Chapter 22

“You seem nervous,” Georgia commented.

“I’m meeting William again,” Oscar replied pulling at the sleeve of his robe. There was something about the young man that bothered him. It wasn’t a negative kind of feeling, just that odd sense that something had been forgotten.

She took his hand to keep him from fidgeting so much and walked with him to the front door. It was a much simpler house than what she expected. True, it was large, but it wasn’t ostentatious. The walkway was neatly edged and the flowerbeds were filled with flowers that were drying in preparation of winter. There was a large RV parked next to the house. She noticed several cameras tucked away in locations that weren’t immediately obvious. There was also a small sticker in the window that announced that the house was protected by a security company.

The door opened before they reached the front door. From just inside the house, Ken said, “Come in. He’s expecting you.”

Oscar hesitated at the thought of entering the house. Georgia stepped through the door and found herself facing a very attractive black woman. The woman smiled while studying Georgia. After a second, she said, “You must be Georgia.”

“Yes. You are Claire?” Georgia asked. The very feminine looking woman did not fit the mental image she had constructed of Claire. She had imagined Claire would be some tough as nails hard driving woman. Instead, she looked like a moderately wealthy woman about to go out shopping. She was wearing a nice dress and high heels.

“Yes, I am,” Claire answered. She watched Oscar slowly move into the house with interest. He had the same degree of hesitancy about this meeting that William had been demonstrating. She thought it was interesting. Turning to Rock, she said, “Take Oscar into the backyard where William is waiting. Watch over them.”

Rock examined Oscar. The fact that Oscar was wearing a red robe didn’t intimidate him. He was used to dealing with Ling and that little lady had taken intimidation to a high art form. He didn’t like the nervous way the young man was looking around. He grunted, “Come with me.”

Georgia watched Oscar walk beside the large bodyguard through the house. The bodyguard wasn’t going to let Oscar get behind him. He ushered Oscar through the backdoor before following him out.

Once Oscar had stepped out the backdoor, she turned to Claire and asked, “What do we do now?”

Claire picked up a pistol case and tossed it to Georgia. The young woman caught it with ease. She said, “We go to the range and shoot a couple hundred rounds at paper targets.”

Holding the pistol case, Georgia grinned at the opportunity to go shooting. She said, “Sounds good to me. Paper everywhere will quake in fear when it sees us.”

Oscar stepped out the door in front of Rock. After a few steps, he could see William seated in a chair next to a patio table. The two young men studied each other; their eyes seeking out the strengths and weaknesses of the other. After a minute, William said, “Rock, you can go back in the house.”

“I don’t think that would be wise. You two are looking at each other like prize fighters in the center of a ring,” Rock answered shifting nervously.

“Don’t worry. We won’t fight,” Oscar said. He had been very aware of the bodyguard’s unease.

“I doubt you would be able to stop him even if he was to attack me. He’s the only person who has fought Ling to a tie,” William said pointing at Oscar.

That was a piece of news that visibly shook Rock. He stared at Oscar and took a step back. Clearing his throat, he said, “I had not heard that.”

Oscar said, “It was a most interesting experience.”

“For both of you,” William said with a smile. Looking over at Rock, he said, “Go ahead and get in the house. We’ll be fine out here.”

At a simple gesture from William, Oscar took a seat across the patio table from his host. He looked at the ashtray and noticed the pair of cigarette butts in it. His eyes traveled to William’s hand where he was holding a smoking cigarette. He said, “I didn’t know you smoked.”

“I only do it when I want to get closer to the Great Spirit,” William answered looking at the cigarette in his hand. He also did it when he was very nervous. He seldom smoked more than five cigarettes in a week. To be working on his third in one morning suggested a degree of nervousness about this meeting that he’d never admit to anyone else.

“Why is it that I have been dreading meeting you again?”

“Probably for the same reason that I have been dreading this meeting,” William answered. He licked his lips and said, “There are three things that I have known with great confidence. The first is that I would meet my one true love. The second was that I am to serve the Two-Sided One. The third was that there would be peace in the Middle East. Once I met you, I knew that you were the agent who would bring that peace.”

“That doesn’t explain why I feel so uncomfortable meeting you,” Oscar said. His mind went back to the first meeting when William had predicted the horrible evening when Debbie’s father had his heart attack.

William didn’t answer immediately. He was struggling to understand his own unease. After a moment, he said, “My future is entwined with yours. I don’t know the how or the why of it, but I know it.”

“We are both to serve the Two-Sided One,” Oscar said wondering if that was the connection.

“You are in your third year of school. You’ll finish your fourth year studying Islam. Then you’ll have a year of studying Buddhism, Hinduism, and Shamanism. After you finish your fifth year, you’ll visit the glade and become the servant of the Two- Sided One,” William said.

“You are probably right,” Oscar said. William’s thoughts on the matter matched his quite closely. He asked, “When will your service begin?”

