Crescendo: Chapter 4
ZeldaQueen: I'm very sorry for how slow things have been. Hopefully things can move a little quicker now, updates-wise. I would certainly hate to deprive you all of this stupidity.
Also, a happy birthday to ahmedhedi!
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
Chapter 4
ZeldaQueen: This chapter starts right off with the sentence "The dream came in three colors: black, white, and a wan gray". Oh joy, it's one of those chapters! One where the idiot heroine has a Symbolik Dream! I'm sure this will work just as well as it did when Zoey Redbird had them. (Not at all, in other words)
So yeah, Nora is dreaming that it's a Dark and Stormy Night (because that's more dramatic, apparently) and she is well aware that it's a dream. We get an emotionless description of the countryside that Nora's dreaming she's standing at, and while I know that people can take odd things in stride while dreaming, this is exactly like every other time that Fitzpatrick forgets to actually write Nora's emotions and reactions to things. Therefore, I am chalking it up to lazy writing.
Anywho, the only thing around is a tavern. Nora is just about to go explore it when a horse-drawn carriage shows up. The driver opens the door and a figure in a black, hooded cloak comes out. Yes, of course he's in a black, hooded cloak. Fitzpatrick's cliche usage rivals that of the Cast ladies. The driver is very nervous and begs the cloaked dude (who the driver refers to as "m'lord" to not go into the tavern, as there are sure to be thieves and cutthroats, and instead "to hurry back home to the lady and little ’uns" (and confusingly, that sentence and usage of "m'lord" are the only times he ever shows signs of having any sort of an accent). The cloaked dude insists that he has serious business to attend to, and orders the driver to not tell his wife about what's going on, because she's already got enough on her plate with the implicate sickness of one of their children.
The cloaked dude goes into the tavern and Nora chases after. We get a description of the tavern and the people inside, and it's all really boring. Nora notices that "Most of the men had shoulder-length hair with odd, pointed beards. Their pants were baggy and tucked into tall boots, and their sleeves billowed. They wore broad-brimmed hats that reminded me of pilgrims." From this, she comes to the conclusion that she's dreaming of the past. Really? You didn't think of that until now, after the horse-drawn carriage and the fact that the guy you're following had a servant who referred to him as "lord"? I don't think there are many people who go around like that, these days. In any case, it's fairly pointless. We don't get an exact date, and Nora's best estimate of the time and place is "Most likely England, but anywhere from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century". Wow. How amazingly helpful.
Anyway, the cloaked dude is talking to the bartender. Apparently he came to this bar looking for a man and, after specifically stating that he didn't want his wife to know he went there, my mind went right in the gutter. I'm also pretty sure Fitzpatrick didn't notice those implications, which makes it even funnier. The cloaked dude explains that it was arranged that he'd meet a man there, but he didn't know the man's name. Partly because my mind just crawled out of the gutter and partly because I'm so damned bored, now I think it sounds like there's a booty call. The bartender doesn't answer the cloaked dude's questions, but instead repeatedly tries to get him to get drunk because it's "Something to warm your blood on a cold night" and damn it, why does this entire scene make me giggle immaturely?
The bartender finally stops farting around and says that the guy the cloaked dude is looking for is in the woods behind the tavern. He also gives a warning that bad things tend to happen to people who go into the woods.
At this point, the cloaked figure leans in close to the bartender and wants to "ask a personal question". WOAH there! Actually, what he wants to ask is if the bartender knows anything about Cheshvan.
Uh huh. Yes, I think that is a good tip-off as to what's going to happen to this poor bastard.
Anyway, the bartender insists that he doesn't know anything about it, because he's not Jewish. Nora, who yet again might not exist for all she's participating in this scene, helpfully informs us that the bartender says this in a way that suggests that he's familiar with the question. What, so is this tavern the go-to place for fallen angels to possess Nephilim? The cloaked dude goes on to explain that he normally would not have agreed to go along with this plan, except that the guy threatened the cloaked dude's wife and four sons if he didn't go along with it. You know, we're only a few pages familiar with this guy, and I already feel far sorrier for him than I ever will for Patch or Nora. The cloaked dude just gets even more pitiable as he says that the guy he's meeting is extremely powerful (which, I think is an allusion to him mindraping the cloaked dude into submission) and the cloaked dude hopes to reason with him into not demanding his services for all of Chesvan. Even worse, his youngest son is sick and probably not going to live long, and the cloaked dude desperately wants to be home to care for his family.
We all know how this is going to end, folks. I really, really feel bad for this guy.
