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Vic tapped the glass. The spark inside flittered back and forth in response.
“That’s crazy, a whole life in a bottle.”
Vic straightened.
“And you want people to come over for this?”
“If you don’t mind, I mean, if you’re up for it.”
“Sure, but let me shower first.”
Vic headed that way while Adam sent texts.
Dautre arrived with Emily a few moments later.
Jodi came too, and Adam was glad he’d invited her. She might need the closure.
Vic joined them and took the group in.
“Weird way to do a housewarming, cuz,” Jodi said.
“Sorry there aren’t any snacks.”
“At least you brought your own bottle.” She circled the table, scowling at the trapped soul.
It floated, almost sedate, or maybe afraid. Adam had no idea what a disembodied soul could sense.
No one sat.
Vic picked up the bottle.
“What do you want to happen here?”
“I want to know why he did it,” Emily said.
“I need to know how,” Adam added. “Who gave him the bottles and told him how to use them. We need to know who’s behind this.”
“I don’t want anything from him,” Jodi said bitterly. “No, I guess I want to know why the concert, why Cathedra?”
“Why us,” Emily added softly.
Dautre said nothing.
The mossy butterfly danced anxiously as Vic lifted the bottle.
“This may not work,” he said. “I’ve done it before, sort of, but I don’t really control it. It’s more like I ride it, and sometimes it gets away from me, does what it’s going to do without my say.”
Adam hadn’t known that. The few times he’d seen the Reaper, Vic had been in control, himself. It was scary to think that Boney, his Reaper form, might be the one in charge. They didn’t talk about it, and he realized they needed to.
“We understand,” Adam said. “We’ll take what we can get.”
“You might want to step back.”
Vic set the bottle back on the table and unscrewed the lid.
The robe came first. Bits of shadow crept along the floor. They gathered, black and woolen, weaving together as time slowed.
The sounds of the apartment, the buzz of the fridge, the faint hum of the air vent, went distant. It did not matter how many times Adam saw it, the sight always sent something cold to the core of his spine.
