The shock of seeing a horse turn into a person, even a great-looking person, left me blinking and speechless. It could not have happened. This wasn’t a Hollywood special effects studio. I had to be going crazy.
I stepped back and looked at the door. I must have imagined it. It was a trick of the light or weird reflections or something. The doorbell rang.
“Wendy, lassie, open up. It’s your devoted servant, Cathal.”
I opened my mouth but closed it again. I was losing my mind. The eyepiece beckoned to me, but I was afraid of what I might see if I looked in it.
“Wendy, darling girl, I just wish a wee word with you. I know you are in there.”
I was tempted to not answer, to step away, run up to my room and lock the door. Instead, I cautiously approached the door and peeked in the finder. It was Cathal, in all his glory.
“Ah, Wendy, my girl, was your first impression of me so bollocks up? Donnya trust me?”
“Are you kidding?” I shouted back. I was freaked, but strangely enough, a part of me wanted to invite him in, to forget what I just saw and open the door. Ben’s warning about Cathal held me back. And even if I didn’t feel freaked at the horse-to-Cathal deal, there were the creepy twins and the dogs.
“Please don’t keep us apart, my dear, sweet darling. It is such a wee little thing I’m asking. It would please me so.”
With his every word I felt less sure of myself. It was hard to recall the creature, the wet horse Cathal was a moment ago. Was it a moment ago? I could be mistaken. The little lens distorted things. Before I knew it, my hand was on the doorknob.
“Yes, Wendy, my darling. You want to do it. Go ahead.”
I didn’t really want to do it, but I flipped the latch and the door swung open a few inches, then stopped. The chain was on. Cathal reached in to grasp the chain.
ZAWHAP! A blinding flash knocked me back. Cathal howled and reverted to the horse I first saw. The stink of burned hair and cooked meat turned my stomach.
“Treacherous daughter of Eve,” the horse said.
I slammed the door, flipped the latch and jumped back. My heart pounded a million miles an hour. What happened made no sense. The door just toasted his hand! I could’ve been killed! I checked myself for burns but other than the burnt smell, I was okay. Nothing had happened to me, but I had no desire to touch the door. Looking through the peephole again was way out of the picture. If Cathal, or the horse, or whatever else was still out there, I was not going anywhere near the door to find out.
From the living room bay window I checked the front yard. Cathal and the twins were gone. It was a relief, but then, after what just happened, I didn’t feel relieved. The yard was empty and so was the street. I ran around the house, peering out windows as I closed and latched them. The long nose and black eyes of the horse were stuck in my mind. Its huge size and wet hide were a dream—made all the worse because it turned into Cathal and back again. I kept thinking it hadn’t happened and I’d wake up. Painfully tearing a nail on the last kitchen window was pretty good proof I was not sleeping. It bled.
Anger at Ben suddenly made me growl. This was his mess: clams and Irish horse boys. I would kill him when he got home. I’d kill him, but first make him explain everything. Cathal must have followed us from the park. I swore to myself, no more walks with Ben.
There was not much more I could do. Everything was locked up tight. I sucked on my finger and wondered if I missed anything. I should call the police. Then, in the quiet, I heard a soft, scuffling sound from the basement.
“Crap!” I looked around the kitchen for a weapon. There was a rack of knives, but I knew I could never stab someone. The cast-iron skillet over the butcher block was more my speed.
The basement steps creaked. With my back to the counter, I raised the pan and waited next to the door to the basement. I could handle smacking Cathal on the head. In fact, I was pissed he took me in the first time we met. If the twins and the dogs were with him I’d have to keep swinging. I calmed myself like my Judo instructor had taught me. Calmed? Right. I could handle them. I tried to get pumped. No question that I could take out Cathal and brain the twins. The doorknob turned.
I raised the skillet higher and tightened my grip.