At this point, the cloaked dude gets up and heads out for the woods. Nora follows him outside, but for some reason doesn't actually go after him into the woods. A second later (or at least it feels like a second later; Fitzpatrick's writing might just suck), the cloaked dude comes racing back out of the woods. He's screaming and flailing and clearly out of his mind with terror. He falls over and gets all tangled up in his cloak, and Nora, in a rare moment of kindness, runs over to help him up. He doesn't respond when she asks him to roll over and get up, so she figures he can't hear her. This theory is ruined when he starts talking to her, introducing himself as "Barnabas Underwood" and asking her to get the bartender in the tavern to send help. Nora is confused at this, because it's not like he wasn't responding to her because he was freaked out or anything. Nope, he's clearly referring to some other girl, who just isn't... visible or something. Yeah! That must be it!
This is so stupid.
Barnabas keeps freaking out, and tells Nora that the guy he met in the woods was "one of the devil’s angels" who wants to possess him. Um...did anyone in Ye Olden Days ever describe a fallen angel as "the devil's angel"? Wouldn't they just call them demons? Oh wait, it's because Fitzpatrick doesn't want to associate her precious Patch with demons. Also, it's to give a very obvious clue to Nora. That's right, being the brainless tit she is, Nora only just now is figuring out what's going on. She heard this guy talking about Chesvan, she heard him say that he was meeting someone who wants his services for that time period, and it's not until she hears "devil's angels" that she gets what's going on. At least, I think she does. Even though we're in Nora's head, we only are told by her that those words freak her out. There's nothing about her actually putting the pieces together.
Meanwhile, Barnabas is still convulsing and screaming for help. The hood of his cloak comes off and...
"I was still clutching the cape, but I felt my hands reflexively slacken. I stared at the man with a gasp of surprise caught in my throat. He wasn’t Barnabas Underwood.
He was Hank Millar.
Marcie’s dad."
ZeldaQueen: You just know Fitzpatrick was thinking "Dun, dun, DUUUUUN!!!!" when she wrote that.
But my God! What a plot twist! Marcie's father? Why, we just saw him...well, never, actually. I mean, he was briefly alluded to once or twice as a car salesman, but we never really met him. So yeah, this stunning revelation carries about as much weight as Nora saying "Oh my God, Barnabas Underwood was really VEE'S MOTHER!"
But still, that was a pretty important scene, right? I mean, it was clearly symbolik and is going to tie in to the plot. We just found out that a guy who looks exactly like Marcie's dad was a Nephilim who was forced to swear an oath of fealty to a fallen angel, making him immortal. So surely Nora is going to think this through and wonder if perhaps this is some kind of message, that something suspicious is going on with Marcie's dad, especially given all that she knows of fallen angels and Nephili -
"Truth be told, now that my feet were planted firmly in my own world, I was more disturbed over the fact that I’d been dreaming about Marcie’s dad than anything else. In a hurry to forget it, I shoved the dream aside"
ZeldaQueen: Yes. She completely remembers the dream, and all she cares about is oh no, it was about the icky Millar family (who we hate because they are rich, remember?) and actively forgets about it.
SHE ACTIVELY FORGETS WHAT IS CLEARLY A MASSIVE CLUE TO THE PLOT.
ZeldaQueen: You know, there are ways to give hints to the plot via dreams and not have it completely spoil things. Take, for example, the prophetic dreams in Harry Potter. For a few of the dreams, Harry just doesn't fully remember them, so it's understandable that he doesn't act on what he saw. When he does remember though? He tells someone! Even if it's a "What a weird dream I had last night!", he still tells someone if he has a dream that feels unusual or bizarre! And it's beautifully twisted in the fifth book, when Voldemort takes advantage of that! Just through that simple little bit, we get Harry being far smarter and more active of a protagonist than Nora, while still having suspense maintained and conflict kept. See, Fitzpatrick? It can be done! If you have to resort to subjecting your characters to ridiculous levels of self-induced stupidity, you're doing it wrong!
*shakes head*
But who cares about Nora forgetting about a clearly important dream she just had? Patch hasn't called or texted her, and that's far more important.
I'm so unbelievably cranky.
Nora starts beating us with dead herrings, about how surely things will work out, and surely Patch will call her, and even if he doesn't, she surely will call him. Why don't you call him right now, you idiot? Are you that opposed to being involved in the plots of your own books?
