WEBVTT - CZM Book Club: The Barrow Will Send What it May, Chapter Four 0:00:01.680 --> 0:00:10.479 Call Zone Media book Club, book Club, book Club, the Club. 0:00:11.080 --> 0:00:13.960 Hello and welcome to the Clozon Media book Club, the 0:00:14.000 --> 0:00:15.520 only book club where you don't have to do the 0:00:15.560 --> 0:00:18.040 reading because I do it for you. I'm your host, 0:00:18.079 --> 0:00:21.880 Margaret Kiljoy, and this week my guest is nobody. I 0:00:22.000 --> 0:00:25.319 have no guest. It's just me and you, Me and you, 0:00:25.480 --> 0:00:30.000 dear listener. As we go into chapter four of my 0:00:30.120 --> 0:00:33.640 own book, The Barrow Will Send What It May. We 0:00:33.680 --> 0:00:35.400 had to take a break because for a couple of 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:37.280 weeks I really wanted to talk about that other thing. 0:00:37.720 --> 0:00:40.080 But now that break is over, so we're back to 0:00:40.159 --> 0:00:43.879 reading The Barrel Will Send what It May. If you're 0:00:43.880 --> 0:00:46.360 just joining us here, well that's a weird place to 0:00:46.360 --> 0:00:49.320 start a book. But if you need a reminder about 0:00:49.320 --> 0:00:53.200 what happened, our protagonists had just broken into a man's 0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:59.440 workplace slash store office, and we're like, I wonder if 0:00:59.440 --> 0:01:02.120 there's magie here, and then they tried to go through 0:01:02.160 --> 0:01:07.720 a door, and then magical fire came and enveloped Heather. 0:01:09.200 --> 0:01:12.840 In fact, if you want the last paragraph of what 0:01:13.000 --> 0:01:15.640 just happened, I'll just do that for you. I'll just 0:01:15.680 --> 0:01:21.319 go back just a paragraph or two. I grabbed for 0:01:21.360 --> 0:01:23.880 her the fingers of my hand, my goat bit in 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:27.360 hand went through the doorway and it tingled My wrist 0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:31.240 though passed through and it hurt like fire. While most 0:01:31.240 --> 0:01:33.840 of the times I've gotten burned, fire only hurts later 0:01:34.200 --> 0:01:37.520 once the nerve ending started growing back or whatever, this 0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:42.280 time it hurt immediately, like how fire hurts later. I 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:45.679 got a hold of her jacket and yanked back. She 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:50.240 fell on top of me. She stopped screaming. If she 0:01:50.360 --> 0:01:55.800 was breathing, it was too faint to hear. Done undone 0:01:56.040 --> 0:01:58.000 as the end of the chapter three, but now I'm 0:01:58.040 --> 0:02:01.600 going to read chapter four, because this episode is chapter four. 0:02:03.720 --> 0:02:09.919 Chapter four. She was alive. I found her pulse easily enough. 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:14.240 What the fuck? Brynn said, what the fuck? I agreed. 0:02:15.320 --> 0:02:18.679 We dragged Heather back into the office. Brynn ran back 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:21.640 into the hallway and I heard her phone snap a photo. 0:02:22.320 --> 0:02:26.440 She slammed the cursed door shut. Found our fucking magician, 0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:29.960 I said, as I worked the office window open, Brynn 0:02:30.040 --> 0:02:35.080 shut and locked the office door. Doomsday. Brynn said, she'll 0:02:35.120 --> 0:02:38.639 know what to do. I climbed out the window. Bryn 0:02:38.639 --> 0:02:41.600 handed me Heather and we ran for it. We couldn't 0:02:41.600 --> 0:02:45.240 lock the window behind us, we couldn't grab our bikes. 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:48.720 Brynn put Heather into a fireman's carry and we made 0:02:48.720 --> 0:02:51.799 for a side street, just as the nineteen fifties pickup 0:02:51.840 --> 0:02:55.320 truck roared down the main street and skidded to a 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:58.280 halt out in front of the building. I didn't think 0:02:58.320 --> 0:03:02.079 he saw us. Don't die, Brynn said, as we ran. 