Mistress.
Abbie hears the voice in her mind, like a whisper. Her head abruptly snaps up, eyes wide and darting. "Too much research," she decides, closing her laptop and stretching.
She reaches for her tea to find it has gone cold, and she stands, throwing the blanket from her lap, to go warm it in the microwave.
Mistress.
She almost drops her mug, but manages to keep a hold on it, only spilling a little. She sets it down on the counter and waits.
Mistress. Hear me.
"I've been around this End-of-Days crap too long," she mutters. Then, loudly, she says, her tone slightly annoyed, "What?"
I await your instructions, Mistress.
"Who are you and why the hell are you calling me 'Mistress'? It's a little weird," she answers. A strange sensation steals over her. Familiar. Like she should know who is communicating with her.
She isn't afraid. That's what unnerves her.
It is I, your Kindred.
My Kindred? What does that mean, "my" Kindred? Oh, no… "Damn it," she curses under her breath. "Where are you? Are you in my house?"
Garden. Shadows. I may not cross your threshold unless bidden.
"Well, that's comforting," she mutters, realizing he can probably hear her little comments to herself and wondering why she's making said comments aloud anyway. "What do you want?"
I await your instructions, Mistress.
"I'm coming outside," she says, deciding to get to the bottom of this. She grabs a gray hoodie, throws it on, and goes out her back door into the yard. "Where are you?"
Tree.
Abbie heads to the large tree in the center of her yard, a spreading honey locust with zig-zagged branches that are becoming more and more visible as the season stretches on. Her steps slow as she approaches, and then she sees him: The Kindred, the Frankenstein's monster-like being she and Crane brought into the world a week ago.
She still isn't afraid. In fact, she feels... safe.
The Kindred drops to one knee, grotesque skull bowed. Mistress. His voice still speaks inside her head. It isn't the deep, horrible, chilling voice the Horseman had used through Andy. It is deep, but not frightening in any way. The only word she can think of to describe it is "dark".
"Why are you here?" she asks.
I am here to do your bidding, Mistress.
"What?"
My purpose is to serve the Second Witness, Mistress.
Second Witness. It's a phrase Abbie has heard more than once. She had never given it much thought, but hearing it spoken with such reverence by this creature makes her realize that she doesn't feel "lesser" for being the second one chosen. It's timing, that's all. It merely means, chronologically, Crane was chosen first.
"Stand up, please," she says. The Kindred obeys. His head is well over a foot above hers, yet his posture is deferential. Subservient. She looks up at him, quickly growing accustomed to his grotesque visage. "So... you're here to help me? How does that work? I mean, why just me? Why not Crane? Or, both of us?"
The Witch is bound to the First Witness. I am bound to the Second Witness, Mistress.
"Katrina," Abbie says, nodding, knowing that while the witch hasn't been tremendously helpful lately, she was instrumental 250 years ago in Crane's role as a Witness. She knows Katrina risked her own life more than once for the cause. "So, you, what? Do whatever I tell you?"
Yes, Mistress.
"Jump up and down on your left foot."
He does.
She blinks. "Okay, you can stop." It's like that scene from Coming to America. Should I tell him to bark like a dog next? "Do you have a name?"
I am The Kindred. If it pleases my Mistress, she may bestow a name upon me.
"I'll have to think about that one," she says, wondering if giving him a name would be a good or bad idea. She leans toward bad idea, suspecting she shouldn't personify him too much. Something else occurs to her. "Can you only come out at night, like the Horseman?"
Yes.
"Where do you go during the day?"
The forest. The cave.
"The cave?" she asks, raising an eyebrow. "What cave?"
The Captain's cave. Where the First Witness was entombed for his Wait.
"Right. What have you been doing for the past week?" she asks, worried he's been terrorizing the town. There haven't been any reports...
Learning the forest. I have found The Place.
Abbie heaves a deep breath, growing accustomed to his curious speech patterns and way of communicating with her. She can even hear when he capitalizes words.