Also, Nora's mother left a note that Scott's mother absolutely refuses to take "no" as an answer, in regards to Nora giving Scott a tour of the town. Because of this, Nora's mother tells her to just take Scott on a quick tour, to shut Mrs. Parnell up. Well, I think we know where Nora gets her spinelessness from. Because seriously? How the fuck is one unable to say "no" in regards to that? Tell her that Nora is in summer school and doesn't have a lot of time. Or heck, tell her that Nora was attacked in her own home two months ago and that you don't want her wandering around without an adult because you're worried about her! Jesus Christ, this is just more contrivances, this time to keep Scott the Bad Boy in the story as a love interest. It also makes Mrs. Grey look even worse as a mother. "Okay honey, I'm sorry that I'm to spineless to convince my friend that I don't want her son around you because I don't want you viciously attacked again. Just go take him around town, while I'm out and unable to help you if things go badly. You don't get any say in this, by the way."
*sighs* One pointless description of breakfast and showering later, Vee is at the door to ride Nora to school. She notices that Nora is a tad grumpy, and Nora explains that it's because of Scott. Vee figures that Scott still pisses himself (are you guys laughing at that joke yet? I certainly am not), but Nora says that she doesn't want to give him the tour around town. Vee, being the empty-headed ditz she is, automatically responds that spending one-on-one time with a boy sounds great. What about when Jules knocked you out and locked you in the school, Vee? Wasn't that one-on-one time with him splendid?
Nora does not bring this up. Instead, she brings up how Scott has an incredibly obvious secret that she needs to figure out. Apparently the fact that HE CAN SPEAK INTO PEOPLE'S MINDS isn't tipping her off. Vee gets all excited, and suggests that they start prying to figure out what it is. The last time she suggested them going all Nancy Drew, she ended up in the hospital with a broken limb. By now, I think even Fitzpatrick has forgotten the events of the first book. Certainly Nora has, because she still doesn't remind Vee of that. Instead, she suggests pimping Vee out to Scott. Yes, she's proposing that her best friend, who as I pointed out has already been attacked while investigating a dangerous person, investigate a possibly dangerous person. I might chalk this one up to Nora connecting the aforementioned dots and trying to steer some karma to Vee, except that something like that would require a backbone, which Nora does not possess.
Vee refuses on the grounds that she has a date with Rixon, and this sends Nora right back to wangsting about how Patch hasn't called. She somehow slips from that to being a psychotic girlfriend again, wondering why he hasn't called her, because "He had just as much to apologize for as I did". Oh, you mean all of those times he stalked you and humiliated you and scared you and tried to rape you in that motel? No, you mean him not telling you where he is every minute of the day, because you're more worried that he's cheating than that he's staring in some girl's window. Never mind, carry on.
Vee interrupts this wangst-fest to tell Nora that Patch will probably not like her hanging around another guy. *raises eyebrow* Oh, really? Apparently the abusive, controlling boyfriend vibes are so intense that even Vee is picking them up. And yes, ladies and gentlemen, Patch becomes insanely jealous of Scott and makes up all sorts of excuses why Nora shouldn't be around him. And no, no spoiler warning for that. By now, that's pretty much a given.
Anyway, Vee suggests that Nora call the tour off by making a very obvious and lame excuse and hoping that Scott takes the hint. Given how every other guy, Patch included, has ignored Nora's very obvious and lame excuses and not taken the hints, I would not really fall back on that one if I were her. Nora does not think of this, however. Instead, she decides to go through with the lame excuse, because it offers such a great way to spy on Scott and find out what his secret is. Really.
Fitzpatrick? Your heroine is a wee bit psychotic. Just thought I'd let you know.
Also, only now is Nora pondering about Scott being a Nephilim. She quickly rules out him being a fallen angel, but then, typical for a padded-out Mary Sue story, she also waffles as to whether or not she heard his voice in her head. Because even though she heard his voice clearly in her mind, she might have been mistaken because... Fitzpatrick really wants to stretch this "mystery" out for a while longer, I guess. Oh, and Nora has a half-assed moral dilemma about this all.
"But if he was Nephilim, what was he doing in Coldwater? What was he doing living an ordinary teen life? Did he know he was Nephilim? Did Lynn? Had Scott sworn fealty to a fallen angel yet? If he hadn’t, was it my responsibility to warn him about what lay ahead? I hadn’t instantly hit it off with Scott, but that didn’t mean I thought he deserved to give up his body for two weeks every year"
ZeldaQueen: Okay.
