《Embers》 Chapter one The house looked quite beautiful in the moonlight. Zaira¡¯s heart raced. She adjusted her small pack and proceeded to walk up the long gravel driveway. She stopped as the driveway widened into a semi-circle and looked around. The ¨C her ¨C modern log home faced East and had a broad porch and balcony to watch the sunrise, similarly there was a spacious deck in the back to watch the sunset. One acre of her land was manicured with the house in the middle. The other two acres were covered in the gorgeous boreal forest typical to this land. As she had bought a completely new property and moved in early, the grounds were yet to be decorated, but still, it was beautiful. Hopefully, she would be able to stay here for a long time. She stretched her wings and let the cool breeze run over them. She took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of evergreens, soil, and damp vegetation. She also caught the smell of burning wood, while not unpleasant, it did remind her that, unfortunately, she had neighbors. Across the way and a little further down the road was a grey stone, one-level house. Her new house was one of two on this desolate cul-de-sac. Zaira would have preferred being completely hidden. Alas, it was the only way to stay close to a portal hub, essential for work. Perhaps she should plant a row of trees along the front of the property? Zaira closed the distance between herself and the front door. She fumbled with the tiny key but still managed to insert it into the lock. She took a few slow steps into the house, closing the door behind her. She looked at the large room and took a deep breath. She had made it. Away from the so-called old world and the memories that went with it. Perhaps she could find some peace here. The tranquility of the moment was broken by what she mistook for a cool breeze. Finding it chillier than she had outside, she closed the door behind her. But that didn¡¯t stop it. She paused and reached out with her energy. She could feel another¡¯s energy flowing around her, examining her, poring over her. And it was unhappy, you could even say affronted. She reached out a little further to conclude it was not connected to a body. Damn. An entity of some sort. She did not want to deal with this. Moving again was, however, not an option. This was her house now; it would have to come to terms with that or move out. Zaira decided to ignore it for now. The less you acknowledged them, the less they bothered you. She would figure out what to do about it later. The new homeowner walked up to the middle of the first floor. It was, for the moment, just one large, gutted room, with a freestanding fireplace. The wiring and plumbing had, thankfully, been set up before she got here. Now she needed to go get, well, everything else. Zaira walked the rest of the room to the back of the house. Centered and covering half of the total area of the wall was a large window, and a couple of feet to the right was the glass door leading to the deck. The window revealed the last few rays of the day which barely made it past the trees. The glowing orange and pink light sharply contrasted the dark outline of the conifers. It was beautiful, and she found herself staring through the window for what remained of the sunset until the stars had well and truly appeared in the sky. Fatigue brought her away from her thoughts. She had a long day planned tomorrow and needed her rest. Zaira made her way to the circular fireplace. She dropped her pack on the floor and followed it down. Tucking it under her head, she promptly fell asleep, even whilst sensing the displeasure of her unforeseen roommate.
Zaira woke with a start. She had the distinct impression someone had shaken her awake. She rubbed her eyes free of the usual blood. She did a quick visual scan and found nothing. She groaned; she was still tired, but she knew would not go back to sleep that morning. She growled a bit as she stood up. Stretching, Zaira felt the energy return and swirl around her, it was displeased. Good, so was she. She sighed as she looked through the window, the sun was not yet up. Continuing to ignore it, she took out her medical supplies and made up her face. As she did so, she mentally prepared herself for her trip into town. She would need to get at the very least all her appliances today. And a bed. Her sore body was looking forward to sleeping in an actual bed that night. She would also need to hire a truck as she had no way of bringing any furniture back. Zaira sighed, if only she didn¡¯t need to interact with other people to do this, the day would go by so much easier. She slung her bag on her back and headed out as soon as the sun rose. It was a little early to head out, the shops would not quite be open by the time she got there, but the entity was just as uninviting as the humans.
Zaira watched the man¡¯s face lift in surprise when she told him she wanted the movers to leave the furniture outside. ¡°Alright¡­¡± He hesitantly agreed and headed back into the truck to inform his two other coworkers. Zaira watched them unload the truck. They were slightly confused but didn¡¯t protest, less work for them. If she were to be honest, she would tell them she didn¡¯t want their smell all over her house, but they wouldn¡¯t understand. Once the moving truck was out of sight. Zaira stood in place, taking deep breaths to help pass the tightness in her torso. When the stomachache quelled Zaira picked up the object closest to her. She lifted the first antique bookcase of several and maneuvered it inside. Granted, none of these were necessary, but they had caught her eye. Soon they were lining the back wall, smaller bookcase-seat hybrids were placed under the large window. There were a few bookcases on the south side as well, up to where she planned to put the dining area. Zaira didn¡¯t have any books, yet. She was hoping to build a collection now that she had a more permanent abode. The solid antique dining set, which had also caught her eye in that same store, was put right in front of the large right-hand side window. The set, as with the bookcases, was of a lovely dark stain, contrasting well with the medium stain of the walls. Zaira had a little trouble maneuvering the refrigerator inside, but she managed, along with the oven and dishwasher, all stainless steel. She was also very giddy about the new automatic laundry washing and drying machines. She had never had the opportunity to use them before and was certain it would be nicer than the more traditional method. She hooked them into the water system, but not the electricity, not yet. She knew there was a better system she could use. This ended the selection of large, no-assembly-needed, furniture. Next, she needed to bring in the boxes. She didn¡¯t think she would be assembling any of the furniture today, save her bed. She was exhausted from her day out; she hadn¡¯t even gotten all she wanted. Zaira went out and picked up the box containing some of her cupboards. ¡°Oh, my.¡± Zaira froze. ¡°You young ladies are getting stronger and stronger, aren¡¯t you?¡± Zaira slowly put the box back down on the ground and turned to face the source of the voice. It was a woman, smiling at her. The woman was about a head and a half shorter than herself, older with short grey hair, heavy set but seemingly healthy. Seeing the tight lips and shifting eyes of the dark-haired woman the elder introduced herself. ¡°I¡¯m Hannah, your neighbor.¡± She pointed to the only other house on the street. Zaira only nodded. ¡°Are you alright dear?¡± Zaira mentally shook herself. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sorry. My name is Zaira.¡± She extended her left hand for a greeting. Hannah looked amused by this and mirrored Zaira, firmly shaking the offered hand. ¡°What brings you to Nanowin?¡± Zaira nervously wiped her hands down her pants. ¡°Oh, just looking for something new.¡± ¡°Ah? I imagine you¡¯ve got a job lined up? Do you have any family here?¡± Zaira opened her mouth, then closed it again. Lovely, the neighbor was nosy. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry dear. I am prodding a bit too much.¡± Despite the acknowledgment, Hannah continued to look around and her eyes fell on the open door and the empty room inside. ¡°I hope you¡¯ve not moved in yet.¡± ¡°I have. Why?¡± ¡°Oh, but you don¡¯t even have a working kitchen!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Zaira just wanted her gone and figured reassuring her would be the best option. After all, she was certain Hannah was just trying to be nice. ¡°I¡¯ll have everything immediately necessary by tonight.¡± ¡°Well, in that case, I suppose I should let you be, don¡¯t want to keep you. Actually¡­ Do you need any help? My husband can help you set up the furniture, and I can help you unpack the boxes you must have coming.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice of you, but I really don¡¯t need any help. Thank you.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re certain. Please, don¡¯t be a stranger. Let us know if you need anything.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Zaira decided to pick up a lighter box as she watched Hannah make her way home. Zaira got to her door before Hannah did hers. As soon as the newcomer had crossed the threshold her hands started trembling, her breathing quickened and she dropped the box. Then her knees buckled, and she dropped to the floor. Zaira tried counting her breaths, but they only sped up. Pressing the heels of her palms to her eyes, she pressed her claws into her scalp. Her breath slowed as the pain grew. Finally, she could think normally again. Then Zaira was mad. At herself. It was stupid. Why? Why did she have to react like this every single time someone asked her questions? Hannah was just being nice; if a little nosy. There was no reason for her to behave like a caged animal. She would just have to accept and get used to it. Hannah wouldn¡¯t, couldn¡¯t, figure it out. Zaira sighed. Her eyes fell on her rocking chair. She stood and placed it closer to the fireplace. It felt better there. She padded back to the door and peeked outside. She couldn¡¯t see anyone. So, she went to pick up the earlier box. Then the next box, and the next. Once there were no boxes outside, she sat down in the middle of the first floor. Looking over all the boxes, she pondered which box to tackle first. Oh, right, a sink. Water was important. The box was right in front of her. Zaira lay down. She was tired and wary. Should she finish moving in? Yes, this place, this land was beautiful. But was it worth dealing with humans? Mind you, non-humans would be so much harder to hide from¡­ Just get over it. You¡¯ll never be able to be alone. She closed her eyes. I don¡¯t want to be alone. ¡°You left your front door open.¡± She heard a voice call out. Zaira startled. She sat up hastily, taking a quick breath in, and watched as Hannah slowly entered her house with something in hand. ¡°Oh! You poor thing!¡± Hannah exclaimed when she saw Zaira get up from the floor. ¡°You must be so tired after doing all this by yourself.¡± The elder human walked towards her and showed her the object in her hand, a loaded plate of food. Hannah seemed to be offering it to her. Zaira did not take it. Seeing her hesitation, Hannah put the plate in a clear spot on the table. On the plate was a chicken breast with red sauce and some cooked veggies. ¡°I figured you might be hungry. I thought I¡¯d feed you instead of letting you eat fast food again.¡± She nodded towards the refrigerator, which still had its tag hanging off the handle and its cord lying curled near it. Zaira opened her mouth to reply but felt her throat tighten as tears filled her eyes. She managed to hold them in. ¡°Thank you.¡± She said. She was wary of what was motivating the kindness, but the action was touching. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Have you set up the upstairs?¡± Hannah looked around at the unmade first floor. ¡°Umm¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not set up?¡± ¡°I just finished bringing everything in. I plan on setting up the running water next, then my room.¡± Zaira figured an explanation was the least she could do in exchange for the food. ¡°Wait, you don¡¯t even have running water? Don¡¯t you have anybody to help you?¡± Zaira thought about that, did she? Well, she supposed she could have asked Rushka, but they had already done so much for her, and they needed to concentrate on their work. ¡°The pipes are set up. I just need to install the appliances and turn the water on. I have¡­ one friend, but they are not available. They work four weeks straight, then one week off.¡± ¡°Your boyfriend perhaps?¡± Hinting in a way only elders seemed to be able to. Zaira shook her head. ¡°No. Just a friend.¡± ¡°What about your other friends?¡± Zaira¡¯s face dropped. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you alone dear. Just bring the plate back when you¡¯re ready.¡± Hannah turned to leave when a loud Bang! Resonated from above them. Both women jumped, and Hannah let out a gasp. They looked up. ¡°One of your boxes must have fallen over. Hopefully, nothing¡¯s broken.¡± Zaira nodded, pretending to agree. She had not brought anything upstairs. Hannah started to leave once again. As she reached the door Zaira called out to her. ¡°Hannah?¡± The elder turned around at the door. ¡°Thank you.¡± Hannah half-smiled then looked again at the ceiling. She looked Zaira in the eye and very seriously said. ¡°Be careful.¡± The elder woman then truly left, closing the door behind her. Zaira frowned a bit but decided to shrug it off for now. She stood up and went to sit at the new table. May as well use it. Hannah had put the plate at the only open spot at the table, it would, however, make her face the inside of the house when she wanted to look out. Zaira cleared the table completely and then moved the plate to one of the seats facing the window. As she put her plate down, she heard loud stomping down the stairs and a cold wind blew through the ground floor. Footsteps then ran towards her. It seemed her house guest had decided to take more direct measures. Zaira rolled her eyes and turned towards the footsteps. She crossed her arms and looked sternly in the direction of the sounds. ¡°Really?¡± It stopped short of hitting her. She had stood her ground and she felt the energy dissipate around her in a cold wind as the noise stopped. She sighed and plopped down on the chair. Zaira proceeded to eat her, now cold, dinner. Despite that, it was still very good. As she ate, she contemplated the possibilities regarding her uninvited guest. She would more than likely have to get rid of it. Question was, what was it? A ghost? A demon? A combination of some sort? Frustratingly, these encounters weren¡¯t near enough to tell what the cause was. It was, however, important to determine what it was. A blessing could be enough to get rid of a normal ghost but would only aggravate anything stronger. It didn¡¯t seem strong right now, but she knew that could change. Unfortunately, it seemed like she would have to wait. Zaira was disappointed when the last bite was swallowed. She hadn¡¯t eaten in a while, and this seemed extra delicious. Her meal finished she supposed she needed to return the dishes now. She stood but, anxious, the plate she had lifted found its way back to the table. Instead, the pieces of the rustic-style bed slowly made their way up the stairs and into the master bedroom. The pieces of furniture which belonged in the ensuite followed them up. She set about installing the sink. Once the sun started to set Zaira knew she couldn¡¯t dally further. She headed to her neighbors¡¯ home with the dishes. It was just over 300 feet away, a stone one-story house with a green porch, there was a lonely tire swing hanging from the tree in the front yard. Looking at the house a bit more closely revealed it to be quite a bit older than she had first thought. However, it was amazingly well-kept. She had already concluded her house was in an odd location. She wondered why would they build another house so close to this one. And both are so far away from town. She hoped they weren¡¯t planning on developing the area further. Zaira took a deep breath, attempting to still her shaking hand, and knocked. The door and another elder human opened. The man was in the same age range as Hannah, thinner, strong looking with short-cropped white hair, half a head shorter than herself. He spoke first. ¡°Hello. I assume you¡¯re Zara?¡± His tone was neutral. ¡°Zaira, yes. I assume you¡¯re Hannah¡¯s husband? I¡¯m sorry, she didn¡¯t tell me your name?¡± The man opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by a loud voice. ¡°Zaira!¡± Hannah came up behind her husband and wrapped an arm around his waist. ¡°I see you¡¯ve met Ryan?¡± Zaira half-smiled. ¡°Yes. Umm, here¡¯s your dishes. Thank you again.¡± ¡°Thank you, dear.¡± Hannah took the dishes and headed towards what Zaira supposed was the kitchen. ¡°Would you like to come in and have some tea?¡± The elder woman called out. ¡°Oh, no, thank you. I still have some stuff to set up remember?¡± ¡°Oh right.¡± Hannah sounded a little disappointed. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t need any help?¡± Ryan asked her. He wasn¡¯t as chipper as his wife, but the offer also seemed genuine. ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± She half-smiled. ¡°Alright. Then good luck and goodnight to you.¡± Zaira nodded. ¡°Goodnight.¡± She heard Ryan close the door behind her as she shakily headed back to her house.
Zaira went upstairs to finish her work for the day. A few steps away from the landing she heard footsteps coming toward her. No doubt trying to scare her. She grabbed hold of the railing, just in case. She held her ground and once again it stopped short of hitting her. She brushed the encounter off and headed for her bedroom. The thought of sleeping in a bed for the first time in years helped her set up her toilet and her bed in record time. She went downstairs. Under the stairs was a utility closet. She turned the water on. Back in her room, sheets were taken out and placed. Zaira was more than ready for bed after her busy day. She stripped and pulled her waterskin from her ever-bag. She went to refill it in her new sink. The water only flowed for a few seconds before the faucet cooled to freezing point. The water stopped flowing as the pipe filled with ice. ¡°Will you stop it?¡± She said through gritted teeth. Thankfully, the sink thawed, and she was able to finish filling her water. The fucking thing was already quite bothersome. She nearly stomped back to the bed, but Zaira¡¯s irritation faded as she lay down. The day was over, and she could enjoy the simple, soothing, feeling of lying on a comfortable bed with soft sheets sliding against her skin. Zaira was content to bask for as long as possible, knowing that as soon as sleep came, so too would the nightmares.
Zaira groaned as the morning sun hit her face, she did not want to open her eyes. She hadn¡¯t slept well, as usual. She was, however, quite comfortable and not ready to face the day. She turned to try to block out the sun. As soon as she pressed her face into the pillow, she let out a gasp of pain. Zaira sat up and put her hands to her face. On it was many wounds of various sizes. If she had not known the cause, she would have assumed it to be the entity¡¯s doing, but this had been happening for 400 years now. She had clawed at her face. Again. She rarely remembered her nightmares, but the feeling of dread and bloody aftermath left no doubt they were horrible. Zaira felt the scratches, they had partially scabbed over. Some deeper ones were still bleeding. She looked down at her burgundy sheets. She could barely see the blood, but she should still wash them. She swung her legs off the bed and was surprised to see that the head of the bed was now pressed up against the door. She had put the bed against the north wall, next to the door. She certainly hadn¡¯t moved the bed in her sleep. Irritated she hopped off and pushed the bed back in place. The plan for today; patch up, set up the rest of the appliances, and get some food and other miscellaneous necessities. Zaira grabbed the healing blue-cress jars out of her bag and headed to the ensuite. She put the containers on the sink¡¯s counter and opened the thick green paste. She followed the wounds to their deeper points and put some of the sticky paste on them to keep them closed. Zaira then took some of the blue-cress gel and spread it across the rest of her face. Throughout the rest of the morning, she finished setting up all the appliances. She threw her sheets and yesterday¡¯s clothes in the laundry as soon as the washer and dryer were ready. God had she been pleased when this planet had finally caught up and invented the washing machine. Dishes she could do but clothes? She managed to hook up the electronics to the energy gem she had brought, which she placed in the center of the house, below the floorboards. Hopefully, the entity would not be able to mess with it. Zaira decided to go do the necessary shopping in the early afternoon. She could go only go a couple of days without food and still be healthy. Perhaps she should go hunting too? No. No hunting until she knew there were no other non-humans in the immediate area. She put on her last set of clothes and cast the rest of her glamour spells to finish hiding the horror which was her, and headed out.
Zaira¡¯s hands trembled as she opened the door. She would need to get used to going out if she were going to stay here. In addition, she should probably have to consider getting a car if she was to continue frequenting humans. It had been awkward shoving all the things she had bought into her ever-bag whilst hiding in an alleyway. She put the groceries in the fridge, put the new towels in the washing machine, moved the earlier load into the dryer, and put all the little day-to-day things that never cross your mind into their appropriate area. Zaira hadn¡¯t made the cabinets yet, so the dishware ended up in the bookcases. Her stomach grumbled. The cabinets would have to wait a little longer. She took the pork chops out and put two of them on her plate, raw, then made herself a salad. As Zaira sat down the house started to rattle. She rolled her eyes and ignored it. Hopefully, the entity would eventually understand that she was not interested in becoming its next pawn. Zaira startled as a plate came flying from its shelf and crashed against the fireplace. ¡°Really?¡± Zaira frowned. It was getting stronger, perhaps she had paid too much attention to it. She moved to pick up the pieces of the plate, but the first piece disappeared as it touched her hand. Looking at the bookshelf she noticed that the plate that had been smashed was still in its place. She snorted and went back to eating her meal. After her meal, Zaira built the island which was going to separate the kitchen and dining area as well as the cabinets. Most were in the kitchen, but one was put up in the southwest corner of the house. It was a television cabinet. She had decided that she would later buy one, she could keep up with human news, and she had overheard that other species on this planet might make their own, locked, channels as well. She finished her laundry before deciding she was done for the day. She brought the laundry baskets upstairs. When she heard the tell-tale running footsteps towards her, she simply walked by. She put the towels in her ensuite, and her spare set of clothes neatly on top of the box that still held her disassembled dresser. She would pick up more clothes the next day. Zaira looked to her inviting bed, then to her ensuite door, and made the easy decision to delay sleep. Instead of heading straight to bed, Zaira drew a bath. She smiled; she had a bath now. She gleefully stripped, stretching every part of her body as she uncovered it. Especially her tired wings. The poor things had gone from having little use as she hid in caves and ambushing prey in the nearby forests to long trips into town. The bath was thankfully wide enough to accommodate them. She slipped into the hot water, resting her head on the ledge. She enjoyed the heat against her skin. Content for a few moments before her anxiety started to creep in once more. The past couple of days had been interspersed with feelings of confidence and joy at her decision to relocate, followed by doubt and fear. She enjoyed feeling like a creature again, unlike the animal she had reverted to, but couldn¡¯t help the fear of discovery. Perhaps Rushka would vouch for her? She sighed and heated the water once more. The heat lured her back into a false feeling of safety. Perhaps she should just enjoy the present and accept her faith. She had lived long enough. But had she really lived? Zaira growled, a low, long annoyed growl. The water had suddenly cooled. Interrupting the short moments of peace away from her anxious thoughts and forcing her out of the soothing water. The irritated woman got out of the bath. She dried off and dived into bed, sulking until she fell asleep. Chapter two The next several days were spent furnishing and filling the rest of her house, leaving all but one guestroom bare. Zaira even bought a few paintings, books, and decorations to breathe life into her house. It made it seem like a home. And hopefully, this would be a home to her. It had been four hundred years since her last one and she was finally starting to remember what it felt like. The entity had been quiet, for the most part. Ignoring it had seemed to almost make it lose its hold on the ground floor. Though she could tell it was getting angrier. Upstairs, it would move, truly move, tools and small pieces of hardware, and it was so hard for Zaira to keep ignoring it. Each time she went up the stairs, it ran at her. She had started to suspect that it wanted to push her back down. In any case, Zaira had determined this was not an entity she wanted to live with. Zaira paused when she heard a knock on the door. Should she go answer? She quickly pulled a shirt out of the dresser and put it on, walking to the balcony as she did so. Forgetting that her balcony was directly above the porch and that, with all her talents, she could not see through solid objects. However, the person below must have heard her footsteps as they backed up and Hannah soon appeared. ¡°Oh, there you are! Hello dear!¡± The elder looked happy and had a tray in her hands. ¡°Hi, Hannah!¡± Zaira went downstairs to open the door. She had been expecting a visit, though half-hoping it wouldn¡¯t happen. Hannah had come by every day around mid-afternoon. The first two times had brought on bouts of crippling anxiety, but it was more manageable now. She had thought about her neighbors. She had come to the conclusion that, as long as they didn¡¯t know, there was no harm in enjoying their company. Zaira was, however, curious. Curious as to why they were so nice to her. Curious as to why she hadn¡¯t seen anyone visit such kind people. Were they too hiding? Should she be wary as well? Zaira opened the door. ¡°Hi dear,¡± Hannah repeated, ¡°I just wanted to know how you were settling in. We haven¡¯t seen you about.¡± ¡°You saw me yesterday?¡± ¡°Two days ago dear.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°And we haven¡¯t even seen you leave your house. Have you gotten everything set up?¡± Zaira looked behind her, debating on letting Hannah in, the woman had come to visit, but she hadn¡¯t crossed the threshold. ¡°Oh! It looks nice. Very rustic. With practical storage!¡± Hannah laughed as she looked over Zaira¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I remember the day I discovered kitchen drawers; I¡¯ve never gone back!¡± Zaira smiled politely. She had to admit, it beat having to rummage under the counters. ¡°Have you started your new work yet?¡± Zaira was put off by the question. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll be working next week or so. I take contracts¡­Odd jobs.¡± She hoped Hannah would let the subject go. Hannah seemed to sense her hesitation; ¡°You are not doing anything illegal now dear?¡± Zaira shook her head; ¡°No mam.¡± ¡°Good. Now, I brought you some cookies.¡± Hannah shoved the tray into Zaira¡¯s hands. Looking down at the tray in her hands, there were about forty cookies on it of various types. ¡°Um¡­Thank you¡­ I really don¡¯t need this many cookies.¡± ¡°Nonsense! Everyone needs cookies once in a while. And you don¡¯t need to eat them all at once, they keep well in the freezer.¡± The elder leaned in, ¡°They are especially wonderful when that time of the month arrives.¡± Hannah straightened up. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll leave you with these dear. I need to prep the house. My son, his wife, and the grand-babies are coming over tomorrow night! Tata!¡± Zaira almost felt like she had been caught in a whirlwind, Hannah¡¯s happiness swirling around her. Zaira took the cookies into the kitchen and draped them with a tea towel. She really wouldn¡¯t be able to eat them all before they went bad. Did pastries actually warm up well after being in the icebox? A cookie found its way to her mouth as she climbed up the stairs. Once more the footsteps ran toward her, and once more she ignored them. They were getting more forceful. Perhaps now the entity was desperate to get attention, using its last energy reserves to get it. It didn¡¯t matter, she would continue to ignore it.
The day was spent touching things up and finally picking up and reading one of her new books. It was too warm outside for a fire, nonetheless, she sat down in the rocking chair by the fireplace. Zaira soon became engrossed in the book. She started reading around midmorning and only stopped when she noticed it was getting harder to read. She went to look out the window. There was a solid cover of clouds completely blocking the sunset only letting an orange glow through. Just then her stomach grumbled, she had skipped her daily meal. Looking down at her book she decided it was alright to continue reading at the table. She turned on the chandelier over the dining table. Putting the book on the table she went to get a lump of chicken and an orange. She felt too lazy to make anything. Then read whilst she ate. It was eight when she headed up to bed, having finished her book. She didn¡¯t want to start another one for fear she would read through the night. Zaira hated sleeping, yet she needed it. Spells got harder to maintain the longer you went without sleep. It became harder to think¡­ And the nightmares were worse if her body forced rest on her. Sometimes she wished she had the courage to end the cycle. She shook her head free of those thoughts. She had promised Rushka she¡¯d try. Things were already better. Three steps from the top Zaira expected to hear the footsteps of the entity coming toward her. She heard rattling instead. As soon as her foot touched the second floor the decorative vase she had put at the end of the hallway flew toward her. Instinctively the non-human ducked and tried to throw up an energy barrier between the flying object and herself. Her little training insured that her barrier was unsuccessful, but the energy released was enough that the vase only bounced against her form before shattering on the floor. Zaira, curiously, bent to pick up a piece. She turned it in her hand. It was solid. She had expected it to vanish and return to its place. How does it have this much power? Zaira sighed and went to get her broom to sweep the shards. She had to take the situation seriously now. Somehow, it had gained strength, and it was going to get dangerous. Needing answers, she decided to try one more thing before bed. She closed her eyes and stretched out her senses. She growled softly, there was nothing, the entity had vanished. She pushed her senses a little bit further. Wait¡­ She did feel something¡­ It was very faint. She followed the feeling onto the balcony. Zaira looked in the direction of her neighbors¡¯ house. It seemed they may have an entity too. She jumped over her railing and glided down to the ground, then quietly made her way to the other house. As she approached the feeling grew stronger. Now crouched under the kitchen window, Zaira could tell the entity was different from the one in her house. At first, she thought it might be one and the same, travelling between the houses would account for the complete lack of energy between hauntings. However, she felt a different¡­taste, to this one. Still, she was uncertain if either were demonic or just ghosts. Her own seemed a little too sentient to be a poltergeist, she could at least scratch that off her list. Satisfied, Zaira left their porch, got up, and started to walk home. She only got as far as ten meters from the stone house when she heard Hannah¡¯s voice; ¡°What are you doing out there?¡± Shit. ¡°Um¡­Just taking a walk?¡± She lied. ¡°Right.¡± The elder lifted an eyebrow at her. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come in for tea?¡± ¡°I thought you had company over tonight?¡± Zaira tried to weasel out of the situation. ¡°That¡¯s tomorrow dear. How about that tea, young lady?¡± Zaira couldn¡¯t help but smile lightly. She was probably going to be in trouble but honestly, she was starting to like Hannah.
When Hannah had said tea, she had thought it may be just a way to get her into the house for questioning but was pleased when Hannah actually put the kettle to boil. It would soothe her nerves. Ryan shot her a glance over his book and returned his gaze to his reading book in his hands without a word. As Hannah prepared the tea and biscuits and Ryan finished his chapter, the new neighbor felt out of place. She had stood by the door a little awkwardly until her eye was caught by the collection of pictures on the mantle of the fireplace. She approached the assemblage. No one stopped her. There were a few in black and white on the left. Zaira assumed the earliest one to be the one in terrible condition. It showed two little girls sitting on the steps of a storefront, both looked like Hannah. Then there was one of a boy, who looked like Ryan, a bit older than the girls in the picture, on a bicycle. Another, better quality picture black and white picture, showed a young Ryan in a Saanichian army uniform. Yet another showed a curious sight. Ryan, in a tattered uniform, with his arm around Hannah in an even worse-off dress. They were standing in the middle of rubble, exhausted, but smiling. ¡°Our engagement picture.¡± Zaira turned to face Ryan, who had walked up behind her. ¡°I had met her when training in Pritani in 1942. After victory in Europa, I was sent to help the clean-up in Liverpool and happened to run into her again. I proposed a couple of months later when I had to leave, she followed me to Saanich soon after.¡± ¡°You were ready to follow someone you barely knew to another continent?¡± Zaira asked a little louder. The movement in the kitchen ceased for a moment, then started back up again. ¡°When you have nothing left, it¡¯s very easy to follow any speck of hope.¡± Hannah looked at her husband. ¡°I never regretted it.¡± She pointed to a picture of herself and Ryan in their wedding attire standing outside a church. ¡°We were married in ¡¯47. Arthur finally came in ¡¯57 and Julian in 1960.¡± She pointed to her two boys in turn. Sure enough, all other pictures were of their children, in all stages of life. Infancy, childhood, the teenage years, as young adults, and married. There were also pictures of Julian¡¯s two children, Arthur didn¡¯t seem to have any. There were so many pictures, the frames looked like they were about to spill over the side of the fireplace shelf. ¡°Enough of that. Come, dear. Sit at the table and tell us what you were doing under our window.¡± Shit. Zaira hadn¡¯t thought they had seen that much. ¡°Ryan saw you,¡± Hannah stated. ¡°You¡¯re not mad?¡± Ryan sat down at the table, back straight, arms crossed. ¡°As long as you have a good reason.¡± Zaida paced a little bit. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you wouldn¡¯t believe me if I told you.¡± ¡°Try us.¡± Challenged Ryan. Zaira clicked her claws on the table a couple of times before abruptly stopping when she remembered those sounds could not be made by human nails. She stared at the couple. The entity. Should she just throw caution to the wind with these people? ¡°I think there¡¯s an entity in your house.¡± Apparently so. They both looked surprised, yet instead of dismissing her, Hannah nodded. ¡°Yes, we know. We suspect there¡¯s one in yours too.¡± ¡°There is.¡± Zaira sat down and reached for the mug of tea that Hannah had placed on the table, wrapping her hands around the container for warmth. ¡°Do you have any idea what they are?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Hannah said, ¡°but I have a priest coming over to do a blessing.¡± Zaira frowned, she wasn¡¯t fond of that idea. Not yet anyway. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t suggest that yet.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Hannah sat down at the table. ¡°How long has it been here?¡± Zaira felt as though Hanna had begun dissecting her with her eyes. She squirmed in her seat. It was likely obvious that she was withholding information. And so, what? It¡¯s not like she owed these humans anything. Seeing his wife scrutinizing their neighbor Ryan stopped his own analysis and answered the question. ¡°Only since your home went up.¡± Zaira had looked into the earlier use of the land before buying her home and nothing suggested the land had ever been used before, making it unlikely that ¡®rattled spirits¡¯ were now the cause of the hauntings. Not that it happened often, once a spirit had crossed over, they rarely came back, and it was usually for a better reason. ¡°You aren¡¯t concerned?¡± Ryan shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s a little annoying, but no, it doesn¡¯t really do anything. Moves things around.¡± Ryan scoffed. ¡°We thought our old age had caught up to us at first.¡± Zaira¡¯s lip quirked up in a small smile before a more serious expression returned to her face. She addressed Hannah. ¡°Yet you told me to be careful?¡± She hesitated. ¡°Mine¡¯s starting to throw things at me.¡± ¡°Oh, dear.¡± Hannah now looked confused and genuinely worried. ¡°I never said that.¡± Bless her. Zaira thought. So, the entity may have spoken through Hannah. ¡°We have a priest coming to visit our home next week. Maybe we can send him to your place too?¡± Hannah suggested. Zaira felt anger start to flow through her. She closed her eyes and took a sip of her tea. She had not had the best relationship with the church and had to remind herself, yet again, that an individual could be very different from the group. When she opened her eyes, both elders were looking at her oddly. ¡°Sorry¡­¡± Zaira wasn¡¯t quite certain what she was about to agree to. ¡°I was waiting for more evidence to identify what is in my house so I can do something about it. But if your preacher can identify it sooner, that would be good.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure I follow.¡± Ryan frowned. ¡°Why bother identifying it?¡± ¡°You should always determine the cause of a haunting.¡± ¡°But why dabble in unholy things when you could just have it removed?¡± The elder man looked aghast. ¡°What? Do you think you should find out its name and cajole it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying I want to name the thing, but it¡¯s important to know whether we have a ghost or a demon in the house.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°A demon?¡± Hannah gasped. Zaira nodded. ¡°One tactic can get rid of one type yet anger another.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be obvious?¡± Ryan asked. Zaira ran her hand through her hair, resisting the urge to dig her claws into her scalp. Humans, just, lacked so much knowledge at times. There wasn¡¯t enough time that night to explain the intricacies of entities, nor was she feeling up to explaining. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for bothering you.¡± The Rosses looked at each other. Hannah ¡°Nonsense, dear. You¡¯ve not bothered us at all.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± What for, she didn¡¯t know but the statement felt appropriate. Zaira took a few more sips of her tea. ¡°Well¡­ I suppose I should get going. It is dark out.¡± ¡°Nonsense dear,¡± Hannah said again. ¡°It¡¯s only 8:30. Stay a while longer.¡± Hannah got up and went to get more hot water to refill Zaira¡¯s not-yet-empty mug. ¡°Now tell me proper. We¡¯ve seen no one visit, but you did mention a friend. Will they be coming over soon? How long have you known each other? What does your friend do? What do you do? Where¡¯s your family?¡± Hannah¡¯s rapid-fire questions threw Zaira off balance, she blinked rapidly and found herself answering the easiest question to answer. ¡°Rushka is a friend I met threeee¡­ and a half years ago. They helped me through some tough times and now periodically give me work.¡± Hannah frowned and looked at Zaira. ¡°I¡¯m happy to hear how great your friends have been.¡± Something in Hannah¡¯s tone did not sit well with Zaira. It wasn¡¯t rude but Zaira couldn¡¯t imagine what had thrown her off. Ryan, who was mostly directing his gaze at the table, periodically glancing at his book in the living room, elaborated; ¡°You used ¡®they¡¯¡±. ¡°Oh¡­¡± That¡¯s right, humans weren¡¯t as comfortable with genders as most species were. ¡°Well, Rushka is neither a boy nor a girl. We address them with they/them pronouns.¡± ¡°I see, so Rushka is intersex?¡± Ryan asked. ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t asked them about their genitals. So maybe, maybe not?¡± Ryan¡¯s eyebrows raised. Zaira got the impression he did not approve of the lack of explanation, but she was glad he kept quiet. Humans were after all notorious for wanting to put things in a box no matter how rude or damaging it was. Hannah on the other hand seemed even more confused. ¡°What do you do for a living?¡± Ryan had the direct tone of a parent interviewing a child¡¯s new partner. She felt his wariness of her, he had a good reason she supposed. ¡°Odd jobs. I¡¯m strong and agile. Rushka gives me contracts, working in fields, gorges, building.¡± As Zaira got more and more uncomfortable under their scrutinizing eyes ¨C she yawned. A perfect escape opportunity. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, in the summer I normally go to bed at sundown and rise with the sun. Could we continue this conversation later?¡± ¡°Of course, dear.¡± Hannah¡¯s tone was still kind, but much more cautious, ¡°We will see you again soon.¡± Zaira stood and put her mug next to the sink. ¡°Thank you for the tea.¡± Ryan gave her a curt nod as Hannah walked her to the door. ¡°Goodbye, dear.¡± ¡°Goodbye.