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:08.080 Don't die, don't die, don't die. Doomsday met us at 0:03:08.080 --> 0:03:10.120 the front door of the library, and we ran up 0:03:10.160 --> 0:03:13.320 the steps. I was just out of Breatha's brin, and 0:03:13.440 --> 0:03:15.640 I didn't have one hundred some extra pounds of friend 0:03:15.800 --> 0:03:19.639 thrown over my shoulders. I swept dozens of books off 0:03:19.680 --> 0:03:23.120 the table, and Bryn laid Heather down atop it. I 0:03:23.160 --> 0:03:27.200 told Doomsday the gist of what had happened. You've got 0:03:27.200 --> 0:03:29.760 a hospital in town, I asked. As Vasillis came up 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:34.040 after us. He shook his head. Nearest one's about an 0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:38.520 hour east. We've got a little emergency clinic, though, won't 0:03:38.560 --> 0:03:41.200 do any good, Doomsday said, as she inspected the patient. 0:03:41.920 --> 0:03:46.840 It's not physical damage, it's metaphysical damage. That green fire, 0:03:47.040 --> 0:03:50.960 it's called witch's fire. Rebecca mentioned it once burns the 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:55.280 not the soul. Imagine you've got a second body, a 0:03:55.320 --> 0:03:59.560 metaphysical body. The bones of that second body, that's your soul, 0:04:00.600 --> 0:04:04.240 which is fire, burns away that second skin, the membrane 0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:07.560 that protects the soul. It'll kill you as sure as 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:11.240 being flayed. We've got to try to reverse the damage, 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:15.480 Vascilla said, We've got to regenerate that second skin. No, 0:04:15.760 --> 0:04:19.719 Doomsday said, too dangerous. Just need to soothe the burn, 0:04:20.200 --> 0:04:23.120 keep it from getting infected while it heals itself. That 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:26.159 could take years. Vascilla shouted, I've been studying this for 0:04:26.200 --> 0:04:29.320 a decade. Half of what you know you learned here today, 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:32.800 reading from my collection. He rose to his full height. 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:37.520 Everyone freaks out a little bit differently. Vasillis apparently freaks 0:04:37.560 --> 0:04:41.159 out by trying to dominate people. He wasn't winning me over, 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:45.080 and she'll be in a coma the whole time. Doomsday agreed, 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:50.360 we have to do this now, Vasillis said. Doomsday looked thoughtful. 0:04:51.200 --> 0:04:54.200 I was going to back her whatever she chose. That 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:58.599 was an easy conclusion to reach. She's your friend, Doomsday said, 0:04:58.600 --> 0:05:03.440 at last, she's my everything. The two of them together 0:05:03.920 --> 0:05:08.479 prepared the ritual. Vasillis was the teacher, Doomsday the student. 0:05:09.279 --> 0:05:12.400 It was sort of bizarrely elaborate, complete with wringing the 0:05:12.440 --> 0:05:16.240 floor with herb infused salts and washing Heather's nude body 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:19.880 with oils. Brynn and I stayed out of the way, 0:05:19.960 --> 0:05:23.200 watching from a couch in the corner. Brynn was folded 0:05:23.240 --> 0:05:28.240 in on herself and worry. I held her. Vasillis chanted 0:05:28.480 --> 0:05:32.960 in Greek and English. A supernaturally bright red flush moved 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:35.480 across Heather's skin in the wake of his hands as 0:05:35.520 --> 0:05:38.880 he encanted by the look on his face and the 0:05:38.920 --> 0:05:42.520 sweat beginning to form on his brow. It wasn't working. 0:05:43.760 --> 0:05:49.080 After a minute, maybe Doomsday joined him. She too looked desperate. 0:05:50.839 --> 0:05:53.880 I heard a crack as Vasillis's hands jerked into an 0:05:53.920 --> 0:05:59.200 unnatural position. He fainted, crumpling down onto himself and the floor. 