I pressed the red button and sent the call to voicemail. My stomach felt like a monster inside was gnawing at me, eating my innards and working its way up to my throat. I was almost physically choked up.

The phone rang again. I didn’t need to look to know that it was Justin. This time I let it go to voicemail without touching it.

The third time it rang I went against better judgement and answered the phone.

“Hello.” I tried to keep the quivering out of my voice.

“Is this you white boy? Where’s Charice?”

“Yeah, it’s Sean.”

“What are you picking up my sister’s phone for fool? Put my sister on the line.”

I bit my lip then said, “I can’t. She’s not here right now.”

I heard silence on the other line. “What do you mean she’s not there?”

“I mean,” I stammered, “she’s busy right now, in the bathroom.”

“She at your place? Boy I told you if you touch my sister—”

“She’s in the bathroom at the restaurant. I’ll have her call you back.”

“She pocket called me. I heard all the screaming. I know something went down. You put my sister on the line right now or I’m coming to kill you.” he started yelling obscenities at me in English, Tagalog, and Spanish. I had to move the phone away from me to save my eardrums.

Having nothing else to say, I hung up the phone.

Seconds later, Justin’s name appeared on the screen again. I went into the menu and set Justin’s profile to “Do not disturb.”

If I saved his sister he’d never know anything was wrong.

Not IF I saved her. WHEN I saved her.

I stared down at Charice’s phone in my hand. The phone was silenced but Justin’s name popped up on the screen again. Nehemiah knew where the Threshold was, I just needed him to tell me how to get there. “Did you hear that?”

He nodded. “I basically heard everything. That guy wasn’t whispering.”

“That’s why I need to get through. The Sluagh took Charice. It’s personal.”

He continued to stare with his hands folded in front of his mouth.

“Just tell me how to get there.”

Nehemiah licked his lips and took a deep breath through his nostrils.

“Hoooo boy,” was all he said, before leaving the room.

“Where you going?” asked Rob.

I didn’t know whether to wait or to leave. If he did not help me what would I do next?

Rob inspected the bookshelves. “Wow, quite an eclectic collection here. The Bible. Something called the Necronomicon. The Garfield definitive collection. Solomon Kane. Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual. Oh, it’s 3.5 though. That’s useless.”

The door to the study opened and the wizard walked in. He still had on his sweater and jeans but now he had pulled steel toe boots over his feet and wore the trench coat that I was more familiar seeing him in. He was also packing a .357 Magnum revolver if I wasn’t mistaken, and not the wussy snub nose version either.

I spoke first. “Look Nehemiah, You’ve got a family, just tell me where the Threshold is and I’ll leave.”

He shook his head. “You can’t get there without me. You don’t have a boat.”

We’d have to cross the water, and by boat. I had totally forgotten it was somewhere near Highway 37.

“What are you staring at me for?” he asked. “Let’s go.”