It had been a long few days. Benicio stood beside the rental and stretched. He’d parked on the top floor of a garage in downtown Halifax. They’d finally made it.
Traffic had been reasonably light all the way into town. He was glad it was Sunday evening. Downtown Halifax was notorious for its narrow one-way streets, and he wouldn’t want to be driving in rush hour. The few times he’d been here Jake had always done the driving, which had suited Benicio fine.
He looked at the car. Matthew sat motionless in the passenger seat. Benicio needed to coax the boy out. They’d made a small connection at the restaurant, but Benicio thought it had been ruined by the appearance of Maury and Jeremy.
The Halifax Casino garage was a multi-storey facility, always open and always busy. The twenty-four-hour casino made sure of that. Benicio chose the top level, thinking there’d be less traffic, though a few cars were parked in the dimly lit level.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement and froze. There was someone here, watching them. Benicio stared into the dark corner where he’d seen motion.
And waited.
Nothing.
He slowly scanned the rest of the level, watching for movement.
Nothing.
He felt foolish. I’m freaking myself out. I’ve got to calm down. He shook his arms and legs and jumped up and down to get his circulation going. Then he crouched down near the passenger door. “I’m going to open the door,” he announced as he looked at the boy.
Matthew didn’t acknowledge him.
He pulled the door open. “We need to get going. There’s a hotel up the street. We can rest for a bit. It’s just a little walk.” Benicio planned to leave the car in the parking garage and hoped it wouldn’t be noticed for a while. He didn’t like Halifax traffic, and he didn’t want to drive a car with Connecticut plates.
“Can you get out of the car?” he asked quietly, moving a little closer to the boy. “Maybe when we get to the room we can do a little coloring together. Would you like that?”
The boy didn’t move. Benicio looked around. It was going to be dark soon. They needed to go.
“Okay, I’m just going to help you out. I’m not going to hurt you.” He wished that he’d paid more attention to the child psychopathology classes in grad school. Benicio had only taken the minimum number of child-based courses because he didn’t think he’d ever work with kids.
He reached in and put a hand on Matthew’s shoulder. The boy instantly reacted, pulling back and yelling — screaming — in a high-pitched shriek.
Benicio moved back. “Whoa, whoa,” he said, holding his hands out. “I’m sorry. Scusi. Scusi.”
The boy kicked and flailed his arms, all the while keeping up his high-pitched scream.
Benicio looked around nervously. He didn’t want anyone coming over to see what was going on.
“What do you want?” Benicio asked. “What can I do?”
The boy stopped and stared straight ahead.
“I want to help you. We need to get out of here and find a safe place.”
No response. Benicio thought about something he hadn’t brought up with the boy in a while. “If we’re going to figure out that Voynich book together, then we need to get going. I really want to learn about it. I want to know about the language of the forsaken.”
The boy turned and looked at him. His expression sent a chill down the priest’s spine. To Benicio, Matthew’s eyes seemed vacant, lifeless.
The young priest spoke again. “Yes, the language of the angels. Only you can help me with that.”
The boy stared. It was difficult to tell if he was looking at Benicio or straight through him.
“Is there something you want to say? Is there something you can tell me about the language of the angels?”
“I am …” Matthew’s voice was deep and hollow.
“Yes? You are what?”
“I am …”
Benicio moved forward slightly.
“I am Nephilite. I am forsaken.”
“What? Why do you say that?” Benicio wondered if Matthew was repeating what’d he heard Maury and Jeremy say at the restaurant. The boy couldn’t know what he was saying — he wasn’t Nephilim. Benicio put his face in his hands. It was getting harder and harder to think. After a moment he looked up. Matthew was standing in front of him. “Guess you’re ready to go.”
Matthew didn’t say anything.
Benicio shrugged. “Well, for a Nephilim you sure can be quiet sometimes.” He started walking.