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:06.240 Then Heather screamed. Then Heather died. Vulture and Thursday came 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:10.400 back that evening before Vassilis came to Doomsday had briefed 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:13.240 them over the phone shortly after it happened, but I 0:06:13.240 --> 0:06:15.920 imagine it was still quite a shock to walk into 0:06:15.960 --> 0:06:20.039 the apartment. Heather was laid out on the table, still 0:06:20.680 --> 0:06:24.520 with a sheet covering everything but her face. Vasilis was 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:27.919 passed out on the floor in a fetal position. Doomsday 0:06:27.960 --> 0:06:32.280 was pacing. Brynn was sobbing. I was holding her with 0:06:32.360 --> 0:06:35.359 my good hand, my wounded hand, the hand that the 0:06:35.360 --> 0:06:38.240 goat had bitten, the hand that hadn't been burned by 0:06:38.240 --> 0:06:42.560 the witch's fire. I didn't let it touch her. I 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:45.719 was afraid of my own hand. What did you find, 0:06:45.720 --> 0:06:48.840 Doomsday asked the boys. She put on a kettle for tea. 0:06:49.520 --> 0:06:52.200 Sometimes it was unclear if that woman was capable of 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:57.920 expressing emotion. I guests. Vulture said, I guess that still 0:06:58.000 --> 0:07:04.520 matters more than ever. Doomsday said, she wasn't wrong. We 0:07:04.560 --> 0:07:07.920 found their car, Thursday said. Pushed into a lake close 0:07:07.960 --> 0:07:11.480 to the trailhead, Vulture found the treadmarks and the dirt. 0:07:11.960 --> 0:07:15.720 Even six months later, I wouldn't have noticed them. I 0:07:15.840 --> 0:07:20.640 dove in and found the car, and Doomsday asked, and 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:24.400 it's a sunken car. Thursday said, that's it, that's all. 0:07:24.840 --> 0:07:30.800 No skeletons, no backpacks, just a fucking car. Bacillis stirred 0:07:31.360 --> 0:07:33.600 Breyne and I jumped up and helped him to his feet, 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:37.120 then to a chair. Doomsday set the tee in front 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:40.200 of him. Maybe she hadn't been as callous as I assumed. 0:07:41.840 --> 0:07:44.720 We are going to talk about this, Doomsday said, kneeling 0:07:44.760 --> 0:07:47.520 on the floor in front of his chair. Let me 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:51.160 be If I leave you alone right now, you may 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:56.880 never emotionally recover from what's happened. I don't care. Methodically, 0:07:57.400 --> 0:07:59.640 he pulled on his mangled hands and worked them back 0:07:59.680 --> 0:08:03.520 into place. I never seen anyone injured like that, and 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:07.400 I never seen anyone heal themselves like that. When a 0:08:07.440 --> 0:08:09.880 person is dying, you don't stop to wait for their 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:14.000 permission to intervene medically. You know that you acted on that. 0:08:14.520 --> 0:08:19.520 The same is true now for you. I never even 0:08:19.560 --> 0:08:22.600 imagined this side of Doomsday. I assumed she didn't have 0:08:22.600 --> 0:08:26.400 a nurturing bone in her body. Tough love is still love. 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:30.480 Though you were right, Vascilla said, she was too far 0:08:30.560 --> 0:08:33.439 gone to heal. We should have soothed her wounds instead 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:36.120 of trying to directly reverse the damage. Is that what 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:40.839 you want to hear? That's true, Doomsday said, But it's immaterial. 0:08:41.480 --> 0:08:43.640 I could have been wrong. You did what you felt 0:08:43.679 --> 0:08:46.040 like you had to do, which is always ethically better 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:51.360 than doing nothing. Then what are we going to talk about? Well, 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:54.880 they're going to talk about these ads, eh, eh, find 0:08:54.920 --> 0:08:57.640 the most emotionally impactful part of the story and interrupt 0:08:57.679 --> 0:09:02.439 it with advertisements. That's the way of the world. Here's 0:09:02.480 --> 0:09:17.520 the ads and we're back. Then what are we going 0:09:17.600 --> 0:09:22.000 to talk about? We're going to talk about Barrow because 0:09:22.040 --> 0:09:24.360 I don't know the first thing about emotional support, but 0:09:24.400 --> 0:09:27.520 I want to get you problem solving instead. I want 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:30.960 you to worry about this later soon. Even think of 0:09:31.040 --> 0:09:34.360 problem solving right now as your emotional tourniquet to stop 0:09:34.400 --> 0:09:37.760 the bleeding before you can get real support. What does 0:09:37.800 --> 0:09:40.680 this mean? Brinn asked and showed Vasillis a photo of 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:44.560 the Greek carving over the door. Vulture on Thursday, who 0:09:44.559 --> 0:09:47.280 hadn't yet seen it, stood behind him to look as well. 