"It's with me," Holden echoed, intrigued. "Can you see it?"

"No, of course not." Riley said, and then laughed pleasantly. A tone that obviously rubbed Holden the wrong way. He was mocking him, Izzy realized, much the same as he had done to herself when she was in this sort of situation.

"How do you know it's there?" Holden was growing impatient.

"Gods are everywhere," Riley began, spreading his arms out for dramatic effect, "They're everywhere, and everything. You can't see them, you can't touch them, and you can't prove them scientifically. Everywhere, and nowhere. You could even say it was with you before you ever met it, but at the same time it wasn't."

"What is that? Zen? Tao?" Holden was humoring him, but in a sort of sarcastic, agitated sense.

"Actually it's Shinto. [i]Shugendo[/i], specifically, as taught to me by a good friend of mine. I just want you to understand that you didn't wind up like this because of something else. It was just a change of your point of view. Izzy, for instance. She didn't just meet a vampire, she was attacked by one. You need to stop acting like a victim." His last sentence came out low and steady, almost like a snarl. Izzy had almost forgotten that Riley hated people who he thought acted like they were victimized.

Izzy couldn't quite anticipate how Holden would react, but he said calmly, "Fine. I'll stop."

Riley almost seemed impressed, pursing his lips. "Well done. I guess you aren't the selfish little boy I thought you were."

"What made you think that?"

"Most people who meet the Crab of Burdens are like that. You don't meet it just by wanting to, and it isn't harmful like vampires. They don't possess you, either. They just... exist. Unless you want a change, nothing will change. I won't pry into your business; I don't want to help you, after all." Of course, he had to help himself. "But, I've talked enough. If you want your weight back, I'll do what I can. Izzy introduced you to me after all."

"So you'll help me."

"I will not." He ended the last syllable sharply, as Holden was seemingly not getting his point. "I'll just do what I can." He looked at his watch, and looked back at Holden. "Time's not right just yet, so head on home. Take a cold shower, put on some clean clothes. I'll make some preparations on my end. Will you be able to meet me back here at the stoke of midnight?"

"Yes. What do I owe you?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't play dumb," Holden said, not pleasantly but not hostile either. "You're not doing this on a volunteer basis."

"Ah, hmm." Riley looked at Izzy, examining her as though he was appraising her. "If it makes you feel better, let's call it at a thousand dollars."

"One thousand." Holden repeated back, as though confirming it.

"That's a month or two working part-time at minimum wage I figure. Good enough, right? Can you pay?"

"Of course."