A short time later Zaira was snuggling into bed. Some towels now covered her pillows and upper bed in an attempt to lessen the number of times she had to change the sheets. She let out a heavy sigh as she relaxed for sleep. Perhaps it would be best to stop communicating with the neighbors? Their short conversation reminded her how hard it was to tell convincing lies ?and remember them. Ryan didn¡¯t seem to like her, not that she blamed him. She probably looked like some crazy lady who made her money through shady dealings. A sharp pain started in her upper arm. She looked down to see that her claws had dug into her left arm. Zaira let out a short growl and got up. Once in the bathroom, she removed the half-inch that was buried. She growled and watched the dark red blood wash off her disgusting slightly lighter red skin. She was dispirited that she was unable to keep her glamour spells up all the time ¨C that she needed to see her humiliation every day. She quickly finished patching the new wound. Zaira crawled back into bed. The world spun a little as she closed her eyes. It was way past her bedtime. As sleep invaded her, she could have sworn she felt something crawl into bed with her.
Zaira had spent the morning and early afternoon putting the finishing touches on her house. Now every room was furnished and had the essentials. She was currently standing in the front yard looking at what could be potential flowerbeds and debating which plants she would like when she spotted Hannah coming towards her. ¡°Hello dear.¡± Zaira turned to face her visitor and noticed that Hannah¡¯s tone was low, tired. ¡°Hello.¡± She answered hesitantly. ¡°I wanted to apologize for last night.¡± Hannah started. Zaira¡¯s eyebrow raised. ¡°Apologize? What for? I was the one sneaking around last night.¡± ¡°Yes but you¡­ Ryan¡­ You¡­¡± Hannah trailed off, probably knowing that Zaira really was at fault. The elder sighed. Zaira presumed the woman wanted to continue the conversation but didn¡¯t know what to say as she simply stood close by. ¡°Is everything alright?¡± She hadn¡¯t been planning on saying anything, but she felt compelled to. She hoped she wouldn¡¯t regret biting the bullet. Hannah looked at who she believed to be a younger Caucasian human woman with nearly black hair and eyes; ¡°My son¡¯s late.¡± Zaira nodded, not knowing what to say. People were sometimes late but, judging by Hannah¡¯s demeanor, there was something more to it. ¡°Right then. I¡¯m sorry. This is none of your concern.¡± Hannah turned around and started to walk back to her home. ¡°You don¡¯t really have anyone to talk to, do you?¡± Zaira asked before Hannah had time to get very far. She instantly regretted asking the question. What was wrong with her? She should cut ties and move on. Hannah turned around. ¡°There¡¯s really only Ryan.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you have anyone else?¡± ¡°Oh child, when you get older, people just¡­leave.¡± Zaira stood straighter at being called a child, she suppressed the urge to bare her teeth at the elder human. After all, she was supposed to be younger. No, instead she focused on the rest of Hannah¡¯s sentence. Weren¡¯t humans a social species? I thought they took care of their elderly.
A couple of hours later, about an hour from sundown, Zaira was lying on her new leather couch, reading, when she heard a knock on the door. She dragged her feet as she went to answer it. Zaira opened the door to an unhappy Ryan. He rolled his eyes and spoke; ¡°Our son didn¡¯t show, again. Seeing as my wife seems to like you, I was wondering if you could come over for supper to distract her.¡± His eyes narrowed. ¡°This does not mean that I trust you.¡± Zaira opened her mouth and closed it. Then she nodded. ¡°Good.¡± He curtly nodded. Then turned around to go back home. ¡°Wait, when would this be?¡± ¡°Now.¡± Zaira stood in place for a moment before following him. Ryan made it to the house before she did. He didn¡¯t wait for her, opening the door and going inside. She heard him move to the living room rather loudly. Zaira suspected Hannah was not the only one upset about the missed family supper. When she got to the door, she heard soft crying coming from the kitchen area. Zaira knocked lightly on the door and opened it without waiting for an answer. Hannah, who was sitting at the dinner table, looked up from the spot she had been staring at, eyebrows first shooting up then wrinkling in confusion. ¡°Zaira? What are you doing here?¡± ¡°Ryan invited me.¡± She looked over to said man, he had settled himself into what seemed to be his chair. ¡°He didn¡¯t show.¡± She heard Hannah say sadly. ¡°Ryan told me. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Zaira approached Hannah, patting her lightly on the shoulder in a weak attempt to comfort her. Hannah looked back down and nodded her head slowly. Neither elder tried to further interact with the guest. Zaira was out of practice socializing, so she looked around. She spotted the food Hannah, she assumed, had prepared on the counter. She moved to the kitchen and turned the elements back on, moving the cooled food back to the stove. No one stopped her. Whilst the food warmed, she rummaged through the cabinets, finding the plates and utensils. Once everything was ready, she portioned out three plates. Zaira set a plate in front of Hannah, one across from her where Ryan had sat the previous night, then one for herself where she had sat. ¡°Ryan!¡± Zaira called. The man turned to look at her from the spot he had been staring at. ¡°Supper is on the table.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry dear.¡± She heard Hannah say behind her, the sound of Zaira¡¯s voice having pulled her out of her trance. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have had to do that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Zaira seated herself, followed by Ryan. ¡°I¡¯ll help you clean up too.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Hannah said before starting on her food. The meal was quiet. The elders were clearly hurt, but Zaira had no idea what to say. All the questions that came to mind were too personal considering the amount of time they had known each other. ¡°I was thinking about buying a car.¡± Zaira blurted out towards the end of the meal. She hadn¡¯t truly been considering it. They had been fleeting thoughts when trying to intermix with the humans in the city. The thought had spilled out now as her brain had stumbled on the idea that a car may help the couple close the gap between them and others of their species. She had never seen a car in front of their home, and it was a long walk to the city. ¡°You don¡¯t have a car? How do you get to Nanowin?¡± Hannah asked. ¡°I was wondering the same about you?¡± ¡°We get our supplies delivered,¡± Ryan stated. ¡°Mmm.¡± She could see Ryan doing that, but Hannah seemed like the type to go crazy without outside contact. ¡°I walk.¡± It wasn¡¯t a complete lie. She walked into town and had actually made the full journey there once, wanting to clear her head, it had taken two and a half hours. Mostly she just flew. ¡°What?¡± Hannah¡¯s voice rose. Ryan, understandably, looked skeptical. ¡°I walk,¡± Zaira repeated. ¡°Hence getting a car would be helpful for me¡­ and maybe it could be for you too? I was thinking, we could split the cost of a car. It wouldn¡¯t be such a financial burden on either of us and you wouldn¡¯t need to rely on your friends and family coming here. You could go to them¡­¡± Zaira realized she was rambling. She stopped speaking. Ryan was frowning. ¡°I can¡¯t tell if you are trying to get us to pay for half a car or¡­¡± ¡°You really need to get out.¡± Zaira interrupted. Ryan raised an eyebrow. ¡°Hell, I can pay for the car fully and let you use it. I just think¡­ I think¡­¡± ¡°You think we need to leave the house more often? Why?¡± Ryan questioned. Zaira looked to Hannah, who had been quiet, and without thinking said; ¡°You seem so sad.¡± Hannah fiddled with her fork and spoke; ¡°This was the house we bought after getting married. Nanowin had plans to expand in our direction, but it never did. When Arthur was born, we decided to move to the city to give him more opportunities, we ended up in Selkirk. We have lots of friends there. Julian. He wanted to move to a smaller city and chose Nanowin. As he had children, we figured we¡¯d move back with him to help with the grandkids. It would be easier for Arthur to travel between cities. We thought we¡¯d gotten lucky, being able to buy our house back.¡± Hannah let out a shaky sigh. ¡°But now we haven¡¯t seen either of them for two years. They don¡¯t even show up for Christmas.¡± Zaira saw Hannah¡¯s eyes tear up. Unsure what to do Zaira reached out and patted the woman¡¯s hand slightly. Zaira was not expecting Hannah to grab hold of her hand, and she instantly regretted the touch and wanted to pull away. But she forced her tense body to sit still and waited for Hannah to let go. Which she finally did after she was done crying. When freed, Zaira quickly tucked her hand into her lap. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Thank you, child.¡± Zaira curtly nodded. Ryan¡¯s voice broke through the moment. ¡°And what about you?¡± His voice cracked; he cleared his throat. ¡°Why are you here? Alone?¡± Zaira shrugged. ¡°I have no family. I find it hard to make friends. Rushka is the only person I¡¯ve got.¡± ¡°No family at all?¡± Prompted Hannah. ¡°I¡¯m an orphan.¡± Zaira paused. Though there was one friendly lap she could always turn to. An older demon who would sit at the corner by the inn and beg for coin. Zaira loved sitting there and watching the mesmerizing old hands spin their silver ring. The only possession the lady had never parted with, and Zaira hadn¡¯t since. ¡°And the elder lady who took care of me has long since passed away.¡± Now she hesitated. Torn between her desire to share and her desire to run away, her chest tightened. ¡°I am also a widow.¡± She interrupted Hannah¡¯s condolences before they started. ¡°I couldn¡¯t care less about him; he was a bastard. I just wish¡­ I wish¡­¡± Stop, stop¡­ She took in a deep breath; it would be best not to continue. ¡°I wish he hadn¡¯t taken my son with him.¡± Anguish rose inside her chest. She tried to push it back down, as she had since his passing. Her hand rose to claw at her face, finding the tears she had not felt escape her eyes. A sob escaped her, she unwillingly hit her face with the palms of her hands and pressed them down. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself before she hurt herself in front of these strangers. In all her years only Rushka had ever tried to comfort her, so even though it made sense for Hannah to comfort her it still shocked her when the elder came and wrapped her arms around her. Zaira tensed, but her initial unease at being held was pushed aside by a wave of emotion. She had not let herself cry in years. ¡°What happened sweetheart?¡± She heard Hannah ask. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it,¡± Zaira said roughly, pulling out of the embrace. Hannah looked a little hurt but nodded in understanding. The elder woman returned to her seat. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Zaira apologized. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to be rude¡­ or to bring my problems into your home.¡± ¡°Nonsense dear. You answered a question.¡± Hannah waved her off. The rest of the meal was spent in silence. Zaira did have a few more questions for them and she was sure they had some for her. She almost snorted, her dumbest question being how they get their house to smell so nicely of wildflowers. But continuing tonight¡¯s conversation required more effort than any of them was willing to give.
Zaira felt heavy when she returned from the Rosses. She wasn¡¯t used to being around people for that long. Let alone humans, where she couldn¡¯t speak freely. Except she had, hadn¡¯t she? That revelation was uncalled for. Those humans had no right to know what she had gone through. Curse Hannah¡¯s friendly features. Zaira headed upstairs. Expecting the footsteps, she was surprised to hear growling instead. She automatically growled back, not in the mood. She paused at the top of the staircase to visually scan for a source. Suddenly lighter footsteps came quickly toward her. Heavy footsteps followed close behind. Small arms wrapped around her hip. Zaira was surprised enough to forget to brace herself as the entity came crashing over her. The woman was glad for the bend in her staircase as she hit the wall behind her but didn¡¯t fall down the stairs. She let out an angry snarl and bared her teeth. She felt the energy vanish. Zaira angrily walked to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her. Obviously, that couldn¡¯t stop the entity, but it felt good in a childish sort of way. How had it managed to push her? Was there a second entity? Had the first started playing tricks on her? Had she simply imagined it? What if she wasn¡¯t so lucky next time? The questions played in her mind as her earlier anger amplified with this new development. She was angry with herself. Admittedly, she was getting a little scared, she had been careless too. Tomorrow, she would try another tactic. She got herself ready for the night, throwing her clothes in the hamper, cleaning her face, then burying herself in her bedding. After a few deep breaths, her anger was replaced by a weight on her chest. A few more difficult breaths. Then some easier ones. And she felt empty. She closed her eyes and let the feeling of the blankets comfort her. This was by far her favorite part of being alive, the only time her mind wasn¡¯t racing with all the bad. Simply lying there and relaxing. Zaira let her thoughts leave her mind, the moments between consciousness and dreams were bliss. She lifted herself up abruptly as she felt her bed shift down with something¡¯s weight. Zaira looked in the direction of the movement but there was nothing there. Not even an energy signature. She huffed and laid back down. Chapter three The first task of the day was to identify the entity. Zaira sat in the middle of the ground floor. If she couldn¡¯t identify it, she would lock it in a room until she could Zaira stretched her senses. Once again, she felt nothing but the presence near the Ross home. This was inconvenient. Perhaps it could hide at will? A thought crossed her mind. She dug through her ever-bag. Tucked away at the bottom she found her spell book. She was not a great magic user. She could barely pass as fair. Rushka had given her the book a decade or so earlier when they found out she had power. She had the energy to do it, sure, but lacked the capabilities to harness it. Turns out she was a mediocre spellcaster at best. The book did help though, and she knew there was a more powerful sensing spell in it. She flipped the book open to said spell. She read the incantation aloud. She stumbled through the unfamiliar dialect, swearing each time she messed up a word as that meant she had to start over. On what was her third or fourth try she managed what she believed to be a decent recitation, then she closed her eyes and hoped for the best. The world came back into view through her eyelids. It was like a red monochrome painting. It was hard to see material objects as they were all overlapping shades of red. She could see through them to unused corners of the house. More importantly, she could see souls. Souls came in a range of colors. Entities would usually appear dark brown or grey. And any potential link to another plane would be the blackest of black, a void. Zaira looked around. The kitchen was clear, as was the living area and under the stairs. She could see two pale blue figures in the distance ¨C the Rosses. Though no entity in their house, there was however another sentient soul amongst the animals of the forest. Curious. She would have a look later. As she scanned past to look at the back of her house, she spotted a light grey mist flickering on the stairs. She wondered what could be making that pattern¡­ Perhaps there really was a second entity in her house? The woman stared at the mist for a good while, but it didn¡¯t move. She felt confident enough to look away. This time she turned her head upwards¡­ And spotted a sliver of darkness almost right above her. Trying not to lose her grip on the spell she slowly moved to the stairs, reaching out in front of her for the banister. At this angle, the darkness took on a rectangular form. It reminded her of a mirror¡­ Yet she had none in the house. Was there something in the ceiling? Zaira slowly walked up the rest of the stairs. She kept her eyes on the ceiling. Light footsteps started ahead of her. She paused, listening. Nothing, no sound, and nothing to see around her. She startled, jerked her head back, and gripped the banister tighter as a scroll appeared right in front of her face. Her eyes opened and her spell fell away. Her hunt would have to wait, she opened her eyes and let the spell fade away. Zaira plucked the scroll from the air and went back downstairs. Three or more people. Trapped in a gorge. 53¡ã27''21.6"N 96¡ã10''52.0"W Rushka¡­ Zaira unfurled her wings and ran to her back deck. She shot into the air, cloaking herself on the way up. She barrel-rolled and looked up at the sky, judging her position on the planet then headed towards the coordinates Rushka gave her. She flew as fast as she could to the site. Her species was not renowned for their speed, but for their agility. Which was usually the reason Rushka called on her. Stretching out her wings and flying always felt amazing, no matter how much or how little she had flown recently. Zaira couldn¡¯t help but enjoy the wind and scenery, despite knowing there was someone in trouble waiting for her. Zaira was still far away from her destination when a bright white light flashed above her. Recognizing Rushka¡¯s signature she let her case worker and only friend grab a hold of her waist. ¡°Hello, sister.¡± She heard Rushka¡¯s voice say in her head. ¡°Hello ndugu.¡± She tucked her wings between them as Rushka picked up speed. Her species was agile whereas Angels were fast, very fast. It took but a few seconds for Rushka to bring her to the accident site. The speed wasn¡¯t uncomfortable, Rushka was shielding her from it. They let her go as they landed. Around them was a pack of shapeshifters, mostly in their anthropoid shapes, some in their bipedal canid state. There was also a second angel whom she didn¡¯t recognize. One of the shapeshifters was lying perpendicular to a gash in the earth, looking down into the fissure. He wasn¡¯t speaking into it. Not a good indicator. The gash wasn¡¯t an obvious deformation; it was very narrow, and the shrubs surrounding it looked freshly cleared away. Zaira didn¡¯t bother introducing herself as they turned to look at the newcomers. She walked to the edge of the crevasse then kneeled and crawled headfirst into the space. There weren¡¯t many ledges, so she relied on her strength and claws to scuttle down the side. She couldn¡¯t see anyone immediately after entering. She continued down. About 8 feet down, she started smelling blood. At 14 feet the fissure broadened from 20 inches across to approximately 22 feet. Giving her the impression that this was a cave more than a fissure. When the sunlight couldn¡¯t reach her anymore Zaira adjusted her eyes to be able to see in the dark. Hers was a diurnal species, but on their home planet, even the day could be dark. Her night vision wasn¡¯t as good as some species and she could only see in greyscale, but it did the job. As soon as her eyes were adjusted, she spotted a ledge about 26 feet down, on it was an anthropoid covered in blood. There were also vertical blood smears further down the crevasse. She had little hope for those further down. She jumped and glided to the ledge, landing on the wall just above the form. It was a female shapeshifter, naked as shapeshifters often were. Zaira was pleased to see the woman was breathing, albeit shallowly. Her ribcage was slightly deformed and both legs were unnaturally bent. She could see a bone poking out of the lower left leg. She immobilized the woman¡¯s head. There was just enough room for Zaira to lay out the portable stretcher she kept in her ever-bag between the woman and the wall. Keeping a firm grip on the wall with her feet, Zaira, tentatively, trying to keep movement to a minimum, moved the woman onto the stretcher. The woman groaned. Good. There was hope for her. Zaira strapped her down tightly. It was going to be a rough journey up. Ideally, she would be able to keep her flat and lessen the chance of doing more damage. ¡°Do you have some rope?¡± She asked Rushka mentally. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Could you toss six lengths down?¡± As an answer, she heard some soft noises above her head. The ends of the rope were a little high. ¡°How much give do they have?¡± ¡°As much as you want.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Zaira scuttled up and grabbed the lengths. ¡°I found one survivor, she¡¯s in bad shape. I¡¯ve put her on a stretcher, and I¡¯ll tie it to the ropes.¡± She looped the ropes at the head, middle, and foot of the stretcher. ¡°The other people are further down. I don¡¯t have much hope for them. Do you want me to guide this lady up, or go check on the others first?¡± ¡°Go see if the others are alive, if not come help guide her. If so, stabilize them. I¡¯ll let you know if the stretcher gets caught on anything.¡± ¡°You are good to start bringing her up.¡± Zaira kept her hands on the stretcher as it started to lift and swing into the middle of the crevasse. She heard another pained noise from the injured woman. As soon as she knew the stretcher was clear, Zaira scuttled down the wall quickly, following the blood smears and keeping an eye out for more ledges. The crevasse started narrowing again. 30 feet down she could finally see the bottom of the crevasse, or rather where it narrowed so much it was impossible to go any further. The first person she spotted was dead, his head cracked open on the rock. Then she heard a whimper. Her ear perked and she turned her head towards the sound. She spotted a child lying on top of another person. Rushka had told her three people had fallen... She slowly approached the child, who started whimpering a little louder when he saw her. ¡°Hey¡­ It''s ok little one.¡± She spoke softly. Zaira stayed at arm¡¯s length away for the moment. The boy looked at her with big eyes, his hand tightening its grip on the adult¡¯s arm. Zaira scanned the woman below him, her neck was broken. She looked the boy over, he was lucky. He had severely broken legs, but his torso and head had been cushioned by the body of the woman and he had lived. Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t enough room to set out a stretcher. Zaira looked closer at the boy¡¯s torso. She thanked the gods when she saw nothing concerning. She should be able to carry him up without hurting him further. She took out her bag of prepared painkillers. She took out a small dose. Unfortunately for him, it would still be a very painful journey up, but this would take the edge off. ¡°Little poke, ok?¡± He cried out when she approached. She put the tiny vial against his skin and it automatically injected the dose into the boy. ¡°Mama! Mama!¡± He screamed when he felt the needle, his arms tightened around the dead woman¡¯s waist. The injection took but a second and she didn¡¯t dally. Zaira backed away as soon as it was done, giving the boy space to breathe and calm down. ¡°There. All done! It''s ok.¡± She watched his breathing calm as she stayed away. But he couldn¡¯t stay there. ¡°Ok sweetie, I¡¯m going to pick you up. Ok?¡± He whimpered as she came closer and started crying in protest when she tried to softly break his grip on the woman, his mama. Her heart went out to the boy. But he couldn¡¯t stay here. She kept making soft noises, shushing him and whispering. ¡°It¡¯s ok sweetie, let go¡­ Let¡¯s get you back home.¡± He started crying, his irregular breathing forcing him to cough every few breaths. He steeled his grip on his source of comfort. ¡°What¡¯s going on down there?¡± She heard Rushka ask. ¡°I found a boy. He¡¯s alive. His legs are shattered.¡± There was a moment of silence. ¡°His name is Mahikan. His father is overjoyed to hear he is alive. Is there anyone else?¡± ¡°Mahikan¡­¡± Zaira said aloud. The boy sniffled in response. ¡°It will be ok. Your father is waiting for you.¡± ¡°Dadi?¡± The boy cried. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Yes. Dadi is waiting for you.¡± She said soothingly. ¡°I¡¯ll bring you to him.¡± Mahikan, still crying and clutching at his mother, did seem to consider her statement. Seeing a window of opportunity Zaira steeled herself for what was to come. She reached down and lifted him away from the woman. At first, he cried for the woman even harder. Then it turned to pained shrieking as he was lifted into the air and his legs shifted and dangled. ¡°Is there anyone else?¡± Rushka repeated. She rotated her body to face the exit, shifting the boy to lean on her torso so she could have one free arm to climb. Zaira climbed slowly, trying not to jostle the boy. ¡°Mama!¡± Bile rose in her throat and her chest tightened at the sound of his cries. She wanted to go faster, so he could finally get some pain relief but continued to concentrate on a slow, safe, climb. Eventually, either out of pain or exhaustion, the boy swapped his screaming for whimpering. ¡°He was lying on a woman, she is dead. There is a man nearby, also dead.¡± The angel finally got his reply. ¡°Thank you, sister.¡± It was at that moment that she felt the boy go limp. She froze and waited. She let out the breath she had been holding when she heard the boy¡¯s soft ones. She resumed her climb, a little faster now that the boy was out cold. The rest of the climb was spent in silence. ¡°Help!¡± She called out as she reached the top. The other angel appeared by the edge, and a crying man, was behind him trying to spot them. ¡°Lift him straight out.¡± The angel grabbed the child by the armpits and lifted him up and out. Zaira heard the man cry out. She hoisted herself up enough to see the scene in front of her. In the light of day, Mahikan looked even worse. His arm looked broken, and he was bruised and scratched, covered in blood. But he was alive and had a fighting chance. They laid him on a transport stretcher. She noted the other woman was already gone, as well as some of the pack members who were there when she had arrived. The angel picked up the rope attached to the transport stretcher. Slowly they gained height, then, when the stretcher was clear of the trees, they shot off toward the hospital. The father and a few more of the shapeshifters shifted into their canid form and ran off in the same direction. ¡°Their name is Shahar,¡± Rushka stated as they approached her. ¡°They started working three months ago. You said there was a man as well?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Was he long dead?¡± ¡°No, fairly recent. Why?¡± Rushka frowned. ¡°The pack was only missing the two women and the boy. Someone else is missing a loved one.¡± Zaira nodded. ¡°Can you recover the bodies?¡± ¡°Of course. Do you have some body bags?¡± ¡°How many do you need?¡± ¡°Just two.¡± Her friend pulled two body bags out of their ever-bag and handed them to her. They also pulled out another portable stretcher to replace the one she had used. ¡°Thank you.¡± The trip down was shorter. She jumped and glided her way down to the bottom. Getting the dead into the bags was a little awkward, but she managed to get them up in one piece. She slung one bag over each shoulder and returned to the surface. There weren¡¯t any dry eyes when she gave the woman back to her pack. The leftover members of the pack shifted and also left in the direction of the hospital. This left her alone with Rushka and the unknown man. They stood together in silence as they both digested what had happened. It was grim. Yet she considered this day a success. Two survivors and all bodies were recovered. Now she prayed for a quick return to health for the survivors and comfort in the loss of their family member. Staring at the ground she pushed about a rock with her foot. ¡°How is the move going?¡± She shrugged. ¡°The house is nice. I¡¯m not sure about the neighbors yet. And¡­ There¡¯s an annoying entity I need to ride myself of.¡± ¡°Give the neighbors some time. You¡¯ll like them. Let me know if you need help getting rid of the entity.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Zaira uttered as she thought about her neighbors. Her neighbors, who were much too friendly towards a very suspicious woman¡­ ¡°You need friends, family.¡± ¡°And you think two old humans will do the trick?¡± She turned to face them. Rushka was staring into the forest, wings bristled in annoyance. She pushed further, her irritation leading the way. ¡°Isn¡¯t also immoral, if not a sin, to push people to do what they don¡¯t want to do?¡± ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll stop. But the spell doesn¡¯t work like that and you know it. It cannot make anyone do anything they don''t want to do.¡± Rushka finally took their eyes away from the tree line and turned to look at her. Features tight at first, their eyes softened when they looked at her. They reached out slowly, she let them touch her leather wing and run their hand along the top edge. She closed her eyes in shame as they reached the small, currently invisible, horn at the apex of her wing. ¡°You don¡¯t need to hide.¡± They said softly as they followed by running their fingers through her hair, avoiding the horns they knew were there. ¡°Be proud of who you are.¡± Zaira didn¡¯t answer. It was easy for Rushka to say that; they are an angel. Most people just weren¡¯t comfortable around horned, red-skinned beasts. Rushka turned his attention back to the man on the ground. ¡°I have to go find his family,¡± Rushka stated as they opened the bag long enough to look at the ruined head. His species was identified, but another method would be needed to identify him. They closed the bag and slung the body over their shoulder once they got what they needed. Then Rushka flew off without a goodbye. Her friendship with Rushka was very odd. She often felt like she was lying to herself when she called them a friend. She heard that distance was a normal consequence of being friends with an angel. Not that she knew any better. But they were also her caseworker. Would they just leave when they managed to fix her? If that even was possible. As soon as Rushka was out of sight Zaira launched herself into the air once more, heading home. The flight home took a long time. Five hours and several breaks later, her body felt heavy, almost numb. Perhaps she should take a nap before finishing her investigation. Perhaps a bath first? And a book? Everything but her investigation sounded like an appealing choice. There was always tomorrow. Zaira uncloaked herself when her feet touched her back deck. She opened her back door and heard footsteps running toward her. She automatically braced herself for a cold impact. Her ears perked at the distinct sound. The footsteps were light. Like tiny feet running towards her. They also stopped before reaching her. She frowned. She hadn¡¯t imagined the earlier encounter. Was it possible that the entity was fooling her into believing there was another in the house? Perhaps there really were two? She needed to continue investigating the house¡­ after a long nap. The sight of broken bodies floating through her consciousness and her aching muscles guided her up to her bed.