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:53.800 None that are living may pass Doomsday nodded. That's about 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:57.719 what I figured. She steepled her fingers. How long have 0:09:57.800 --> 0:10:00.680 you known that Sebastian Miller was responsible for the resurrection 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:05.440 of a Sola and Gertrude. I didn't know. You're not 0:10:05.480 --> 0:10:10.240 an idiot, It was only I guess you are lucky. 0:10:10.280 --> 0:10:13.960 I'm not in a blaming people mood. Doomsday said, blaming 0:10:14.000 --> 0:10:17.120 people moods are the opposite of getting shit done moods, 0:10:17.440 --> 0:10:21.960 and I'm in a getting shitit done mood. Vasillis nodded weakly. 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:25.439 I had no idea. When a Sola came back, she 0:10:25.480 --> 0:10:29.280 wouldn't talk to us. But when Gertrude came back to yeah, 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:33.120 I suspected. Was he ever in here? Ever? Checking out 0:10:33.160 --> 0:10:36.360 books on magic? All the good stuff is closed to 0:10:36.360 --> 0:10:40.600 the public. It's all up here. Thursday nodded. He did 0:10:40.679 --> 0:10:43.960 check out a book on modern Greek last winter, returned 0:10:43.960 --> 0:10:47.319 it not a week later. I was disappointed, because it 0:10:47.360 --> 0:10:49.560 would be nice to have people locally I could talk to. 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:52.800 That's how he knew the right words for the barrier, 0:10:52.920 --> 0:10:57.000 Doomsday said, My hand went through the barrier without burning. 0:10:57.080 --> 0:11:02.280 I said, let me see it, Vasillis said. I showed him. 0:11:02.520 --> 0:11:06.320 He whispered arcane words, throwing them forcefully from his lungs, 0:11:06.400 --> 0:11:09.400 as though afraid of them, then held his hands above 0:11:09.440 --> 0:11:14.320 my hands. My left hand, my undamaged hand glowed red. 0:11:14.720 --> 0:11:20.520 My right hand was unchanged. This hand, he said, it 0:11:20.559 --> 0:11:26.120 doesn't have a soul. Cool, I said, Bryn laughed a little, 0:11:26.240 --> 0:11:32.720 then got self conscious. What does that mean? Practically almost nothing. 0:11:33.360 --> 0:11:35.760 Enough wounds like that and you'll die. But I don't 0:11:35.760 --> 0:11:39.520 think I'll have any effect on you other than that. Okay, 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:43.040 Thursday said, this is easy enough. The barrier won't let 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:46.520 anyone through who's living. An undead hand doesn't count as living. 0:11:47.240 --> 0:11:50.000 I bet a soul in Gertrude don't either. Get one 0:11:50.040 --> 0:11:52.280 of them to head on through find out what happened. 0:11:54.080 --> 0:11:57.320 They won't do it, I said, think about it. They've 0:11:57.360 --> 0:11:59.679 got to know more than they're telling us already. If 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:03.679 they want wanted to help more, they'd have offered. Gertrude's 0:12:03.679 --> 0:12:06.600 probably in on it. Thursday said, they're married, after all. 0:12:08.240 --> 0:12:10.960 I get resurrecting your dead wife, I said, but I 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:17.040 wonder why a sola we resurrect? Heather Bascilla said, to 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:21.320 get through the barrier. I looked at Doomsday, expecting her 0:12:21.360 --> 0:12:27.120 to shoot him down. Yeah, Doomsday said. Instead. She put 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:30.160 her hand to her cheeks, scratching in thought, yeah, that 0:12:30.200 --> 0:12:32.800 would that would work. She'd be able to go through 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:39.000 the boundary. Are you fucking kidding? Thursday asked? The thing is? 0:12:39.040 --> 0:12:42.040 Doomsday said, still thinking it over, I don't think we 0:12:42.040 --> 0:12:44.640 could do it without the Book of Barrow. I only 