Davy supposed he should lie about that, but it would hardly be convincing. Hill had seen enough of the Beyond to know that Death wasn’t a forgiving place.
“Whatever it is,” Davy said as he curled a tentacle around Hill’s waist, “the last thing you’ll hear before it happens is that you should have just let me kill him.”
“I don’t know,” Trudy fussed as she picked at the edges of the gauze dressing on Davy’s hand. “Maybe you should see a doctor.”
Davy took his hand back. “It’s just an allergic reaction,” he said. “It’ll be cleared up by New Year’s.”
That was very probably the truth, one way or another.
“He probably caught something, lurking around old churches,” Fraser said as he stepped away from his tense conversation with the police and joined them. “There’s a reason they close the gates at night.”
Trudy glanced at him and then at Davy. A pale eyebrow lifted interrogatively.
“Is anyone going to normalize giving context?” she asked. “Or is this a boy’s club only?”
It would, Davy thought as he glanced sidelong at Hill, help.
Hill leaned in to murmur in his ear, which wasn’t necessary, but Davy enjoyed it, so he didn’t point that out.
“I was at St Januarius last night,” he said quietly. “It’s where Dad is buried. I wanted him to think that’s who I wanted to use the Invocation for.”
“I take it someone saw me?” Davy asked.
“Saw you where?” Trudy poked for an answer.
“I went to see Dad,” Davy said. It rarely bothered him to lie, but that felt weird on his tongue. He had to fight the urge to look apologetically at Hill. “I wasn’t going to…I didn’t expect to get in. It just felt bad not to try.”
Trudy sighed and gave Davy a look that was more disappointment than anger.
“Again?” she said. “Oh, Hill.”
“I can understand that,” Fraser said. “But you should take Father Thomas’ advice. You don’t want to see your dad like that.”
He sounded genuinely grim. Davy wondered what he thought he’d seen last night when Hill had confronted him. Before he could try and pry, Fraser’s phone rang in his pocket. He fished it out, glanced at the screen, and pulled an apologetic face at Trudy.
“I need to take this,” he said. “I’ll see you at the car.”
He turned and walked away through the gravestones. Snow crunched under his expensive loafers as he took a shortcut off the main path.
Trudy watched him walk away and then turned back to Davy. “I should go with him,” she said. “Something is bothering him, and that’s when he fires people. I’m still going to see you tonight?”
“I have a costume and everything,” Davy confirmed.
She nodded and left, picking her way precariously through the snow in heels. When she caught up with Fraser, they exchanged a few words, and then he turned to come back over to them.
“I’ll send a car to fetch you tonight,” he said and held up his hand. “No arguing. There’s been some unexpected tensions with some of our business associates. It’s best to play it safe for a couple of days. Understood?”
The last thing Davy wanted to do was lie. The Dudley bus system could have been worse, but it also could have been a motorbike. He knew which he’d prefer. Unfortunately, that wasDavy, and he could, out of the corner of his eye, see Hill bristling at the offer.
“I don’t mind taking the bus,” he lied.
“I mind,” Fraser said. “Just take the car. I don’t want to worry your mother.”
Hill was still gesturing no, but Davy had made his pro forma protest. That would have to do.
“Fine,” he said. “But that’s your birthday present.”
Fraser looked amused and satisfied. Before he could go, Davy stepped forward and looked at him intently.
