TANSTAV part 27

Chapter Eight
Calla has some disturbing premonitions, and, at the brink of despair, I suddenly see the light

I sat at my desk, absentmindedly toying with a pencil.  I seemed nowhere closer to the answer than before Greenbriar had brought in her crowd of stool pigeons.   There was something vital missing from this case.  None of Jessup's minions matched the description of the shadow, who they had also mentioned was small and slight; his bully boys had all been tall, muscular brutes, with no talent for strategic thought.  There was always the possibility that Jessup had secretly acquired a smaller, more intelligent minion somehow, but I couldn't see how he'd have managed it after being locked up.  But in that case, how could he have done it afterward?  I mean, the prison guards were bribable, but after his imprisonment all Jessup’s holdings had been confiscated, and distributed amongst different government officials.  I was pretty sure I’d found all his secret caches, and how would he get to them anyway?  Maybe he’d been blackmailing the prison guards somehow?  But with no resources left, and being locked up in a cell, how could he get anything on them?  Gah, how I hated this guy!

I glanced up at Calla, to see how she was doing.  She was seated in her chair in front of my desk, and looking rather peculiar.  Her eyes were staring vacantly downwards, and her head drooped forward, listless.

"Kid?" I asked, "You okay?"

Slowly, very slowly, she looked up in my general direction.  She whispered, "Xen is next.  When the shadow man comes next, it will be for Xen."

I stared at her, aghast, until I remembered her telling me that she had premonitions sometimes.

"When?" I asked, trying to remain calm; however, the main part of my thoughts was planning on doing severe damage to several of Jessup's bodily functions should this vision come to pass.

"I-I don't know," she said.  Her eyes became focused again, and she looked distraught.  "I just saw Xen, sitting and painting, and then the shadow appearing and grabbing at her!  It could happen at any time!  And-"

She stopped herself, looking at me in a perturbed manner.

"What?  What else did you see?"

"You don't want to know," she squeaked.

"Yes, I do, Calla."

"You won't like it."

"That doesn't matter.  It concerns me, doesn't it?"

After some hesitation, she nodded.

"Well, if you're having visions about me, I want to know what happens.  Whatever it is, I promise I won't get mad at you."

Squeezing her eyes shut, Calla said in a rush, as if trying to get the words out as fast as possible, "I saw you lying on the ground, bleeding.  It was in a dark place, and you were hurt really bad in the stomach and shoulders, and I didn't know what to do!"

That was a sobering vision.  For several moments, I was unsure how to react.  From what she was saying, it sounded like she was seeing my death.  But with an effort, I pulled myself together.

"Hey, Calla," I said.  She looked over at me, her pupils dilated, though avoiding eye contact.

"Severe injury is not the same as death.  Besides, nothing in the future is certain.  You might just be seeing a possibility."

Calla looked unconvinced.

"I always see my visions come true.  Always."

"Well," I said, trying to be nonchalant, "no sense worrying about it now.  We've got a case to work on."

I knew that she wouldn't get it out of her mind that easily.  But she was silent.  I took the opportunity to call Xen, just in case.  After three rings, which made my heart palpitate severely, she finally answered.

"Hello?"

"Xen!  You're okay!"

"Yeah...should I not be?"

"...No, not at all.  Just making sure."

"Okay, Tristan, what happened?"  Her tone was that no-nonsense one that means no beating around the bush, or trying to fudge the truth.  I can never hide anything from Xen when she uses that tone of voice, and have already promised never to lie to her anyway.  I told her, tentatively, about Calla's vision of the shadow trying to kidnap her.  However, I neglected to mention her other vision of my possible death.

"Huh.  That's...not good," Xen finally said.

"No.  It's not.  So I was just calling to, y'know, make sure you were still there."

"Yeah, I'm right here.  No evil shadows yet," she said dryly, trying to make it a joke.

"Be careful, please," I said softly.

"I will, Tristan.  Don't worry about me."

"You know I can't do that."

"Come on, you have that bodyguard of yours posted right outside my room.  What could happen?"

"The shadow is a teleporter.  Calla saw him just appearing in your apartment, right next to you."

"Well, in that case, I shall keep my palette knife handy," was the reply.  I managed a weak laugh.

"Bye, Xen."

"I'll see you when you get home."

As I hung up, I tried not to think that those might be the last words I would ever hear from her.