0:12:44.679 --> 0:12:49.000 know a few of his minor rituals, not resurrection. Also, 0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:53.520 don't you have to end one life to bring one back? Yes, 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:56.920 he said, well you can bring them back temporarily as 0:12:56.920 --> 0:12:59.520 long as the ritual is still being cast. But if 0:12:59.559 --> 0:13:01.319 you don't give Barrow his due at the end of 0:13:01.360 --> 0:13:06.560 the ritual, right back to death, the person goes, this 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:12.360 is really obviously a shit idea. Thursday said, why. Doomsday asked, 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:14.320 are you telling me that if you could bring Heather 0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:18.479 back right now that you wouldn't do it? It's unnatural. 0:13:18.559 --> 0:13:24.199 Thursday said, it's fucking magic. Doomsday said, none of it's 0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:27.360 any more or less natural than anything else. I'm not 0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:29.679 here just to learn about this stuff in the abstract. 0:13:29.880 --> 0:13:35.400 I'm here to gain and wield power over others. Thursday asked, no, 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:39.000 God damn it, not over others. Everything is power. A 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:42.280 fucking gun is power. I used one once to end 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:45.120 three lives, but it wasn't because I wanted to wield 0:13:45.200 --> 0:13:47.800 power over them. It's that I needed them to stop 0:13:47.840 --> 0:13:51.520 wielding power over me. It's a pretty fucking massive power 0:13:51.520 --> 0:13:53.520 imbalance in this world, and I don't see why we 0:13:53.559 --> 0:13:57.800 should be afraid to correct it. Doomsday stood up, bringing 0:13:57.800 --> 0:14:01.520 her teacup with her taking a long sip. Are humans 0:14:01.559 --> 0:14:04.920 supposed to fly? I don't know. We built airplanes though. 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:07.880 Are we supposed to bring back the dead? I don't know, 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:11.160 but EMTs do it all the time. It's not a 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:13.360 question of whether or not it's ethical to bring Heather 0:14:13.440 --> 0:14:15.880 back from the dead. It's whether or not we can 0:14:16.520 --> 0:14:19.720 and whether or not it will further our aims. She 0:14:19.840 --> 0:14:22.920 turned his face. Vacillis, if it's a life for a life, 0:14:23.240 --> 0:14:26.760 will you do it? Will you die for her? Yes? 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:31.520 Vacillis answered, but then doubt clouded his features. I don't know, 0:14:32.920 --> 0:14:36.320 moot point, Vulture said, we don't have the book. Maybe 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:38.120 he's got it on him, but I bet it's on 0:14:38.160 --> 0:14:40.840 the other side of that barrier. I say we send 0:14:40.880 --> 0:14:46.000 a drone, Doomsday laughed, I wasn't joking. Vulture said, we 0:14:46.040 --> 0:14:47.760 get a drone to fly down there with a camera. 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:52.880 Where the hell would we get a drone? Doomsday asked, well, 0:14:52.920 --> 0:14:56.680 if they only looked at our sponsors, they might find 0:14:56.800 --> 0:15:02.760 that we might be advertising drones. I don't know. Maybe 0:15:03.040 --> 0:15:05.760 there's only one way to find out, and it's still 0:15:05.800 --> 0:15:20.840 listen and we're back. Oh like I'm the one with 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:24.440 the unrealistic plan. I'm not the one planning human sacrifice 0:15:24.480 --> 0:15:32.560 and reanimating corpses. Oh shit, wait, Doomsday said, what Thursday asked? 