Zaira woke up with a start. She sat up and looked around, wiping the blood from her eyes. She saw nothing out of the ordinary. She guessed it was only about an hour later, based on the amount of sunlight making it through her curtains. She lay back down, all she wanted to do was go back to sleep. Yet the long, slow, incessant scratching which had woken her reminded her of what she had set out to do. She brought her covers up to her face and groaned. Her eyes shut and she nearly fell asleep again. It took her no time to jump out of bed when her semi-conscious state started making up images of what could be at her door. All unpleasant images of carnivores and deformed creatures. She shook those thoughts away as she walked to the bathroom to sponge at her freshly open wounds and patch them back up. The scratching stopped when she opened the door. Nothing there. Zaira rolled her eyes and walked out of her bedroom, spell book in hand, and sat in the middle of the second floor. There were five bedrooms excluding her own. She didn¡¯t need that many, but she loved the design and location and had the money for the home. She was facing away from the staircase, to where the entity seemed to spawn from. The hallway was spacious, as far as hallways went. Behind her were two bedrooms and a bathroom. In front was a line of four bedrooms, hers on the far left. Zaira opened her book to the same spell. You¡¯d think she would be able to complete the spell faster now that she had done it once, but she found herself making the same mistakes. When she was satisfied with her performance, she closed her eyes. Quickly opening them again when the broken bodies she had seen that day flashed in front of her. She huffed and closed her eyes again, trying to concentrate. Unfortunately, the spell had already been broken, she read the spell twice more and closed her eyes again. The bodies returned once again, this time they moved. Towards her. Grimacing. Her eyes shot open once more. This wasn¡¯t her normal response to death. She snarled loudly, threateningly, towards the end of the hallway. She read the spell once more, closing her eyes quickly, then let out a burst of energy. The energy radiated outward from her and shook the house a little. It was only meant to throw the entity off long enough for her to enter the appropriate state. It worked. She was seeing red once more¡­ And an onyx figure. A black void of a head was coming through the far-right end of the opposite wall. It growled softly. Hands came out, fingers like claws, gripping the wall. Zaira felt as if they had locked gazes. It wanted to harm her. Instead, it slowly sank back into the wall. She was surprised it could disappear into the wall as she could see through said wall. Once she lost sight of it, she looked up. The dark rectangle was still there, in the ceiling. Now suspecting a demonoid, she grit her teeth. Her gaze shifted from the ceiling to a more natural position, and she jumped at the sight of two large blue eyes looking at her. A tiny anthropoid was partially on her lap. The child was kneeling, her little hands were on Zaira¡¯s crossed legs and she was leaning into the woman. The tiny, likely, human was looking at her with wide teary eyes, their little hands griping toughly unto the fabric of her pants. She was see-through and in color. A ghost... or an illusion? The latter option is what kept her from reaching out to the child. Zaira stood. Her body passed right through the child who took off downstairs and crawled under the couch. Zaira¡¯s lips pinch as she watched the child. When the ghost didn¡¯t move further, she turned her eyes back to the ceiling, she made her way under the rectangle. It was further away than she expected. As far as she was aware, she only had a crawlspace above the second floor. Trying to find where the entity had disappeared, she entered the rightmost room. The entity wasn¡¯t there or above her. It had simply disappeared, the only energy she could now feel was the child¡¯s. That rectangle was probably a portal. But how did it get from the wall to the rectangle without her seeing it? Zaira frowned as she got close to the outer wall. Something didn¡¯t look right. She took advantage of the spell¡¯s ability and exited the room to look at the section of the wall where the entity had disappeared. There was an odd darker line to the left of it. She walked back and forth in front of the line, or rather lines. Two small darker red lines with several cm in between them¡­ A wall? Zaira took her waterskin out and went to place it against the far wall of the empty guest room, then returned to the hallway. She backed away to look at the odd lines. The waterskin was not against the outer wall. What the hell? Dropping the spell, she moved to the area where the entity had appeared ¨C and sent her fist through the wall. She pulled her hand back, it was covered in drywall. Curious she put her hand through the wall and started to pull it down. It took only a few seconds for her to make a hole big enough for her to fit through. On the other side was a finished hallway that matched the one behind her. Same hardwood floor, wall color, and light fixtures. The lights were even working. However, it was narrower and shorter than the main one and led to¡­. a ceiling trap? There was already a crawlspace entrance in one of the rooms. Why make this small corridor? Why not extend the bedroom to the outer wall and make an entrance in the main hallway? And more importantly¡­ Why on earth would someone block this off? This house was completed a week before she moved in. Who had sealed it? What were they trying to hide? Zaira made her way to the access door and pulled on the circular handle. A set of narrow stairs pivoted down. It was dark upstairs, so she adjusted her eyes before going up. It was a fully finished room. In the middle of the room was a hanging lightbulb. She readjusted her eyes and pulled the chain. There was only one more thing in the room. A plain white wooden vanity, its paint peeling. Mounted on it was a rectangular mirror. She circled it but didn¡¯t touch it. She needed to be cautious. She would have to call the building company. Was this planned? In any case, she was now fairly certain the entity was a demon. But what kind? Was it linked to the vanity? Was she in for a fight? Zaira left the attic, closed the entrance behind her, and went downstairs. She looked at the time, 5:30 pm. The company closed at 6:00 pm. She had time. "Nanowin Construction, how may I help you?" "Hello. I just purchased a house completed by your company. I''ve found something unusual and would like to get more information." "Alright, can I get your address?" "200 10th line road, Nanowin." "May I ask what was...unusual... about your house?" "I found a hidden hallway." "I see..." The woman on the other end of the line didn''t seem to believe her. "One second, I will forward you to your contractor." "Thank you." Zaira picked at the bowl of rabbit entrails she had cleaned and left on the counter the night before as she was put on hold. She popped a small piece of liver in her mouth just as the phone rang again. She quickly swallowed to be able to talk but she was put on hold once again. In the end, she had time to eat the entire liver before the phone was finally picked up. It was nearly 6 pm when she heard the receiver lift. "Lincoln Robertson, how can I help you?" The irritation at being held up was clear in his voice. "Hi. I''m calling to enquire about the floor plans for 200 13th line road, Nanowin. I''ve found a hidden hallway." "Excuse me?" "I''ve found a hidden hallway in my home and would like to know if it was on the floor plan and if it was purposefully hidden by your company and if so, to what end?" There was a pause. "What was your address again?" She repeated her address. "And on what floor did you find this ''hidden hallway''?" "The second. It leads to the attic''s trap door, which is in itself odd. I was not told I had an attic, only shown a trap door to the crawlspace in one of the bedrooms during the tour." ¡°Mmm.¡± Robertson still seemed skeptical. ¡°I¡¯ll look up the blueprints and talk to the workers.¡± ¡°And you¡¯ll call back with an explanation?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He sounded far away. ¡°Sir, I can tell you don¡¯t believe me, please, feel free to visit, I¡¯ve not completely torn down the plaster wall.¡± As she said this, she hoped it would not come down to a visit. ¡°That will likely not be necessary mam.¡± She heard the sound of rustling. ¡°Thank you. Oh, and one more thing, I found an antique vanity in the attic.¡± There was silence on the line. He hadn¡¯t hung up on her, she could still hear rustling. ¡°Oh.¡± She heard. Robertson had spoken away from the phone but she soon heard him clearly again. ¡°I¡¯ve found the blueprints to your house.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°The original blueprint was modified to include a hallway. The trap door to the attic was supposed to be in that last bedroom, but the bedroom¡¯s size was reduced, and the hallway was put in. It doesn¡¯t mention why it was changed last minute nor is there any mention of it being sealed. You said you found a vanity in the attic?¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± ¡°Very odd, I¡¯ll look into it. I need to speak with the workers. I will call you back in a couple of days.¡± This time he sounded genuine. ¡°Thank you, sir. I look forward to your call.¡± She told herself that if he didn¡¯t call back within a week, she would. ¡°Have a nice day, goodbye.¡± ¡°Bye.¡± The call ended. She sighed, on to the next matter. She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. What did she need to seal an incorporeal demon into a room? Firstly, she needed protection. Zaira flipped her book open. She started listing off potential ingredients for casting protective spells then some for exorcisms. She stared at her list. She hoped that she had not forgotten anything. She had followed the book¡¯s vague instructions, the issue was many things could be supplemented or added to achieve varying effects. She clicked her claws on the table and leaned back into the chair. And, in the direction her eyes just happened to settle on, standing by the fireplace & sucking her thumb, was the little child. Zaira stared at her. The little one did feel separate from the entity. When the child noticed Zaira was paying attention to her she walked up to the woman and laid her head on her lap. Oddly, she felt the child¡¯s head and hands on her lap this time. Had the child gained strength now that Zaira had taken notice? Perhaps she really was a separate entity? Then, the question she had been asking herself from the start finally had an answer. The entity had power from the start because it had another entity to pray on. The second entity was simply too weak to appear to her. She let the child keep her head there as she finished jotting her thoughts down. In the end, she had a long list of ingredients she could potentially use with the entities, as well as some that would just be good to have on hand. She took a deep breath in, around her, in seemingly every crevice of the house, she could feel the other entity stirring. Its presence heavy, and hateful. It knew what was coming. Chapter four It was a couple of hours before sunset when she stepped outside the next day. Extending her wings, she launched herself towards the human city. She was tired. She had had a long day trapped in her mind. Pacing. Her nightmares had not faded in the dawn¡¯s light. She had felt trapped and took off flying in a direction. Her crying had forced her to land multiple times to catch her breath. When she returned home her face and arms were shredded, but the atmosphere was no longer suffocating. She patched up and wanted so much to crawl under the covers. But she had told herself she would get her ingredients, hadn¡¯t she? She was truly hoping that the small city would have an herbalist shop open this late. Zaira did not want to go to the non-human village. She landed in an alley She found a so-called ¡®Wiccan¡¯ shop. It was closed, but a peek through the window suggested they concentrated on meditation, the chakra, and general well-being. Zaira had managed to grab a few ingredients at the grocery store, nothing too fancy or powerful enough to trap anything. Zaira stood on the sidewalk, her claws digging into her hands. She would need to go to the nearby non-human village. She took to the air once more, heading North. Nanowin was a fifteen-minute flight South from her home, the human population of 15 000 was made up of Saanichians, Europan descendants, and miscellaneous other immigrants. At a ratio of about 50:50 it, like the 2 other larger nearby cities, had the largest proportion of Europans on this side of the border. Refuge, as it came to be known, was a half-hour flight North of her home. The non-human village had a steady population of about 5 000, almost all refugees and their descendants from the humans'' attempts to exterminate witches in Europa. Most of the population was, to no surprise, comprised of witches. Some vampires and fay had also crossed the ocean with them. Thankfully, unlike the humans, they had had no major clashes with the indigenous populations. She slowed as she got closer to Refuge. Her heart had started to pound uncomfortably. Her flight faltered. She was forced to land about fifteen minutes short of the village. After her controlled crash landing in a thinner section of the forest, she was gasping for air. To settle her breathing she dug her claws into her already lacerated arms and concentrated on the feeling of pain and the smell of blood. Zaira tremble. She dropped to the ground and looked to the sky. The sun was a half hour from setting. It''s ok if I can¡¯t make it today. She told herself as she started to panic. Most people are probably settling at home now anyway. She scrambled up and started running towards her house. Maybe I¡¯m just overreacting. Maybe the entity isn¡¯t that big of a deal. She took off when the branches started snagging on her wings. I can live with it, can¡¯t I? She soon landed in her backyard, not remembering the flight. Her feet dragged as she moved towards the deck. Her lethargic pace slowed even more at the sounds coming from her house. Through the large windows, she was dismayed to see objects flying through the house. The entity was enraged. The question was ¨C were the objects flying through the house the real thing or an illusion? Defeated Zaira retreated to the edge of the backyard she threw her bag on the ground and laid down to sleep. It wasn¡¯t worth going to check if it was real at the moment. There was nothing in the house worth getting hurt over if it was.
Zaira was woken up by something warm and wet running on her sore face. Groggily she pushed the source away. It growled softly and tried licking the blood off her once more. Zaira was awake now and answered its growl. A warning to the creature. She pushed it away long enough to wipe her eyes and look at the offender. She wasn¡¯t certain what these were called but they were unsettling. It had the head of a medium-sized dog, an anthropoid torso, and frog-like legs tipped with long claws, the entire body covered in dark patchy fur. The creature didn¡¯t listen to her and this time put its front paw on what it must have thought was the torso of a dying creature. It approached her face with its mouth open and she startled it by sitting straight up. Its weight was nothing to her and it recoiled as she snarled and swipe at it with her claws. It growled at her once more for good measure before scrambling off to find another meal. The Amerigan continent ¨C Land of the weird canine-looking creatures. Zaira stood and threaded her fingers through her hair instead of rubbing her painful face like she wanted to. They came out encrusted with half-dry blood. She touched her face. The creature had licked all the blood off, but she was still bleeding. She was surprised it hadn¡¯t tried biting her earlier. She scooped up her bag and headed toward her house. She growled as she saw the mess in her home. Yes, the entity had really flung objects across the house. Last night, she was defeated. Now? She was just cross. As Zaira looked in the direction of Refuge the anxiety crept back into her, but it needed to be done. She only took the time to clean and bandage her wounds before flying directly to the village. A couple of glances were thrown in her direction when she landed in the village market, but that was it. Her wounds and horns were hidden, her skin was beige, and her wings were grey & feathered. She looked common enough and, the truth was, no one paid her much mind. However, Zaira felt as if she was being stared at. Like they knew and were going to arrest or kill her at any moment. Her heart rose in her chest. She quickly found the apothecary and disappeared into it before she made a scene. Once inside Zaira took a few moments to compose herself. No longer feeling on the edge of a panic attack, she started looking around. The checkout counter was in clear view at the far back. Unsurprisingly, a real witch was behind it. She probably wasn¡¯t the owner though, she looked a little young, perhaps just passing her first centennial. The young woman glanced up at her and quickly became uninterested. There were tables with books in the middle of the room. Hundreds of glass jars were shelved on the walls and free-standing bookshelves, all had ingredients of some sort. Vegetable, mineral, animal... She slipped her way through the bookshelves to get what she needed. Just walking around this place made Zaira dizzy. At present, it wasn¡¯t so much the inattentive employee, but the broadening spell on the building. A common spell, but one that could distort your senses if you paid too close attention to it. Zaira pulled her smaller jars from her backpack. She gradually worked her way down her list, putting each ingredient in a separate jar and labeling it. ¡°A demon, looking to lock away another demon?¡± Zaira jumped at the voice. She turned around to see an older witch, possibly the mother or grandmother of the witch she spotted behind the counter. She had the same square face and red hair, the eyes were different though and, other than looking older, the magical signature around her was stronger than the child¡¯s. ¡°How do you know it¡¯s a demon?¡± Zaira quipped back, focusing the conversation on the entity despite wanting to know where the chink in her armor was. Anxiety rose in her chest at the thought that her glamour spells may not be working effectively. ¡°Those are a little too potent for a spirit. I¡¯m sorry for startling you.¡± Zaira shrugged evasively. She was pleased to see the younger witch now scrutinizing her once more. The child looked confused. Perhaps her spells were still up. But that would mean the older witch was uncomfortably more powerful than it seemed. ¡°I¡¯ve not seen you before. Do you live nearby?¡± Zaira opened and closed her mouth a few times before stuttering out; ¡°I just moved. Right outside of Nanowin.¡± ¡°Near the humans? You¡¯re not here to cause trouble, are you?¡± A fair question. Demons were a rare sight in the Overworld as they had adapted to live on the Hell planets. Usually if one was in the Overworld, it was to play tourist. Sometimes they were here for business and sometimes they just had a friend on a certain planet or even immigrated. But on this planet¡­ Well, Terra wasn¡¯t a great destination due to the dangerous number of humans¡­ Unless you wanted to mess with them. ¡°No ¡®mam.¡± Zaire was disappointed at how quickly she fell into the submissive role; she was this witch¡¯s elder. She was more than likely everyone¡¯s senior. But did it matter? If she missteps, they will kill her. ¡°Have you seen the Preeminent yet?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not in her territory.¡± ¡°No, but you may want to be in her good graces.¡± Zaira nodded, the witch was right. Unfortunately, if anyone could identify her it would be the Preeminent. ¡°Oh, and she¡¯s also the only doctor in the area who has a degree in Demon health care if you need anything.¡± ¡°Good to know.¡± The witch was still scrutinizing her. Zaira shifted nervously. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but, what kind of demon are you?¡± ¡°A Yulmuth.¡± Zaira partly lied. The older witch pursed her lips. ¡°You can drop the spell. No one is going to attack you over red skin. You¡¯ve been spending too much time with humans.¡± Zaira looked down, embarrassed, and nodded. But she didn¡¯t drop her spells. ¡°Can I pay for the materials please?¡± She asked. She was starting to shake and wanted to go home. ¡°Of course.¡± The witch switched gears and returned to a merchant¡¯s disposition. ¡°Did you find everything you were looking for?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Zaira followed the witch to the counter. ¡°What currency do you take?¡± The witch shrugged. ¡°Any. It¡¯s easy to exchange. Or trade. What do you do?¡± Zaira pulled 5 gold pieces out of her pocket, they were from a planet she wasn¡¯t planning on visiting anytime soon. ¡°Does this cover it?¡± She said as she put the coins on the counter. The elder witch¡¯s eyebrows raised. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen these in person before.¡± She said as she picked up one of the coins and looked at it. Her younger counterpart did the same. ¡°Hold on, I¡¯ll get my ledger.¡± The older witch took out a journal and turned to a page that contained conversion tables. ¡°So that would be 3 gold and some change. But I can¡¯t break these for you.¡± She stated. ¡°In that case,¡± Zaira pulled out the other 5 pieces she had. ¡°Consider this a deposit for future trips.¡± ¡°Done.¡± The owner swept the coins off the counter and wrote something on her notepad. ¡°Thank you.¡± Zaira began putting all of her jars in her ever-bag when something caught her eye. The glass display under the counter held an assortment of rarer items. ¡°Is that really dragon¡¯s blood?¡± The older witch shrugged. ¡°Honestly, I can¡¯t confirm. But it was sold to me by a credible source from a planet that has active dragon populations.¡± ¡°Can I see it please?¡± The witch raised an eyebrow but still unlocked the cabinet. She took the vial out and handed it to the demon. Zaira felt the eyes on her as she took the vial and smelt around the cork. It was real, but old and likely not as powerful as it could be. She repeated her thoughts to the witches. The elder witch cocked her head. ¡°Thank you for letting me see it. I will keep it in mind.¡± The shop owner smiled politely as she took the phyle back. ¡°Have a good day.¡± Zaira turned to leave. Just before the shop door closed behind her she heard: ¡°How did you know she was a demon?¡± Zaira allowed herself a smile at having confused a centennial witch. But it was short-lived. She needed to work on her glamour spells. She stopped in her tracks. Or maybe she needed to better conceal her signature? Her stomach churned. She needed to be able to walk up to a Preeminent well trained in magic and not be recognized.
Zaira carefully stepped around the broken pieces of dishes on the floor. She was quick to clean up the broken pieces and put them in two boxes, the glass separates from the porcelain. She put the boxes outside where she hoped the spirit couldn¡¯t use them. She would bring them to see if she could get them fixed or recycled. She was pleased to see that all the wooden furniture had survived, and she wouldn¡¯t need to do more than cover up a few dings. She set the table back on its feet and put the ingredients down on it. ¡°Oh! Oh, dear. Oh, dear.¡± Zaira jumped as Hannah¡¯s voice rang out. I¡¯m going to have to put a lock on the door. She heard the elder come into the house. Quickly she added a glamour spell to hide her wings completely. ¡°What on Terra happened?¡± Hannah sounded quite distraught. Zaira threaded her fingers through her hair. ¡°Do you remember the entity we spoke about that night?¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Yes?¡± Hannah said. ¡°Oh, oh¡­ No. You are kidding¡­ It¡­ It didn¡¯t do this.¡± It seemed to Zaira that Hannah believed her but didn¡¯t want to. ¡°Yes, it did,¡± Zaira confirmed. ¡°It¡¯s getting out of hand.¡± ¡°I told you I have a priest coming on Friday. I¡¯ll send him over here before he starts on my house. In the meantime, you can stay at our place. Now get your things¡­¡± Hannah motioned for her to get going and came close to putting a hand on Zaira¡¯s back ¡°Whoa.¡± Zaira held her hands up. ¡°I have already started the process of getting rid of it,¡± she waved to the bag on the table, ¡°and doubt a priest will help. But thank you for the offer. I will let you know how it turns out.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok, I know what I¡¯m doing.¡± She hoped. ¡°Can I watch?¡± Zaira looked to Hannah, who was smoothing her skirt repeatedly. ¡°I can make sure nothing happens to you.¡± Zaira had to wonder why her neighbor was so concerned about her, Rushka had said he cut the spell. Zaira frowned. ¡°No, sorry. It¡¯s¡­ I would worry that it would hurt you.¡± That wasn¡¯t a lie, she couldn¡¯t guarantee that the creature would not lash out. But she would also need to drop all other spells she was using to be able to focus everything on this spell. ¡°Oh. Alright, dear. Just let us know if you need any help.¡± Hannah looked around the first floor, then back to Zaira before reluctantly leaving the house. When she heard the door click close Zaira turned back to the table, scratching lightly at her arms. She sat down and started unpacking. One item out and she felt her body lean forward subconsciously her exhausted mind going empty and grasping at fleeing thoughts all at once. Until her head hit the table, jolting her awake. She sighed against the surface and righted herself. She froze as she noticed two big blue eyes staring at her from underneath one of the toppled bookcases. The child entity looked terrified. Its eyes were red and its face was puffy as if it had been crying. When the child saw Zaira looking at it, it crawled out from under the bookcase and came toward her. It stood up right in front of her and lifted its arms, whining to be picked up. Untrusting of the entity, but a little heartbroken nonetheless, Zaira compromised. Instead of picking the child up, she stood one of the other chairs back up and patted its seat, inviting the child to watch. It whined again and got so close Zaira would¡¯ve felt its body in life, yet all she felt now was cold. It dropped its arms and started wholly crying as Zaira started actively ignoring it. The crying had ebbed away by the time all the ingredients were on the table. The offered chair moved closer to the demon. Zaira allowed herself a look. The small entity still sniffling. The woman¡¯s heart tightened, but she quickly returned her attention to the matter at hand. She couldn¡¯t afford to fall for a trick. If the child legitimately was separate, then she was doing them both a favor. Too precious to leave on the bookshelves, Zaira dug around in her ever-bag for her spellbook. The index helped her quickly find the several spells she wanted to accomplish. From locking the entity up to protecting herself from it. There was a banishing spell in the book, but it was above her skill grade. Were it to backfire¡­ Well... Death. Or maybe banishment to a planet that wasn¡¯t suited to her species. Step by step, as meticulously as she could, she mixed the necessary ingredients. She prayed the entity would not disrupt her work. There were a few ways to barricade an ethereal being. Zaira chose the most resilient, still unsure of it and herself. It included creating a physical text around the area where she wanted to lock the entity. This would reinforce a normal tangible barrier. Her ¡®ink¡¯ consisted of ash, several herbs, and her own blood. The last ingredient was unnecessary and not mentioned in her book, but she knew blood from powerful creatures could empower any mixture. Zaira glanced around as the finished off her mixture. The child was on the offered seat, staring at her with large eyes and sucking her thumb. Surprisingly, the entity had not yet made an appearance. Why was it not trying to stop her? Was it even present? Zaira stacked her bowls in one hand and tucked her spell book under the same arm to be able to keep a firm grip on the banister as she ascended the stairs. Her footsteps seemed deafening as she listened closely. The entity was not there to greet her as she reached the second floor. She put her materials down and proceeded to rub cedar ash on herself, an added protection. She picked up her book and began to read the long spell. Not two words in, a strong wind ripped through the hallway and flipped her ingredient bowls scattering their contents. A miserable failure. One where she could only blame herself for not predicting. She felt stupid. Mumbling to herself, she went downstairs and repeated her earlier steps. This time she used plastic containers with lids. Back upstairs, she started reading again. The source-less wind started once more. Upon failing to ruin her ingredients, a whistling started. Like the sound you hear when standing in a narrow canyon with unrelenting winds. She couldn¡¯t hear herself speak by the second sentence, her ears ringing. But it was alright, she continued at a slow, deliberate pace. By the third sentence, though the wind was still destabilizing, the whistling died down, in its place was low, threatening, growling. By the fourth sentence, the house trembled. She braced herself against the wall. At the fifth sentence, the entity finally decided to show itself. A darkness coming through the wall. Long spindly fingers slowly reached for her. Red eyes glowing, it bared its unnaturally long teeth. She startled went she felt something small press against her side. The child. She ignored the distraction and plowed on. The entity swiped at her. Backed up against the wall Zaira had nowhere to go. Thankfully, the cedar ash performed, and its claws bounced off an invisible shield. The Yulmuth had now made it through the first part of the incantation without much incident. Zaira started starting walking slowly to the attic. She backed the entity towards the hidden hallway as she continued to read on to the next passage. Unfortunately, it pivoted into the corner, back to the wall, ready to pounce. Change of plan. She kept her back to the opposite wall and walked by it. It swiped. Claws did not connect, but they were worryingly closer to connecting. She felt the wall end and started backing towards the open hatch. It advanced towards her. It disappeared from sight as she ascended the stairs. Keeping an eye on the hatch, she moved toward the far end of the attic. As she read, she became nervous. It hadn¡¯t come up yet. Two paragraphs left before the sealing. It had to be here. Otherwise, she would have to start over. She read as slowly as she possibly could without turning the words into incoherent sounds. One paragraph to go. Its unnatural hand finally appeared, reaching through the hatch and slowly planting itself on the floor. Then the other hand. Its head emerged and unnaturally white sharp teeth could now be seen in its snarl. One gnarled foot, then the other. It started stalking toward her. One eye on the entity, the other on the spell. Now she needed to get out. She started her journey around the room. It stood hunched over in the center of the attic. Growling. Following her with its gaze. Waiting for an opportunity to strike. They both knew her luck was going to run out. Halfway through the paragraph, halfway to the trapdoor. It lunged at her. She jumped back in surprise as it came so close to her torso. She broke eye contact with the book, but thankfully she quickly regained her spot. She pushed on, slowly but surely. For the first time, she felt true fear of this creature. The tightening in her throat threatened to make speech impossible. Her pace had slowed but she forced herself to be as loud and clear as possible. She felt the cedar had worn off¡­ and it was angry. It lunged again. She jumped towards the hatch. She wasn¡¯t quite quick enough. She let out a cry of pain as searing heat shot through her side and she bent down in pain. That was all she allowed herself to do. So close to the end. She couldn¡¯t fail. Second to last sentence, a foot away from the exit. It was still focused on her, not realizing the implications of her leaving the room. It taunted her, stalked her. It thought it had time. She finally stood on the frame of the hatch. Last sentence. Zaira was about to step onto the stairs when it lunged at her. Whether she fell because she jumped or because it knocked her down, it didn¡¯t matter. She tumbled down the stairs and landed on her back. The book clattered onto the floor next to her. The wind was knocked out of her. As soon as she regained some sense, she spat out the rest of the sentence from memory and held her breath. She heard scratching above her. She looked to see dark claws above her at the entrance. A soft scratch at the air, testing the new barrier, turned to frantic clawing. She thanked any god listening that the spell hadn¡¯t been broken. Zaira scrambled for her fallen book. The field was weak and temporary. She quickly flipped to the correct page. Her breathing was harsh as she continued through to the second part of the spell. She had never felt something burn this much. Red rot pokers. She could only imagine this pain coming from driving red-hot pokers into herself and leaving them there at that temperature for far too long. Yet she couldn¡¯t let this faze her, there was one last thing to do. Bowl of ash in hand she proceeded to mark the ceiling, mimicking the lettering and patterns in the book. All the while she could hear the entity scratching at the attic floor following her as she traced. The process took a long time. She was slowing down, breathing heavily, arms weak. When she was done the symbols coated the entirety of the second-floor ceiling. The scratching was echoing in her ears. It echoed so loudly that it took her several moments to notice when it stopped. Concerning. It would seem idyllic for this spell to muffle the entity¡¯s devilry. Perhaps it had jumped through the mirror? Well, she wasn¡¯t on the other end of that portal, and now it couldn¡¯t come further into her house. So, she was satisfied enough. The last passage. Zaira read the last of the spell without interruption. Throughout the reading, the ashes glowed bright red. When she finished reciting the passage the patterns pulsed and settled back to a normal grey color. She took a few slow breaths to calm her racing heart. She had done it. The book slipped from her numb fingers to the floor, and she closed her eyes, the hallway light seeming brighter than usual. A roar arose from the attic. The scratching resumed with even more ferocity. A long sigh escaped her, she forced herself to move so she could inspect the attic entrance. A skinned anthropoid face appeared from the shadows and met her gaze, teeth barred. She heard a whimper from behind her. Zaira turned to see the little child peeking around the corner into the hallway, sucking her fingers. ¡°You didn¡¯t get caught¡­¡± She hadn¡¯t been trying to trap the child, but she would¡¯ve gotten caught if she was an extension of the entity. Or at least, that¡¯s what she believed. Zaira looked to the ceiling, uncertainty creeping in. Had it not worked? Was it strong enough to influence beyond the barrier? She felt a little tug on her shirt and looked down to see the child reaching her hands up to be picked up. When Zaira didn¡¯t pick her up immediately she started to whine. Not thinking Zaira reached down, and her hands passed right through the child. Duh. The child started whining a little louder, bordering on crying. ¡°I¡¯m sorry sweetie, but I can¡¯t pick you up.¡± Zaira turned back to the creature, and she folded the stairs back into the attic. Shutting the unneeded entrance, if just to hide the nightmarish face. The trapdoor started rattling and shaking forcefully, the wood of the door desperately trying to get through its frame. Zaira grimaced. That would probably not hold. Perhaps she should remove the door and use a sheet instead? Zaira walked away to get her tools and heard the child start to cry behind her. She sighed. Well, a crying ghost toddler was better than a dangerous entity. The step stool and tools were in the cupboard downstairs. The motion of going down the stairs irritated her fresh wounds, she clung to the banister. Her body was working at half capacity, irritating her overactive mind. She couldn¡¯t wait for her body to patch this up, it was particularly painful. When Zaira limped back to the stairs, the child was sitting, legs slotted through the banister with their face pressed up against the bars, pouting. The little one watched as Zaira climbed the stairs, left hand barely holding on to the stool and tool bag, right hand gripping the banister tightly. The child then followed her to the hallway, peeking around the corner, and watched her open the staircase once again, revealing the ghastly face. Zaira took her drill out and stepped onto the stool, but her body was overcome by pain as she attempted to straighten out to remove the door¡¯s hinge. The entity grinned at her; she swore she could feel her wounds start pulsing in pain. This would have to wait a little longer. She left the stairs open and went to her ensuite. Zaira removed her shirt to have a better look at her wounds. They were in a clawed pattern but were much more like burns than gashes. The severe burns would take much longer to heal than the lacerations she regularly inflicted on herself. But they would heal. She took out some blue cress gel as well as a numbing solution. She mixed a few drops of the pain relief in the gel and smeared the mixture on her wounds. The coolness of it felt wonderful and the numbing took effect immediately. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but she could work with it. Zaira returned to the trap door. The same skinned face greeted her. The wounds started throbbing again, though the pain wasn¡¯t as bad. It lunged, trying to bite her through the barrier. She startled. It started banging on the barrier with more decidedly anthropoid-looking hands than previously. She made quick work of the hinges holding the stairs and lowered the whole thing to the floor out of the way. Without the door, the entity¡¯s onslaught was certainly quieter. She took a sheet and draped it over the hole to hide the spectacle. Zaira was finally done for the day. She let her body slump into a more comfortable position. These wounds would put her out of commission for the next several days. A whimper reminded her that the child was still present. Zaira looked behind her to see the toddler staring at the now-covered trapdoor. The child seemed to break out of its trance and once more extended its arms asking to be picked up by Zaira. The Yulmuth could only smile tightly at the child. She had to admit; it was adorable, and she did want to pick it up. She sighed and walked by. Tools were left in disarray, but the book was picked up and stored in the ever-bag. She threw on bandages and a pajama shirt to keep the healing cress from absorbing into the sheets. She quickly jotted on a parchment: Injured. Don¡¯t call for me this week. With a small push of energy and a flick of the wrist, it was on its way to Rushka. Blinds were drawn over the windows to block out the afternoon sun and she painfully settled in for a nap. It took no time to start drifting away. Just as she was falling asleep, she felt the bed dip. This time when she opened her eyes, she saw the child¡¯s outline. Little hands patted a wing, then a little body pressed itself against her uninjured side. Her eyes were too heavy, her body too tired to do anything about the little entity. Despite the company, sleep took over readily.
Ringing. Something was ringing. Zaira¡¯s head felt heavy, she struggled to return to consciousness. The sun was shining strongly through her window. She had slept through till morning. The phone. The phone was ringing. Her only receiver was in the kitchen. Zaira moved to sit up and cried out. Searing heat shot through her side as if she had been struck once more. She laid back down and tried to take a few deep breaths. She couldn¡¯t manage to expand her chest enough for a deep breath and resorted to counting her shallow breaths to calm down. When the pain reached a more tolerable level she scooted up bit by bit, propping herself on the wall. She lifted her shirt. The burns were swollen and had turned dark brown. She rubbed at her eyes. It''ll get worse before it gets better. The Yulmuth exhaled sharply as she repeated the old adage to herself. The truth was this was worrying, that entity was formidable. She would not be able to rid herself of it. Perhaps Rushka would be willing to help during their time off? Her eyes closed. The phone had stopped ringing. Though she figured she still should get up. Slowly, achingly, she dragged herself out of bed. Her shirt was difficult to remove, but she managed. She slathered the burns in the same mixture which did provide some relief. Her face did not need patching, but there were a few cuts on her thighs to make up for them. She avoided dressing and made her way downstairs. Zaira debated eating, her last meal had been over 24 hours ago, but her stomach turned at the thought. She looked instead at the phone. The flashing red light indicated a message. The construction company had called. "Hello, this is Nanowin Construction. We just wanted to let you know that the employee responsible for sealing your hallway has been terminated. Have a great day.¡± Wait, what? That¡¯s it? Zaira was astonished. No explanation? She lifted her arm to dial their number again but was stopped by a sharp pain radiating through her torso. She squeezed her eyes shut until the wave of nausea passed. She would try to sleep it off. She limped to her bedroom, where she found the parchment from last night on the bedstand. She unrolled it. We won¡¯t call on you. What happened? She wrote back. The entity is more than I can manage. Could you help? She sent the parchment once more, then crawled into bed and was out near immediately.
