Pigeon Blood

  **********

  During his slumber, Blair had a vision unlike any he’d ever had before. He was still in a car, but he was sitting in the front seat. And instead of the car’s being a yellow cab, it was a red sports car with a sleek, black interior. He knew the car well.

  “I don’t have a lot of time to explain things, but I’ll do the best I can,” Cynthia said, and it startled him to see her sitting beside him instead of Horace. She was driving fast, doing about fifty-five in a thirty-five-mile-an-hour zone. “My brother’s in trouble, and we’ve got to get to his place before they do.”

  “Who’s ‘they’?”

  “That asshole Jeremy and his friends. I think they’re going to kill Kevin.”

  “Who’s Kevin?”

  “My brother!” she said. “Haven’t you been listening?”

  “Yes, yes,” he said, holding his head. Her taking corners so fast was starting to upset his stomach.

  **********

  The car went over a bump and jarred Blair awake. Horace was sitting there, fiddling with some kind of equipment. He seemed to know what he was doing, and he certainly didn’t look as if he needed any help, so Blair closed his eyes again.