The Lightning that Jumps Between

Forty Five

Ethan could smell Donna's cartofi cu carne de porc as he dressed; his mouth watered. Just as he pulled his shirt over his head and inhaled, he remembered that he would have to confess his strange behavior, and his stomach dropped again. He stared in the mirror skeptically; he was clean and shaven, his hair in its simple style. Grey sweater, blue jeans, tan shoes. No black or grey veins crossed his face. Just the signature frown. He continued to stare as if doubting the reflection-he had reason to.

Godric had said we are, in response to the question about the Black God. That made less sense than most things.

He could hear Evie talking animatedly from the kitchen. Ethan's thoughts turned to Dulvey at her voice. Jack and Marguerite were at peace, Zoe was enjoying her life, Mia at the very least wasn't trapped, reliving her three years of terror over and over again. The last victim had been Evie, and she was here now-she had a second chance, a chance to be a child. The uneasiness of Louisiana in his mind should have faded, a bad memory overshadowed by how comparatively great Ethan's life had become. He hoped it would only improve in the future.

But he looked haunted, felt even more haunted, like a house full of spirits. Like the Baker house, he supposed.

His gaze left the mirror and drifted to the old-fashioned phone on one of the ornate desks. He would have to call Zoe and tell her what he'd done with Eveline. She'd kill him. Zoe only knew the child as her tormentor. Ethan wouldn't blame Zoe for being mad, but as she'd planned to visit over the holidays, he would need to call her soon. In case she decided to curse him out for an hour and mail him an alligator head, instead of visiting.

With one more, hopefully resolute, stare in the mirror, Ethan left the room. Talking to his faraway, ancient friend had at least cheered him up enough to socialize. He doubled back to check Karl's room, remembering Godric's warning about the crystal.

He fully anticipated Karl to be peering into it deeply when he turned into the large mostly-workroom, but the engineer was at his bench with the same item in front of him. He was stooped forward, hair wild as he worked. Ethan didn't even have to ask what he was doing, but the blond frowned. "Really?"

"Don't start," Karl said simply, his lips gripping a cigar. He was squinting past the smoke, his eyes glowing faintly as he held the delicate tools. A recent purchase, a very expensive watch repair kit, which Ethan had bitten his tongue over. Why the hell was Heisenberg so obsessed with a key that went to a factory that no longer existed? It had been months. He'd restored multiple vehicles, even salvaged a goddamn tank. He'd built up the sheds, stables, the garage. He was now working on erecting a whole little fishing village complete with windmill. The key seemed to be the thing he couldn't figure out. And it led nowhere.

Ethan had hoped Heisenberg would invite himself to the table, make nice for Ethan's sake, but it became clear that the brunette hadn't even considered it.

"Godric says to protect the crystal." At this, Heisenberg's head shot up. "He said Miranda might be able to corrupt it. I don't know how, I'm just letting you know."

Heisenberg moved to stand, and began knocking things around the desk. Ethan presumed his help wasn't needed, and headed back toward the others, feeling slightly shunned for the second time that day.

—--------

Some of Eva's flowers had made their way onto the table. The nice china was out; the tablecloth had even been changed. Ethan marveled at how beautiful the dining room looked, and then put a hand on Eva's shoulder. "This looks fantastic."