It was light outside when she woke up, though Zaira wasn¡¯t sure if it was the same day or the next. She wished she could say her wounds felt better, but they didn¡¯t. They may have rubbed against the sheets a little too hard, the blue cress had certainly worn off. She slowly propped herself up and looked down to inspect her wounds. There was black liquid oozing out of them. A bitter taste filled Zaira¡¯s mouth. These weren¡¯t normal wounds. Zaira had to make a decision. What had the witch said? The Preeminent was also a qualified doctor for demons. The Preeminent was the only doctor for demons in the area. That wasn¡¯t good. Could she travel to the Gate to go to one of the Hell planets for treatment? Extreme nausea as she sat up told her that wasn¡¯t an option. Did she want to die? The answer which surprised even her, was no. If you had asked her earlier, she would have been ok with it. Hell, she¡¯d tried killing herself before. But right now? No. But risk execution to get treated? These wounds wouldn¡¯t heal on their own. She would need to take her chances. Chapter Five ¡°So, you¡¯ve finally come to visit me. You know, it is customary to visit within the first two days.¡± Zaira was crouching on the ground after a hard landing. She was finding it difficult to breathe, and her heart tightened at the voice¡¯s tone. She squeezed her eyes tight before mustering up the courage to look up to meet the Preeminent¡¯s gaze. The Preeminent standing before her was not indigenous to this planet. See-through skin with subtle hints of blue and green throughout, black hair, and blue eyes with black starbursts pupils. The feeling and energy of this creature declared her Preeminent to whoever had doubts. When she finally met those eyes, to Zaira¡¯s surprise, they were light, and a smile twitched at the corner of the Preeminent¡¯s mouth. Zaira was lucky to have seen that playful edge as it vanished nearly instantly as the eyes looked over the newcomer. ¡°Simone!¡± A tall blonde-haired witch in green robes emerged from the door behind the Preeminent. ¡°Get her inside.¡± ¡°Yes, mam.¡± Simone walked up to Zaira. ¡°Can you walk?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Zaira was a little taken aback by the question. She must have looked worse than she thought. The demon stood and straightened as much as she could, leaving her bent forward, but it was the first step forward that did her in. She wobbled and would¡¯ve fallen had Simone not caught her. Unfortunately, this also sent searing pain shooting through her body. ¡°I guess not.¡± She heard Simone mumble. Zaira couldn¡¯t help but growl softly at the comment. All she got was a chuckle in return. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± The witch said a little louder as she readjusted her grip. Her hand slid down to support Zaira at the hip. ¡°Is that better?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Simone helped her into what had looked like an unassuming shack. The first room was a welcoming waiting room and kitchenette. They walked straight through, passed several doors, and into a back room. It looked like a hospital room, complete with two beds and it had many tools you would normally find in an examination room. Simone led her to one of the beds. ¡°Sit.¡± Zaira did so, only letting go of Simone¡¯s arm when she was properly seated. ¡°You should take off your glamour spells so we can help you better.¡± Zaira studied the woman¡¯s expression, the witch simply gave her a reassuring smile. Zaira followed orders and dropped the glamour spell over her torso. The Yulmuth had only put on her face glamour and one to cover her naked torso. She hadn¡¯t had the courage to dress before arriving. Simone surely knew she wasn¡¯t wearing a shirt, the weaker glamour she had cast could not give the illusion of touch. Simone audibly gasped at the sight of the wounds. Thoughts could be seen swirling in her eyes. Simone nodded to herself. The witch stepped off to the side, just out of view, and started prepping something. ¡°It''s not hard to see why you are here.¡± The Preeminent said as she entered the room. Zaira noticed she leaned very heavily on a cane when moving. She had not noticed it earlier and understood why as when the Preeminent stopped moving she straightened and stood tall, the cane tucked against her, nearly hidden in the pant leg. She looked kind and caring, nothing at all like the Preeminents of the last few provinces she had lived in. Especially odd was the lack of magical power and a signature to complement the raw power the creature exuded. ¡°Zaira¡­ My name is Ime. Those are not natural burns. What exactly were you scuffling with?¡± ¡°Some sort of entity,¡± Zaira muttered. ¡°Not my field of expertise I¡¯m afraid.¡± Zaira bit her lip as she felt tears well up. A hand covered hers. ¡°But I can help. Well, I can get you help. Simone, I don¡¯t suppose your training covers this type of wound?¡± ¡°I have seen these in a medical journal. I¡¯m not sure what the best option will be, but this will help soothe the burns.¡± Simone put a bowl of salve on a rolling table and brought it close to Zaira. ¡°Do you want to apply it yourself?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± Zaira squeaked. She collected some of the balm on the tips of her fingers and spread it on her wounds. Simone was right, it was incredibly soothing, much more so than the blue cress mixture. To her embarrassment, she couldn¡¯t reach everything. The Preeminent, doctor, stepped in. Their relaxed demeanor and warm presence encircled Zaira trying to reassure her without words. But like an overtired toddler Zaira pushed the blanket away, her body so tense her muscles were aching. The doctor followed up by dressing her wounds. Her hand moved quickly with minimal jostling. Zaira started at the floor trying not to bolt. The air stilled. The doctor¡¯s voice pierced through the haze in her head. ¡°Why don¡¯t you lie down and rest? You look like you are about to topple over.¡± The doctor raised the head of the bed and helped her lay down. A couple of tears slipped down Zaira¡¯s cheek. Her head rested back, and she closed her eyes, allowing herself to breathe for the moment. ¡°Would you like some painkillers?¡± Zaira looked at the doctor and took a moment to decide. That salve had already done wonders, but perhaps her nerves could use some. ¡°Maybe something light?¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll go get them for you. I¡¯ll also contact a colleague for a treatment plan.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. The doctor smiled at her and left the room. Zaira closed her eyes again yet found herself speaking instead of resting. ¡°Are you her apprentice?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m her niece-in-law. She occasionally kidnaps me to use as an assistant¡­ Would you mind me asking? What are you?¡± Zaira opened her mouth, but the following words were not hers. ¡°She is a Yulmuth. Quite a lovely one, and powerful, I¡¯m sure you can feel that.¡± Simone nodded, a small smile on her lips, and the Preeminent¡¯s attention turned to Zaira. ¡°Though I must say I¡¯m surprised. We don¡¯t see many of your kind in the Overworld, much less Terra. Here take these.¡± The Preeminent gave her two pills and a glass of water. ¡°Thank you.¡± Zaira¡¯s eyes flicked to the intimidating woman before swallowing her pills. The Preeminent looked satisfied and limped her wait to a nearby chair, stiffly sitting down. ¡°Simone, would you mind leaving us?¡± ¡°Yes, mam¡± Simone stood, glanced at Zaira, and vanished. Her signature also vanished, leaving no doubt that she had teleported away. The claws on her right hand started lightly scratching at the back of her left hand as Zaira looked to the Preeminent. ¡°Now, while we wait. It''s time for formal introductions, don¡¯t you think? I have questions for you. And I¡¯m certain you have questions for me. I am Ime, one of two Preeminents in the non-human province within Saanich, Nodin is the other. I take care of the immigrants to this land and their descendants; Nodin takes care of the ones who have been here as far back as their generational memory goes. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of us, despite your reluctance to pay your respects.¡± Zaira turned her head away. She had been inviting trouble. ¡°What are your questions for me?¡± Zaira¡¯s head whipped around so suddenly she felt faint. She wasn¡¯t going to get a chewing out? ¡°Nodin¡­ Is an Animikii¡­¡± She started hesitantly. Ime nodded. ¡°He belongs to this land¡­ What are you?¡± Zaira couldn¡¯t help the question. She had mulled over the question many times, even before moving to this land. Ime had been mentioned in her research, but Nodin was the face of this land. Much was known about him, his power, bravery, and generosity. But Ime lived in the shadows. ¡°My species is extinct. What I am is insignificant. But who I am, beyond a Preeminent in Saanich, may be of interest to you. I am Ime An, child of Death, founder of the very first interplanetary empire, goddess of whatever mortal whim says I am.¡± Zaira¡¯s eyes were wide, heart in her throat. Their signature wasn¡¯t there to be felt, but that feeling, the feeling you got when someone told you they were a god and you just knew they were telling the truth. The creature in front of her did not exude crushing power in its signature, not because it was weak, but because it was so powerful that it could completely hide its signature from an Akal. Zaira had also heard of the Preeminent before, only back then he was Ashoka. In fact, if she remembered correctly, she believed she and Ashoka to be about the same age. Ashoka would have known her species; Ime was the prime candidate to identify her species. So why hasn¡¯t she called my bluff? The Preeminent leaned back in her chair and smiled, fingers interlaced in front of her. ¡°My revelation unnerved you. But not in the way I was expecting.¡± Zaira looked at her hands, claw scratching harder, trying to mask ? everything. She was exposed and she suddenly regretted leaving her cave very much. ¡°Ash ¨C Ime¡­¡± ¡°It''s alright.¡± The god reassured. The soft tone was soothing, a balm. The calm was purposeful. Zaira was dizzy trying to figure out what to feel around this creature. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Zaira whispered. Whether to herself or the Preeminent, she didn¡¯t know. ¡°Why, isn¡¯t obvious? I¡¯m retired!¡± The god raised their arms and posed with a smirk. ¡°Though it seems retirement for me ended up meaning having my peace interrupted by creatures who subsequently made me Preeminent.¡± The Preeminent caught Zaira¡¯s questioning eye. ¡°Oh yes, I moved to this land back when only animals inhabited it. Then I ended up dabbling in medicine after¡­events.¡± The Preeminent waved away the unspoken events. ¡°It''s odd. Healing wounds, instead of causing them.¡± Zaira looked at the god with childishly wide eyes. She had stopped picking at her skin, her pain at the back of her mind, waiting for and hoping for more details to sink her teeth into. ¡°But, enough about me. Who are you?¡± The Preeminent leaned back, amusement painting her face, but eyes focused, analyzing the demon on the bed who was nearing pink in color when she should be red. The doctor was hoping to hear her mirror chime with a message soon, the Yulmuth needed immediate care. ¡°I¡­ I am Zaira. I work for the angels. Search and rescue.¡± The Preeminent smiled. ¡°And that¡¯s why you are not too intimidated by a god. How long have you worked for them? I hear they aren¡¯t easy to work with.¡± ¡°About three hundred years. They... are not difficult to work with. Just, aloof. I think the actual job is the most difficult.¡± The Preeminent closed her eyes, a sad smile briefly appearing on her face. ¡°Why did you move to Nanowin?¡± ¡°I needed a change¡­ Bad memories in Europa. Rushka said they could transfer me here.¡± Ime wanted to question the demon further on these ¡®bad memories¡¯. But the Yulmuth was working for the angels and had obviously passed their standards, so why force information out of the woman? Her signature, whilst well hidden from most, hinted strongly at her being an Akal, an old being. She had reached an age much older than what a Yulmuth usually reached. And any creature who reached that kind of age was a potential friend to a goddess. ¡°Why Terra?¡± Zaira shrugged, then flinched at the pain in her torso. ¡°Seemed like a good idea at the time. I¡¯ve switched planets a few times now.¡± ¡°Fair enough. I¡¯ve done the same over the years.¡± The Preeminent placed her cane solidly on the floor and leaned on it to stand. ¡°How about we get you under the covers? You should get some sleep.¡± The doctor helped her get comfortable. The wounds were oozing again. The doctor promised they would be in as soon as they received word on Zaira¡¯s treatment. As the doctor left the room, Zaira asked one last question. ¡°Preeminent?¡± ¡°Ime, please.¡± ¡°Ime. You were Ashoka?¡± ¡°Now that is a name I haven¡¯t heard in a long time.¡± Ime cocked their head and smiled. The Yulmuth had given them her age with that question. The goddess looked forward to discovering the past of someone nearly her own age. ¡°Um... yeah. So, I was under the impression you were male? But?¡± Ime barked a laugh. ¡°Male, female, in between. Depends on my mood. I don¡¯t care about pronouns. Though if you need a guide, I can shift my body to match my mood.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Now go to sleep. You need it.¡± Ime left. The room was silent. Her eyelids were heavy, but Zaira made sure she would only doze. She rested her horns uncomfortably on the headboard and stared into the only light in the room. She was here for these dammed caustic wounds, not her self-harm.
Zaira managed to stay awake or doze her entire stay at the Preeminent¡¯s home. Her stay was much longer than she anticipated. Fours nights. Her hand was starched raw, but her face felt great. She found the hospital to be mostly devoid of creatures. The goddess truly did seem to want to be retired. She found out the only patients they had now were emergencies and an occasional demon. Nodin was a regular visitor, she heard them speak often. Through the walls, she heard them speak about politics, but also about their families. Simone came over to help administer Zaira¡¯s treatments. She was very down-to-earth and caring. Zaira would likely enjoy the visits if it didn¡¯t feel like they were peeling her skin off at every new treatment. The mattress was shredded from Zaira¡¯s claws digging into it to cope with the pain. Thankfully, the process always ended with a soothing liquid. On the fifth day, Zaira was ready to go home and sleep. Her wounds were still like fresh burns, but she couldn¡¯t feel the earlier putrid magic that had been emanating from them. They would start to heal normally now. ¡°Aren¡¯t we the eager beaver? Dislike me that much?¡± Zaira gave them a small. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Good. I guess you are excited to sleep in your own bed tonight? You went from death¡¯s door to Hypnos¡¯.¡± Zaira nodded. The doctor had offered her sleeping pills during her stay. The demon had refused on the grounds that they tended to have side effects. She wasn¡¯t being entirely dishonest; she had tried sleeping pills before. The issue was, she had no trouble falling asleep, and they didn¡¯t help with what awaited her on the other side. ¡°Are you sure these will heal well? I don¡¯t want to let you go only to have you come back tomorrow.¡± ¡°Burns are nothing.¡± Zaira¡¯s thoughts suddenly jumped to Simone¡¯s wife, and she instantly regretted that sentence. Simone had mentioned in passing that her wife was a burn survivor. Burns were definitely not nothing for the overworlders. ¡°I have blue cress at home. Thank you. How much do I owe you?¡± Ime waved her off. ¡°Nothing. This is what I do in my retirement, I enjoy it. Though, perhaps don¡¯t wait until you need my help to visit again.¡± Ime smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t be a stranger.¡± The Preeminent¡¯s friendly demeanor was stored away. Ime made sure to look her in the eye. Zaira stilled. ¡°However, I am not dumb. You are hiding something. I do not know you. The angels trust you, so I have given you the benefit of the doubt. However, I will find out. And if this secret of yours endangers anyone, I will have you removed. Let''s hope it doesn''t come to that.¡± ¡°I know, thank you.¡± Chapter Six A pair of big blue eyes greeted her the next morning. Inches away from her face. Zaira froze. The fog of sleep drifted slowly from her mind. The pain in her face rudely grounded her in reality. Then it dawned on her. Those blue eyes belonged to the little spirit. Her body relaxed and she stretched out as much as her wounds would let her. The little one leaned back onto her heels, her eyes were teary, lips downturned. She looked to Zaira for reassurance. Zaira pulled herself into a sitting position, propping herself up on the headboard. Her body was incredibly stiff. The sheets slipped off her torso and down to her hip. As it grazed her burns, she noticed the relative lack of pain. They were sore, but she was pleased with the progress. Her face, on the other hand, felt about ready to fall apart. She had also carved into her arms and legs. Zaira took a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯m ok.¡± A big smile lit up the child¡¯s face. The spirit jumped off the bed and ran down the hallway, the sounds cutting off abruptly. No change of direction or fading sounds. The demon snorted and dragged herself out of bed to commence her morning ritual. Her self-inflicted wounds were deeper than usual. She took out some adhesive stitches to help close them. She had covered her face, arms, legs, and torso in the blue cress. The bathroom, or she, had never smelt that strongly, thankfully it wasn¡¯t pungent. Zaira felt like a glazed donut. She walked back into her bedroom. Exhausted despite having been in bed for over twelve hours. Sleep would be great right about now - if she wasn¡¯t guaranteed to shred herself even more. Her bed didn¡¯t look too inviting either, it was covered in dried blood. She resigned herself to being awake and set two goals for the day. Eat and do some laundry.
¡°Hello dear!¡± Zaira deflated at the sound of her neighbor¡¯s voice. She had been pleased with herself a few seconds ago, she had had a snack and was nearly done with her laundry. She had even forgiven herself for the time she had spent imitating a rug. An irritatingly happy neighbor was not what she needed right now. She threw up her glamours. Her shirt lay unfolded on the dryer as she walked to the front door. ¡°Hi, Hannah.¡± Zaira cringed at the sounds of her own voice, the quiet solemn tone felt loud. ¡°I brought you some apple crumble.¡± Hannah walked into the house. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in a while.¡± ¡°Oh. Thank you?¡± Zaira looked curiously at the large casserole covered by a tea towel. ¡°You¡¯re welcome, dear.¡± Hannah set the platter on the stove, making a glass-on-glass noise. ¡°It¡¯s fresh out of the oven, I¡¯d let it cool before putting it in the fridge.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Zaira flipped up the towel to see that not one piece of the apple crumble was missing from the 30x20cm pan. ¡°Um, Hannah?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°You realize I am only one person?¡± ¡°Oh, I made two pans,¡± Hannah said with a smile on her face. ¡°Right.¡± Zaira went to get a plate out of the cupboard, after all, she had only eaten a snack earlier. ¡°Do you want some?¡± She asked attempting to get rid of at least a piece or two. ¡°No, thank you, dear, I¡¯ve got some at home.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She served herself, then stood, shifting from foot to foot as Hannah made no move to leave. Zaira ground her teeth. She felt compelled to invite the woman. ¡°Would you like some tea, or are you going home?¡± Hannah smiled a bit more brightly. ¡°I would love a visit, dear.¡± Zaira prepped them something to drink. Hannah sat at the dining table, watching her. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, where have you been the last week? I came to visit a couple of times, but you weren¡¯t there. One of those odd jobs?¡± ¡°Yeah, actually, that landscaping lasted longer than expected.¡± ¡°Landscaping? I didn¡¯t know you did landscaping. Well, I¡¯ll have to recruit you. I¡¯ve been wanting to put in some flower beds. How about this weekend?¡± Zaira had no idea when the weekend was, but she knew she wouldn¡¯t be ready to work. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind helping you, but maybe in one or two weeks? I injured myself at work and would like some time to recover.¡± ¡°Zaira! I thought you were looking stiff. I hope it''s nothing serious. What happened? Do you need help around the house?¡± Zaira waived her off. ¡°Nothing serious, just stiff, like you said. It¡¯ll be all better soon.¡± ¡°Are you sure dear?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure.¡±?Unless I keep hurting myself to this degree. It should calm down. Zaira joined Hannah at the table and set the mugs down. ¡°Oh. Dear, I meant to ask how did all that work out the other day?¡± ¡°How did what work out?¡± ¡°You know, all that?Wicca,¡± Hannah whispered the word, ¡°stuff.¡± ¡°It went¡­ Better than expected¡­ I locked up the entity.¡± It had gone better than expected. She hadn¡¯t really thought about it since the aftermath was so painful, but thinking about it now, she was surprised she hadn¡¯t needed to try over several days. ¡°You locked it up? You didn¡¯t get?rid?of it?¡± ¡°Yeah, that was difficult enough. I can¡¯t imagine how hard it would be to get rid of it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m lost. So, you are just going to live with it?¡± Zaira shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve asked my friend, who is better versed in these things to help.¡± ¡°Help is good. Are you sure you don¡¯t want me to send the priest over? He came yesterday, he was a lovely man.¡± ¡°No! I mean, I¡¯m sure he was lovely, but I¡¯m fine thank you. On that note, how are things with your unwanted guest?¡± ¡°Too early to tell.¡± Hannah shrugged. ¡°It doesn¡¯t normally make an appearance every day. So, we had to wait and see. But I have faith it will work.¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Hannah smiled, then leaned back as her lips pinched together. Zaira was scratching a claw against a wound on her thigh. Her poor attempts to turn the conversation had failed and she was waiting for Hannah to continue poking holes in her story. Zaira knew that even her safety being threatened could not stop her from answering Hannah¡¯s questions. Or maybe if she were lucky, Hannah she would just leave, having decided that her suspicious neighbor was too risky for her to keep visiting. But Hannah didn¡¯t leave, and Zaira managed to keep her nervous self seated. In fact, Hannah did not continue with her questions. She launched into dialogue. Zaira had no more to talk about, but she didn¡¯t need to keep the conversation going. Hannah spoke enough for both of them, mostly of Ryan and what they had been doing at home the past few days, unnecessary details like what she had made them for breakfast. Zaira found out she didn¡¯t mind. She let her mind wander and the elder¡¯s voice became almost soothing. Zaira only made sure to acknowledge and agree in all the right places. ¡°Dear?¡± The stop in the flow of conversation pulled Zaira away from her empty thoughts and she focused her eyes on Hannah once again. ¡°I have been meaning to ask you. Where is your accent from?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± She ran both sets of claws down her tights. ¡°It¡¯s Allurian.¡± ¡°Allurian? I¡¯ve never heard of that.¡± ¡°Yes... It is¡­ Much like Hebrew?¡± ¡°As in it sounds similar?¡± Zaira took a moment to think. She struggled to find a good explanation for the non-humans¡¯, now sacred, language. ¡°No. As in, it is a cultural and religious language. Legend has it that it was the first language ever created and has been kept nearly unchanged since then, only adding words as needed. It¡¯s a simple language, made to be easy to learn and to be universal. To unite across time and space.¡± Zaira explained. ¡°And does it?¡± Hannah looked contemplative. ¡°Surprisingly well actually. I can go literally anywhere and can communicate with anyone who shares my religion.¡± Hannah looked at her surprised. ¡°There are different accents of course, depending on what regional language they use.¡± ¡°So, you would speak Allurian with an English accent?¡± ¡°No.¡± Hannah raised an eyebrow, prompting her to continue. ¡°English is a language I learned recently. My first language is¡­¡± ¡°Is Allurian?¡± Hannah asked as Zaira stalled. ¡°No, that¡¯s my second language. My first language is,¡± Zaira proceeded to make a raspy set of sounds that Hannah could never even begin to imitate. Hannah openly stared. ¡°What?¡± Zaira just shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Where are you from?¡± Solum.?¡°I recently came from Europa.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know of any Europan language that sounds like that.¡± Hannah looked at Zaira like one would a lying child. Zaira was regretting answering honestly, bile rising in her throat. Hannah opened her mouth, probably to ask another question, but shut it suddenly in favor of raising an eyebrow at the sudden motion from Zaira. The Yulmuth had jumped when a tense Rushka appeared behind Hannah. Quickly Zaira covered it up by pretending to look at something on her lap. ¡°My pager just buzzed. I¡¯m sorry Hannah, but I have to go to work. Can you see yourself out? I need to get ready.¡± ¡°Oh of course.¡± Zaira¡¯s face must have reflected how urgent it was as Hannah stood immediately, but she did study Zaira¡¯s face as she walked towards the exit. She passed through Rushka, not seeing them. Hannah stopped at the door, frowning. Zaira supposed the urgency was odd considering her earlier lie and very real injury. ¡°Let me know if you need anything.¡± The elder said as she left. Zaira nodded to the human and immediately turned to the angel. ¡°How bad is it?¡± Rushka didn¡¯t usually come to fetch her personally. ¡°Normal bad, I have need of your skills, I know you still have a day off, but can you come to work?¡± Zaira wanted to say no. But, how do you say no when you are the best equipped to save lives? ¡°Yeah. I can do it.¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t convincing.¡± Rushka¡¯s eyes looked her up and down. ¡°That entity injured you more severely than I had imagined.¡± ¡°I can do it.¡± She repeated louder. ¡°Just give me some more time between this and my next job.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you an actual week of peace this time.¡± They scanned her once more and must have decided she was healthy enough to work. Yet she had to stifle a gasp as they picked her up. They took off, up through the roof of the house. She relaxed as much as possible in their arms as they flew to their destination. It didn''t take much time to get there. She wasn''t sure which direction they''d flown. The air had cooled. The landscape was white. They landed in mists of glaciers. A mountain peak could be seen in the near distance. ¡°Two climbers fell down the glacier, into a crevasse.¡± They set her down gently. ¡°There''s a human rescue team coming, I''m going to delay them. I have reason to believe at least one person has survived, but they are too far down to be reached. Could you please bring them up? You see that cliff over there?¡± They pointed to an ice drop-off, about 40 feet in height. ¡°Perhaps you can make it look like they fell from there?¡± ¡°Consider it done.¡± She said with more confidence than she felt. Rushka took off and disappeared. Zaira¡¯s posture drooped. She looked at the vast field of ice. There was a large trail moving down the slope into one of the glacier¡¯s fissures. Zaira went to the tracks and crawled headfirst into the crevasse. Only a couple of feet in, the crevasse¡¯s walls went from vertical to overhanging, then switched back to vertical further down. Preventing much of the bright sun from reaching the bottom. As her eyes adjusted, she heard a crack and a gasp. Chunks of ice fell further into the crevasse, and she spotted a man scooting away from the edge of the ledge he had fallen on. She threw up glamours that would allow her to blend in with the ice and snow and approached. There was a second man a little further down, unmoving. The mobile man was attempting to put his gear together. He had blood leaking out of his mouth, his hands were trembling, and one shoulder looked like it was barely mobile. Zaira watched him stand and start to screw into the ice wall. She eyed the wall one more time. She could help guide him up or she could knock him unconscious and pull him up, then set up the scene as if he had climbed by himself. She scuttled down further to the still man, all the while keeping an eye on the one who was starting to climb, and checked his pulse. He was dead. A long yell of pain rang out. The man had taken his first step up. She approached, close enough to catch him were he to fall. His breathing was heavy. He was trembling. But there was determination in his face. She would follow him up. Work did encourage them to let them rescue themselves if possible. Yet her stomach was in knots as she watched the painful journey up. He placed six screws into the ice before returning to remove the lower two to reuse them above. He had a limited supply of ice screws. She knew what to do. He now found himself with an unlimited supply of screws in his pocket. He didn¡¯t seem to question it. Perhaps he thought he had forgotten about a stash. A third of the way up, he fell. She grabbed his harness to help cushion the fall. He yelled out his pain, over and over. He sobbed. But in what seemed like no time considering his levels of pain, he took a few deep breaths and he was moving again. This man was cut from a different cloth. After every hoist, he would take a break. He was wet. Tears, drool, blood, and spit. On top of it all, the meltwater was raining down on top of them; courtesy of the afternoon sun. Hours later and he had made it to the overhang. Where was the human rescue? Surely Rushka wouldn¡¯t hold them up this long. She didn¡¯t know how much longer this man would hold out. Of course, she was there to save him if the worse happened, but still, they should be there by now. Another fall. They were both crying now. Another fall. The overhang was making things harder. Another fall. Unconsciousness took him. Zaira thanked the gods; he wouldn¡¯t have to suffer much more. She unhooked him and brought him to the top of the crevasse. Laying him far enough away that he would not fall back in if he rolled. She also made sure his efforts would be recognized. The man was tough. She placed his six ice screws at the top of the crevasse and made sure his rope was visible so his partner could be easily located. Her work finished; she also collapsed. She was panting heart racing. Clearly, she hadn¡¯t recovered yet. And she had done next to nothing. ¡°I made it. I made it.¡± A weak mantra could be heard on the quiet slope. Zaira turned her head to look at the man who was slowly sitting up, she smiled. His eyes were wide as he looked down at his hands. He looked to the blue sky above, lucky to be able to see it again. ¡°Hey! Hello!¡± He yelled. Zaira looked around them. She couldn¡¯t see anyone. Where was the rescue team? ¡°Hello!¡± She needed to go look for help. She willed herself to stand and took off. Zaira circled the area, expanding her search every loop. The only thing breaking the ocean of white was an occasional exposed rock. Every time she saw one she hoped to see it move. She growled in frustration. Why was the mountain so empty? He spotted the two climbers before she did. Where the hell did they come from? Where had no importance. The strong-willed survivor was saved. She returned to the crevasse, laying in the snow not far from her prot¨¦g¨¦e. She heard more cries and shouts, snow crushing, before the world went black. Her foot was tapped by another¡¯s some time later. She opened her eyes, but quickly shut them again. She didn''t have time to spot the focuse on the creature, blinded by the sun''s snowy reflection. ¡°What took you so long?¡± Zaira groaned. ¡°Avalanche. The human rescue team was rerouted.¡± She recognised the voice of Shahar. ¡°Ah.¡± Zaira turned onto her stomach, one foot planted, the another planted, then she was vertical . She swayed a little bit as she looked around. The living climber was nowhere to be seen and the grave marker was still in place. ¡°Can I get a lift home please?¡± Shahar nodded. Their grasp was a little stiffer than Rushka¡¯s and the ride a little less comfortable, but, gods, was she glad to be heading home. They let go of her midair not far from her destination, she shouted a thank you at the disappearing streak in the sky. All she wanted to do now was curl up in bed, but it seemed the day¡¯s adventures were not quite done. Zaira spotted Ryan walking down her driveway as she approached her backyard. Great, first Hannah, now Ryan. She would not be inviting him for a visit, not that he would want agree if she offered. She landed with a hard thud. She grunted and gritted her teeth. One more thing, just one more thing. Zaira put her glamours on and entered her house. Halfway through her living room, she heard a knock on the door. She stood there for a moment. Her body was heavy, her eyes burning. The floor was much more inviting than the door. Though, if she spoke to him now, hopefully, he wouldn''t bother her tomorrow, then she could rest all day. She opened the door. ¡°Good evening, Ryan.¡± ¡°You look rougher than Hannah said you did.¡± Zaira leaned against the door frame. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°I have been thinking about your proposal. And I have decided to accept it.¡± ¡°I''m sorry Ryan...¡± She lifted her hand to her forehead, then dropped it back down. ¡°I''ve had a long week. What proposal was that?¡± ¡°Are still interested in splitting a car?¡± Zaira¡¯s eyebrows shot up. ¡°Yes, absolutely. Let me know when you are ready to go to the dealership.¡± Her thoughts went to Hannah. She pictured the woman sitting at a table with a group of ladies around her age, gossiping away. ¡°Well, I was originally thinking tomorrow but I see you are in desperate need of sleep.¡± ¡°That is the plan for the next couple of days, yes. You''ve caught me at a bad time.¡± Zaira was about to say goodnight when a question came to mind. ¡°I''m curious, what made you decide on the car?¡± Ryan¡¯s lips pursed. ¡°Vet¡¯s meet.¡± The corner of her mouth briefly lifted into a smile. ¡°That sounds like a plan. How about we go into town three days from now?¡± ¡°See you then,¡± Ryan mumbled. He left, she closed the door. Zaira went to the kitchen to chug a tall glass of water and felt the need to watch the elder human walk home. She only went upstairs once she saw him safely close the door behind him. Zaira went to the washroom, stripped, and crawled into bed. Just as her eyes shut, the ceiling started shaking loudly, howling screams made her eardrums vibrate. She growled and covered her head with her pillow. Tears leaked from her eyes from sheer exhaustion. The bed dipped down. A little shape pressed itself to her back and quiet whimpering could be heard between the demonic wails. Perhaps she passed out, perhaps she had outlasted the onslaught, but the world did finally fade away. Chapter Seven Zaira crawled right back into bed once she was done with her morning routine. She had worked the previous day and had nowhere to be. She rolled over to face the wall and noticed a teddy bear next to her. That had been on the couch when she had first gone upstairs. She couldn¡¯t sense the little ghost so she reached out and allowed herself to snuggle with the stuffy. She heard a car door shut outside. She chuckled. They had piled into a taxi a few days after her conversation with Ryan. The trip would have been shorter had it just been Ryan and Zaira, but Hannah had looked at them with such puppy dog eyes that they had agreed to let her come. Truth be told, it hadn¡¯t taken them long to crack. As a result, they spent 4 hours at the dealership as Hannah exchanged life stories with the dealers, even though they had already picked out a car model from the catalog. And, once groceries were done, they hopped from small shop to small shop listening to Hannah talk to the employees. As much as Zaira had just wanted to go home, this trip proved that this spontaneous idea had been a good one. Both Hannah and Ryan still had their driving licenses so Hannah would be able to go and chat up whoever she wanted whenever she wanted and Ryan could get supplies easily and, hopefully, find what he was looking for in the vets'' meet. After getting the car the only thing on Ryan''s list was to get into that vets meeting. They weren¡¯t in the legionnaire¡¯s office long as Ryan had strategically sent Hannah to get them coffee at the same time. As for Zaira, she had had nothing in mind, but she did snag some books. She also managed to sneak the teddy bear into her purchases without the Rosses¡¯ noticing. It was a simple fluffy brown bear with a pink ribbon but she had a feeling a little someone would like it. And sure enough, the bear had been moving around the house ever since. She had also bought a little wooden horse. She didn¡¯t know where it was now, not that she minded. It reminded her too much of her son, she didn¡¯t know what had possessed her to get it. When they had returned home, they decided the small SUV would live in the Rosses¡¯ driveway. A couple weeks later Hannah came skipping into her kitchen to deliver the cookies that couldn¡¯t fit in the containers Ryan had brought to his vet¡¯s meeting. She proceeded to tell Zaira how much more relaxed Ryan was and about her new friends in her knitting class. Zaira snorted and snuggled into the bear. Maybe she should get herself a cuddly friend too. There was a knock on the door. ¡°Hello dear!¡± Zaira groaned. ¡°One minute!¡± The demon threw off her covers. Her glamours went up, she put on mismatched clothes and headed downstairs. ¡°Still in bed? Are you sick?¡± ¡°Nope. Just didn¡¯t feel the need to get up.¡± Zaira flipped on the kettle. ¡°Tea?¡± ¡°No, thank you, dear. I¡¯ll let you have breakfast in peace.¡± Zaira watched Hannah as she waited for the water to boil. Hannah''s eyes wandered around the first floor and her face scrunched up. ¡°I''m sorry to trouble you, but it seems that I may need your help.¡± Zaira waited as Hannah strung her thoughts into words. ¡°You see, I''m starting to think you may be correct about identifying these things.¡± Hannah rubbed at the back of her neck. ¡°The priest blessed the house¡­ But things are still happening.¡± ¡°Yeah...¡± Zaira walked to the kitchen window and looked in the direction of the Ross home. This would be interesting. She had yet to feel an uninvited presence there during her visits. ¡°I¡¯m not surprised. How about I have a look after eating?¡± ¡°That would be great dear.¡± Hannah smiled.