0:15:32.960 --> 0:15:35.200 Doomsday went to the pile of the book still scattered 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:38.240 across the floor next to the table, and picked one out, 0:15:38.600 --> 0:15:44.040 flipping through the pages. Yeah, okay, no resurrection for us, 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:50.360 she said. Quote Barrow an endless spirit who stands at 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:52.920 the gate between the living and the dead, waiting to 0:15:52.960 --> 0:15:56.280 tear it from its hinges. While capable of granting power 0:15:56.400 --> 0:15:59.480 over many things, he is mostly known for his ability 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:02.200 to reverse to death by imbuing the body of the 0:16:02.280 --> 0:16:05.160 dead with a peace of his soul. It is believed 0:16:05.200 --> 0:16:07.480 that enough of his soul passes from the land of 0:16:07.480 --> 0:16:10.320 the dead into the land of the living, the gates 0:16:10.320 --> 0:16:13.240 will open, the distinction between the living and the dead 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:17.160 will be forever destroyed. The living will storm Heaven, the 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:24.120 dead will storm Earth. So Vulture said, if enough people 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:30.240 are resurrected all at once, we get some Bible style apocalypse. Basically, 0:16:30.280 --> 0:16:36.120 Doomsday said cool Walter said, how many resurrections do you think? 0:16:36.160 --> 0:16:41.440 I asked, No idea. I looked to vacillus. You knew 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:46.320 about this apocalypse thing, yeah, he said, looking down at 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:50.360 his hands, and you didn't say anything about it. Because 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:56.560 I want to bring back Heather. Holy shit, Brnn said, 0:16:57.600 --> 0:17:00.320 If I really could trader sorry ass for Heather, I 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:03.680 would do it in a second. Hey, don't be mean 0:17:03.720 --> 0:17:07.600 to him, Vulture protested, he's just well, he's had a 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:11.520 rough day. The odds of one more piece of barrow 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:14.560 being the tipping point are so incredibly low, As Silas said, 0:17:15.080 --> 0:17:17.639 these rituals have been performed for thousands of years and 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:20.919 it hasn't happened yet. We could bring Heather back and 0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:26.120 just her and would almost certainly be fine, Almost certainly. 0:17:26.480 --> 0:17:32.320 Thursday mumbled, I would bring Clay back. I realized that 0:17:32.440 --> 0:17:35.119 all of the sudden, I would go to Denver and 0:17:35.119 --> 0:17:37.080 I would dig up the body of my old best 0:17:37.080 --> 0:17:40.520 friend and I would bring him back to life because 0:17:40.520 --> 0:17:44.200 the world needed someone like Clay, because I needed Clay. 0:17:45.640 --> 0:17:47.320 I don't know that I would kill to do it. 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:50.320 I don't know if i'd sacrifice myself to do it, 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:56.119 but I might risk the apocalypse for him. All of 0:17:56.160 --> 0:17:59.639 this is one hundred percent beside the point. Thursday cut in. 0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:03.879 We don't have the book. We can't resurrect anyone. We 0:18:03.960 --> 0:18:08.120 probably can't find a drone in town. Vulture looked, sad. 0:18:08.760 --> 0:18:11.879 We can either try harder to recruit a Sola or Gertrude, 0:18:12.480 --> 0:18:16.320 or we can confront Sebastian. Head on. Thursday said, those 0:18:16.320 --> 0:18:21.040 are our options, or we follow Sebastian and figure out 0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:24.360 how he gets into his basement. I said, he's not resurrected, 0:18:24.440 --> 0:18:26.679 not that we know of. He's got to get in 0:18:26.720 --> 0:18:31.040 there somehow. He can probably bring the barrier up and 0:18:31.080 --> 0:18:34.400 down at will. Doomsday said, and it will last until 0:18:34.400 --> 0:18:40.600 he's unconscious or dead, like asleep. I asked, no, actually unconscious. 0:18:41.960 --> 0:18:44.760 How do you summon a barrier like that anyway? Thursday asked, 0:18:45.080 --> 0:18:48.960 can we do that and keep ourselves safe? Doomsday looked 0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:53.680 to Vasillis, implying that she didn't know. It's not Barrow's work. Specifically, 0:18:54.320 --> 0:18:57.159 a lot of spirits can grant, which is fire, but 0:18:57.240 --> 0:19:00.800 it's still necromancy. The only ritual I know it involves 0:19:00.800 --> 0:19:05.240 inflicting immense pain on an unwilling victim. That's out, then, 0:19:05.320 --> 0:19:10.639 Vulture said. Thursday still looked thoughtful. Hey, Brynn said from 0:19:10.680 --> 0:19:13.480 where she stood by the window. Is there supposed to 0:19:13.520 --> 0:19:15.879 be a black suv parked out in front of the library. 