“I don’t know,” William answered looking across the yard with a hint of anger in his expression. He said, “That is probably a reason for my tension. Your future seems clear while mine is murky.”

“Oh,” Oscar said. There wasn’t much to say in response.

“My grandfather will be joining you in your travels. I fear that he won’t survive them,” William said trying to restart the conversation.

“Why do you say that he won’t survive?”

“Great magic requires a great price,” William answered.

“I’ve heard that before.” It was a phrase that he’d been hearing all too often. It was beginning to make him nervous.

“Yes, I’m sure that you have,” William said wondering if Oscar really understood what it meant. His father had paid that price to create the Carter Glade at the Druid College. That was just a glade. He couldn’t help wonder what world peace would cost.

The conversation was awkward with many little starts and stops to it. Both William and Oscar seemed uncomfortable. Both found themselves staring at the yard. Oscar said, “Maybe I ought to check up on Georgia.”

“She’s gone to the pistol range with Momma Claire.”

Settling into his chair, Oscar said, “She’ll enjoy that.”

The conversation died. Both of them stared at the lawn with occasional glances at the other. They would have stayed that way all day except Lucy came out into the backyard. Pointing into the house, she asked, “What’s wrong with Rock?”

“No idea,” William said with a laugh. He imagined that Rock was trying to figure out how Oscar could have fought Ling to a tie.

She took a look at the two men sitting around the table and said, “William! You’re a rotten host. Did you even offer him something to drink?”

“Uh, no,” William answered shifting in his seat. He had forgotten all about that in his nervousness about meeting with Oscar. He shrugged feeling slightly embarrassed and said, “We were, um, talking.”

“Would you care for something to drink? We’ve got iced tea, lemonade, and a variety of soft drinks,” Lucy offered looking at Oscar with a smile.

“Lemonade would be fine,” Oscar answered.

Going about the business of being a hostess, Lucy poured Oscar a glass of lemonade from a pitcher that was stored in the mini-fridge of the patio bar. She also got out the large can of pretzels and threw a couple handfuls into a bowl. When she brought the stuff to the table, she said, “Here you go, a little lemonade and some pretzels.”

“Thanks,” Oscar replied. He took a sip of the lemonade and found that whoever had made it had achieved the proper balance between sour and sweet. Nodding, he said, “This is very good.”

“Thank you.”

Lucy sat down and watched the pair of men staring at the grass. William lit up another cigarette while Oscar ate a couple pretzels. After about ten minutes, she said, “This is horrible. You too look about as relaxed as a gazelle in the middle of a pride of lions. What’s the matter?”

Oscar shrugged; a gesture that was repeated by William. Frustrated, Lucy asked, “Can’t either of you talk?”

“Did you have a chance to meet Georgia?” Oscar asked Lucy.

“No. Claire left with her before I got back from school,” she answered.

William said, “It’s a shame, really.”

“What’s a shame?” Lucy asked.

“We could have been friends, I think.”

Lucy looked at William and then realized that he was talking to Oscar. She turned to look at Oscar. He was nodding his head in agreement. Curious, she asked, “Why can’t you be friends?”

Oscar answered, “Not enough time.”

“Right,” William said. He took another drag off his cigarette and exhaled to the sky.

Lucy waited for more of an explanation, but none was forthcoming. Frustrated, she stood up and went back into the house. At the door, she said, “Come in when you feel like talking.”

Each of the men felt a burning curiosity about the other. Neither one was willing to give voice to it. Oscar asked, “Is this typical weather for this time of year?”

“Yes,” William said. It was the last thing either of them said until dinner time.

Massaging her wrist, Georgia looked at the woman seated across the table from her. Claire pushed a cup of coffee across the table and said, “It’ll be better in a little while. I guess you don’t have much of a chance to shoot at the school.”

“Actually, I don’t get an opportunity to shoot a real weapon all that often. Usually I’m shooting a paintball gun, but even that has become a rare event,” Georgia said. The last time had been on her birthday.

“I’m sorry. I had assumed that you were a frequent visitor to the gun range. You did help Oscar train Special Forces in Afghanistan, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but we used paintball guns. They were mocked up to fire just like the real thing though.”

“You’re a good shot. You averaged over ninety for each ten round target. That’s not bad. With some practice you could be competitive,” Claire said. She hadn’t been surprised on the range, but the news that Georgia didn’t practice all that often made her score even more impressive.

“I don’t understand. You seem so feminine,” Georgia said finally giving voice to the thought that had been bothering her ever since meeting Claire.

The comment struck Claire as humorous. She had to put her coffee down so that she wouldn’t spill while laughing. When she recovered, she asked, “What did you mean by that?”

“Well, you have a reputation as being a pretty strong and aggressive woman, but you don’t seem to act that way,” Georgia said.