Roughly an hour later Zaira was standing on the Rosses¡¯ porch. She had done a quick scan on the way over. Stretching out her senses to their rough half-mile limit. No creatures or beasts, plenty of animals. She may have to come back with her spell book. Hannah greeted her at the door and ushered her in. Ryan was sitting in his armchair, he gave her a quick, ¡°Hello,¡± before returning his attention to the day¡¯s newspaper. Zaira looked at Hannah, tapping her hands on her hips. ¡°Would you like some tea?¡± ¡°No, thank you. Let''s concentrate on your guest.¡± ¡°Good. Good.¡± Hannah swung her arms a couple of times and then clapped her hands together. ¡°So, where do we start?¡± ¡°What does your entity normally do?¡± ¡°Oh, it mostly likes to move things around. We hear scurrying a lot.¡± Hannah rubbed her arms, ¡°The worst is when it scratches at the window.¡± Zaira stretched out her senses over the house again. Nothing ¡°What gets moved?¡± ¡°Mostly the tools in the yard. Our windows open a lot. Sometimes these pieces have moved or fallen.¡± Hannah pointed to a few small tables and dressers, all of which were under windows. Zaira''s eyebrows furrowed. ¡°What makes you think it¡¯s a ghost?¡± ¡°Well, what else could it be?¡± ¡°Does food disappear?¡± ¡°Surely you can¡¯t be suggesting it¡¯s a raccoon or something? Ryan and I aren¡¯t that dumb. We would have seen it by now. Ryan¡¯s even left a live trap overnight a few times.¡± Zaira shrugged. She took a deep breath. She couldn¡¯t smell anything, a creature would have left a scent. ¡°Ryan? Thoughts?¡± She leaned to peek into the living room. ¡°I don¡¯t think it''s a raccoon, it''s too clean.¡± The man pinched his brow, then rolled his eyes. ¡°But a ghost would not need to unlock the window. I don¡¯t know what to think Zaira.¡± He readjusted himself. ¡°Right, thanks.¡± Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t have any better ideas at the moment. Though, she had never been in the Ross¡¯ backyard before. ¡°Mind if we go out back?¡± ¡°If it¡¯ll help assure you that we aren¡¯t crazy.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re crazy,¡± Zaira stated as they went out back. ¡°I just hope to find more clues.¡± The backyard wasn¡¯t gated. There were two sheds near the tree line, but otherwise, the yard was bare. Their grass was kept long and they allowed the smaller wild plants to take over. ¡°For the bees.¡± Hannah had said. Most of the plants were done blooming for the year, though Zaira could still smell wildflowers. Zaira walked out into the yard, looking at everything for a place to start. Near the sheds, she spotted a glimmer in the grass. Walked over to pick it up. A saw. Very well cared for, not rusted in any way. ¡°That¡¯s Ryan¡¯s. The ghost must have moved it. He doesn¡¯t just leave his tools outside.¡± Forgetting herself, Zaira brought the saw up to her nose. The handle smelt of wood and Ryan of course, and the blade of metal, but¡­ Zaira got down on the ground and smelled the ground. It smelled like dirt and grass. She smelt the blade again. Wildflowers. She took a deep breath. The air smelt of the same wildflowers, but the earth didn¡¯t. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Zaira placed the blade down right outside one of the sheds for Ryan to store later and walked back to the house. She opened the backdoor and took another deep breath. The wildflower smell was present. She turned to see Hannah right behind. The woman was looking at her intently, eyebrows furrowed. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°What do you use to scent your house?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± ¡°Your house smells of flowers. I can smell it out here too.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t use anything that would smell that strongly. Actually, I don¡¯t really use anything. I guess the house does smell of flowers. I hadn¡¯t really noticed. Not that it matters.¡± As rambled, Zaira¡¯s mind suddenly remembered that extra soul, that other sentient being on the Ross property that day she was trying to identify the entity in her own home. ¡°When do you have the most issues?¡± ¡°At night.¡± ¡°Hannah? I think you may be the one to find me crazy now.¡± ¡°What are you thinking dear?¡± That soul signature had not felt like a beast¡¯s. And the smell¡­ ¡°Cryptid.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry what?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have an issue with a nonphysical entity. It¡¯s a cryptid.¡± ¡°Now dear, really?¡± ¡°You¡¯d believe in ghosts but not cryptids?¡± ¡°It¡¯s more likely to be a raccoon.¡± ¡°More likely, yes. But as you said, you¡¯d have noticed a raccoon.¡± ¡°And, and¡­ Ghosts are just the souls of the dead, humans exist so they do too. Cryptids¡­ Bigfoot, Nessie¡­ They don¡¯t exist.¡± Oh no. She broke Hannah. ¡°I believe they do. Well, not Nessie, the loch is too small. Tell you what, I¡¯ll come back tonight and investigate. See if that changes my mind.¡± ¡°Alright dear, I¡¯ll see you tonight.¡± ¡°No, no, please. I¡¯ll be by at two or three, stay in bed.¡± Zaira guided Hannah back to the house. She didn¡¯t trust the elder to not trip on the way back. Hannah had started speaking to herself about the smell, and the more commonly known cryptids. Zaira let Hannah in the house and called out; ¡°Sorry Ryan!¡± Before closing the door behind her.
A few hours before dawn Zaira found herself sitting just on the inside of the tree line, looking into the Rosses¡¯ backyard. She had been sitting there for at least an hour, and she leaned her head on the tree behind her. A creature had yet to show itself. No new smells or signatures either. This may have to be a multi-day operation. She closed her eyes, feeling herself drifting. She took deep breaths, taking in the smell of the evergreens and the earth which was heavily perfumed by the needles rotting on the ground. The gentle snap of a twig made her eyes fly open. Her eyes immediately focused on a dark shape. It was out in the open. Her first thought was of a large porcupine. But despite the quills, it stood on two legs and had an athropomorphic face. The smell of wildflowers was stronger now. She didn¡¯t stretch out her senses, lest she alert it to her presence. She watched it open the shed door. Standing on the tips of its toes it reached the shed handle. It put both hands on the handle and used its weight to slide the door open a crack. It dropped back down and leveraged on one door to be able to slide the other door open a foot, then slipped inside. It came back out with a rake, needing both hands to hold on to it. It bounced into the middle of the yard, then started spinning in place, arms outstretched, still holding the rake. A few seconds later it let go, sending the rake flying. She heard it emit what she believed was a high-pitched giggle and it ran to the rake. Her lips quirked up. The process repeated a few times before it decided to change the game. It ran and vaulted, jumping into the air, giggling all the while. She''d never seen this species before, but she had come across it when reading about this land. She tapped her claws against a tree, she could not remember their name. They were known as tricksters by the human nomads. Mischievous, but not harmful. She didn¡¯t know how to get rid of them. Or if she should. After all, it lived on these lands. Would it be open to negotiation? She watched it flip over small stones and accidentally spill the flower pots. She frowned when it scratched at the living room window. Her entity still did that, scratching at the ceiling above her. She knew what it was and that it couldn¡¯t harm her, yet she still found herself clutching her blankets and taking shaky breaths. Her teeth bared at the thought of Hannah doing the same. It scratched at the living room window once more before somehow unlocking the back door and letting itself in. Zaira stood, and gripped a nearby branch instead of running in after it, waiting to see what would happen. Her forced patience was wearing thin when it finally re-emerged with some of Hannah¡¯s cooking. It plopped itself down against Ryan¡¯s cutting block and began eating. Zaira continued watching for a time. Still standing, her eyes drifted close, and she jolted herself awake. Zaira rubbed her eyes and looked back into the yard. The cryptid was still munching away. She stretched. There wasn¡¯t any reason the continue her watch. She tiptoed through the trees back home.
She found herself in Refuge¡¯s community hall the next afternoon. She returned the professional smile from the receptionist with a nod and a tight smile. On the right was a heavy door with a large sign above it with the words;?Public Portals. There were two guards on either side. They didn¡¯t move as she turned the knob. Nor should she expect them to, they were only there in case of an emergency, but she still kept a close eye on their expressions as she entered. Zaira nearly tripped over herself as she entered the room. She felt rooted to the ground as she looked at the security in the room. There were two guards for every portal, of which there were about a dozen. She also recognized the runes on the wall meant to trap any person they decided was dangerous. ¡°First time?¡± A guard approached. He was wearing a slightly different uniform than the others as well as a warm smile. ¡°Where are you heading?¡± ¡°Yes, um,¡± she normally preferred to use the Underworld Gates, fewer people. But these were more practical. ¡°library please.¡± ¡°Right this way.¡± He led her to a gate that was very clearly labeled Velong Library. She followed, thanked him, and within a stomach-churning second was standing in the foyer of the brain-child of Abraxis. A magical library that contained a copy of all volumes which had crossed the border of the continent of Verlong. A true magical marvel. It was modeled after an Afru-ikan legend. A worldwide library that had existed during Ra¡¯s reign in the Northern part of Afru-Ika. But hadn¡¯t survived the collapse. Or perhaps it was the brainchild of a powerful wizard who lived in Milerna, the great walled city in Southern Afru-Ika. Multiple other continents are said to be working on their own version. The round chamber she found herself in had no visible door to the outside. On either side were large entryways leading further into the building, showcasing a sitting area, filled bookshelves, and curved staircases leading up. Lamps lit every corner and not a single book was out of place. Despite the opulence and cleanliness, the atmosphere welcomed the visitor. The building smelt of old books and a hint of burning wood from the enchanted fireplaces. In between the entrances was a wonderfully carved desk depicting the biomes of Verlong, with a few figures hinting at the creatures that lived in them. Behind that desk sat the most unlikely creature, one which did not even belong to this planet. A Sherrossi demon. He was massive, at least twice Zaira¡¯s size if not thrice, tall, and every limb thick. Bright red skin. His large black oxen-like horns stuck out at least three feet out the side of his head. She couldn¡¯t see his feet but knew they ended in hooves. Despite the intimidating form, he himself did not radiate anything but calmness. He was writing in a ledger, small spectacles perched on his nose. ¡°This is a safe space.¡± He said, not lifting his head. Zaira¡¯s wondering thoughts were grounded as the Sherrossi spoke to her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± He looked up and straightened out. ¡°Anyone found harassing others will be removed from the premises.¡± Zaira felt her eyes tear, and she lowered her head. ¡°I¡¯m not planning on harassing anyone.¡± ¡°No, no, no, no, no.¡± Zaira heard tiny hurried footfalls. She looked up to see that a cave elf, about the size of her forearm had run across the Sherrossi¡¯s desk. These were native to the caves of Owijane, the continent north of this one. She spotted the cave elf¡¯s desk; it was sitting on the larger desk off to the right. ¡°Abraxis is referring to your glamour spells.¡± The elf¡¯s large eyes blinked at her. ¡°You don¡¯t need them here.¡± Zaira¡¯s chest tightened, she was finding it hard to breathe. Abraxis stood and walked slowly around the desk. His large form loomed over her even before he reached her. When he reached her personal space, she felt just as small as the cave elf. ¡°I¡¯m afraid if you don¡¯t drop your glamours, I will have you removed.¡± Zaira did so. ¡°And the last one?¡± ¡°Please no.¡± She whispered. She was crying. She switched to Uavic, an Underworld language enchanted by Death themself to make lying nigh impossible. Praying this old demon would understand her. ¡°I¡¯m not here to cause trouble. The humans. You know what it''s like.¡± Abraxis took a few steps back, she took the opportunity to take some deep breaths. ¡°I¡¯ve been lucky enough to avoid it, but I¡¯ve heard the stories. I¡¯m sorry for whatever¡¯s happened to you. You are in good company here, do not worry about your glamours. But, I won¡¯t keep you from putting them back if you feel more comfortable.¡± Zaira nodded, head low. ¡°Thank you.¡± The glamours were up again as soon as Abraxis sat down. He gave her a sad smile but didn¡¯t comment as he returned to his work. The cave elf jumped off the desk and ran up to her. ¡°So, what are you looking for?¡± The elf looked up at her with a large smile. ¡°Um, Verlong¡¯s cryptids.¡± ¡°Myth or science?¡± ¡°Science.¡± ¡°Um...¡± The little elf bounced from one foot to another, their large ears flapping with every bounce. ¡°There isn¡¯t much. They aren¡¯t well studied, you know, on account of them being willing to eat anything.¡± They stilled, staring at the wall behind her. This was quickly followed by a large nod. ¡°I know where to look. Follow me.¡± They waved to her. Zaira followed behind, keeping a close eye on the small creature, not looking up to either marvel at the building or look at the many diverse creatures she saw pass them. ¡°Ok. You stay here.¡± Zaira looked around, they were in a sitting area with large plush chairs. Long low tables sat in the middle of sets of four chairs. Each seat had a small side table with coasters. ¡°I¡¯m not allowed to go browse the shelves?¡± ¡°Of course you are! But you don¡¯t look ok. Let me go get you your books.¡± They led her to one of the chairs. She didn¡¯t argue and sat down. Only then did Zaira realize she was still trembling. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°What would like to drink?¡± She going to ask if that was allowed but heard herself whisper. ¡°Cocoa.¡± The elf smiled and snapped its finger. A cup of cocoa materialized and drifted onto the little side table. She took the mug in both hands. ¡°Thank you. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Kial. I¡¯ve worked with Abraxas all my life. He¡¯s not really scary... you just looked a little suspicious.¡± ¡°I understand. It''s ok.¡± Zaira smiled at Kial and took a sip of the cocoa. The warmth radiated throughout her torso and did wonders for her composure. Kial smiled back and disappeared with a pop. They returned with two books and place them on the long table in front of her. She picked one of them up. Then another book arrived, and another, and another. She had a neat stack to flip through in no time. The issue was, these were very broad, going over mostly the same few cryptids. She flipped quickly through the pages looking for a picture of her unknown cryptid. The sixth book yielded results. ¡°Kial,¡± she caught them as they were putting more books on the table, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to change things up on you, but would you have anything on this specifically?¡± Kial leaned in. ¡°Pukwudgies¡­ I don¡¯t know. Let me check.¡± They disappeared again. Her attention returned to the book entry. Pukwudgie Pukwudgies are commonly found in Canadensia and have been seen as far west as Eastern Saanich. They are small, around 2 to 3 feet tall, anthropoids, with long faces and quills running from the top of their head all the way down their back. As with most cryptids they are loners. They are known for their trickery. Not much else is known about them as they are flighty when approached and hostile when aggravated. There have been reports of pukwudgies brandishing spears, indicating they may be able to use tools. According to legends, they can teleport independently and shapeshift. It is hard to determine if reports of them teleporting are accurate as they could simply be quick and/or adapt at disappearing around the foliage of the forests they call home. Reports of shapeshifting are unsubstantiated. Zaira tapped her claws on the armrest. It was a start. She picked up another book. Nothing. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find anything more precise.¡± Kial dumped three more books on the table. ¡°These do have entries in them.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°No. Thank you, Kial.¡± Their smile was wide as they offered her a sight bow. They walked away, back towards the entrance. Zaira scanned the room. The shelves in front of her seemed to go on forever. To her right was a large window. A shapeshifter was lying on a rug under it, right in a sunbeam, book in hand. She could hear calm breathing behind her somewhere. All the other seats were empty. Zaira took a sip of her cocoa, leaned back, and settled in for some reading.
Zaira stood and stretched. The sun was starting to set. She had not spent that entire time reading on pukwudgies. She had only found three entries on those, mostly repeating the same things. They did seem to like food. But was it wise to encourage them to come back? Granted it was already stealing the Rosses¡¯ food, perhaps an offering would mitigate the mess. Her fourteen books were placed on the trolley labeled ¡®returns¡¯. The shelves had stood out to her as the most organized she had ever seen, and she didn¡¯t want to ruin it by attempting to return the books herself. The fourteenth book had been a fantasy she had picked out herself. Her hands lingered on the cover of?The Dragon¡¯s lair. She had stayed long enough to finish it, they weren¡¯t allowed to remove any books from the premises, though there was a reservation station. She supposed it was time to go inform Hannah and Ryan of her discovery. Though, how much would they believe? She paused on the way out to say thank you to Kial and nod to Abraxis. The return to Refuge was smooth, her nerves returned, but she fast-walked out of the community hall and avoided locking eyes with anyone. She took off outside and headed in the direction of home. Chapter Eight Zaira circled overhead. Their street was brighter than she was expecting at that time of day. There were no street lights this far out of the city. At night, the only lights usually came from the two houses and the hundreds of visible stars. Zaira followed the light to its source. A car was parked at the intersection of 10th Line and Hwy 84. Headlights on, no hazards. Odd. Maybe they were lost. She turned back to the houses. It was shortly past sunset. Knowing the Rosses were likely still awake, Zaira landed and knocked on their door. ¡°Oh! Hello dear. I was wondering where you were. I went by your place at noon, but it was locked.¡± ¡°Yeah, I was at the library. I spotted your guest last night. But I needed to do a bit of research.¡± ¡°Yes, and?¡± Hannah inched a little closer. ¡°It''s a pukwudgie. A cryptid. Not a dangerous one though.¡± ¡°You are bloody joking.¡± Ryan appeared behind Hannah. ¡°First ghosts, now this. Ghosts, fine. But this is too far.¡± ¡°Um. Not sure what else to say.¡± Zaira rubbed at the back of her head. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to you tomorrow dear.¡± Hannah shot Ryan a look and backed away to give the door enough room to close. ¡°Are you working?¡± ¡°Hannah, you can''t really think-¡± Ryan hissed. ¡°Inside, Ryan. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow dear.¡± The door was shut and Zaira heard the Rosses¡¯ talking on the other side. Well. She wasn¡¯t sure what she had expected. She had forgotten herself; they were still human. And like the majority of humans, they were cut off from all other sentient creatures on the planet. She stepped down from the porch and before heading home, Zaira circled around the Rosses¡¯ house. A visual sweep of the yard revealed nothing out of place. She also walked a little further down the road, there were no headlights, nor could she see the shape of a car. She shrugged off the evening¡¯s events and turned for home. Through the window, big blue eyes watched her walk down the driveway. The little child¡¯s hands and nose pressed against the glass. The ghost ran to her as soon as the door was opened. Little hands gripped her pants tightly. It wasn¡¯t hard to tell what was spooking the kid. Howling was emanating throughout the house. Zaira resisted the urge to leave the house. She had been planning on going straight to bed but this wouldn¡¯t do. Since she hadn¡¯t eaten more than that hot chocolate, she prepared a meal, sat down, the child still hanging on to her, and hoped the entity would shut up at a reasonable hour.
Hannah did come to see her the next day. They sat over tea and homemade biscuits and Zaira told her about the little she had found. Hannah looked reluctant to believe everything she said and was in fact rather pale, but she wasn¡¯t dismissive. That evening they went to the backyard, under the guise of enjoying the last of the warm weather, leaving Ryan to read in the living room. ¡°Um. Hello?¡± Zaira watched as Hannah shuffled her way to the porch stairs and took the stairs one at a time, her eyes darting back and forth along the treeline. She held in her hands a child-sized portion of food, leftovers of the night¡¯s supper, as well as a couple chocolate chip cookies. ¡°Zaira tells me you are the one who is moving things around. Um- I would appreciate it if you could stop breaking into the house. And scratching at the window ¨C that scares me. You can play outside, but please, could you put everything back where you found it when you are done? This is for you.¡± Hannah placed the plate on the chopping block. ¡°For your cooperation.¡± Hannah straightened and watched the treeline. Zaira stood on the porch watching Hannah. The elder human turned to her. ¡°Is something supposed to happen now?¡± Zaira shrugged. ¡°Not really.¡± ¡°What am I supposed to do with the food?¡± ¡°Leave it there.¡± ¡°But what if an animal gets it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to know if this works until things stop happening. Try for a week and see.¡± ¡°Ok, dear.¡± Hannah clapped her hands together. ¡°I hope this works.¡± ¡°Me too.¡±
Zaira was reading by her open window. The air was crisp and brought in with it the scent of the pines. They didn¡¯t change their colors as spectacularly as deciduous trees but they did drop some of their needles in the fall, giving them a particularly sharp smell, in which Zaira basked. She looked up from her book and spotted a star in the clear blue sky. Within seconds it went from barely visible to near blinding as it approached her home. She averted her gaze. Soon after the house was illuminated as Rushka came in through the wall and landed in front of her. The angel¡¯s light dimmed and their lovely umber features came into view. Their features were neither hard nor soft. They were wearing an orange bogolan with a geometric pattern as a skirt. It was reminiscent of the cultures they had been surrounded by for 200 years or so at their last job. ¡°Hey, ndugu.¡± ¡°Hello, sister.¡± They smiled. ¡°What is this?¡± They brushed their fingers over her hair near a horn. ¡°You¡¯re red again.¡± Zaira¡¯s throat closed as they said that. The rest of her glamour spells went up and she looked once more like the pale dark-haired anthropoid woman, lacking horns and wings. ¡°Really? It''s just me.¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± She took a deep breath in. Then dropped the spells, returning to her former state. The stronger glamour spell on her face remained, as always. Rushka looked at her, head to the side with a tight smile. They looked around and picked up her mostly empty mug of tea from the coffee table and went to the kitchen. Zaira sat back down on the couch and watched them as they made her another cup of tea and made themselves a mug of hot chocolate, with cinnamon and nutmeg. They also cut up an apple, garnishing it with the same spices. ¡°You¡¯ve not made any friends?¡± They asked as they returned, mugs in hand, their apple floating behind them on a plate. Zaira took her mug and stared at the dark liquid. ¡°Do the Rosses count?¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Do they?¡± ¡°They are friendly.¡± Rushka placed their mug and apple on the coffee table next to her. ¡°That¡¯s good. Anyone else?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not really been out.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Zaira shrugged. She picked up her book, which was lying face down beside her, slid its bookmark into it, and put it on the coffee table. Rushka sat on the newly vacated section of the couch. ¡°Books can¡¯t replace people.¡± ¡°Could I get you to help with the entity?¡± Rushka shook their head, and she heard a small chuckle. ¡°I take it you didn¡¯t get my last message. Where did you get stuck?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s a demon. The lock-up worked, but I¡¯m not comfortable with the banishment spell. To be honest, I barely managed that lock-up spell.¡± Rushka nodded. They put their feet up on the coffee table, bit into a piece of their apple, and sunk back into the pillows. ¡°I¡¯ll have a look at it after my snack.¡± ¡°Take your time.¡± Zaira smiled at them. Rushka deserved some rest after their four-week work shift. She found her small contracts so mentally taxing; she couldn¡¯t imagine having to do the kind of work they did for so long. Angels saw the worst in all creatures, the most horrible events. Yet, they always seemed to have hope, faith, and joy to share, and the strength and sanity to carry on. She could never understand. They sat in silence for the next hour. Rushka stared at the wall and nibbled on their snack, Zaira mostly reading her book. ¡°What do you want Zaira?¡± Zaira turned to look at the angel, had she been subconsciously annoying them? But she wasn¡¯t near them, nor were they looking at her. They were staring at the unlit fireplace. ¡°What do you want in life?¡± She frowned. They had gone over this before, three hundred years ago, when they had been assigned her case. She had wanted stability, purpose, a home... She had that now. ¡°Are you still my caseworker?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Zaira looked away. ¡°And here I thought you were my friend now.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t often seek companionship with my cases.¡± They shouldn¡¯t seek companionship with their cases, they both knew that. ¡°As your caseworker, and as your friend. What do you want?¡± ¡°Why do you ask? Everything is fine.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still your caseworker.¡± Zaira shook her head and picked up her book once more, her body tense. She has a guess as to why they hadn¡¯t been taken off her case yet. Rushka didn¡¯t ask anything else. They settled once more into silence. With each breath, Zaira forced herself to release the tension in her body. Rushka¡¯s head leaned back, and they closed their eyes. Another hour went by. Zaira felt her eyelids droop. Her book hung limply in her hand as she stared at the floor. She could hear Rushka trailing their fingers on the sofa¡¯s sidearm. They may have lazed about for another few hours had it not been for a loud scream. The loud shrill sound ripped both of them from their thoughts and demanded their attention. It was followed by the sounds of the attic shaking, like a small earthquake. Rushka looked up, ¡°Huh. You don¡¯t hear that through a lock-up spell very often.¡± Zaira had read in the book that the spell was supposed to silence trapped entities. Given her results, she had assumed that it had been an exaggeration. Her hands balled. She truly had been lucky to escape with only those scratches. Rushka sighed and put their empty mug on the table. ¡°I suppose I should rid you of this nuisance.¡± They stood and moved upstairs; she followed closely behind. They looked to the ceiling and back to her. ¡°Impressive work.¡± Zaira nodded her thanks. She felt a slight glow in her chest. ¡°Where¡¯s the attic?¡± Rushka asked, their eyes scanned the length of the hallway¡¯s ceiling. ¡°Back left.¡± ¡°This is like something out of a horror novel,¡± Rushka remarked as they examined the hole in the wall. ¡°Wait till you see the occupant.¡± Rushka let out a short laugh as they stepped through the hole. Their eyes glanced at the stairs on the floor and then up to the sheet covering the entrance. They tugged the visual barrier down. A skinned face greeted them. Red and inflamed, it dripped blood that never reached the floor. It had barred its teeth and started growling at the sight of them. It lunged at the barrier separating them. It was forced away but wasn''t deterred as it returned to claw at the boundary. Deformed hands hit the blockage over and over. Zaira could hear the wood being ripped away from the frame as it brought its hands back to neutral to strike again. Rushka didn¡¯t flinch at the sight. They watched for a bit before, assisted by their wings, they gracefully hopped up through the entrance into the attic. For all its bravado, Zaira heard the entity scramble back. Then she heard it hiss and saw a shadow pass over the entrance. Rushka took a step aside, then walked away from the entrance. Zaira jumped and grabbed hold of the entrance¡¯s frame, hoisting herself up just enough to be able to see into the room. Rushka¡¯s gaze was actively avoided by the snarling entity, which had reverted to the black twisted form she had faced. The angel even turned their back to the entity when it lunged. They approached the mirror first. As they got close the entity leaped, not at the angel, but at the mirror. Rushka¡¯s wing snapped out and the entity bounced right off of it. Zaira sensed a rise of magical energy in the room as Rushka cast a short series of wordless spells. With a small wave of their hand, the mirror shattered and lay on the floor, dull, no longer seeing. The creature roared. It leaped at Rushka. Before it could reach them, the angel sent out a blinding light. Zaira saw white. Her eyes closed tight against the painful amount of light. Her grip slipped and she dropped to the floor. Just as well as pained screaming echoed around her and she pressed her palms to her ears. The shrieking became yelping then the creature''s sounds were replaced by rushing winds, and then, nothing. Her hands left her ears as the light receded. Zaira¡¯s eyes traded blinding white for dancing reds, greens, and blues. ¡°Rushka? Is it gone?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Their voice sounded much closer. ¡°Fucking show off.¡± Rushka let out a laugh as they jumped back down to the second floor. ¡°How¡¯s your eyesight?¡± Zaira blinked a few times. Shadows were returning. ¡°It''s coming back.¡± Rushka took her arm and led her through the hallway and down the stairs. ¡°That was¡­anticlimactic, and an ending not worth being in a horror novel.¡± Zaira grinned as Ruska let out another laugh. ¡°I¡¯m an angel, what were you expecting?¡± They stopped walking at the base of the stairs. ¡°Can I stay for supper?¡± Zaira squeezed her ndugu¡¯s arm. ¡°Of course, you can stay for sup -oh!¡± A force had run into her at thigh height, and she felt two little arms wrap around her leg. Zaira looked down to see a blurry version of the little ghost. ¡°Oh,¡± Rushka echoed. They squatted down to look at the translucent child. ¡°Hello, little one. What are you doing up here?¡± The child shyly huddled in closer behind Zaira. ¡°She likes you.¡± ¡°Yes¡­So she is separate?¡± ¡°Separate from what?¡± ¡°The entity.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And she is just a ghost?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ruska¡¯s eyes twinkled. ¡°Oh. Good.¡± A surprising amount of weight lifted off the woman''s shoulders. Rushka chuckled. ¡°Try picking her up.¡± Zaira raised an eyebrow at the angel. He nodded towards the little one who was gripping her pants tightly. Tentatively, she reached down to pick up the child. The girl let go of her pants without prompting and lifted her arms up. Zaira''s hands made contact with an itchy wool dress and baby-soft, cold, skin. She lifted the child into her arms. They heard the girl squeal gleefully. Zaira¡¯s near-normal vision was immediately blocked by little arms reaching for the nearby foot-tall horns. ¡°Do that and I¡¯ll put you back down.¡± Her tone was not as harsh as she wanted it to be. The girl¡¯s eyes went wide, and she tucked her arms under her as she rested her head on Zaira¡¯s shoulder. At the weight of the little head, the woman¡¯s arm tightened around the small child. She cradled the child and memories flooded back to the last time she had held a child like this. Her son. He wasn¡¯t much older than this child when he died. Zaira¡¯s throat closed, and she glared at Rushka, tears in her eyes. They were smiling¡ª the asshole. What was the point of this? ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me about that spirit.¡± She bared her teeth but forced words out anyways. ¡°Honestly - I wasn¡¯t certain if the demon was just trying to trick me with the vision of a child.¡± Rushka shook their head. ¡°Not a demon. A human soul who practiced some very dark magic in life.¡± Zaira threaded her fingers through soft hair, rubbing the child''s scalp a little. The toddler readjusted and gripped the front of her shirt. The cold was the only reminder that the child wasn¡¯t living. ¡°A spirit can get that powerful?¡± ¡°Even more powerful than that actually. It''s all about willpower, intent, and practice.¡± They nodded toward the child. ¡°Has she been a problem?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then she can wait a little longer. I¡¯m tired.¡± They declared as they sat down on the sofa. Zaira moved to the rocking chair across from them. She started rocking the little ghost much the same as she had rocked her son. The Yulmuth smiled. He had been a small solace in an unforgiving world. He had been an accident. When his father proposed to her to ¡®make things right¡¯, she had stupidly agreed. The little girl relaxed even more in her arms. Her little arms fell to the side and her legs stretched out. Zaira could imagine that since she had died, the girl had lacked the attention children needed. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she rubbed the child¡¯s back. She had lived with the entity for a few short weeks, what had the girl experienced? Comforted by the little weight, cold as it may be, Zaira forced her thoughts away from her son, away from the girl. She watched Rushka''s eyelids fall, and their breathing become more regular. She thought perhaps she should bring them upstairs to rest on an actual bed, but the presence of the child kept her seated. That was until the ghost faded away. Zaira started trembling at her absence, her breathing became labored. She gripped the arms of the rocking chair and took a few deep breaths, feeling the emotions disappear into her once more. Before they could overwhelm her again, she turned her attention to her ndugu. She lifted Ruskha carefully and brought them upstairs, laying them in her bed. She would need to add a guest bedroom for them. The Amagus returned downstairs and started making supper.
A wooden spoon was floating in the air over the counter. Sometimes it was still, sometimes it shook widely in the air, occasionally striking the counter and other times it tap-taped the counter. She couldn¡¯t see the child brandishing the weapon but found them adorable anyways. Zaira scraped her stir fry out of the pan and into her plate. She spotted Hannah walking down the street with a white box in her hands. Zaira snuck in a few bites of her lunch before going to open the door for her neighbor. ¡°Hello dear! May I come in?¡± The wooden spoon clattered to the floor. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Nothing. Please come in.¡± Zaira went into the kitchen and bent over to pick up the spoon. ¡°What do you have there?¡± Hannah set the box on the counter. ¡°Open it.¡± Zaira walked over, side-eyed the elder, and lifted the lid of the box. She let out a laugh. Inside was a small cake. Someone had drawn a porcupine on it with icing. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Hannah wrapped Zaira in her arms and squeezed tightly, the demon tensed. ¡°Thank you so much.¡± The woman let her go. ¡°That cryptid has not shown up now for a month. Well, it does eat the food. But, but! I get to sleep through the night and Ryan doesn¡¯t need to clean the yard every day. Yes, thank you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad that worked.¡± Zaira smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s have some cake to celebrate!¡± ¡°Oh, um I just started my lunch, maybe after.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Hannah waved her off. ¡°You can warm that up later and have cake now.¡± ¡°Um...¡± Hannah egged her to the table and went into the cupboards to retrieve a couple of plates and forks. Behind her, Zaira saw the faint outline of the toddler crawling on the counter. They looked inside the cake box and put their face down into it. The baby¡¯s face would have normally come back up full of icing but of course, she came up clean. The baby gave a little whine before disappearing again. ¡°Did you say something dear?¡± Hannah looked at Zaira as she put the dishes next to the cake. ¡°Nope.¡± Chapter Nine Zaira sat in her rocking chair and placed her tea on her side table. She watched fluffy white clouds traverse the bright blue sky as she waited for Baby to join her. After a moment, Baby materialized on her lap, the little one¡¯s weight gradually appearing until Zaira could wrap her arms around a physical body. Baby never failed to join her here. Some days she just held Baby; other days Baby would babble to her. The child¡¯s babbling could sometimes be heard clearly or other times it would sound like she was babbling on the other side of a wall. But of course, when Baby decided to cry, Zaira would hear that loud and clear. Baby didn''t cry very often, but when she did, the cries demanded her attention. Zaira found herself dropping everything to go find Baby. A ghost child had very few needs so often Zaira only had to find Baby for the tears to stop flowing. Baby would give her a smile and a giggle then disappear. Baby would also often demand to be held several times a day. Sometimes, when Zaira was doing chores, she felt little hands grab at her legs, a face rub against her leg for a brief moment. Baby had also started greeting her at the door. The first time Zaira had come home from a contract and little footsteps had run towards her, materializing into a happy toddler; little arms in the air, a big smile on their face, and colliding with her legs, Zaira had cried. The woman always scooped Baby up and held her close. The loner loved it all. She had missed it. But every so often, the truth would crack down upon her weighing her down with a simple fact. The girl was dead. Zaira was living a lie.
