"Ms. Montgomery?" Penny's voice burst from the intercom on my phone, startling me out of a wonderful daydream that involved a book, a beach, and no reporters.
I jerked upright. "Yes?" Did my voice betray the fact that I'd been asleep?
"There's--someone here to see you," Penny said. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I think--I think he's blind."
For a moment, my mind went blank as I tried to imagine who my visitor could be. Not a reporter--or at least, not a reporter that I'd seen before. Someone local? A concerned patron who wanted more books in Braille?
"Send him in if you don't think he's a reporter in disguise," I said. "What does he want?"
"He said he wanted to talk to you," Penny said. "And he looks familiar. He might have been at the Christmas party."
The Christmas party. My mind cast back, struggling to remember a blind--
"Oh." My heart leapt. What was he doing here? "Ask him what his name is before you bring him back."
I heard Penny's voice, distant now, as if she didn't just sit down the hall. "Sir, can I ask your name?"
I didn't hear his reply. His voice was too soft for the microphone to pick up.
Penny picked up the phone again. "He says his name is Malachi."
I would not make a member of the Wild Hunt wait. "I'll be right out."
)
