Page 46 of Soothsayer

“Because that’s a part of this land. It was gifted to the keeper by the land itself. If I touch it, it will wound me.”

I had to admit I was a little confused. “Because you’re different lands?”

Sören bared his teeth. “Because I’mcompetition.”

All righty then. Landvættir versus elemental, Iceland and America going at it—whatever, I didn’t need to start a fight. “I’ll do it.” I walked over to the crowbar, hoisted it, and then swung back and smacked the gong square in the center of its iron disc.

Oh mygod, I thought my arm was going to vibrate out of my shoulder. It felt for a moment like I’d shattered my bones, the pain was so intense.

I dropped the crowbar, cradled my arm against my chest, and actually growled at Sören when he said, “Or perhaps this land is hostile to all.”

“Cillian?”

Sören and I both turned around and saw Bobby step out of the back door of his cabin, squinting against the sun as he surveyed the scene. Bobby was a few inches shorter than me, with skin so brown he almost vanished against the backdrop of the desert, tousled white hair that reminded me of Einstein on a bad day, and he wore nothing but a pair of flip-flops and some gym shorts. I hadn’t associated with him much over the years, but he still looked exactly the same as the first time I’d met him almost two decades ago.

“You coulda just knocked,” he said mildly, coming over to us and not even sparing a glance for Sören. “Hand me that arm, then.” I gritted my teeth and held out my arm, and Bobby gripped my wrist and elbow for a moment. The brutal buzzing sensation vanished, and I sighed with relief.

“Holy shit, Bobby, you should put a warning on that thing.”

“Not many folks get a chance to try it out, and most who do use a gentler touch,” he replied, his voice as even as anything, but I knew I’d made a mistake. It felt like disappointing Santa Claus.

Of course, now that he was standing in front of me, my words had dried up. I was bad at asking for help if it was from someone I wasn’t close to or couldn’t bribe, and I knew I had nothing Bobby wanted. “I…I thought you’d be out. In the desert. Somewhere.”

“Oh yeah, yeah I was,” he said placidly, sticking his hands in his pockets. “But I decided to come home a little early. You get acraving for a Slim Jim, you know how it is, you just can’t forget about it.”

“What is a Slim Jim?” Sören asked.

“Oh, they’re delicious,” Bobby said. “Come on inside. I’ll give you one, and you boys can tell me what brought you my way.”

The inside of Bobby’s hut was just as tiny as I’d expected, but surprisingly cool, and there were three chairs around a little white table that he insisted we sit at. He poured us water, gave Sören a Slim Jim before taking one for himself, and then looked at me expectantly.

I told him what I knew, with some help from Sören. That he was landvættir, that I needed to find a place for him and his plot. I didn’t go into details about how I was going to get my hands on it, just that once I had it I needed to know what to do with it. Bobby listened placidly, chewing on his snack and glancing between the two of us contemplatively.

“Huh. That’s a real problem.”

“How big of a problem?”

“Oh, well, it’s all in the location, but I’d say pretty big,” Bobby said. “Most of this land is old and jealous, already well established. The cities are quiet, but any place where one of you—” He pointed a gnarled finger at Sören, who was on his third Slim Jim. “—might be happy is one that’s probably going to be inhabited already. Spirits, elementals, landvættir…they keep this land alive with their energy. Keep it moving, so to speak. In a city, that energy is replaced with the vitality of humans, but out here, well…there isn’t much room for new arrivals.”

Sören shrugged. “I will fight for a place if I must.”

“Oh dear.” Bobby shook his head. “Do me a favor, please? Head outside and put your hands down next to my gong. Not on it,” he assured Sören. “You don’t have to touch it. Just next to it, on the ground.”

“All right.” He got to his feet and headed outside. I watched him go with trepidation.

“Bobby…”

“It’ll be okay,” he said. “Just watch for a moment.” We both watched Sören crouch down next to the gong and, with a determined look, lay his hands on the ground.

The land beneath him crumbled instantly, a thousand pebbles falling away beneath his feet and dragging Sören underground. I barely had a chance to yell before he’d vanished completely.

“Bobby!”

“Oh, she won’t keep him,” Bobby told me. “She’s just putting him in his place. Give ’er a moment.”

A moment? A moment for Sören, him and the spirit, to be buried alive? “Bring him backnow!”

“She just needs a minute to move him, Cillian. Hold your horses.”

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