Fall Hard by J. L. Merrow

Author:J. L. Merrow [Merrow, J. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nightmare
Amazon: B00CTLAF62
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Published: 2013-09-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

“I’m thinking of taking a trip out to Borgarnes,” I mentioned as Mags and I walked down to the cafeteria for lunch the next day.

She cocked her head on one side. “Hoping to jog that memory of yours?”

Well, yes. “It’s always possible, isn’t it?” I said cautiously. “But I thought I should probably refamiliarise myself with the place in any event. I mean, it’s where a lot of the pivotal scenes of Egil’s early life happened. It seems a bit silly to be so near and not go.”

“Well, you always seemed to find it inspiring before. When will you go?”

We reached the short queue and picked up our trays. Mags smiled a hello to a fair-haired man in his thirties or so, who nodded to her, then glanced at me, looking away again quickly. I suppressed a sigh. “Actually, I was thinking about this afternoon. It’s only about an hour away, isn’t it?”

“Yes, if you go through the tunnel at Akranes. A bit longer if you use the old route around Hvalfjördur—say an hour and a half? But it’s awfully pretty if you take the long way around.” She turned back to the important decision between a baguette with cheese salad and one with egg. I grabbed a ham and egg and a bottle of water.

Alex was already occupying a table near the window. Alone. I wondered a bit meanly if none of his fellow summer students liked him. After we’d paid for our meals, Mags led the way over there, and he looked up with a smile. “Hey, Mags, Paul. Pull up a chair.” I’d been about to do so in any case, but he forestalled me, twisting around to grab an empty chair from the table behind for me.

“Thanks.” I said it grudgingly but forbore commenting I wasn’t a complete invalid. After I’d done my usual awkward fumble with tray and stick, we sat, exchanged greetings and commented on the weather (it was drizzling again). Then Mags startled me.

“Paul’s planning a trip to Egil’s old neighbourhood this afternoon,” she said conversationally.

Alex beamed like he’d just won the lottery. “Yeah? Mind if I tag along?”

I had half a mind to say, Yes, actually just to wipe the self-satisfied look off his face. Instead, I threw Mags a reproachful glance—she missed it entirely, having bent her head to pull the cucumber slices out of her baguette—and just asked, “Don’t you have classes to go to?”

He shrugged. “Yeah, but this is a field trip. I’m here to learn, right? So what does it matter which way I do it?”

“I hope my students won’t take such a casual view of their studies. It could get a bit depressing, lecturing to empty theatres.” I bit into my baguette, which was disappointingly bland. I half thought of asking Mags for her spurned slices of cucumber, but I doubted they’d improve the flavour much. A shame it hadn’t been the tomato she’d objected to.

“Oh, Paul.” Mags was looking up again. “Alex isn’t doing a degree or anything.

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