¡°Hello dear!¡± ¡°Hi, Hannah!¡± Zaira picked herself off the floor and cast her glamours. Stretching, she ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. She heard a little whine and looked down to see Baby holding the teddy she had bought her, pouty-lipped at having playtime interrupted. Zaira gave her a small smile and the girl faded away. Zaira picked up the fallen teddy and tossed it onto her bed. She closed her bedroom door behind her as she went to greet Hannah. Her ears perked up as she rounded the corner of the staircase. Hannah was thanking a young man. The man nodded to Zaira when she appeared in the hall. He lifted a tall skinny rectangular package into the entryway and made his exit. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°A gift.¡± Hannah''s eyes sparkled and her hands were clasped together in front of her chest. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I saw it in stores and thought of you. I think it will suit your tastes. Go on, open it.¡± Zaira approached the box, she snapped the top open using her disguised claws. She was curious as to what someone would give her. She had not received a physical gift in a long time. The object in the box was covered by foam. ¡°I would lay it on the floor,¡± Hannah said. Zaira did so. A knot rose in her throat at the weight of it. The side of the box lifted like a book cover. The foam was lifted. It was a mirror. Thankfully the protective peel obscured her visage. Zaira bit her lip and hid her clenched fists behind her back. ¡°Do you like it?¡± Zaira plastered a smile on her face before looking up to answer Hannah. ¡°Yes, I do.¡± A lie. ¡°It¡¯ll go well with my ensuite.¡± Not a lie. The mirror had a driftwood-shaped frame. The wood was the near exact color of the bathroom furniture and would contrast the wall. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll install it tonight.¡± Another lie. ¡°Why don¡¯t we do that now?¡± Hannah bounced a little, smiling. ¡°Umm, ok.¡± ¡°Lead the way dear.¡± Zaira closed the box and picked it up. She stopped at the closet to grab her tools and made her way upstairs. Hannah followed close behind. ¡°Planning on having a few children dear?¡± Zaira''s heart stopped, and she froze. Hannah nearly collided with her. Zaira turned to Hannah, scrutinizing the elder¡¯s face, forcing her brain to try and understand the comment. Hannah''s expression fell. ¡°I''m sorry dear. That was in poor taste. I''d forgotten.¡± Hannah¡¯s gaze fell to the object which had prompted the comment. ¡°Was that your boy¡¯s?¡± Zaira pinched her lips, turned, snatched up the wooden horse Baby had left in the hallway, and pitched it into one of the empty rooms, slamming the door behind it. Zaira marched to her bedroom. She fumbled with the doorknob of the closed door. ¡°I can-¡± Zaira growled at the offered help. The door opened suddenly. She stumbled into the room. She headed straight to the ensuite, dropping and barely managing to place the mirror down gently. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Breath in. Breath out. Breath in. Hannah waited a moment before shuffling into the bedroom. Zaira heard her do a lap around the room before joining her in the ensuite. Zaira kneeled and began preparing their project, taking out the instructions, the needed tools, and the needed hardware. Zaira could feel Hannah¡¯s presence behind her. It felt heavy, choking. ¡°Ask Hannah. That¡¯s what you do, isn''t it? Ask irritating questions?¡± Zaira¡¯s head snapped up to meet Hannah''s teary eyes. ¡°It''s OK. Let¡¯s just get your mirror set up dear.¡± Zaira exhaled sharply and scratched at her scalp. She stood up. ¡°It¡¯s like kicking a puppy -I¡¯m sorry Hannah.¡± ¡°No, no you are right dear. I pry. Let¡¯s get this done, shall we?¡± Hannah leaned on the doorframe as she kneeled on the floor. The elder gave her a tight smile. Zaira stood for a moment before conceding and joining Hannah. The instructions were flipped open, and the few pieces counted. Hannah read the first line out loud, but Zaira did not process it. She was staring at the floor, level hanging loosely in her hand, ¡°You can ask your question... if you''d like.¡± She was sure Hannah would ask sooner or later. If only another day. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± Hannah waved her hand about. ¡°It''s very ¨C sterile, in here. You have nothing, you¨C.¡± ¡°I have my books.¡± ¡°Yes, your books¡­ And a couple toys... Did you? Was your husband abusive?¡± ¡°He didn''t start out that way.¡± Hannah moved towards her; Zaira raised a hand between them. ¡°I was on the streets for a while. Rushka helped me get back on my feet. Now, please, can we? Get this over with?¡± ¡°Of course, dear. I''m sorry.¡± Zaira stood and held the mirror up for a relative idea of where she would want it. ¡°This will certainly do the trick.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Zaira faked a smile. She measured out where she wanted to drill the holes. ¡°Why don¡¯t you already have a mirror in here?¡± ¡°Just never got to it I guess.¡± ¡°What''s this?¡± By the gods¡­ How many questions does she think I can handle? She glanced over to see what Hannah was talking about. ¡°It''s a gel, made from healing blue cress. It helps heals burns, scrapes, and minimizes scars.¡± ¡°Well, that''s practical. I had a cream similar for my boys. Used to go through many tubes. I think I still have one in the cupboard. But Ryan is too proud to use it and I don''t really need it.¡± Zaira cracked a smile. She had spotted Ryan with electrical tape on his hand the other day. ¡°Oh, you know...¡± Hannah launched into the story about when Ryan had cut his hand on some glass and refused to go to the hospital and how she and her teenage sons had practically tied his hands to get him in the car. Zaira installed the mirror as she passively listened to this third rendition of the hand incident, then the elder told her a second iteration of the time when Arthur flew over the handlebars of his bike. In the end, a small smile graced Zaira¡¯s lips, courtesy of the warmth in Hannah¡¯s voice. Though the smile disappeared when she stepped off the stool and looked at the covered mirror. ¡°Oh! It looks so good dear.¡± ¡°Yes. Thank you, Hannah.¡± Hannah beamed at Zaira. The elder reached over and peeled away the protective film. She took a step back. ¡°There, all done!¡± Zaira pinched her lips and nodded, avoiding the reflective surface. She knelt and picked up her tools and the packing material. She guided Hannah downstairs. The elder was still chatting away, oblivious to the demon¡¯s discomfort. Zaira guided her to the door and wished her a good evening. That night Zaira went to take down the mirror. Her hands stopped inches from it and her arms lowered. She couldn''t. It had been a gift. Instead, she found a spare fitted sheet and covered the mirror with it, tucking in the edges.
The sun shone its way through the window and touched Zaira¡¯s sore face. She groaned and stretched. Her sleep had been as poor as usual, but she did feel a bit more rested. She rolled out of bed, removed her bloody towel, stripped her pillows, and used one of the dirty pillowcases to mop up the excess blood dripping down her face. She balled the soiled sheets, threw them on the floor, and headed to the bathroom. Zaira froze. Looking at her was a mixed-breed creature that resembled a Yulmuth demon, its face shredded, swollen, and melting with dripping dark red blood. Its teeth were bared. She growled at it. Her blood boiled and her eyes leaked tears. Her claws swiped at her reflection. Her mind was hazy, her body did not feel her claws connect to the glass, did not feel the sharp pieces cut her hand, nor did she hear the shattering gift and her louder snarl. The mirror now lay in pieces at her feet. She swayed and pulled on her hair. Her arms moved down to hold herself, comfort herself, yet her claws dug into her flesh, a reprimand. A tiny noise pulled her from her trance. Her head snapped left. Baby was standing in the doorframe. Eyes teary and hand in mouth. Drooling and snotty the girl started to whine. ¡°Oh, sweetie I¡¯m sorry,¡± Zaira whispered. She took a step towards the ghost, wanting to reach for her. The child started crying and ran down the hallway. With that Zaira let out of sob of her own. I really am a monster. Blood dripped to the floor as her legs trembled and gave out beneath her.
By the time Zaira woke up her room had darkened, the sun now on the other side of the house. Her whole body was throbbing, her throat dry. She flexed her hand and for the first time felt the embedded pieces of the mirror. She hissed. She sat up slowly, some of the pieces she had been laying on fell to the floor, and others stayed embedded in her skin. She plucked a few of them out as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. What stuck out to her was the lack of shards. Apart from the pieces which she had been laying on, there were no others to be seen. She looked away from the floor to the cabinet, to the door, then towards the bath. Zaira blinked hard several times. The toddler was in the tub, stacking the glass pieces. When the top of the sharpened tower inevitably collapsed, Baby only whined and started her quest once more. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Baby turned to her with wide eyes. As Zaira struggled to get back on her feet the toddler scrambled to get out of the tub. A little leg went over the side and stretched, toes wriggling as she tried to reach the ground, but her leg was several inches too short, and Baby fell off the side. Her back hit the ground and she started crying. ¡°Really?¡± Zaira wasn¡¯t certain if a ghost could physically hurt itself. Had the girl scared herself? Zaira took a step towards the ghost Baby jumped up and ran. Not out the door, but right into Zaira¡¯s legs. The woman¡¯s hand raised a moment as she took a step back to brace herself. She felt the ghost on her, but no force had been applied. The few glass pieces still stuck to her skin had not been pushed into her. But even if they had been, she would be too happy that the child had run to her to notice. Baby clung to her leg as she continued to cry. Zaira bent over and gently unclasped the little hands and picked the toddler up. The ghost weighed nothing, but Zaira¡¯s body still objected at every movement. She held the Baby tightly. Crying turned to whining, which turned to sniffling. The sniffling quietened and faded, much like the ghost¡¯s form. Zaira was left holding nothing at all. She looked at her hands. Still red-skinned and bleeding, her thumb started starching her claw into her palm. Her arms dropped to her side. She looked to the mirror¡¯s empty spot, then to the pile of shards in the tub. She pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a few deep, shuddering breaths. Zaira turned her attention to the pieces still attached to her. She reached for the first piece and pulled it out. A sharp pain, then it reduced to the dull pain of a cut. She was used to this. Another one out, then another. She patched herself up, then swept the floor. Then she knelt by the bath and removed the fallen tower. Zaira caught a glimpse of herself in one of the larger pieces. She barely looked at the red inflamed face and recast her glamours. A wave of anti-demon hatred swept over her. It didn¡¯t last. Those feelings had been thought to her only in the last few centuries by humans. No, it wasn¡¯t her demonic side she had an issue with, and not for the first time she found herself wishing she was a pure-blooded Yulmuth. Her other half... The Borim... A species so evil they had been targeted for extinction by the gods themselves. She had barely escaped the execution... Zaira swayed. She pressed against a fresh wound, dragging herself back to the present. The mirror was, theoretically, salvageable. But she didn¡¯t want to fix it. Though it had been from Hannah¡­ No, she wouldn¡¯t fix it, for her own sanity. She put the collected pieces in a box to be recycled later. She also took the time to fetch the vanity pieces from the attic. She would need to wash her ceilings too at some point - and place the staircase back. But today was not the day. A quick snack later and she was back in bed. Another waste of a day. She snuggled facedown into her pillow. Leaving it pressed there despite the pain. Maybe not wasted, it wasn¡¯t like she had a contract. However, it made her feel indolent, not even being able to make herself a proper meal. Her body tensed as she felt the bed shift. She heard crawling on the covers and then little hands were on her back, then they lifted her wing, and she felt the Baby crawl under it, tucking themselves tightly against her side. Zaira released the breath she had been holding and smiled. Chapter Ten In the morning Zaira mustered up enough courage to go to Refuge. She took her box of mirror shards and shuffled downstairs. She walked onto her deck and took a deep breath of the crisp foggy air. Knocking on the window behind her drew her attention. Baby was standing on the window¡¯s low bookcase, face, and hands pressed against the glass. Zaira smiled at Baby and gave her a little wave. Zaira took another deep breath and took off. She landed in the village. Zaira had thought about leaving most of her glamours down, but she had quickly brushed aside that insane idea. Hence, she appeared the same as her previous trips. A few glances were thrown her way, but no one lingered. Satisfied with the inattention, she managed to stutter out her question to a passerby. He pointed her towards the glass maker. She dropped off her pieces without fanfare. The quiet streets were starting to fill with people leaving their homes to start their day. Zaira unfurled her wings to take off but before she could, something caught her eye. An inhabitant had just illuminated the interior of their shop. She could see through the window all sorts of colorful toys and games. A little doll sat on the windowsill, blonde, blue-eyed, and wearing clothes styled like those on Selrino, a planet with quite varied inhabitants. There were so many immigrant species on Selrino, that Zaira didn¡¯t know what the original fauna was. It was a lovely planet though; she¡¯d done a few short trips there before. Zaira stepped through the door. She was glad to be so early. The shop was so crowded with stuff that navigating around people would be so cumbersome. The owner smiled at her when she walked in. She returned the smile and he turned back to his work. He had a paintbrush in hand, but she couldn¡¯t see what he was working on, the object was so small. Zaira picked up the little doll from the windowsill. Baby would enjoy this. Baby already preferred the teddy over the wooden horse, and what little girl didn¡¯t like a doll who looked like them? She also found a nice green ball. Though perhaps she was inviting trouble with this particular toy. Zaira looked at the toys in her hands. She was buying toys for a ghost. Again. What was she thinking? Well, if the Rosses¡¯ grandchildren ever came over, she would have a few toys for them. She also grabbed five picture books off a shelf which proudly proclaimed the books were authored and illustrated by an inhabitant of Refuge. She bought her haul and made her escape. Baby greeted her at the door when she arrived home. But there was no smile. Baby looked like she was about to cry. She was holding up the wooden horse. A leg and its tail had broken off. ¡°Oh, it''s ok.¡± Zaira kneeled down and took the toy from Baby. She wasn¡¯t sure if Baby had broken the toy or if it was a result of her outburst the other day. Zaira had not gone to retrieve it since then. ¡°I can fix this. It just needs a little glue. Here I got you something else.¡± Zaira pulled out the doll. The toddler sniffled and rubbed at her eyes. She reached for the dolly and held it tight to her chest. ¡°Do you like her?¡± Baby squeezed the doll even harder and turned around. She toddled away and disappeared. Zaira smiled as she watched the doll float away by itself. It thumped up the stairs as Baby crawled to the second level. Then the doll left her line of sight, and Zaira assumed Baby had gone to her bedroom. Zaira slipped off her pack and placed it by the door. She took the ball out and tossed it in the same box as the alphabet blocks she had bought during a previous grocery trip to Nanowin. The Yulmuth stretched all six limbs. Did she have enough energy to clean? Maybe. She¡¯d start small. She grabbed her toolbox and cleaning supplies and went upstairs. Though she didn¡¯t start with those chores, she only left the materials near the hole in the wall. That was one task accomplished. Next, she went to grab the horse¡¯s amputated limbs from the spare room and reunited them with their owner. She took a nap on the couch as she waited for the glue to dry. When she woke, she placed the toy on the bookshelf. She didn¡¯t think Baby would be playing with it anymore. The nap had given her a much-needed boost. Zaira made her way upstairs and started cleaning her ceiling. She zoned out during the tedious task. Letting her mind empty. But perhaps she should have paid more attention. Her foot stepped on her toolbox, and she stumbled backward. She fell into the wall; she heard loud cracking as she fell through to the ground. Zaira blinked. Her wings were a little sore from the fall but otherwise, she felt fine. She heard a small giggle. She lifted her head and spotted Baby at her feet. ¡°Really?¡± Baby smiled and put her hand in her mouth. Zaira let out a short laugh and lowered her head back down. She took a moment more to recover then stood again. She looked at the damage and was relieved to see she had fallen through what was left of the plastered entrance to the attic. The plaster wiggled a little. Baby was pushing on the wall with her free hand. Zaira reached out and broke off the piece Baby was playing with. The toddler giggled. Zaira broke off another piece with the same result. The wall was torn down little piece by little piece. It took much longer to tear down than it should have, but Zaira was rewarded with baby laughter every single break, hence it had also ended too soon. Zaira sanded the edge of the walls flush with the frame of the entrance. She would need to paint it to cover up the remains, but that was a problem for another day. So was installing the staircase to the attic. And the ceiling she only half-cleaned? Also, a problem for another day. She was worn. Zaira rubbed at her eyes. She should be able to at least finish cleaning the ceiling. Maybe before bed. It was a cool night. Zaira threw open all the windows and lit her fireplace. She made a mug of tea and grabbed a blanket. She brought her rocking chair by the fire and sat in it. Her body melted into the seat. She tucked the blanket around her and held her mug in both hands. It was time to relax. Zaira smiled as she looked into the dancing flames. An object flew by in her peripheral vision. Zaira leaned back in her seat to get a better view of the staircase. The teddy bear was lying on the floor at the bottom of the staircase. Then small thumps could be heard. The doll eventually came into view, being dragged down the stairs by a little invisible ghost. Baby took the teddy¡¯s paw once she reached it. She dragged her toys over to Zaira and lifted them up to her. Zaira took them and sat them next to her. ¡°There we go. They can watch the fireplace too.¡± She reached out for the unseen Baby to help her up too. But Baby never grabbed her hand or knee. Zaira leaned back, disappointed Baby had not joined her. A few moments passed. Zaira watched the flames lick the wood, and then her view of the fire was obscured. Baby appeared, sitting, staring into the flames, and sucking on her hand. Zaira watched Baby for a bit, to make sure she wasn¡¯t about to set anything on fire. When it was clear that Baby wasn¡¯t going to do anything, Zaira retreated into the cozy cocoon she had created.
Zaira took one last look at the sad scene. She¡¯d been sent far from home this time. The disaster had been on such a scale that local search and rescue was incapable of handling it all. The earthquake was so powerful that it had been felt by people in cities one thousand miles away. Zaira didn¡¯t recognize the country or language, she would have to ask Rushka or Shahar when she finally had the chance. Both human and non-human governments had reacted the same way. Search and rescue had been called in. Mobile hospital crews had been called in. The military had been called in. It was all hands on deck for the first couple of weeks ¨C hundreds of thousands of people lay under collapsed buildings. A few of the non-human troops were sent to non-human communities. However, the non-humans were less affected, most living in lighter structures than the human communities. Hence, the majority of the non-humans, with the help of the local Preeminent, had been disguised and hidden within the human groups. Zaira had of course been sorted in with human search and rescue, specifically with those who were helping people escape from the rubble. Now things were starting to settle. It had been confirmed by the angels that no living beings were left under the destruction, the non-humans had been given two more days to help find the deceased then they were to go home. The other groups would also start to back down as the need for them decreased. Zaira took off. Zaira headed towards the closest open airport. It was a two-day trip away. It would have been nice to have access to non-human skyships. They were slower than airplanes, faster than ships, and more comfortable than both. But the only skyships in the skies of this planet were the few who ventured from far away from their own solar systems and were equipped with military-grade stealth technology. They were rarely here on official business. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The flight was long and cramped. Zaira was still full of adrenaline and whatever else gets pumped into your system in times of stress to keep you awake, alert, and alive. It took most of her concentration not to kick or punch something for lack of movement and the rest of it went to cramming the memories of the past weeks into her mental box to sort through later. Nanowin didn¡¯t have an airport, so after she landed, she had a four-hour flight ahead of her. Her stiffened limbs protested on take off, but at least they allowed her to take flight. She was so looking forward to her bed - and seeing Baby again. Yet Zaira felt herself steering off course. Zaira believed it was exhaustion from her deployment that had chipped at her resolve to keep old questions aside. The only people who could answer them were intimidating, yet now she couldn¡¯t stop herself from heading to Ime¡¯s. It was a closer target than home at least. Zaira took a deep breath before knocking on the door. ¡°Zaira! What a surprise!¡± ¡°Ime.¡± Zaira bowed. ¡°Oh, none of that.¡± Ime tapped Zaira on the shoulder. ¡°Come in. You here for wounds or social?¡± Ime¡¯s happy demeanor hit a brick wall when she remembered the latest news. ¡°Oh, right, you¡¯ve just come back from Gorkha, haven¡¯t you? Come, let me get you something to eat.¡± Ime waved her in and turned to head into the kitchen. Still standing outside the threshold, Zaira blurted; ¡°Are my glamours that easy to spot?¡± Ime turned back and frowned. ¡°No. Why?¡± ¡°Abraxas saw right through them.¡± ¡°Oh, Abraxas is old and powerful. He can spot a spell a mile away. I mean he did enchant that library all by himself.¡± ¡°And Kial?¡± ¡°Abraxas and Kial are good friends. Abraxas probably told them telepathically.¡± ¡°And the witch at the apothecary?¡± Ime let out a laugh. ¡°You¡¯ve been hiding here not a year and you¡¯ve managed to find three of the four people who can tell you have glamours up. Don¡¯t worry. Yours are powerful. They can¡¯t see through it.¡± ¡°Four? ¡°You haven¡¯t met Nodin yet.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Zaira scratched at her palms. ¡°Come. Come.¡± Ime waved her in again. ¡°I... I can¡¯t¡­ I have a¡­ meeting with my neighbor.¡± The panic induced by the glamours was replaced with an ¡®Oh fuck, I have just knocked on the Preeminent¡¯s door¡¯ and a ¡®gods I need a nap¡¯ feeling. ¡°But I¡¯m guessing it can wait, can¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Um.¡± ¡°Come. I don¡¯t bite. She does though.¡± Ime pointed over her shoulder to a purple-haired vampire who was sitting on the kitchenette''s counter and leaned over a cup of steaming blood. The vampire looked to Zaira with big brown eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll leave.¡± She slipped off the counter and glided to the back of the house before disappearing through a door, taking her mug with her. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t mean to chase her away.¡± Ime shrugged. She took Zaira by the elbow and brought her inside, leaving her no choice in the matter. Ime led her to the small kitchenette table and sat her down. Zaira was too tired to resist and too wound up to say anything. Her muscles were tensed, and her vision was narrow. ¡°Here.¡± Ime set a large glass of water in front of her. ¡°Drink all of it, you need it. And drink as much water as possible while you rest over the few days.¡± Zaira blinked and looked up to see concerned blue eyes just before they turned away. She heard a kettle being turned on and the clatter of kitchenware as Ime prepared some food. Zaira reached for her glass. The first sip was hard to swallow, the second was easier and then she had emptied the glass. ¡°Here¡¯s another.¡± Ime placed another glass on the table and took the empty one. Zaira studied Ime as they cooked. Ashoka. She thought back to when she had first heard that name. She took a sip from her water. The scene was surreal. Zaira knew Ashoka had been one of the gods to order and enforce the execution of the Borim. They had likely even performed many of the executions themselves. The Borim. A species gifted from Alathea, goddess of creation, to her sister, Death. Unfortunately, Alathea never could grasp what Death needed as a servant species. Directionless, the Borim were returned to the Overworld. Of the many paths they could have chosen, they chose to cultivate a culture of violence and lust. Individuals were praised for their savagery or killed for being too soft. They mostly targeted other species. And even if they chose otherwise, complete separation from other species was made impossible by the need to reproduce. The Borim could not reproduce on their own. They needed to find an induvial of another species to mate with, which they often took by force. The diversity of appearances and their propensity for glamour magic made them hard to detect among the unknowing populations. Zaira had been born to a female Borim, who had raped a Yulmuth to conceive. Her mother had three other biological children and had adopted her husband¡¯s two, as was custom. None of Zaira¡¯s siblings were of the same mixed species. And of all their children, Zaira was the one they were most disappointed in. She had failed to inherit the Borim¡¯s lust for blood. She¡¯d been turned into the family punching bag, and she considered herself lucky to have escaped alive. She¡¯d already been homeless when the order was given to eradicate the Borim. Nana, an old rickety homeless witch, had kept her hidden. ¡°Here, eat.¡± Zaira was pulled from her thoughts. Fruits, vegetables, bread, pastries, meat. The plate was overflowing. Her stomach grumbled at the smells rising from the platter. Ime sat down across from her. ¡°I didn¡¯t know what you¡¯d like so I made a bit of everything.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Zaira ate gingerly at first, unsure about her audience. But she¡¯d barely eaten anything in the past two weeks and soon found that she¡¯d scoffed down half her meal. ¡°So, were you born in the First or Second Era?¡± Zaira¡¯s eyes widened, and she looked up to see Ime watching her with curiosity, and maybe a hint of a smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t used the name Ashoka since my empire fell in the late Second Era. I don¡¯t believe I¡¯ve heard the name refer to me since the early Third Era. So¡­?¡± ¡°First,¡± Zaira whispered. The end of the Borim coincided with the end of the First Era. ¡°No¡­Really? That¡¯s amazing.¡± Ime¡¯s face was adorned with a large smile. ¡°Is it?¡± ¡°Are you serious? Granted it¡¯s not always enjoyable to watch time pass, but yeah. It''s impressive you¡¯ve lived to be this old. And I¡¯m thrilled to meet someone my age.¡± Zaira fiddled with her fork. ¡°Nothing? The few times this has happened before the others had no hesitation gossiping about years past.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I have to go.¡± Zaira stood and bowed. She almost tipped over, the world swaying. ¡°Easy.¡± Somehow Ime, even without her cane, had made it in time to grab her arm and keep her from falling. ¡°Perhaps you should stay here for the night. Or at least, have a nap. I can leave you alone.¡± Zaira let her head clear before waving Ime off. ¡°It¡¯s ok. I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°If you are sure.¡± Ime looked her over. She did seem genuinely concerned but Zaira was done with the executioner of her species for the day, no matter how warranted it had been. She stumbled out of the cabin. Her wings unfurled; it took them a few moments to cooperate. Many test flaps later she finally managed to take off. Gods was she sore. Ime was right, she wasn¡¯t making it home. She flew as far as she could and then landed. Roughly. The branches of the trees and the rocks she landed on made sure to aggravate her healing wounds and add to the collection. Zaira took out her bedroll and threw it on the ground. She curled up among the roots and darkness overcame her. It took longer than normal to drag herself home. Her body was a stiff plank of sore wood, her mind was a VHS, rewinding and reviewing the event of the past couple of weeks in detail. Bodies lying broken under tons of rock. And adding to her sour mood, she was hungry again, and thirsty. Why had she agreed to this job? Perhaps, after three centuries, it was time to quit. Zaira stepped onto her deck and noticed a small face at the corner of the window, pressed up against the glass. She regained a bit of pep as she approached and she cracked a smile when Baby started bouncing up and down, a big smile on her small face. Zaira opened the door and Baby wrapped her arms around the adult¡¯s legs. Zaira knelt and scooped Baby into her arms holding her tight. A sob forced its way out, and she cried. Babbling brought her focus back to Baby. The toddler was patting her head. ¡°You are a sweetheart,¡± Zaira said as she pulled back from the embrace. She looked at big translucent blue eyes. This is why she did it. For people. For the families she reunited. The screams when she returned a body torn at her heart and the cries of joy when one found out their loved one was alive soothed it. Even then, she knew how valuable closure was. She sighed. Guess she wasn¡¯t quitting anytime soon. It was a nice thought though. Zaira took a few steps in and saw a piece of paper, and another, and another. Baby had found Zaira¡¯s notebook, torn most of the pages out, and scribbled all over them. She¡¯d also pulled out the children¡¯s books. The cardboard ones were intact but the paper ones also had pages ripped out and doodled on. Well, at least she hadn¡¯t touched Zaira¡¯s books. ¡°Is this your way of telling me you want coloring books?¡± Baby wasn¡¯t paying attention to her, she¡¯d gone to get her teddy, which she¡¯d abandoned in the corner. Zaira let out a long sigh. She dropped her pack and threw the clothes she was wearing in the washing machine. She didn¡¯t start it; she¡¯d need to go through her pack later. She headed towards the kitchen. She would grab a couple water bottles and then lounge in her bed for a couple of days. She blinked a few times. There was a large basket on her counter. A piece of paper tied to its handle read; You forgot your food when you ran off. I added some extra. Get some rest. ¨C Ime Zaira wasn¡¯t going to analyze the act. She grabbed the basket and some water and brought everything upstairs. Dolly and teddy were in her bed, and the sheets were rustled. Zaira placed her nourishment next to the bed, went to the washroom, and climbed under the covers. Her body was heavy, she knew this would be a deep dreamless sleep. Right before she lost consciousness, she felt a little hand pet her hair.
A week later, Zaira found herself stepping into the library without most of her glamours. She had grown weary of her bed and the strength had returned to her limbs. And somehow that ended up meaning going on an intimidating excursion. She couldn¡¯t blame it on fatigue this time. However, the smile she received from Abraxas was almost worth the panic the trip had created. Zaira gave him a small nod and scurried to the library¡¯s shelves. She wove up and down the aisles, avoiding any which already had an occupant. She managed to choose a book but when she sat down to read it, she found herself staring at a blank page whilst she trembled. Her heart was in her throat, and she found she had difficulty breathing. She gave up. Mission failed. It had been a ridiculous thought. Zaira placed her book on the return tray and an empty aisle to hide in. She threw her glamours back up. Her claws dug into her arms, and she concentrated on the pain to keep her from hyperventilating. The disguised demon counted to three before she left her hiding spot for the exit. ¡°Zaira!¡± She was only one step away from the portal. She forced herself to turn around instead. Abraxas¡¯ large form was standing in the doorway to the left of his desk. He approached her. He made her gaze met his. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you. Here ¨C¡± He handed her the book she had checked out earlier. ¡°Take it home, you¡¯ve earned it. I trust you to bring it back.¡± Zaira opened and closed her mouth. Why? She had chickened out, as per usual. ¡°Go on. It¡¯s a good read.¡± Zaira reached out and took the book. ¡°Thank you.¡± She croaked out. Abraxas smiled. ¡°It¡¯ll get easier.¡± The massive demon turned around and headed back to his desk. Zaira pinched her lips together and promptly made her exit. She walked into her home just as Baby vanished. Zaira walked over to where Baby had just been. The toddler had scribbled all over the coloring book she had gotten her. The picture looked more like colorful spaghetti than the fawn pictured. Zaira smiled. Zaira patched up her wounds and made herself a snack. The already grey skies were darkening. She was in for a treat that night. By the time evening rolled around, the weight in her limbs had lessened, and her chest bubbled in anticipation. The sun had not yet set, but the sky was as dark as a moonlit night. In anticipation of the show, Zaira had made herself a cup of hot chocolate and moved her rocking chair to the window. She was a third of the way through her mug before the first flash of lightning lit up the sky. She smiled. She sunk into her chair as the sky opened up. There was no gentle start to the rain, it was a deluge. The waterdrops bounced off the deck and twinkled with what little light there was. As the sun went down the world got darker and the storm drew closer, and louder. Without the fireball in the sky, the world was pitch black. Zaira flipped her porch light on so she could watch the raindrops dance. Her mug emptied and she set it down, but she remained seated with her head laid back, a small smile teasing her lips. She was contemplating going to bed at some point. But she could also watch the entire show. She gasped as her rocking chair leaned forward without her consent. Her feet immediately planted themselves and she drew a fist. Her arm froze. She saw no intruder. She felt little hands gripping her pants. Her muscles relaxed as a little person climbed onto her lap. She couldn¡¯t see the girl or feel the weight, but she was present. Though her stomach twisted at the alien sensation, she couldn¡¯t help but automatically wrap her arms around the entity. She could feel the child¡¯s chest expand erratically. Zaira rocked them both. She supposed not everyone liked thunderstorms. Her thoughts turned from the display to the Underworld. Zaira looked to where there should be a face leaning on her shoulder. The girl didn¡¯t belong here. Zaira contemplated bringing the girl down to the Underworld. After all, there was a Gate nearby and it wouldn¡¯t be too hard to get the spirit to follow. She could be free. The toddler¡¯s breathing slowed, and the feel of her body disappeared. Zaira¡¯s eyes closed, and the heaviness in her chest returned. Maybe I¡¯ll wait a little longer. Chapter Eleven Zaira and Baby were stacking the alphabet blocks when a ray of light came down through the sky. The deck was suddenly illuminated as the angel landed. They dimmed their light and their features came into view. ¡°You know you are not supposed to do that." Zaira turned away from Rushka to stare at the block she was holding. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°I worry about you getting too attached. She needs to go home.¡± ¡°I know!¡± Zaira threw her hands up. Tears welled as she felt scissors being held over the time she had with the baby. The child looked at both adults and disappeared. Zaira started picking the blocks up and chucking them back in their bin. Of course, she knew that Baby¡¯s thread had been cut long ago. All she was doing was scrambling to catch the end. Zaira heard Rushka take a long breath. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± She asked. ¡°I thought I would come by for a cup.¡± Rushka placed a light hand on her shoulder. Zaira looked up at them. They did look tired, eyes sunken, shoulders hunched. ¡°I thought I could bother you until my watch this afternoon.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Zaira made her way to the kitchen to prepare their drinks. Rushaka went straight to the couch and leaned their head back. They looked as if they could drift off at any moment. Zaira returned to the living room, placed the drinks on the coffee table, and sat next to them. ¡°Why do you insist on keeping up your glamour spells in your own home?¡± Zaira put her feet up on the coffee table. She didn¡¯t reply, though she did drop all but the one to please them. She hadn¡¯t actually been keeping them up recently, but she had stared at her claws for too long that morning, mind wandering. She had hidden from herself when her stomach threatened to liberate her last meal. She could feel Rushka¡¯s gaze on her for a few more moments before they finally leaned their head back again. ¡°I was assigned to the children this week.¡± Zaira took in a sharp breath. That couldn''t be easy. And, despite having been in this line of work for nearly all their life, some roughly 15,000 years, she thought that perhaps she could hear the toll their work had taken. Her mind wandered. She wondered if she would see them fall. Would that be better for them at this point? Would it devastate them? She looked at the angel sitting next to her. Did all angels fall eventually? Another question floated into her mind. Perhaps this one would be a welcome distraction. ¡°Can I ask you a question?¡± ¡°Mmmm?¡± ¡°I was asked a question about you, maybe it¡¯s a little rude, but I¡¯ve also asked myself the same question.¡± Rushka turned his head to look at her. ¡°What question?¡± ¡°Plainly?¡± Zaira blushed. ¡°What is between your legs?¡± There was a pause. Rushka straightened. They scrutinized her face and Zaira started to worry. Perhaps she should have approached that more tactfully? Perhaps she shouldn¡¯t have brought it up at all? Then, to her great surprise, a smile crept onto Rushka¡¯s face. Soon after, they were bent over, laughing. ¡°300 years! 300 years we have known each other, and you just ask now!¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Oh, well. I¡¯m glad you find that funny?¡± Zaira collapsed back into her seat. ¡°I¡¯m sorry sister.¡± They brought her in for a quick hug. ¡°When you didn¡¯t ask me in the first couple of years, I assumed you knew. I¡¯m stunned you lasted this long.¡± ¡°I just thought it was a rude question.¡± ¡°For a stranger, yes. Especially if it is said out of malice or ignorance.¡± They rolled their eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve seen that too many times. But curiosity is fine as long as you can accept the fact that the person may not want to answer.¡± There was a pause as they looked at each other. ¡°So¡­ Will I get an answer? Or was that a roundabout way to tell me you don¡¯t want to answer?¡± Rushka chuckled and decided to surprise once more. They stood and took off their green kaftan, draping it onto the arm of the couch. They held up their arms to their sides, confident in their nakedness and attempting to hide a little smirk. Zaira couldn¡¯t help but stare. She had seen their chest several times before, hairless, with nipples, not completely flat but not enough to say they were breasts. But she had never seen their crotch¡­ She was surprised to see¡­ nothing. The skin had no features and grew the same hair that covered the rest of their body. ¡°Wait. What?¡± Zaira couldn¡¯t see their amused smile as she openly stared at their crotch. ¡°Is it just you?¡± She met their amused gaze. ¡°Is it all angels?¡± Rushka nodded after the second question. ¡°Wait¡­ How are angel babies made?!¡± She exclaimed. At that, Rushka started laughing once again. ¡°I know they exist! I have seen some!¡± Rushka laughed harder. ¡°Rushka!¡± Zaira said, exasperated. This had created many more questions than it had answered. ¡°I¡¯m¡­afraid¡­ I have to¡­go.¡± Rushka said between laughs. ¡°What?!¡±. Their laughter calmed somewhat. ¡°I told you earlier. I have work to do this afternoon.¡± They said as they dressed themselves. ¡°Argh!¡± Zaira playfully threw her hands in the air in frustration. However, she knew she couldn¡¯t keep Rushka much longer. Rushka smiled at her. ¡°How about I promise to come back after work?¡± ¡°Please. I¡¯ll feed you.¡± ¡°You better.¡± They smiled. Rushka spread their wings and launched themselves upwards. Zaira saw a quick streak of light through the window, up and across the sky. She smiled at the sight. A little whine broke the silence. Zaira looked down just as little hands grabbed onto her knees. The demon picked up the little ghost. Rushka was right. Zaira allowed herself to kiss the little girl¡¯s forehead. She wouldn¡¯t be surprised if this was her last afternoon with her. She¡¯d make the most of it.
