Manning finally looks at me, and, with considerable effort, regains his composure.
"Well, Miss Cavendish," he says. "That was a very…interesting display." He walks over to me and sticks his hand out. I take the offered hand with trepidation. "Welcome to the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. I'll have a room prepared for you immediately. I should have your contract ready by morning. Of course, I'll have to reconstruct your file, but that shouldn't be too hard to do." He starts heading for the door.
"Excuse me," I say, "but I'm not sure I understand what you are talking about. What contract?"
"Oh, it's just the standard contract all our human employees sign," he answers, turning around to face me.
"Excuse me?" I ask.
"Don't worry," he says. "There are many great benefits to working for the BPRD. I'm sure you'll be a great asset to the department."
He reaches the door and tries to open it only to discover that the knob won't move. He starts trying to force the knob to move.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Manning," I tell him, struggling to maintain my composure. "I'm not sure where you got the idea that I would be working for you, but I'm sorry you were misled. Let me remind you that what I have told you this evening is in the strictest confidence, there will be no reconstruction of any files, and I want all copies of the surveillance tape destroyed."
"But this is where you belong, Miss Cavendish," he tells me, stepping away from the door. He waves a hand in the general direction of Abe and Hellboy. "Among people such as yourself."
"Such as myself?" I ask in a deceptively quiet voice. "This may surprise you, Dr. Manning, but I have no intention on staying here. Now, if you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I still have a lot of work to do."
I go past Manning and head for the door only to find my way blocked by Abe. I suddenly realize that he's the only person on Earth who possibly could sneak up on me. Having him this close to me is a bit disconcerting. My stomach starts pretending it's a maraca.
"Tell us about those creatures," he says. "Where did they come from?"
"Hey, that's right," says Hellboy. "I forgot about them. What were those things? And why were they chasing you?"
"The 'why' and 'where' I can tell you," I answer, "but not the 'what.' I assume you all felt the earthquake this morning?" They all nod. "Well, it wasn't a natural earthquake. The epicenter is no where near any fault lines. I went looking for it this morning and I found it about 5 miles north of here. Those creatures you saw were there. I believe the reason they were after me was because I was about to try and close the fissure that was opened by the earthquake. I'm not sure why it was opened, but I can tell you this: Whatever is in there is pure evil."
An involuntary shiver runs up my spine as I remember the evil I felt there. I hug myself, trying to will the goose bumps away. Abe's hand on my shoulder causes me to slightly jump. I'm not sure if it's because he startled me or because his hand is on me, but my heart starts beating a lot faster.
"Let us help," Abe says.
"I don't know if you can," I explain. "I have to shut the fissure."
"Hey," says Hellboy with a smile on his face. "Beating the crap out of monsters is what we do. Besides, I only managed to kill one of those things. The others ran off and no one's been able to find them."
Before I can say anything, there's a knock at the door and a moment later John comes in rubbing his upper arm.
"Hey," he says. "I was just checking to see if you guys needed anything."
"Actually, yes I do," I tell him. "Among the personal effects that were returned to me earlier was a folded piece of paper. Would you please bring it to me, John?"
"Sure," he happily replies. Then he spots the table. "What happened to the table?"
"Termites," I answer without batting an eye.
"Oh," he says, and then he turns and leaves, shutting the door behind him.
"Your horse bit him," comments Abe. "That's why he was rubbing his arm."
"Magick must not be feeling up to par yet," I reply. "Usually, he bites people on the rump."
"Does your horse always bite people?" asks Hellboy.
"Yes, actually," I answer, retaking my seat. "He was mishandled as a colt. If I hadn't intervened, he would have been destroyed. Anadalusians are very gentle horses by nature. Unfortunately, Magick had most of his gentleness beaten out of him. I have yet to find anyone else who can get close to him. It's a shame really; he's a very sweet animal."
Before anyone can respond to this, John returns with the map I requested. I point out the approximate location of the fissure. The next hour is spent getting the agents ready for the mission. They are only told that I will guide them to the creatures' lair, not the real reason I'm going. Since there's nothing much for me to do, I spend the time visiting with Magick. I just hope it's not the last time I'll see him.