0:19:16.359 --> 0:19:20.760 That a normal thing, no Vasillis said, instead of coming 0:19:20.800 --> 0:19:24.119 to look, though, he dropped his head in sorrow. I 0:19:24.119 --> 0:19:27.560 bet it's the magic Feds. Vulture said. How'd they find us? 0:19:27.640 --> 0:19:31.159 I asked, I don't know. Vulture said, probably the tracking 0:19:31.200 --> 0:19:33.560 devices we all have in our pockets. I keep trying 0:19:33.560 --> 0:19:35.840 to get you all on burner phones and VPNs, but 0:19:35.920 --> 0:19:40.359 you never listen. What do we do? Vasillis asked. It 0:19:40.400 --> 0:19:42.639 was hard to understand him with his head buried in 0:19:42.720 --> 0:19:47.240 his hands. We sit tight, I said, it just drove off. 0:19:47.280 --> 0:19:52.560 Brynn reported, problem solved forever. Vulture said, what were the plates? 0:19:52.600 --> 0:19:58.480 I asked, California could be tourists. Vasillis said he still 0:19:58.480 --> 0:20:01.399 didn't look up. Now, I bet it's the magic Feds, 0:20:01.520 --> 0:20:06.040 Vulture said, doesn't change anything. Thursday said, just raises the 0:20:06.080 --> 0:20:08.639 steaks is all. It's never good to get caught with 0:20:08.640 --> 0:20:12.200 a body. They won't be after us, I said, they'll 0:20:12.240 --> 0:20:15.280 be after the book, and fuck if they get it. 0:20:17.119 --> 0:20:21.399 I assure him, So glad you came to town, Vasillis said, 0:20:21.840 --> 0:20:24.520 he tried for biting sarcasm. But halfway through his sentence, 0:20:24.560 --> 0:20:28.120 his voice broke and he started to cry. They're there, 0:20:28.240 --> 0:20:33.280 Vulture said, rubbing our host's shoulders. It's okay, And Vulture 0:20:33.280 --> 0:20:36.439 thought for a minute, I mean, it's not actually okay. 0:20:37.920 --> 0:20:41.679 Silence reigned in the apartment, but I guess you knew that. 0:20:44.840 --> 0:20:47.480 That night, Vasillis slept in the living room and gave 0:20:47.520 --> 0:20:50.200 Brinn and me his room. He said he wanted to 0:20:50.240 --> 0:20:53.119 keep vigil. I could think of a few reasons it 0:20:53.160 --> 0:20:55.200 was a bad idea to let him, but I wanted 0:20:55.240 --> 0:20:57.720 to sleep in a bed, so I didn't say anything. 0:21:00.119 --> 0:21:02.919 Took off to scope out the town. That was also 0:21:03.000 --> 0:21:06.119 a bad idea. There were magicians and magic feds about, 0:21:06.760 --> 0:21:08.600 but I knew my opinion on the matter wouldn't have 0:21:08.640 --> 0:21:13.400 any bearing on his actions, so I didn't say anything. Thursday, 0:21:13.600 --> 0:21:17.200 actually sensible decided to keep watch from inside the library 0:21:17.680 --> 0:21:21.439 rather than standing out front with a gun. For a 0:21:21.480 --> 0:21:24.560 long while, I laid on my back on Vasillisa's bed. 0:21:25.480 --> 0:21:27.720 Brynn was curled up with her head on my shoulder. 0:21:28.600 --> 0:21:31.679 Racking sobs from the living room filled the air, and 0:21:31.720 --> 0:21:36.959 I focused my attention on Bryn's breathing. Today, fucking sucks, 0:21:37.240 --> 0:21:42.120 I said, at last, Yeah, it does, being demon Hunters's garbage. 0:21:43.400 --> 0:21:45.920 Brynn laughed a little bit at that, but it wasn't 0:21:45.960 --> 0:21:49.560 her giggle. He was too soft, too tenuous, to be 0:21:49.640 --> 0:21:53.560 her real laugh. I don't say this much, Brynn said, 0:21:54.000 --> 0:21:55.800 and I don't even know where I mean by it. 0:21:56.320 --> 0:22:01.880 But I want to go home. God, I said me too. 0:22:03.240 --> 0:22:06.640 I held her tighter. The crying in the living room 0:22:06.720 --> 0:22:09.000 hit a crescendo, and it sounded like the scillis was 0:22:09.040 --> 0:22:13.119 trying to vomit his heart out of his chest. How 0:22:13.160 --> 0:22:14.760 do you think we get ourselves thrown in the same 0:22:14.800 --> 0:22:18.199 prison if we go down for this, I asked. If 0:22:18.240 --> 0:22:21.080 we're lucky, they'll send us to prison. Bryn said, I've 0:22:21.080 --> 0:22:23.320 got a feeling though, that this is an X file shit, 0:22:23.600 --> 0:22:25.520 and they just quietly make it so you and I 0:22:25.600 --> 0:22:30.040 were never born. Who would have figured Moulder and Scully 0:22:30.040 --> 0:22:33.480 are the bad guys after all? I thought it over 0:22:33.560 --> 0:22:37.159 for a while. If we can see them, they're not 0:22:37.280 --> 0:22:41.480 after us, I said, huh. Feds don't show up looking 0:22:41.520 --> 0:22:44.159 obviously like FEDS unless they're there to scare you, not 0:22:44.320 --> 0:22:47.720 arrest you. It's the mortar shell. You don't hear that 0:22:47.840 --> 0:22:52.680 kills you, Brine asked, yeah, hope there aren't more mortar 0:22:52.720 --> 0:22:57.200 shells around. The crying from the living room faded into silence. 