Chapter 15

Twenty minutes later Mr. Shepherd called Rachel. She spoke to him briefly about the meeting we’d had with Alexandria. It seemed she was giving him a really good rundown of what we spoke about, but then she held out the phone to me. “He wants to talk to you.”

I took the phone and said, “This is Ral.”

“Mr. Sutton, Rachel tells me you had a visitor from another House today,” he said.

His voice was a bit raspy but pleasant. It may have just been how he sounded over the phone. I could always ask Rachel later. Out loud I said, “Yes sir, but I’m not sure what to make of them. Of course, I’m still not sure what to make of anyone who wants to talk to me about my abilities, but that, I think, is just my paranoia.”

He was laughing softly on the other end. “That’s not such a bad thing. Paranoia can keep you safe when danger is about. In this case, I don’t believe there is anything wrong with going to the meeting.”

“This won’t affect my standing with House Aquilae?” I asked.

He chuckled. “No, Mr. Sutton. No obligations hold you to our House. Other Houses may feel differently and require more participation within them, but House Aquilae does not.”

“Okay,” I said, nodding but still not entirely sure what kind of participation a House Member may be required to do. However, since Mr. Shepherd wasn’t holding me to any kind of obligation, as he put it, I wasn’t going to worry about it today. I’d have to go over and spend another day with Mr. Shepherd to ask more questions.

As if he knew what I was thinking Mr. Shepherd said, “Anytime you feel ready, I’ll be here.”

I smiled. Mr. Shepherd was comfortable with his abilities. I still had qualms about mine, or more accurately about how many people knew about mine. “Did you foresee someone catching what happened at the mall on video?”

“No, I didn’t. The vision had to do with the situation, not how any witnesses would react or use what they saw.”

I nodded. I couldn’t hold him responsible for something I ultimately chose to do. “Any suggestions about how I should handle it?”

“At the moment, I don’t believe anything truly bad will come of it.”

“I hope you’re right,” I said, looking over at Rachel. She was doing something on the laptop but I couldn’t see. It would be better if I stuck to the original reason for wanting to speak to Mr. Shepherd anyway. “So, have you heard of House Vikkor?”

“Some of my members said they were going to join a House in Arlington. They didn’t know what the name of the House would be yet so this is the first time I’ve heard the name.”

“Then you don’t know much about it either, do you?”

“Not really, but then I’m usually so busy that I don’t get to talk to other House leaders often.”

“No brilliant insights of danger or such?” I asked.

“Not a one,” He said. I could almost hear him smiling. “Do take care though. I don’t foresee everything. I may know a lot, but that does not mean I know everything.”

I nodded and sighed. “You’re right and I apologize if I implied that.”

“No need to apologize. Most people aren’t quite as inquisitive as you are. They usually only want to know about things that pertain to their personal lives, and then go on about their business.”

I felt bad for a moment. I had done just that. Well, except for his visions about me getting an apartment and being at the mall, most of the conversations had been focused around me. I had to change my tune.

“You’re awful quiet Mr. Sutton. I hope you’re not feeling bad about asking questions about yourself at our meeting.”

I had to laugh. I was getting tense over something I hadn’t thought about at the time. “I was.”

“Please don’t. I don’t ask for anything from any of our members. I feel that you have enough responsibilities to get on with without having additional pressures from the House. If you have questions or curiosities, then please ask.”

I looked at Rachel and smiled. Mr. Shepherd was reading me like an open book and doing it over the phone no less. It wasn’t weirding me out either because he seemed to understand what I was feeling and that freed me up from trying to explain it. “Thank you, Mr. Shepherd. I needed that.”

I could almost hear him smile as he said, “Good, I’m glad I could help.”

“So, about this other House, it’s up to me to go or not?”

“Exactly,” he said. “Unless you and Ms. Hendrickson had plans already. You should discuss that with her.”

I smiled at Rachel. She was still doing something on the laptop. “You’re quite right, Mr. Shepherd. I’ll do that.”

“You do, and regardless of which way you decide, I wish you both well this evening.”

“Thank you, Mr. Shepherd, and the same for you and Merrie.”

“Thank you, goodbye.”

“Goodbye,” I said.

“What did he say?” Rachel asked without looking up.

I shrugged. “A little this and a little that. I mean, unlike last night when I was upset about listening to him about the mall, I’m very glad now he is who he is and can do what he can do.” Rachel looked confused. For some reason it made me smile wider. “Let’s just say that he didn’t say anything that I didn’t need to hear.”

“And what about House Vikkor?” she asked.

“Nothing bad. He doesn’t know them any more than we do, and he isn’t getting any bad vibes from them. But then, as he put it, though he knows a lot, he doesn’t know everything.”

Rachel nodded with a smile and then looked back at the laptop.

I sat down next to her to see the screen as well. “What are you reading?”

“The responses to the video. Most of them think it’s a good hoax job. A few have wondered who you are, but none...” she faded off. “Uh-oh. You need to read this.”

She passed me the laptop and pointed at the post.

“I don’t think this is a hoax, here’s a link to the news reports that coincide with the timing of the video and the actual event depicted,” I read. “Crap.”