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I think about it "Idon’t know I kneas inside of Ian His eyes turned pitch-black, and his voice"--I breathe deeply--"was not his When I forced him to look at his reflection in the water, itfell out It was trapped in the water"

"Holy water," Tristan offers "Had to be nothing else but"

"Then what?" Jake says

By now the crowds had grown thinner, but people were still walking around us I lower my voice "It sort of exploded Turned the water black, like oil" I look at Eli "Then the whispers started, I grabbed Ian, and we hauled ass out That’s when you saw us"

"Two one"

I laugh "Well, in there? In alternative-world Edinburgh? I was gone at least thirtytour--this one s the tour is wearing a big black cape lined in deep purple She has a h on her head She pauses as she passes me, and our eyes meet briefly Not sure why, but I don’t think it’s s I bank her features to memory I’, now

We’re walking now, up toward the castle We stop at a slight, supernarrow alley as another ser, and this is the real Mary King’s Close," the ue "My job was to clean up the plague victi’s Close, searching for various appendages that irls say "E" silance down the close Tightly quartered, it’s dark, dank, and reeks of death Even bygone death I can sainst the stone

"All the inhabitants died of the plague Typhus Cholera" Jake says and shakes his head "Nasty tio back there"

"Nor I," Tristan agrees

We continue walking toward the castle We pass es, closes, wynds--whatever No way a to be able to remember them all There are too many

"I ran inside St Giles’ and it wasn’t St Giles’," I say

"That’s because you touched a soul taken over bywhatever it was It manipulated you, forced you into its world Had you entered the church first, it would have been different And I suspect the Fallen are behind it all," Jake adds

"Swell," I answer, and continue to note landmarks on my way, various shops and businesses-- the Mile Finally, we hty castle, all lit up and majestic

Yet a heavy blanket of evil veils the area Everywhere I look, I s in every shadow, close, wynd, and thethe way If it’s this oine what it’s like when they’re full force

I have a feeling I’ll find out soon enough

We walk the streets a bit longer, and a different sort of people eht The tartan shops, cafés, woolen htclubs open Bars and pubs boo the Royal Mile, the city’s youth appear Mostly in groups and having a rousing good tis Some Goth Some all in a class of their own Some just as ordinary as any suburbanite Let them carouse Because Hell is about to break loose

As we head back to the Crescent, another choking sense of dread overcoain with their hideous Jodís, and they realize help has arrived to eradicate theonna hit the fan

I don’t wanna be in front of the fan

Back on Canongate, Tristan and I duck into Bene’s and order, well, just about everything While ait, I look at Tristan "So You used to be a fierce thirteenth-century knight And a ghost"

He grins "Still aer"

I cock my head "So how did it all happen? How did youbecoain?"

Tristan nods "Aye, well you see, it all began when--"

"Wait, let me see for myself," I say, and simply touch Tristan’s arm