Concern Noted

130.

"You're not worried at all about what he did?" Gilbert and Clarissa were back in the van, Trezlan said he'd get an uber back up north. The missing person's group were cleaning up the the skin walkers. Gilbert felt very successful, yet not at all satisfied with the outcome.

"I mean my arm feels tingly, but I'm sure it'll be fine, I'm more concerned Trezlan Lorentino isn't just a liar like I'd thought of for years, that's going to hurt my ego."

"Gilbert I'm serious he used hard M magic on you."

"I'll be fine Clarissa really, its not even the first time I've been healed with weird shit, believe me, if anything that was one of the least intrusive versions of it."

"Fine be all Gilbert about it."

"What does being all Gilbert about something mean?"

"It's just that..." Clarissa was interrupted by Gilbert's phone was ringing, he figured it was probably Doris wondering when they'd be back, but he could see it was coming from Trezlan and he wanted to hang up.

"What?"

"Sorry to bother you I was on the way home with this lovely carriage driver when I was hit by a specific blend of memories from the walker skins, I won't go into why I have their memories, but I do. Anyway long story short those weren't the only things after you."

"Telling me shit I already know Trezlan."

"Well look at you Mr. Everyone wants to kill me, fine fine. Just stay out of Bend Oregon." Trezlan hung up at that. Gilbert looked at Clarissa who looked back equally bewildered.

"What's in Bend Oregon?" They both wondered as they drove into the night.

****

"I wouldn't worry about the dumb shit Trezlan says, he one time told me that I should watch out for an arms dealer named Hanlon and I looked the name up and aside from the name of a character in a western it was a nothing, on your left." It had been two days since Trezlan's warning, Clarissa and Gilbert were in a ware house exterminating "dire rats" which were rats the size of small dogs.

"But why warn you about bend, wouldn't that encourage you to visit bend?" Clarissa fired an arrow through one of the rats and skewered it head to tail.

"Why would I visit Oregon? I mean if I want to watch people confused by pumping gas I can watch videos on youtube."

"You just can't get over that can you?"

"Nope, and I never will." Dire rats were not much of an issue, almost the kind of thing you could call a regular exterminator for, if not for the hell portal they normally came from. You needed a real professional for that.

"So what are you going to do?"

"Close the hell portal."

"Well obviously, but beyond that?"

"Sleep? I don't care about Bend Oregon, and Trezlan's warning might as well be 'Don't visit the moon'."

"Fair enough when we wind up in Oregon don't say I didn't warn you."

****

Gilbert drove past the welcome to Oregon sign and Clarissa made a slight laugh.

"Don't say a fucking thing."