0:22:58.920 --> 0:23:01.680 I like you, Brin said. We don't get to choose 0:23:01.720 --> 0:23:04.520 how we die, only how we live. And I like 0:23:04.600 --> 0:23:07.479 you and I'm glad I got to know you. I 0:23:07.560 --> 0:23:10.600 like you too. You know what Heather and I talked 0:23:10.640 --> 0:23:15.639 about last night? So late Berne asked, what's that you 0:23:16.640 --> 0:23:21.280 well me but me as relates to you. I told 0:23:21.280 --> 0:23:24.080 her how I felt about you, how I wasn't sure 0:23:24.080 --> 0:23:27.199 what to do. She told me, I'm going to get 0:23:27.200 --> 0:23:29.040 the exact words wrong, which is going to drive me 0:23:29.080 --> 0:23:31.000 fucking crazy because it's one of the last things she 0:23:31.040 --> 0:23:33.800 ever got to say. She told me that it's okay 0:23:33.880 --> 0:23:36.840 to let yourself love someone, but that letting yourself love 0:23:36.920 --> 0:23:39.600 someone is like letting someone have the keys to your 0:23:39.640 --> 0:23:42.840 control room so that you can share the responsibility of 0:23:42.920 --> 0:23:47.040 running yourself with someone else. It's worth doing, and people 0:23:47.040 --> 0:23:49.920 will get in there and pull the wrong levers. That's 0:23:49.960 --> 0:23:53.440 just the risk you got to take. I like that, 0:23:53.520 --> 0:23:59.520 I said, What was with the Ora boris? New start 0:24:00.000 --> 0:24:02.800 friend said? She choked up a little on her words. 0:24:03.800 --> 0:24:05.840 She wanted a snake that eats its own tail to 0:24:05.880 --> 0:24:09.280 remind herself that things go in cycles, that it's never 0:24:09.320 --> 0:24:13.359 too late for a new start. There wasn't anything to 0:24:13.400 --> 0:24:16.760 say to that, there's always time for a new start, 0:24:17.400 --> 0:24:22.879 until one day there isn't holding one another trying not 0:24:23.000 --> 0:24:26.480 to think about the world outside that bedroom. We slowly 0:24:26.800 --> 0:24:32.960 let sleep come for us. Dun dun dum. That's the 0:24:33.040 --> 0:24:36.840 end of chapter four. What happens in chapter five, Well, 0:24:37.560 --> 0:24:41.879 you're gonna have to wait until probably next Sunday. But 0:24:41.960 --> 0:24:44.080 that's it for Cool Zone Media book Club. And if 0:24:44.080 --> 0:24:47.399 you enjoyed this show, then listen to more of it. 0:24:47.480 --> 0:24:49.159 I don't know, it's been going for a while. You 0:24:49.160 --> 0:24:52.800 can listen to the backlog. Oh. Also, the sequel to 0:24:52.800 --> 0:24:54.480 this book is available for pre order right now. If 0:24:54.480 --> 0:24:56.080 you're enjoying this book and you're like, wow, I really 0:24:56.119 --> 0:24:58.720 want to get the next one, you can order The 0:24:58.920 --> 0:25:01.479 Immortal Choir Holds Every Voice, which is coming out from 0:25:01.520 --> 0:25:05.680 Strangers and Entangled Wilderness. In June twenty twenty five, we 0:25:05.760 --> 0:25:08.280 finished a successful Kickstarter. But if you order it now, 0:25:08.280 --> 0:25:11.400 if you pre order it from I Think It's Akpress, 0:25:12.160 --> 0:25:16.280 Firestorm Books, or the publishers, Strangers and Entangled Wilderness. You'll 0:25:16.320 --> 0:25:21.080 get a signed copy and it'll continue the adventures. That's 0:25:21.480 --> 0:25:28.120 what's happening in the meantime. See you all too bye. 0:25:30.160 --> 0:25:32.640 It could Happen here as a production of cool Zone Media. 0:25:32.760 --> 0:25:35.440 For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website 0:25:35.440 --> 0:25:38.560 coolzonemedia dot com, or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, 0:25:38.600 --> 0:25:41.960 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can 0:25:41.960 --> 0:25:44.639 find sources where it Could Happen Here, updated monthly at 0:25:44.720 --> 0:25:47.960 coolzonemedia dot com slash sources. Thanks for listening.