¡°Hello, sister.¡± Zaira would have smiled in greeting, but Rushka¡¯s voice was so quiet, they barely shuffled into the room. Instead, she moved from her rocking chair to the couch and patted the spot beside her, as they had done for her many a time. Unlike her, they liked to cuddle. She tensed as they lay on the couch and rested their head on her lap. ¡°Rough case?¡± Zaira forced herself to relax again. ¡°Mmmh.¡± They sat for a while. Neither talking. Enjoying companionship. Rushka broke the silence first. ¡°Distract me.¡± ¡°You were going to tell me how angel babies are made?¡± Rushka let out a short loud laugh. ¡°Yes, I was. I still can¡¯t believe that you, who are older than me by millennia, have never heard of this before.¡± Rushka looked pensive. ¡°Yeah, well. You know me.¡± ¡°I do. I fully believe you when you tell me you have never had much contact with anyone. I don¡¯t understand it. But one day I will get you to tell me your story.¡± ¡°Rushka, babies.¡± Zaira had no intention of spilling anything tonight. Her slip with Ime had been enough. ¡°Right. Well, you are aware that angels are supposed to be unbiased. One of the ways to help us stay that way is the lack of a reproductive system. Of course, this doesn¡¯t stop us from falling in love. Love is the main reason for angels ¡®falling¡¯. But it does prevent distractions and some¡­ oopsies.¡± ¡°Can an angel fall for other reasons?¡± Zaira already knew the answer to that one. ¡°Yes. Fallen. It only means that an angel doesn¡¯t work only for the One anymore. That other things now come before the good of all. A spouse, a child¡­ It¡¯s a natural process.¡± ¡°Can you lose faith?¡± Zaira watched Rushka closely for any signs of cracking. ¡°Possible yes. Though it rarely happens.¡± They snorted. ¡°This one angel became a serial killer after losing their faith. They became a twisted vigilante in the process.¡± No break in their demeanor. Nothing but a smile. ¡°You are smiling.¡± ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s served her sentence in the Underworld now and is quite a nice woman.¡± ¡°She¡¯s still around?¡± ¡°Yeah, she agreed to do her sentence while living. She knew what she was doing was wrong.¡± ¡°What was she doing?¡± ¡°Killing pedophiles, rapists, murderers¡­ The country she had been assigned to was very corrupt. After decades of no changes, they decided to take justice into their own hands. Understandable, but unacceptable.¡± ¡°Oh. Holy shit.¡± ¡°Mmm, yes.¡± They fell quiet. Rushka¡¯s eyes closed. Zaira thought they had fallen asleep but eventually, she heard her name whispered. ¡°Zaira¡­¡± ¡°Mmm?¡± ¡°Speaking of children.¡± Her muscles tensed. Her mind immediately jumped to her son. ¡°That child needs to go to the Underworld.¡± She deflated and hung her head. ¡°I know.¡± Neither moved. When they finally stood, they moved to make their supper in silence. At the table, they told her bits of interesting information they had learned while on their cases and she told him about the Rosses newfound interests and her last case. At the same time, she was keeping an eye on the blocks in the living room as they floated out of their basket and moved about the floor on their own. After supper, Rushka allowed her one last cuddle with the child before they took the little ghost from her arms. She squeezed the girl tight and kept a hand on her until Rushka was out the door. Zaira did not follow them outside. Tears welled in her eyes, and she wiped at her nose. She waved goodbye as the little girl opened and closed her little hand in her direction. And just like that, she was gone. She knew it was for the best but still¡­ Zaira pressed her forehead against the cool wall. Her mind had jumped to her little boy. She hit her head against the wall. How dare she even hint that this was comparable to his loss. Her claws scratched at her arms. Rushka was right. She had gotten way too attached. She straightened and looked around her home. Now that she was truly the only thing in her house, the structure felt so empty. The energy was gone. The bad energy was gone yes, but the good energy was too. Zaira dragged herself up the stairs and started her nightly routine but couldn¡¯t make herself go to bed in the hollow house. She picked up her bedroll and went to sleep outside, near the energy of the forest and all in it. Chapter Twelve Zaira slammed her bedroom door and screamed, her fists in balls. She stomped her foot. A ridiculous tantrum for an adult to be having. Still, she was angry. She shouldn¡¯t be angry at Rushka, yet her anger latched onto their image. She knew angels were unbiased creatures. She knew they weren¡¯t real friends. Yet this stung. Nay, it hurt. Rushka had been reassigned to another continent. And had been ordered not to talk to her. And they had agreed. She needed to stand on her own two feet, the Seraphim counsel had said. Zaira dropped to the floor and lay down. She felt so alone. In the following days her thoughts and memories either crushed her with their weight or left her so completely empty she felt like screaming just to fill the void. She was back to going to bed crying, feeling just as alone as she was when she had lived in the dank cave she had called home for 400 years. She had felt proud not two weeks earlier, with her trips into town and to the library, she¡¯d even gone to the library after the little ghost left. She¡¯d come a long way from being a scared animal. But now... Yet, eventually, the ringing in her ears from the dead silence in her house and the smell of bloodstained sheets were too much. She picked up her heavy limbs and forced herself outside. She prepared her and the Rosses¡¯ grounds for the winter. Raking the dead pine needles, cutting down the garden for overwintering, and buying discounted materials in Nanowin for some planting in the early spring. Ryan had protested at first, but Hannah shooed him inside. She received many a lovely supper in exchange. All soul''s day was spent quietly with no family to celebrate with. She lit a candle for her son, a candle for the woman who had taken her in when her family disowned her, and a candle for the few friends she had made in her life. She hoped they knew how much they had meant to her. She hesitated to light a candle for the little ghost. She ran her thumb along the unlit candle. Baby would have been sorted by now and sent to wherever spirits go for a rest before they were reincarnated. The Underworld. She knew it was not a scary place, and that the gods who ran the place were some of the kindest. Yet Zaira still couldn¡¯t pluck up the courage to end it. It would be simpler, wouldn¡¯t it? She put the candle down. The Rosses invited her over for Thanksgiving. This was the celebration of the long-awaited armistice between the indigenous tribes and migrant Europans who had, prior to the treaty, at their worst fought bloody battles against one another and at their best kept an uneasy peace. Unfortunately, it was also a bittersweet holiday for the Rosses¡¯. This holiday was meant to be celebrated with friends and family. It looked to Zaira as if the Rosses also had neither. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Zaira felt anger grow towards their sons. How could they break the old couple¡¯s hearts? All they really needed to do was show up, even a call would be better than nothing. She also knew Hannah and Ryan had offered to go over to their homes if travel was the problem. So, what was the issue? Zaira tried her best not to speak her judgments out loud. She ended up spending Christmas with the Rosses as well. She personally didn¡¯t celebrate. Jesus wasn¡¯t popular among the non-humans. Could he have been a demi-god? Sure, that happened all the time. Could he have been sent by the One? Possible. In any case, it was very clear his focus was to attempt to get the humans back on the right track. He paid little attention to the non-humans. He was a good speaker though, Zaira remembered that. She¡¯d gone to hear him speak a few times. As a Christmas gift, Zaira brought the Rosses a wall-mounted picture display to help declutter the fireplace. They gave her a couple books to add to her collection. This was likely a busier Christmas than years passed, but the boys'' absence still hung heavy in the air. The atmosphere mimicked the fall holiday and mirrored the one in her house but a few days prior. Zaira had spent the solstice alone. Another year had died and despite the changes in her life, she had spent the first few days of the new one alone. She could have invited the Rosses she supposed, but she had felt like wallowing. As she watched Hannah and Ryan transfer some of their pictures to the wall mount, an unwelcome thought flitted across Zaira¡¯s mind. She saw an image of her grown son, with several of his own children surrounding him. They played together as they celebrated the new year. Zaira had to excuse herself from the house to compose herself. The rest of winter was spent shoveling, working, and lying in bed. She didn¡¯t read. Sure, she¡¯d try, but she¡¯d just end up staring at a blank page. Nothing managed to draw her out save the Rosses. One warm early spring morning Zaira heard the crunching of tires on the unpaved road below. She stood and opened the bedroom window curtain just enough to peak out. She saw a car pull to the Rosses. The same one she had seen that fall, parked on the corner. She watched as a taller male human in a suit with dusty blonde hair stepped out of the vehicle. Arthur had finally shown up. Zaira growled at him as she watched Hannah throw her arms around her boy. Ryan appeared shortly thereafter and threw his arms around his wife and son. Both elders were in tears. Arthur, in Zaira¡¯s opinion, did not hug his parents tight enough. How dare he? Others were not so lucky to have a family who loved them so. Zaira drew the curtain over her window to stop herself from interrupting the reunion. It would do her no good to project her jealousies. She vowed not to step foot on the front portion of her property for the duration of Arthur¡¯s visit. The boy stayed longer than she expected. Zaira saw his car parked across the street for several nights. That was good she supposed. About a week after Arthur¡¯s appearance, there was a knock on the door. ¡°Hannah?¡± ¡°Hello dear.¡± Hannah had a bright smile on her face. ¡°I¡¯ve come to invite you to dinner.¡± ¡°What about Arthur?¡± ¡°He¡¯s left. I¡¯m sorry, did you want to meet him?¡± ¡°It''s ok. I just thought that you wouldn¡¯t want me over now that Arthur is back.¡± ¡°Whoa! Dear! Not invite you over? You are practically family! Come, let''s get you fed.¡± Hannah grabbed Zaira by the arm and started dragging her to her place. Never mind that it was early afternoon. Zaira tried to wipe subtly at her tears as they made their way across the street. Chapter Thirteen Zaira was still in bed. The sun had passed its zenith. She was face down on her pillow, which was still damp with old tears and drying blood. She felt bad about not getting up, but the heaviness in her limbs and the dread in her stomach were overwhelming. Her last case had been rough. A car crashed off a cliff. Family of five. No survivors. It didn''t matter that this case had fewer deaths than what she had seen before, a death was a death. They always hit her hard, especially dead children. ¡°Sister?¡± Zaira heard Rushka call below her, in the entryway. ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t allowed to talk to me.¡± She said into her pillow. Rushka heard her anyway. They flew straight up through her bedroom floor. She heard a few footsteps on the floor before her bed shifted as Rushka sat down. ¡°Go away.¡± They put their hand on her back and rubbed lightly. ¡°You know it was nothing personal.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± ¡°How are things?¡± ¡°Meh.¡± It was actually going decently well. With the melting of the snow and the increased visits to the Rosses, she felt better than she had in a long time. She¡¯d even mustered up the courage to go to the library as a Yulmuth and had managed to read a couple chapters. Not that she was going to tell them any of this. She had also missed the angel terribly. ¡°I have something that might cheer you up.¡± Zaira went to get up. It seems she didn¡¯t actually move though as Rushka, a little irked, commanded; ¡°Zaira. Get up.¡± That snapped her out of her funk enough for her to slowly start getting up. Just to be irritating she made sure her wings brushed against Rushka as she stretched out. ¡°Seriously?¡± Her wings were pushed to the side as she wiped the leftover moisture on her cheeks. That had been a mistake as she quickly had to wipe the blood from her hand onto the pillow before Rushka saw anything. ¡°Turn around.¡± Zaira took another second to compose herself. She may have felt like crap, but she didn¡¯t want to be more than mildly irritating towards Rushka. She took a few deep breaths, then slowly put her pillow bloody side down and ensured once again the glamour spell on her face was active. She pivoted to look at Rushka. She instantly spotted the shock of blonde against their dark skin, then the bright pink dress. The child¡¯s head was on Rushka¡¯s shoulder; their little arms and legs were tucked under their body. The angel was probably bringing a lost little one home. ¡°Something like that.¡± Zaira bared her teeth at the intrusion into her thoughts and closed up the mental barriers she had dropped overnight. Rushka smirked. ¡°I am bringing someone home.¡± They rubbed the child¡¯s cheek. ¡°Julia...¡± A wave of panic swept over Zaira, and all her glamour spells automatically went up. The child mumbled sleepily and looked up at Rushka, cranky. ¡°Look who¡¯s there.¡± Rushka, they pointed to Zaira, and the child¡¯s head turned. Zaira¡¯s eyes widened as the girl¡¯s frown turned into a bright smile. It was the little ghost. But alive? She had no time to contemplate before the baby hopped out of Rushka¡¯s arms and into hers. She wrapped her arms around Zaira¡¯s neck, squeezing tightly. Tears came to Zaira¡¯s eyes and once the shock of the moment was over the woman returned the hug, wrapping her arms and wings around the little body. She kissed the top of the girl¡¯s head and rocked them both. ¡°How?¡± Zaira croaked. She turned her head to look at Rushka, resting her cheek on the girl''s hair. Rushka wore a soft smile. ¡°I put in a request to resurrect her for you. She fit all requirements; the request was granted.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Rushka shrugged their shoulders. ¡°Reasons.¡± ¡°She¡­is mine now?¡± Zaira asked hesitantly. Rushka nodded. ¡°This is insane. She won¡¯t fix anything; you are putting her in danger by placing her with me.¡± ¡°You are no danger to her. I know you will be a great mother. All I ask in return is that you go to therapy. Six months minimum.¡± Zaira lifted the baby away from her for a moment looking at the wide blue eyes. Then brought her back to her chest. ¡°Done.¡± She tightened her hold on the little girl. ¡°Thank you.¡± She whispered. What else could she say? In that moment all the things she needed to do to bring a child into her life didn¡¯t cross her mind. She was simply happy. And it seemed the girl was as well. She had settled on Zaira¡¯s lap, head on her chest and sucking on her fingers. ¡°What is her name?¡± ¡°It was decided you would choose it. She didn¡¯t seem to respond well to her old name.¡± Rushka pulled some papers out of their ever bag. ¡°These are the adoption papers. Fill them out by the end of the week or she will return to the Underworld.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Zaira moved to hug them. They returned the hug. It may have been a little tight as Julia, who had been relaxing into the cuddles, whined and tried pushing Rushka away. The adults laughed and pulled apart. ¡°Oh, and I forgot to mention, she is a witch.¡± The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°I won¡¯t have to bury her then?¡± Zaira asked, wide-eyed. Rushka shook their head. A weight she had not noticed lifted off her shoulders. Zaira leaned back a bit so she could look properly at the toddler or rather baby. She passed her thumb over Julia¡¯s now warm rosy cheek and the girl smiled. The child was younger than had she previously believed. Zaira noticed only four teeth, two on top, two on the bottom with the top teeth only starting to emerge. The smile didn¡¯t last long as the girl looked her over and let out a little confused sound. The girl stood up on her lap. It was unclear if the unsteadiness in the girl''s legs was from having just been resuscitated or from being younger than Zaira had thought. Perhaps being a ghost allowed for greater mobility? The woman kept her hands on the girl¡¯s hips to steady her as she waited to see what she was trying to do. Unexpectedly the child¡¯s chest collided with her face as the baby¡¯s hand felt around her head and soon found her currently invisible horns. ¡°Excuse me?¡± Zaira¡¯s tone was firm but switched to slightly playful as she removed the tiny hands from her horns. ¡°What do you think you are doing?¡± Julia¡¯s babbled answer was incoherent but seemed partially like a complaint, and partly like a question. She pointed to the space above her head. Zaira dropped all but the most important glamour spell. At this, the little girl squealed and playfully tapped Zaira¡¯s face. At first, Zaira flinched at the pain coming from her currently scabbed wounds but then couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°See, you aren¡¯t scary after all.¡± She narrowed her eyes at the angel they shot her a smirk. She looked back to the toddler and her smile turned into a frown as blonde hair darkened to black. Zaira¡¯s eyes widened when the blue eyes darkened until they matched her own obsidian eyes. Then the toddler¡¯s facial features changed. At the end, Julia looked at her, proudly smiling. Zaira turned to an equally shocked Rushka, looking for an explanation. They were too busy staring at the child to answer her. Zaira went back to staring at the oblivious baby who could now pass as her own, if not for the lack of demonic features. ¡°That is not a glamour spell¡­¡± Zaira said. It wasn¡¯t. The baby¡¯s features had actually changed. Magic was no longer emanating from her. ¡°That is¡­ Unexpected¡­ But not unheard of¡­¡± Rushka mumbled more to themselves than Zaira. Both had heard of children, more often those of magical backgrounds, changing their appearance. Sometimes the change was permanent, sometimes the ability to change their body was maintained. Though Zaira had only seen a handful in her lifetime. Not that she really conversed with others much. Zaira brushed the short hair that had fallen into Julia¡¯s face away. ¡°You are smiling now; I am certain you will not appreciate looking like me when you are a teenager.¡± She warned. The child listened, but the only answer was a playful cry and a bounce. ¡°I need to go.¡± Zaira shifted her attention to Rushka. They had gotten up. ¡°Where are you headed?¡± ¡°Back to Anatolia. I¡¯m not sure when I¡¯ll see you again, I had to get special permission for today. Here. This is for you.¡± They held out a long red fabric embroidered with little gold flowers. ¡°To carry your baby.¡± She took it. ¡°Thank you.¡± Still holding said baby, she stood and gave her ndugu a hug. ¡°For everything. I¡¯ve missed you; I¡¯ll miss you.¡± She held them a bit longer than she had intended as excess emotion rolled down her face. They returned the hug and stepped back. Giving her a slight smile, they unfurled their wings and took off upwards, through the top of the house. Zaira had planned on spending the day in bed. Now, of course, her plans had changed. ¡°Ok, sweetheart.¡± She looked at the baby in her arms. ¡°Where do we start?¡± The baby only babbled in response. Zaira knew she would have to keep an eye on the girl¡¯s reactions and emotions. She should have asked Rushka if they knew anything of the girl¡¯s background. Did she come from a good home? Did she have any living relatives? How did she come to be trapped with such an evil entity? ¡°We need to get you all settled in.¡± The girl babbled once more as Zaira started moving. She laid her head down on her new mother¡¯s shoulder, one hand in her mouth, the other clutching long black hair tightly. As Zaira¡¯s descended the stairs the joy at seeing the child again was overpowered by doubt. She had been so happy to see the girl again she hadn¡¯t stopped to think as to whether she should take her in. She couldn¡¯t even keep her own son alive; how did she think she was going to keep a witch alive? She rounded the corner at the end of the staircase and spotted a few baskets in the entryway. In them were enough provisions to last a couple of days. A book drew Zaira¡¯s attention. She picked it up. Cross-species adoptions Your guide to raising witches VOL I ¨C Baby & Toddler Gods bless Rushka. She noticed volumes II-IV in the baskets as well. She would be reading them all very thoroughly. ¡°Look at that!¡± She said enthusiastically, bending down to pick up a stuffed bear. ¡°It¡¯s a little bear! You like those.¡± She placed the bear in Julia¡¯s line of sight. The one little hand reached out and grabbed onto the bear, pulling it close, holding it just as tightly as she was gripping Zaira¡¯s hair. Zaira brushed her hand through Baby''s hair. The girl probably needs to settle in before returning to the baby she¡¯d come to know. She sat in the rocking chair. Giving them both time to digest the past half-hour. After about an hour or so Zaira tried again to get the girl to play, this time with the doll she liked so much as a ghost. No luck. Zaira saddened. How come such a young child, whom she knew to be very playful, had no interest in playing? Though, being resuscitated could probably throw anyone into a loop. Zaira wondered, did Julia remember, even subconsciously, her years of being dead and trapped? Did she remember her life beforehand? Zaira squeezed the girl a little tighter. For now, and forever really, Zaira would hold the girl as much as she wanted to be held. She wrapped the girl to her chest with Rushka¡¯s gift and started unpacking. As she went, she made a list of things she would need. Why would the Underworld approve the resurrection? Why did Julia get a direct resurrection instead of her soul being resorted like the rest? And why did they approve Zaira as the girl¡¯s guardian? Surely, they knew what she was? Rushka had also thought to give her a car seat. That would come in handy tomorrow. Some plastic dishes, a couple changes of clothes, diapers¡­ Maybe they didn¡¯t know? What if she sent in the adoption papers and they realized their mistake? They would take the baby and arrest her? She shook those thoughts away. Another problem for another day. A diaper change later, she had finished her list with the help of the book. She made sure to include a fire extinguisher and repair kits for the eventuality that Julia would break something due to uncontrolled magic. She may also want to buy a name book. A few ideas skirted around her mind, but she found none adequate enough to speak. The baby started whining. Zaira called it time for food. She had some leftover cooked green beans from the day before. She mashed some and cut some into small pieces, unsure of what Julia would eat. She did check the book for help, but it seemed she was at that age where it could be anything, she may not have even been weaned yet. The chicken went in the oven, and she sat down at the table, Baby on her lap. She picked up a piece of green bean. ¡°Hey, sweetie.¡± She said. The baby buried herself deeper into Zaira¡¯s shoulder. Zaira scrunched up her face in multiple different ways to tempt to girl to eat. The baby just turned her head away. The mashed beans were slapped away. After several tries and much whining and crying later, Zaira was about to try the now-cooled chicken when the baby finally let her know what she wanted. The baby ¡®tap-tapped¡¯ her breast. Baby wasn¡¯t particularly happy to receive a bottle instead but many tears later the girl finally relented. A repeat happened at bedtime, but unfortunately, no matter how much the baby cried, Zaira couldn¡¯t breastfeed her. The debacle did seem to tire her out though as Zaira managed to rock her to sleep relatively easily. Zaira placed the baby in a straw basket she had covered in fabric. In the absence of a crib, this would do. Just as it had worked for her son, and countless babies before. Her son never had a bed of his own. He¡¯d just slept in his basket until Zaira wasn¡¯t afraid to co-sleep. It wasn¡¯t like she¡¯d had another option; they couldn¡¯t afford another bed. Baby scrunched up in her sleep, fists balled tightly, threatening to wake up. Zaira laid a hand on her chest. Baby took a few quick breaths, giving the impression she was about to cry, but the next breath was deep, and so was the next. Baby relaxed and drifted off fully. Zaira crept down the stairs to not wake the sleeping child. Her sleeping child. She smiled. She had come down to fill out the paperwork and¡­ Place someone very important. She had decided. This had been that final push she had needed. She had friends. The forest was welcoming. And she had someone to live for. No matter what came next, she would fight for that baby. As she moved towards the fireplace, she brushed her fingers over the beautifully decorated box in her hands. It was a dark walnut, a forest river scene painted over the lid. Resisting the urge to open the box, she placed it on the fireplace. This was home now. She placed the wooden horse next to her son; he would have loved it. She sat herself at the kitchen table with the paperwork and started to fill it out. Leaving out the baby¡¯s name, mentioning the changing appearance in ¡®Child Description¡¯, and thinking of what she would have to do tomorrow to get the house baby-friendly. No more moving through objects. Well, if that wasn¡¯t included in the girl¡¯s range of natural magic. Zaira hoped not. Once that was done, she flipped open the growth book and started reading it properly. She was planning on reading until morning, but Baby started crying so she went to check on her. She settled in bed with the girl on her chest after a nappy change. Zaira thumbed to find the page on uncontrollable magic. According to the book, it was still early. But perhaps that change in appearance signaled this little one was ahead of the curve. She also pondered breastfeeding, sure the little one was on the cusp of needing proper food but for her species it was acceptable to continue breastfeeding for another couple of years. It would also mean she wouldn¡¯t need to prep a bottle. She passed a finger over a soft cheek. Even more so, she wanted to try this with this new baby. She remembered how nice it had felt to be able to do that with her son. It would be a way to bond with her daughter. And if it didn¡¯t work, then it wasn¡¯t the end of the world. Zaira didn''t put the baby down the whole night. She spent her time staring at the child, squishing a hand, petting a cheek, or stroking Callie¡¯s soft dark hair. Calliope - yes. That name kept coming to her. In the morning big dark eyes opened and looked at her. ¡°Good morning, Callie.¡± She was rewarded with a big smile. Chapter Fourteen Zaira knocked on the Rosses¡¯ door, Callie on her hip. There was quiet shuffling on the other side. It wasn¡¯t long before Hannah answered. The elder had on her usual friendly smile when she first came into view. Then she spotted Callie. Hannah¡¯s eyes widened and her mouth opened in surprise, then she was sporting the largest smile Zaira had ever seen on her, her eyes twinkling. ¡°Have I been in a coma the last two years?¡± She exclaimed. ¡°Who is this?¡± Her arms outstretched towards the baby. ¡°This is Callie.¡± ¡°Hi, sweetheart.¡± Hannah leaned in to look at the baby. She put a light hand on the girl¡¯s back. Hannah¡¯s exuberance was a little much for Callie who shoved her face into Zaira¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Your niece?¡± ¡°Um, no. She was put in my charge last night. I sent in the adoption papers for approval this morning. Hopefully, she¡¯ll be mine by the end of the month.¡± ¡°Oh! I didn¡¯t know you were looking to adopt. How wonderful! How long ago did you put in the request?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Callie was side-eying the energetic elder. ¡°Are you sure she¡¯s adopted?¡± The tone was teasing, but Zaira felt the question was valid. Callie had kept the altered appearance she had chosen the previous afternoon. ¡°Not unless I¡¯ve also been in a coma as well. She¡¯s not even a distant relative. This was a stroke of luck.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t tell us you were looking to adopt?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t. Rushka met Callie during one of their contracts and thought of me when they heard she was up for adoption.¡± She lied. It was a simple, easy-to-remember, cover story. ¡°That¡¯s unusual. Very nice, but unusual. The adoption agencies often make this a long deal.¡± Hannah frowned. ¡°Especially if you aren¡¯t already registered.¡± Zaira shrugged. She didn¡¯t have a good answer for that and wasn¡¯t about to dig a hole for herself with a shoddy lie. Hannah said genuinely, ¡°Do you get on well?¡± Zaira looked down at Callie who had her head down on her mommy''s shoulder, fist in her mouth, and was watching Hannah carefully. ¡°So far so good.¡± ¡°Dear?¡± ¡°Mhmm?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to have to meet this Rushka soon.¡± Hannah stated in a ¡®mom¡¯ voice. There was no room to negotiate. ¡°It¡¯ll happen.¡± Eventually. Zaira shuffled on the spot. ¡°I was wondering¡­ if you would like to come with us to the store. I need to outfit the house for a child. We¡¯d be out all day.¡± ¡°Yes! Yes, of course!¡± Hannah clapped her hands. ¡°Just let me get dressed.¡± Zaira quickly went to grab the car seat off her lawn and brought it back to the car. She set Callie on the grass and looked at the instructions, they weren¡¯t very clear. She started installing the seat in the car. Trying not to swear during the process. She was still struggling when Hannah came back out, Ryan in tow. The woman had already been properly dressed for an outing but now she was wearing, not quite Sunday best, but not an outfit most people would wear to go shopping for children¡¯s items. Hannah¡¯s happiness was radiating from her. Even Ryan, she noticed, had a lighter energy about him. He seemed much more relaxed and even had a slight smile on his face. He immediately walked over to Callie who was sitting playing with the grass and kept her from eating a handful of it. Then Zaira saw him smile and coo at the child. For her part, Zaira felt her nerves over the trip into town ebb and a smile grace her face. ¡°Are you certain she isn¡¯t yours?¡± Ryan asked raising an eyebrow in her direction, but his smile conveyed playfulness. His teasing came as a surprise, but she didn¡¯t have time to answer before he addressed the baby. ¡°Hi sweetheart, your name is Callie, right?¡± Callie looked at him wide-eyed and showed a rock to the man. Ryan immediately took that opportunity to continue talking to the girl and start playing with her. Callie took to Ryan quite well. Zaira turned her attention to Hannah. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°You look lovely.¡± ¡°Why thank you, dear. Thank you so much for bringing me along.¡± Zaira smiled at her and nodded towards Ryan. ¡°He likes children?¡± ¡°He loves children dear. And so do I. If you ever need a babysitter, you just ask us.¡± ¡°I was suspecting something of the sort. Thank you.¡± ¡°Anytime dear. So, what are we getting today?¡± ¡°Everything. She was dropped off with the bare minimum. Some diapers, a change of clothes¡­¡± ¡°When are we leaving?¡± Hannah asked. ¡°I just need to get this seat set up. It''s not cooperating.¡± ¡°Here. I¡¯ll get it.¡± Ryan walked up to the vehicle. He installed the seat without much trouble. Zaira shot him a glance. ¡°I used to do this a lot back when we used to see our grandchildren.¡± She gave him a sad smile. He waved her off. Zaira went to pick up Callie. ¡°Would you like to come with us?¡± She asked Ryan. ¡°No, thank you. You ladies enjoy yourselves.¡± He smiled and nodded at her then leaned towards the girl. ¡°Bye Callie.¡±
¡°Oh, would you look at that!¡± Hannah touched the hem of a frilly sequin dress. ¡°You can toss it in.¡± The elder was the most attracted by all the choices in little dresses and shoes. Picking out all matter of bright dresses for the baby. Zaira let Hannah be, she would concentrate on the essentials and let Hannah have some fun. ¡°Look, Callie! Look at all these sparkles!¡± Callie barely gave the dress a glance, much like anything else that day. She was snuggled into her new mom¡¯s chest, held up by her baby carrier. She was awake, occasionally peeking out of her cocoon, but mostly sucking on her fingers and ignoring the world. The only thing that had kept her interest for very long was an extra soft cartoon flame plushie, which was now wedged in with her in the carrier. They had walked by it and Callie had reached out her little arm and let a loud, ¡°Bak.¡± Zaira had walked over to the display stand which had held a variety of plushies. Callie whined and reached out towards the stand. It took Zaira 4 tries to guess which stuffy had caught Callie¡¯s eye, the baby would pull away abruptly every time she got it wrong. Finally, she held up the stuffed flame, Callie immediately grabbed it from her and pulled it close, rubbing her face into the soft fabric. ¡°Awe¡­ You¡¯ve got to get it for her.¡± Hannah cooed more towards the little girl. ¡°That was the plan.¡± Today she was going to get the girl everything she needed and whatever she wanted. Not that the almost-toddler had much input. Callie spent most of the shopping trip with her head shoved against her mommy and holding tightly to that little flame. Were she a toddler, this would be quite a different experience. ¡°Do you know much about her background?¡± Hannah asked, pulling Zaira¡¯s thoughts away from comparing the brands of cribs. ¡°I wasn¡¯t told anything. Hopefully, I¡¯ll get more information once the adoption is finalized.¡± Zaira threaded her fingers through Callie¡¯s short dark hair, caressing the little head. Callie was now sound asleep and Zaira wondered once more how much she remembered. What had she gone through? They shopped until the stores closed. When they were done shopping for Callie, she and Hannah decided to stop by the grocery stores to top off. The little car was crammed. There were packages filling the trunk and over every seat. Hannah, who was in the passenger seat, even had packages on her lap and at her feet. Overall, the day had gone well. Dare Zaira say she even enjoyed herself? Though she was a little concerned for Callie. The baby had stayed unnaturally quiet, only whimpering when she needed something. ¡°She¡¯s so quiet.¡± Zaira had whispered out loud on the drive home. She remembered her boy being much more active at this age. Crawling everywhere, babbling and crying loudly, and just taking the world in. ¡°She just went through a big change,¡± Hannah patted Zaira¡¯s leg. ¡°Give her some time.¡± Zaira glanced at Callie through the rearview mirror. The girl was staring out the window, wide-eyed, and had a death grip on her little flame.
Two weeks had gone by. Zaira and Calliope had settled into a routine. They had gone to see Ime not long after their shopping trip and Callie was looked over. All was well. Zaira had mentioned Callie¡¯s unusually quiet demeanor, but Ime was unsurprised and told her to keep an eye on it. ¡°It¡¯s not unusual for those resurrected to take a few months a year to ground themselves.¡± ¡°You know she was resurrected?" Rushaka hadn''t exactly mentionned who they had had to inform. "Does this happen often?¡± ¡°Of course, I know.¡± Ime finished preparing the two vaccines for Callie, the most she was willing to give at a time. They would play catch-up later. ¡°Resurrections are really rare. Especially these days.¡± ¡°These days?¡± ¡°Yeah, Death and Alathea need to agree to have someone properly resurrection. They¡¯ve not really been page on the same page this millennium.¡± Ime paused as they wheeled over to them on their doctor¡¯s stool. Zaira overheard the retired god mumble under their breath. ¡°And that¡¯s putting it lightly.¡± The doctor smiled and cooed at Callie before starting a little dance routine to distract the baby from the needles. The first went in well but Callie noticed the second prick. Calliope started crying and turned away to bury herself into her mother. Zaira held her tight and rocked her little girl. ¡°Do you want to be able to breastfeed her?¡± Zaira looked up, blinking rapidly. ¡°Sure.¡± She stammered. Ime wheeled off to prepare the needed hormone treatment. It was a little odd, but Zaira didn¡¯t regret her choice. She looked down at Callie, she had fallen asleep on her chest after her meal. Zaira pet a soft little cheek. She only had two more uninterrupted weeks with her girl before she would be back on call for work. She wondered how well Callie would do alone with the Rosses. She had been tied to her mother¡¯s side so far, though the Rosses had visited. She had seen more of Ryan the last few weeks than she''d ever had. Zaira stood and slowly placed Callie into her crib. She¡¯d installed it next to her bed, her anxiety couldn¡¯t handle having the baby in another room. She risked another kiss before sneaking away to put on the laundry.