She also doesn't need to ask him what "The Place" is. She knows exactly what Place to which he is referring. "Right. Um, I don't think I have any instructions for you right now," she says.
Very good, Mistress. He inclines his head to her in a slight nod, much like Crane often does.
"Wait. Yes, I do. Stay out of sight. Like, don't scare the people. If you're my... Kindred... thing, you are not to do harm to others," she says.
I will harm no one unless bidden by you, Mistress. He nods again, and she knows he is referring to the fact that there can and will be situations in which she may wish him to harm another.
"Good. Do you… need any weapons?" she asks. "Against the Horsemen, I mean."
There are weapons hidden in the cave, Mistress. They are my weapons.
Abbie understands he didn't need instructions from her to find them because they are meant for him. "Okay. Um, do you eat? Drink?"
I do not.
"Well, that makes things easier," she says, mostly to herself. "I was getting worried that you were out hunting in the forest and we were gonna find a bunch of unexplained carcasses or something."
I do not eat, Mistress, he repeats.
"Yeah, I got it," she says, amazed at how comfortable she feels with this... being. "Look, um, you can go back to... doing whatever you do when you don't have instructions from me..."
I will return to the forest.
"Right. Good," she says. "Wait, I have an idea." She looks up at him. "Do you remember where the carriage house is? Where we... raised you?"
The Horseman's lair. Where he keeps the Witch. I do remember its location, Mistress.
"Go there. Watch the place. See if there's anything you can learn. I trust your memory is sound?"
I remember all, Mistress.
"Of course, you do," Abbie says. "I want you to spy for a while, okay? Katrina chose to stay there in order to gather information for us, but I don't know if Henry and Headless are on to her or not. They might be feeding her bad intel."
I will observe unseen, Mistress.
"Listen for anything that sounds like a plan. Anything to do with Moloch."
I will listen.
"Come find me again if you hear or see anything important. Do you understand?"
Important. Yes, Mistress. I understand the importance of the Witnesses' mission. I will be undetected, Mistress.
"Good," she says, finding him curiously trustworthy. "Um, how do I contact you if I need you?" she asks.
You need only call for me, Mistress. You may call with your mind if stealth is required.
Her eyes widen. "You can hear my thoughts?"
Only when you call for me, Mistress. Your thoughts are your own.
Abbie nods, then closes her eyes, and concentrates. Kindred.
I hear you, Mistress.
Then, she opens them. You need to brush your teeth. You're kind of smelly and very dirty. I think I'll call you "Ken".
The Kindred doesn't reply.
"Okay, then. Um, thank you, I guess?" He slightly bows. "See you soon... um, Kindred."
He nods again. I will away on my mission until I have news of import. Or until my mistress summons me.
Abbie thinks about telling him to call her something other than "Mistress", but can't really come up with a better alternative. She doesn't want to get too familiar with him. It's weird enough already. "All right. Um, I'm going to have to tell Crane about this, you know."
Yes, Mistress.
"He might question my intent, but... like I said, I don't trust that Henry and Headless are speaking freely – or truthfully – in her presence," she says. The Kindred doesn't respond. I am also not certain I completely trust Katrina yet, either, but I'll keep that to myself. She sighs. "I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't tell him. What do you think?"
I do not have opinions, Mistress. I do as I am bidden.
"By me, right," she says. "And, I do know I need to tell him. We can't afford to have secrets between us," she sighs. She looks up into the Kindred's unchanging face. "Sometimes, I just have to think things through out loud." He says nothing. "I'll definitely tell him. Actually..." she pauses, another idea hitting her. "Would it be overloading you if I ask you to keep watch over Katrina while you're over there as well?"
No, Mistress. I will protect the Witch while I observe the Horsemen.
"Okay then," Abbie nods. Crane will appreciate that. "Um, off you go. You're, um, dismissed."
Thank you, Mistress. He drops to one knee again, head bowed, then rises and strides away, disappearing into the night.
For a long time, Abbie watches the spot where The Kindred's retreating form had disappeared into the shadows. Holy hell, I've got myself a damn golem.