a stop diagonally across the page. Kate looked up and talked to the room.

"Okay...you've won. I'll keep my promise, if you, from now on keep yours."