“And how do I know that for a fact? You could just be making it up,” I countered.
Pierce produced an ID card from his wallet. I ignored the urge to salivate at the money in his wallet again, and squinted at his card - a driver’s license that stated clearly his legal namewasPierce Tenebrae.
“Okay,” I said slowly. “So you just happen to live on the creepy mansion and have tons of money?” I paused. “Well, actually, that makes more sense.”
Pierce grinned again. “What? That I live in a creepy mansion and I’m rich?”
“Yeah. I mean, who's ever heard of someone who lived in a creepy mansion and was poor, you know?”
“I suppose you’re right,” Pierce admitted with a twinkle in his eyes. “Well, then. If you have any further doubts, then maybe this will soothe them.”
Pierce reached into his other pocket and pulled out what looked like a wooden dagger - it resembled a stake with a handle, but thinner. Definitely not good for any building projects.
“Here. If I give you any reason to fear me, you can use that to ward me off.” He handed it to me. I took it and examined it curiously.
“Okay,” I said slowly. “I’m like, ninety-five percent convinced that you’re not trying to kill me now.”
“I am one-hundred percent positive that you are overshooting five-percent out of the zero percent that I want to harm you.”
I shook my head. “Okay, all this math talk is making me lose it. I go back to your place, and you don’t hurt me - and if you do, I have this weird… wood thing to whack you with. Is that right?”
Pierce had a little smirk at the corner of his mouth as he nodded. “Yes.”
I cast a long glance back at the hospital, where my brother lay sick and alone. Money was the one thing holding him back from a bright future, and right in front of me was an opportunity to finally have it in my grasp. I would be insane not to take it.
On the other hand, I didn’t know Pierce, and following a stranger back to his creepy mansion wasn’t on my list of things I planned to do, ever. Generally I prided myself on makingsmartdecisions, not crazy ones that were like something out of a movie where the main character gets himself killed.
But all I could think of was the money, and how desperately Caleb needed it. I bit my lip. Would walking away from this be a huge mistake? One I would regret for the rest of my life?
It was this, or working myself to the bone at two different jobs.
Pierce eyed me patiently. He wasn’t forcing me into any decisions. The only person who had a choice to make was myself.
I let out a deep sigh. “Okay. Let’s go.”
“Excellent.” Pierce smiled. He offered his arm to me, which I thought was strange, but for some reason I took it anyway. “Right this way.”
* * *
The black Victorian-stylegates seemed bigger up close. They towered over my head, with iron spikes at the top. I wasn’t sure if they were for decoration, or to actually prevent people from climbing over.
“This is it,” Pierce announced. “My home.”
He said it so fondly that it made me think I might be too paranoid. Maybe if Pierce liked it so much, it couldn’t bethatcreepy.
He produced a long silver key and unlocked the gate by hand. “After you.”
“Thanks,” I said as I crossed the threshold and waited for him to lock it again. I found the whole system a bit strange. Generally gates nowadays didn’t have to be dealt with manually, did they? If someone was rich enough to have a fancy driveway and gates, I always assumed they would have a hands-free system. But what did I know? I wasn’t rich enough to afford any of that.
“It’s a bit of a walk, so I apologize in advance,” Pierce admitted.
When he said that, I glanced at the mansion, sitting in the distance at the top of the hill. I balked. “Great.”
Pierce smiled. “If you get tired, I can always carry you.”
I laughed, but I didn’t think he was joking.
Maybe this is what’s going to kill me,I thought,this shitty endurance test.
