Assumptions by C.E. Pietrowiak

from
school."
    "Meet me at my house. We’ll go together."
    Will nodded. "We should get back to your
paper. Can I have my book?" Jordyn handed it to him. He tucked the
file back into its pages, closed it, and laid it on the floor next
to his chair.

     
    CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE KEY
     
    Will sat on the el headed south. The
Veteran’s Day holiday left the train mostly empty, even during the
morning rush. He pulled Iain Pritchard’s book out of his backpack
and opened it on the vacant seat next to him, the file still in
place.
    He skimmed chapter twelve until he came to
the paragraph he sought. He vaguely mouthed the words as he read,
"Even today, people continue to rely on the spiritual. For
instance, reprints of the Sefer Raziel HaMalach , also known
as The Book of Raziel , are kept in many homes as a talisman
against fire. The modern book is said to have been transcribed from
the ancient text which was, as legend tells us, written on a
sapphire."
    The train began to slow. "Next stop,
Fullerton. Fullerton is next."
    Will closed the book and jammed it back into
his backpack. The doors opened. He jogged down the stairs and
exited the station. He stood on the sidewalk below the tracks and
dug Jordyn's directions out of his pocket.
     
    Fullerton to Halsted and Lincoln. Slight
right on Lincoln. Right on Orchard (across from the children's
hospital). Middle of the block, right side of the street.
     
    He began to walk. The November wind bit at
his cheeks. He shoved his bare hands deep into his coat pockets and
picked up his pace.
    Will stopped in front of an ornate limestone
rowhome, middle of the block, right side of the street. He climbed
the broad stairs and rang the bell.
    Jordyn opened the door, already in her coat.
"You look a little cold. Want to come in for a minute?" Will
nodded, rubbing his hands together.
    Jordyn led him up a flight of dark-stained
wood stairs and down a hall past the dining room where an oversized
iron chandelier hung over a long table. A rustic fireplace
dominated the wall opposite the room's doorway. Freshly chopped
wood lay neatly stacked on the clean stone hearth. They kept
walking.
    Jordyn showed Will to the kitchen. The room
filled the back half of the house, cabinets ornate and appliances
large.
    "Can I get you some cocoa or something?”
    "Sure. Thanks." Will laid his backpack on the
polished granite counter with care and eased onto a barstool.
    Jordyn prepared a cup and handed it to Will.
He wrapped both hands around it, allowing them to warm before
taking a sip of smooth chocolate.
    "So, who is this person we're meeting?"
    "Iain Pritchard. And I wouldn't say we're
meeting. More like popping in."
    "Pritchard? The guy who wrote your book?"
    "Yeah. He used to teach at DePaul. He lives
in Lakeview."
    "You know him?"
    "Sort of.” Will changed the subject. “I
brought the book. There's not much information, though."
    "You think Pritchard can tell us more?"
    "If anyone can, it would be him." Will
chugged the rest of his cocoa. "We better get going."
    Jordyn and Will took the el to Belmont. They
walked a few blocks west under leafless parkway trees. They passed
Eastview and walked another block before heading north on a quiet
street lined with old bungalows and apartment buildings of all
shapes. They stopped at a brick courtyard building. The bare
branches of overgrown shrubs crowded the edge of the concrete
walkways.
    Will double-checked the address. "It'll be in
front." He walked to the first entry door on the right and pressed
the intercom button labeled '2D'. A sharp voice with an English
accent crackled through the box, "Yes?"
    "Sir, my name is Will. I'm a student at
Eastview."
    "I don't take visitors." The line
disconnected.
    Will rang again.
    “I told you I don't see anyone," came the
response.
    "Sir, if I could have a minute."
    "Please, go away!" The line clicked twice
then went dead.
    Jordyn stepped up to the intercom. "How
rude.” She laid on the buzzer.
    "What do you want?"
    Jordyn used