Yes, what is he doing in Coldwater? That certainly is a puzzler. What in the world could a Nephilim be doing there? I mean, it's not like any have ever come there before - oh, wait, THEY HAVE! Why are you unable to recall the events of the last book? Now, okay, specific motivations I get. But all we are told and will be told later is how Patch is such a speshul guy who screwed the system and became a guardian angel against all odds, and that a lot of other fallen angels heard his story. If Scott already swore fealty to a fallen angel, why doesn't Nora think, even in vague terms, "this might have something to do with Patch"? And if he hasn't sworn fealty to a fallen angel, why would it be so odd he's back? It's his childhood home!
And don't you just love how casually Nora throws that second part out there? "Hm, yes, perhaps I should warn him that he might be tracked down, mind raped, and have himself bound eternally as the slave of a fallen angel, to be possessed and used like a puppet for two weeks out of every year!" Nora, you. Are. EVIL!
*rubs forehead* I'm in pain.
We jump ahead to after class. Nora peeks out of the doors to her high school and sees Scott waiting in the parking lot. She ducks back in and calls him on her cell phone. Instead of just saying she's very sorry but she's not interested in the tour or that she has homework or something plausible, she goes through with Vee's lie about a cat she clearly doesn't own needing to go to the vet. Scott takes this news by ending the conversation rather abruptly, and I like to think it's because he's insulted at being lied to like that.
As soon as Nora hangs up, she asks Vee if she can borrow her car so that she can stalk Scott. I'm dead serious. Vee does not ask if Nora is insane, but instead says she can't spare the car because she has that date with Rixon. She insists that she must drive herself, because "Guys today want a strong, independent woman".
*looks at that quote*
*looks at the entire series, devoted to a weak-willed girl being pushed around and controlled by her boyfriend, who clearly enjoys it*
I honestly do not know whether to laugh at that, or slam my head into the wall. I believe I'll come to a compromise and drink heavily.
Vee, in a rare instance of acting like a good friend, offers to go with Nora, in case something bad happens. Nora agrees to this because "The past few months had changed me. I wasn’t as naive and heedless as I’d once been, and taking Vee along appealed to me on more than one level".
Um... yeah. "I'm much less heedless than I was two months ago! That's why I'm bringing my brainless friend along while stalking a near stranger with a criminal record, who I think also has the ability to mindrape me!"
I definitely am laughing at that one. She's just as stupid as before, Fitzpatrick.
Right. We get a long and very boring description of the girls following Scott to a shopping area. When he gets out of his car to go shopping, Vee decides to leave to go get some scarves to impress Rixon. Wow, way to look out for your friend, Vee! You were making progress, too!
So Nora is on her own to stalk Scott. Nothing seems unusual about him, besides the fact that he takes pictures Candid camera-style of a bunch of college girls in skimpy outfits. Normally this would creep me out a lot more, but after all of the stuff Patch has done, this just makes me tired and wonder why everyone in this series is sleazy.
Nora pauses in her stalking to look around, and sudden goes all Dramatic Prairie Dog when she sees...
"He was dressed in khakis, a blue button-down, and an ivory linen blazer. His wavy blond hair was longer now, pulled back into a low ponytail. He was reading the paper.
My dad"
ZeldaQueen: Nora is, needless to say, extremely shocked, since her dad was last seen in an alleyway, peppered with bullets. Of course, as soon as she notices him, he gets up and walks into a nearby coffee shop.
Nora chases him in there, but loses sight of him in the crowd. She decides that he must have gone into the bathroom, but just as she reaches that conclusion, Scott pops up behind her and asks what the heck she's doing there. She freaks out and he tells her that he knows full well that she was following him around. "I know you followed me. Don’t look so surprised. It’s called a rearview mirror. Are you stalking me for a specific reason?"
I think Scott just became my favorite character. I mean, that's not really saying a lot, but thus far he's the only one who has shown any signs of intelligence. Not to mention that when Patch caught Nora stalking him, he was a smug bastard while simultaneously giving off "Imma smack a bitch" vibes. Scott here is comin across as far more pleasant, especially considering that he just caught Nora the Nitwit trying to pry into his life.
Nora ignores the fact that she was caught red-handed, and instead asks Scott to go into the men's room and look for a man in a blue shirt. Scott notes that she's acting rather insane. This is the tip of the iceberg, Scotty-boy. He does agree though, and pokes around in the men's room, only to proclaim that it's empty. Nora freaks out and goes to search the women's room. Of course her dad isn't in there as well, and she breaks down crying because she thinks she's losing her mind and being unable to cope with the death of her dad. To Fitzpatrick's credit, this one bit is pretty well-written. If only she'd have included more like this in the first book, it might actually come across as a consistent character trait.
YOU FUCKING WHORE: 19
Onward to: Chapter 5
Return to: Chapter 3
Back to: Table of Contents