Zaira picked up speed when she spotted the clearing for 13th Line Road. Leaving Callie for the first time had been harder than she had thought it would be. She was looking forward to baby cuddles. Zaira landed in her yard, threw the rest of her glamour up, and walked to the Ross¡¯. She heard Hannah cooing to the little girl. ¡°Yes, that is a lovely stick.¡± Zaira hid in the treeline to watch a little longer. Callie dropped the stick she was showing to Hannah and bum-scooted a little further to another stick. Callie babbled and looked around. Her eyes fixed on Ryan¡¯s chopping block she bum-scootched to the block. Hannah followed closely behind her. Callie tapped the block a few times before her curious little hands reached out to grab the offering plate from the top of the block. ¡°Whoopsie. No darling.¡± Hannah softly grabbed Callie¡¯s hands. ¡°That¡¯s for our forest friend. Are you hungry?¡± Hannah picked the girl up. Callie whined in response. ¡°Come let''s go inside.¡± ¡°I can take her,¡± Zaira said as she stepped out into the yard. As soon as Callie spotted her mommy large crocodile tears streamed down her face. Callie started crying and reached out to her momma, pushing away from Hannah like she was being kidnapped. ¡°Whoa,¡± Hannah said as she and Zaira met up. ¡°Here you go.¡± Zaira held Callie close as the baby shoved her face into her chest pretending not to know Hannah. ¡°Well,¡± Hannah crossed her arms. Zaira couldn¡¯t help it, she giggled. ¡°Ah yes, I see Hannah has been treating you so poorly.¡± Hannah snorted and laughed. ¡°Right. How long have you been back?¡± ¡°Not long. Everything go well?¡± ¡°She was just great.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Zaira kissed the top of Callie¡¯s head. ¡°How was work?¡± Zaira''s mood dropped again. ¡°It was ok.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really.¡± ¡°Would you like to stay for supper?¡± Zaira was about to say yes when they both heard the sound of tires on a gravel road. Arthur¡¯s car appeared and pulled into the Ross¡¯ driveway. ¡°No, thank you.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t bite you know.¡± ¡°I know. But it''s been a long day and I don¡¯t feel up to meeting new people right now.¡± Hannah opened her mouth to rebuke before hesitating and saying. ¡°I understand dear. Get some rest. We will see you later.¡± Zaira looked to the driveway again. She heard Ryan greet his son. ¡°How¡¯s it going with Arthur?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been amazing dear.¡± Zaira studied Hannah¡¯s expression. Her smile didn¡¯t quite reach her eyes. ¡°Have you heard anything from Julian?¡± ¡°From Julian? No. Even Arthur says he doesn¡¯t hear from him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Hannah waved her off. ¡°Don¡¯t make me cry before supper. You''ll ruin my appetite.¡± Hannah gave Zaira a half-hearted smack on the shoulder, which startled Callie who had been falling asleep. ¡°Now go. Get some rest. I expect you here tomorrow for supper.¡± ¡°Yes, mam.¡± ¡°See you tomorrow, Callie,¡± Hannah added as she waved to the baby who did not wave back. Chapter Fifteen Zaira was prepping meals for the week. She was taking advantage of Callie¡¯s newfound interest in her stuffie collection. Said little one was on the floor in the living room, playing with the numerous stuffies she had acquired. The Rosses had been more than generous. Zaira cut up the veggies for the chili, soup, and spaghetti sauce she would freeze. Callie had been much more open to trying new foods now that Zaira¡¯s milk had come in. As long as she got her milk first, Callie would try anything. She seemed to really like tomatoes, hence this week¡¯s food selection. She¡¯ll hide the veggies she hadn¡¯t introduced yet in the sauce. A gasp interrupted the sound of chopping celery, followed by a scream. Zaira felt her ears rattle with its intensity. The Yulmuth whipped around to see who was in trouble. Hannah was standing by the door, eyes wide, hands over her face. The sound of the knife clattering on the floor echoed in the room. When the first scream ended Hannah took in a few short breaths before letting out another shorter scream. Zaira could hear Callie crying behind her. Zaira glanced in her direction. The baby was reaching for her mama, but she was still safe in her play area. Zaira turned her attention back to Hannah. The elder human had taken a few steps inside the house, towards the living room, but her eyes remained fixed on Zaira. Still puzzled, Zaira took another step towards her friend, reaching out to her. Hannah took another step towards the living room. Zaira was about to ask what was wrong, but she spotted her outstretched hand, and her question was answered. Red skin. Zaira¡¯s vision blurred. The floor rose to meet her. She was on her knees. It was over. She heard Hannah move away. How long did they have to get out? Where would they go? Calliope, where was she? She needed to find her and get out. Panic settled in her chest. Zaira scrambled across the floor. Beating Hannah to Callie. When she felt a little body, she took her daughter in her arms. The Yulmuth cocooned herself and Callie in her wings, protecting them against the contempt and blows to come. Zaira rocked herself and her crying child. Callie''s cries lessened as she buried herself in her momma¡¯s chest. She heard footsteps move around them. Hannah was only one old lady. They could escape now - before reinforcements were called. Perhaps they should move to a non-human community? It would be safer for Callie. She could pass as a Yulmuth. Or maybe it was time to come clean as a Borim. Stop living a lie in non-human communities. If she admitted everything to Rushka, could they help her get a lighter sentence? But, no matter what her sentence, Callie would need to find a new home¡­ Zaira sobbed at the thought. Despite the impending danger, her body was too heavy with conflicting emotions to move towards safety. It was over before it had truly begun, and just because she couldn¡¯t keep a few measly glamour spells up. ¡°Zaira?¡± Her name hit her eardrums harder than the earlier scream. The demon¡¯s head snapped up. Hannah was still there. Looking at them. No aggression. Hands wringing together, eyes fixated on them. ¡°What are you still doing here? Don¡¯t you have the cops to call? An angry mob to summon so you can murder us?¡± She spat out bitterly. Zaira couldn¡¯t help it. She had lived in fear all her life. A switch had flipped, and panic gave way to anger. She held Callie tighter to her. Hannah took a step back. She shook her head. She was pale and taking measured breaths. ¡°What are you?¡± ¡°What does it matter? Want to go on a witch hunt for the rest of us?¡± Zaira bared her teeth. They were much sharper than a human¡¯s and they served their purpose as Hannah took a step back. Zaira took the opportunity to start moving backward towards the rear exit. She watched the wheels in Hannah''s mind spin as she slowly inched towards freedom. Her wings brushed against the wall. Zaira reached for the door behind her, eyes steeled on the intruder, muscles tense and ready to launch into flight. ¡°Wait!¡± The tone froze Zaira. She kept her hand on the doorknob. But, despite her better judgment, she waited for - something. ¡°Can we talk?¡± The words were merely a whisper. Hannah cleared her throat and straightened herself to stand taller. The next words were spoken by a stern mother to her child. ¡°I know you are ready to bolt out that door. But I don¡¯t want to lose a friend without an explanation. So please, hear me out.¡± Zaira frowned. Hannah was pale, she was holding herself tightly, eyes flicking between Zaira and Callie. Defensive but truthful. Friend? A trick perhaps? ¡°What do you want?¡± She growled. Callie whimpered and Zaira rubbed her head in an attempt to soothe her. ¡°To understand what I am seeing,¡± Hannah spoke softly now, Zaira could see her hands were shaking. The elder human took a couple steps toward them. ¡°You have no phone?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°And Ryan where is he?¡± ¡°At home. Busy with a project.¡± Zaira forced herself to sit up straighter. She stretched her stiff muscles, but she made sure she could still open the door at a moment¡¯s notice. She rubbed her sniffling girl¡¯s back. ¡°You stay right by that door.¡± Hannah nodded and backed up to the kitchen door. ¡°What will it take for me to convince you not to get us killed?¡± ¡°You should know by now that I''m not one for violence. I''ve had more than enough of that. I just need to know, is Callie safe?¡± Zaira bared her teeth. It was a logical question, but one that ripped at her heart either way. ¡°I am her mother.¡± ¡°And are we safe?¡± ¡°In all of my time here was there even a moment where you questioned your safety around me?¡± ¡°No.¡± Hannah shuffled on her feet. The elder looked around. Zaira tracked her movements as she entered the kitchen. Hannah put on arm on the counter before going down on her knees. Hannah crawled back into sight and shuffled into the most comfortable sitting position she could muster. They sat there, staring at one another. Even Hanna was at a loss for words. Callie had fallen asleep, exhausted from the danger she could sense but not identify. The baby was tense, fist grasping her mother¡¯s shirt tightly. Zaira¡¯s body still hummed with tension. ¡°She is not afraid of you?¡± ¡°Fear is learned.¡± Hannah dipped her head and looked at the sleeping girl. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t she be better off with a human instead of - whatever you are?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not human.¡± Hannah¡¯s eyes scrutinized the baby in the demon¡¯s arms, looking for any hint that she may not be human. She didn¡¯t seem convinced, her eyes still hard. Zaira couldn¡¯t fault her, this species of witch had been around humans and their sister species for so long and had often bred with them. They were nearly indistinguishable. ¡°She is a witch and... cross-species adoptions aren¡¯t all that uncommon.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Silence settled once more. Hannah looked everywhere but at Zaira. Zaira took the opportunity to properly check on Callie for the first time. Zaira looked down at her sleeping face. It was all scrunched up. She brushed a lock of hair off the little face then ran her finger over the girl¡¯s frown. Down and up, down and up. The little creases lessened and then disappeared. ¡°So, what do you do for a living?¡± ¡°I mostly retrieve people from tight spaces¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry what?¡± Zaira shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not officially licensed, but sometimes rescue crews can¡¯t get there in time or it¡¯s too hard for them to get through. So Rushka contacts me.¡± Or Shahar lately. ¡°That¡¯s not quite what I was expecting.¡± Zaira gave her a pinched smile. ¡°So Rushka is in Search and Rescue?¡± ¡°They are on rotation, just like the rest of the angels.¡± To preserve their sanity, I suppose. Hop from one type of horror to another. ¡°Like the rest of the¡­angels? ¡°Mmm.¡± ¡°You are friends¡­ with an angel?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well ¨C If an angel trusts you so do I.¡± ¡°That seems like an oversimplification.¡± Hannah drummed her fingers on the hardwood floor. ¡°Perhaps, but, like you said, I¡¯ve never had any reason to doubt you. Well, that¡¯s not true, your work always seemed off. But now.¡± Hannah closed her eyes and took a deep breath. ¡°Now I am anxious to see what comes next.¡± Zaira¡¯s head felt light, she had trouble focusing on the human in front of her. Just like that? Hannah was a very odd human. The last time a human had found out¡­ And it happened everywhere, all the time. Hannah was a special human. To even consider¡­ Zaira wiped at her tears. Hannah gave her a sad smile. She felt the same care Hannah had always had reach her across the room. But it wasn¡¯t quite as all-encompassing. Trust would need to be built again. ¡°I beg your pardon, but you are a demon, right?¡± ¡°I am a¡­ Yulmuth¡­ Which is a species of demon.¡± ¡°There are different species of demons?¡± Zaira let out a short laugh. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Hannah asked, wide-eyed. ¡°I couldn¡¯t even begin to count them all. Thousands of species of Demona, thousands of Overworlders, and even a few hundred Underworlders.¡± ¡°Underworlders?¡± ¡°Mmm, Death¡¯s people, as opposed to Our Ruler¡¯s.¡± ¡°Our Ruler¡¯s?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know which name he prefers Hannah.¡± Zaira rubbed at her temple with her free hand. ¡°Hannah¡­ Perhaps we can talk about this another day, but now, I am very tired.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Hannah pulled herself up using the doorknob. She looked back to Zaira. ¡°There¡¯s a lot to talk about isn¡¯t there?¡± Zaira nodded. ¡°You- You won¡¯t send anyone after us?¡± ¡°No dear. Your secret is safe with me.¡± Hannah joined them at the back door. Zaira looked up to the woman she normally towered over. She felt incredibly small and weak. She remembered her human husband towering over her the day he found out she was part demon. But he had beat her as well and ripped her son from her arms. He threatened to tell their entire village. A treat which he followed up on. ¡°Please don¡¯t tell anyone.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t keep secrets from Ryan.¡± ¡°No! Please!¡± Zaira stood abruptly, forcing Hannah to take a step a step back. She startled Callie who started crying once more. Zaira placed her hand on Hannah¡¯s shoulder and held Callie close with the other. ¡°Ryan will not handle this as well as you.¡± ¡°No, he won¡¯t. But I¡¯ll ease him into it. You won¡¯t have to worry about him.¡± There was a knock on the door. Zaira threw all her glamours back up before the doorknob started turning. The door cracked open. ¡°Hannah?¡± Ryan took a step in and spotted the both of them. They¡¯d taken a step back from one another. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Hannah shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll explain later.¡± ¡°Ok¡­ Um, well. Did you ask Zaira?¡± ¡°Ask me what?¡± ¡°I need help with a build.¡± Ryan rubbed the back of his head. Some life seemed to return to Hannah. ¡°Ha! I told you!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t push it, love.¡± Ryan rolled his eyes and turned to Zaira. ¡°I need an extra set of hands to hold the pieces of the cabinet together.¡± ¡°Yes of course.¡± Zaira jumped to attention. She shifted Callie in her arms. The baby wasn¡¯t crying anymore but she was red in the face and sucking on fingers. Zaira grabbed the diaper bag. She was grateful for the opportunity to pretend the last half hour had not happened. She would gather her thoughts during the task. She glanced at Hannah. ¡°Thank you, Zaira.¡± Hannah gave her a tight smile. No doubt she needed to process things as well. An hour later Zaira had managed to help Ryan assemble the base of the new crystal cabinet that Hannah had ordered. She could see why he had needed help. The instructions seemed to assume some of the pieces would be able to float while you screwed them together. According to Ryan, they had gone to the two antique stores in Nanowin with no luck, though Hannah had bought some more crystal, much to Ryan¡¯s dismay. Hannah had gotten this one shipped to them and had apparently left to fetch Zaira for help to bring the pieces in. Ryan had managed that on his own during their ¨C conversation. Hannah and Callie were making cookies in the kitchen. In between steps Zaira had spotted Hannah inspecting Callie. She supposed that she was looking for any proof she wasn¡¯t human. She wouldn¡¯t find proof. For now, the only thing different about Callie was her energy signature. They heard a key in the lock and a knock on the door just before it opened. Zaira froze. Oh, that¡¯s right. Arthur was in Nanowin this week for work and it was Monday. Zaira looked at him from the living room. There was something about the boy that rubbed her the wrong way. She¡¯d only seen him from afar, but her stomach turned every time she saw him. It seems up close wasn¡¯t much better. She wanted to punch him in the face. She pushed the intrusive thought aside when she heard Callie coo at the new face. ¡°Now who could that be?¡± Hannah asked Callie. Hannah scooped Callie out of her highchair and went to greet Arthur at the door. ¡°Arthur!¡± Hannah gave him a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead. ¡°How did the meeting go?¡± Arthur was about to answer before Hannah threw the next question at him, then another. Hannah¡¯s flurry of questions was unanswerable and Zaira wondered if it was the nervous pent-up energy or if the novelty of Arthur¡¯s visits hadn¡¯t worn off yet. Zaria saw the man almost physically recoil from the verbal barrage. Zaira was about to step in, to let Hannah know the boy needed to breathe, but Callie beat her to it. The baby started to whine, she was trapped too close between the two adults and started twisting in Hannah¡¯s arms, away from Arthur. ¡°And who¡¯s this? One of Julian¡¯s kids?¡± ¡°No, actually. She¡¯s our neighbor¡¯s.¡± Ryan pointed to Zaira, whom he was standing next to. Zaira sent a quick wave his way. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen Julian lately?¡± Hannah said as she brought Callie back to her mother. ¡°No, I told you, mum, we aren¡¯t really close.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Zaira this is Arthur. Arthur, Zaira.¡± Ryan introduced the two and they shook hands. ¡°Nice to finally meet you.¡± ¡°Likewise.¡± They stood back from one another, each looking to the Rosses for help. ¡°Well, what have you been up to? How¡¯s that business going?¡± Ryan led his eldest further into the house and into the living room. Hannah followed suit. Zaira crept her way towards the door. Her foot landed on a squeaky floorboard, drawing Hannah¡¯s attention. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be a stranger dear.¡± Hannah returned to her and took her arm, leading her to the living room. ¡°You are just as much family as Arthur.¡± Zaira¡¯s heart skipped a beat. She studied Hannah¡¯s face. There was no lie there. Zaira held back tears as she returned to sit by the abandoned project in the living room. She placed Callie on the floor in front of her to entertain her while the Rosses conversed. The conversation felt tense, or at least Zaira felt tense. Hannah and Ryan seemed happy to listen to their boy and ask questions. Arthur kept glancing her way. One of the few times she looked over Callie to the couch, Zaira could¡¯ve sworn she had seen Arthur glare at her. But it was so short, she could have imagined it. Arthur was still talking to his father about business analytics. The sound of the kitchen timer interrupted the flow of conversation. ¡°Oh, that would be our cookies, Callie!¡± Hannah clapped towards the baby, ¡°Yay!¡± and headed into the kitchen. Zaira took the opportunity and followed Hannah to the stove. She stood nearby, though still a safe distance from the stove as she had the baby in her arms, to watch as Hannah slipped some oven mitts on and took out the cookie tray. ¡°Did you mean that?¡± Zaira barely realized those words had crossed her lips. Hannah reached out and squeezed her shoulder. The elder human gave her a sad smile. ¡°Yes.¡± Hannah took shook a finger at her. ¡°But you better be ready for a proper grilling.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Zaira laughed through the tears as she brushed them away. ¡°Cookie?¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Zaira took the offered cookie and broke a piece. She blew on the little piece and offered it to Callie once she was sure it was cool enough. Callie reached out ¨C and grabbed the hot cookie instead. Hannah gasped. Zaira dropped what she was still holding and forced the little hand open so the baby would also drop what she was holding. Callie started crying. ¡°Is everything alright?¡± Ryan walked into the kitchen. ¡°She just grabbed a hot cookie,¡± Zaira explained as she took the cool cloth offered to her by Hannah and sat the baby on the counter by the sink. Zaira held the cloth on the little hand for a bit. She pulled the cloth away to have a look. The skin wasn¡¯t even red. Had the hand not been covered in cookie crumbs and melted chocolate Zaira would not even know which hand to clean. Curious. ¡°She¡¯s ok.¡± She said to the worried grandparents. ¡°She still wants a cookie though.¡± Zaira laughed. Callie was very upset. The little girl was stretching her arms out towards the cooling rack filled to bursting with the delicious lumps of chocolatey sugared flour. Zaira caught her as she leaned too far away from the counter. ¡°Phew,¡± Hannah said. She walked over to the cooling tray and held her hand over the cookies to find the coolest one. She broke the outside edge off of it and brought it to Callie where she could not reach any other piece. Callie took the offering with one hand then the other and shoved the piece in her mouth. Partly chewing on it; partly sucking on it. ¡°My friend didn¡¯t let his kids eat sweets until they were two,¡± Arthur said. He was standing in the doorway between the kitchen and living room, watching the scene. The mother shrugged. ¡°A little bit once in a while won¡¯t hurt.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Hannah cooed as she watched the baby eat. Zaira picked up the cloth she had used to cool Callie¡¯s hand and used it to clean the modeling clay-like mess on the floor. She rinsed it off and noticed a very different curious thing. There was a bottle of windshield wiper fluid on the counter. Odd. She and Ryan kept those in the garage. ¡°What¡¯s that doing in here?¡± ¡°My bad,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I meant to ask my dad for help with my car.¡± ¡°To replace your windshield wiper fluid?¡± ¡°A bit more than that really. On that note, Dad, could you take a look under the hood for me please?¡± ¡°Yeah, sure. Why don¡¯t we go now, before supper?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Father and son made their way out. Arthur grabbed the bottle of windshield wiper fluid on the way. ¡°Right.¡± Hannah bounced. ¡°I got pie dough and pie filling ready to assemble in the fridge. Mind taking that out dear?¡± Hannah took three cookies and put them on a plate. ¡°I¡¯ll bring these out to our backyard friend.¡± The elder went to leave but stopped short of the door. She turned to Zaira and whispered. ¡°When you told me it was a puck-woo-gie. Did you see it?¡± ¡°No. I had to do some research. They are solitary creatures, so they certainly won¡¯t be going into town very often, and I¡¯m not about to chase a cryptid in its home territory.¡± ¡°They come into town?¡± ¡°I mean I¡¯ve never seen one in town.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the press have a field day?¡± ¡°Oh. No, no. I meant a non-human town.¡± ¡°They have non-human towns?¡± ¡°Well, yeah.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Sorry, I shouldn¡¯t assume that you would know that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok dear. As I said, many questions.¡± Hannah headed outside and Zaira pulled out the pie crust and filling. They filled the two meat pies efficiently and they were in the oven in no time. Zaira breastfed Callie while the pie baked. It took a bit of work to convince Hannah that breastfeeding adopted babies wasn¡¯t just possible for non-humans, but that humans had also developed a hormone therapy to allow it. Time passed and it wasn¡¯t too long before Hannah called the boys in for dinner. The elder human went to set the table and the demon carved out some of the meat pie for a doggie-bag, upon Hannah¡¯s insistence. Zaira wouldn¡¯t complain. As she sealed the container, she spotted Arthur and Ryan talking by the chopping block. They laughed and Ryan took the plate and slid the cookies onto the ground. They laughed and headed towards the backdoor, plate in hand. Well, that was rude. She knew Ryan thought Hannah was overreacting, maybe a little crazy for believing in the cryptid, but he usually respected her wishes. She¡¯d have to remember to tell Hannah to put another plate out. The fey usually reacted badly to botched offerings, she wasn¡¯t sure about pukwudgies. During dinner Callie mostly played with her pie, occasionally licking off what was on her fingers. Arthur had barely touched his food and kept looking at Callie like he¡¯d never seen a baby before. Arthur seemed to expect her to fling food his way at any moment and he had made sure to sit as far away from the rugrat as possible. They didn¡¯t stay for dessert, though she took a couple cookies to go. Zaira made her excuses, thanked the Rosses, and headed to the door. Arthur looked relieved to see her go. Hannah followed her onto the porch. ¡°I¡¯ll tell Ryan as soon as Arthur leaves.¡± ¡°Hannah¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll figure it out.¡± ¡°Hannah, you don¡¯t understand. The last time a human found out about me, my son died.¡± The elder¡¯s eyes went wide, and her mouth opened. ¡°They killed my boy. They tried to kill me. I know you can¡¯t do anything to me, but Callie?¡± ¡°We are not going to hurt Callie,¡± Hannah whispered. ¡°And we are not going to hurt you.¡± ¡°Maybe. Maybe you will let me leave with Callie. But I will end up hurt in any case. You forced me into your life and you made me care and now you will have me leave.¡± Hannah¡¯s eyes filled with tears, mirroring her own. ¡°Oh dear.¡± The elder walked slowly to the demon and gingerly wrapped her arms around her. ¡°Shhh¡­ I¡¯ll try my best to keep the peace.¡± Hannah pulled away. ¡°We¡¯ll still be family, you¡¯ll see.¡± Zaira sniffled then snorted. ¡°I¡¯m way older than you, you know.¡± ¡°Maybe in years.¡± Hannah gave her a wink. ¡°Goodnight you two.¡± ¡°Oh, and Hannah?¡± ¡°Mmm?¡± ¡°You should take a slice of pie out to your backyard tenant.¡± Chapter Sixteen This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Chapter Seventeen Zaira¡¯s flight had led her to the nearby Gate. Each Gate led to the Underworld and was guarded to keep unwelcome visitors out. This one was near pitch black, but with a single point of light where it ended. Zaira suspected it was one of those gates that would haunt you with terrible visions if it wanted to keep you out. She had no trouble going through it. As long as you did not wish harm on the denizens or wanted to see your dead relatives, you were usually let through. From there you could visit the Underworld gods, or you could take another Gate. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Chapter Eighteen It took three days for Zaira to gather her thoughts, shake things off, and finally head back to Nanowin. She¡¯d done a lot of thinking during her time in the cave and had come up with a single statement. Hers had been a wasted life. She was older than dirt and had done nothing but hide. That statement alone weighed on her. But, Rushka had given her a ladder to climb out of her pit 300 years ago. It was time for her to stop kicking at the bottom rung and climb. But the climb wasn¡¯t going to be easy. She¡¯d accumulated a bag of rocks which her heart and mind struggled to get rid of despite knowing they were useless. So, she¡¯d set some smaller targets to hit once she got back to her house. She would not go see the Rosses immediately and she would lock all the doors to prevent any surprise visits from Hannah. This would allow some time to settle back into her home. She decided she would go to Refuge to find a daycare for Callie to get them out of the house and get herself used to people. She¡¯d need to do it sooner or later anyway. Despite Zaira¡¯s lingering concerns about the exposure to non-humans, the impromptu fireball from Callie eliminated the possibility of a human daycare. Speaking of which, she only had fire extinguishers. She would need to stash more around the house. Zaira was grateful to have had the wood treated and fireproofed. She would then invite Hannah over. But of course, you make plans, and the gods throw a rock at you¡­ Or something like that. She spotted the flashing lights in the darkness before spotting any other feature. Blues and reds painted the street and Zaira felt her throat close. She needed to see what was going on. Zaira landed in her backyard and threw up her human glamours. She adjusted the baby carrier and made sure Callie was still asleep before breaking out into a jog. An ambulance was parked in front of the Rosses¡¯ home and a few figures were moving about. As she approached, she caught a glimpse of Ryan being loaded into the ambulance on a stretcher. Hannah was standing a few meters away, crying, hand over her mouth, as she watched her husband disappear inside the vehicle. Arthur had his arms loosely around her in a comforting gesture. He was staring at the pavement, his face blank. ¡°What happened?¡± At the sound of her voice, Hannah left Arthur¡¯s side and nearly ran to Zaira. She wrapped her arms around her and sobbed into her shoulder. Zaira stiffened at first before returning the hug in earnest. Between sobs and heavy breaths Hannah managed to say; ¡°You know¡­ he hadn¡¯t been feeling well¡­ He went to bed early¡­ I went to give him some water before getting ready for bed and¡­ And he wouldn¡¯t wake up!¡± Zaira held Hannah as she continued to cry. She prayed Hannah meant asleep, not dead. ¡°We¡¯re heading to Nanowin General.¡± The driver shouted at them as he climbed into the ambulance before driving off. Hannah pulled out of the embrace and looked at Zaira sadly. ¡°Can you drive me to the hospital please dear?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Zaira did not hesitate. ¡°Don¡¯t bother.¡± Arthur interrupted. ¡°Mother, she has a little kid at home. I¡¯ll drive you.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Hannah started arguing, looking between her son and the woman she had come to see as a daughter. ¡°Come on mother. Let¡¯s go join Father.¡± Arthur put his arms on his mother¡¯s shoulders and gently led her to the car. ¡°I can still drive. Callie won¡¯t be a bother.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Arthur dismissed her as he settled his mother into the car and walked to the driver¡¯s side. ¡°Let the baby sleep. We will update you in the morning.¡± ¡°But I want¨C¡± The car door slammed shut. ¡°To come.¡± Arthur drove away. Zaira ground her teeth. She was upset. And surprised at how upset she was. She was very worried about Ryan and hurt at being left behind. If Hannah had been in a better mindset she would have complained, but as it was Zaira was left standing in the Rosses¡¯ driveway. She shook herself out of it. Arthur probably just didn¡¯t realize how much his parents meant to her. She didn¡¯t realize how much the Rosses meant to her. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. In any case, Zaira was getting to that hospital tonight. She took flight. She landed in a quiet nook between two of the hospital¡¯s wings. She was surrounded by dumpsters, which gave her some cover, but she needed to move before someone came to throw out some trash, or smoke. Zaira hid her wings and double-checked her other glamour spells before walking around one wing to the front of the building. Almost every window was dark, even the front entrance was dim. Thankfully it wasn¡¯t locked but it was clear visiting hours were over. Being a small-town hospital, she didn¡¯t even think there was much medical personnel around at this time of night either. Hopefully, the emergency medical staff on the night shift was competent. ¡°Excuse me?¡± The receptionist at the front desk jumped at the sound of her voice and quickly put down whatever he was using to occupy himself. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Visiting hours are over.¡± She hesitated before speaking, she didn¡¯t think the truth would get her far. ¡°My father was brought in by ambulance a short while ago. I was wondering if you could tell me where to find him.¡± ¡°Your father? What is his name?¡± ¡°Ryan Ross.¡± ¡°And yours?¡± ¡°Zaira Ross.¡± The receptionist jotted a few notes down. ¡°He is in room 103 in the critical care room.¡± ¡°Where is that?¡± He pointed behind him. ¡°Walk straight to the main hallway, it¡¯s the larger one, then turn left. It will bring you to the critical care wing.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Zaira walked past the reception desk, past a seating area, gift shop, and small cafeteria to a larger hallway. She turned left, and the large hallway was lined with darkened non-emergency clinics. Eventually, she came to a dividing door labeled critical care wing. If her intuition was correct, were she to cross this wing she would find the emergency room, but she didn¡¯t have to go that far, room 103 was the second door on the right. The door was open. She could see Ryan lying in the bed, pale, he had an oxygen tube under his nose. His breathing was labored, but he was breathing. Hannah was holding his hand, seated at his side, looking down. Arthur was standing off to the side, leaning on the wall, arms crossed, lost in thought. Zaira knocked lightly and entered the room. Hannah immediately reached out for her and Zaira obeyed, giving the distraught woman a hug. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Zaira turned to Arthur with a frown. ¡°I told you I wanted to come.¡± She waved him off and looked back to Hannah. ¡°Do they know what is going on with him?¡± ¡°No.¡± She sniffed. ¡°He had a seizure in the ambulance¡­ They say he may have had one in bed too.¡± Zaira sighed and looked at Ryan. Maybe someone had brought home a bug from the city? ¡°Let¡¯s hope they figure it out soon.¡± ¡°How did you get here?¡± Zaira looked at Arthur once more, resisting the urge to sneer at him. ¡°Taxi.¡± She lied. ¡°How did you get in?¡± ¡°What does it matter? I¡¯m here to help.¡± Arthur nodded curtly. ¡°I should call Julian.¡± Zaira squeezed Hannah¡¯s shoulder as she walked past. She moved to touch Ryan¡¯s hand. It was chilled. She squeezed a couple of his fingers, avoiding disturbing the IV lines, and wished him well. She settled against the wall opposite Arthur. Both staring into space. Until Zaira heard quiet sniffling coming from the hallway. She ducked out of the hospital room and found Hannah sitting on one of the blue-green hospital chairs, near a payphone. Zaira knelt beside the elder and took her hand in hers which caused the woman to cry more forcefully than she had been. The cries echoed in the empty hallways. Zaira shifted, not really knowing what to do, save hold on to Hannah. The crying did eventually die down. ¡°Did you speak to Julian?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Hannah sponged her eyes with a tissue. ¡°Left a voicemail.¡± ¡°Good. What are you planning on doing tonight?¡± ¡°I need to stay with him.¡± ¡°Alright, let me see what I can find to make that hospital chair more comfortable.¡± Zaira stood and went to find a couple pillows and a blanket for Hannah. It was going to be a long night. Zaira padded along the hallways. She found a larger padded chair in an empty room. She swiped it, a couple of pillows and a blanket before returning as quietly as possible to Ryan¡¯s room. She was glad the hallways were empty; the chair was awkward to carry, and she wasn¡¯t exactly inconspicuous with her stolen goods. ¡°Oh, thank you, dear.¡± Hannah stood from the chair she was on and gave Zaira enough space to replace it with the new chair. Zaira placed a pillow behind her back and the other on the floor if needed, then covered Hannah in the blanket. Hannah took Zaira¡¯s hands in hers as she finished tucking the elder in. ¡°Thank you.¡± Their eyes met and Hannah¡¯s teared up. ¡°Of course.¡± What else could Zaira do? She wasn¡¯t a doctor. Hannah pulled her hands away to wipe at her eyes and Zaira straitened. ¡°Dear?¡± ¡°Mmm?¡± ¡°About the fight the other day-¡± ¡°We can talk about that another time. We have other priorities right now.¡± Hannah nodded. ¡°Later then.¡± ¡°What fight?¡± ¡°Its ok love. Nothing to be worried about.¡± Zaira turned to go back to her spot by the wall. Arthur wasn¡¯t even trying to hide the fact that he was glaring at her. She sat down on the floor and ignored him. Callie had started to whine, and she needed to tend to the little one. They all settled and the only sounds in the room were the beeping of the machines and the occasional complaint from the sleepy baby. They were all lost in their own thoughts for about a half hour or so before a nurse came to shoo them away stating visiting hours were long over. Hannah begged to stay with her husband and with some convincing she was allowed. However, the nurse was firm - Zaira and Arthur had to leave. She and Arthur filed out of the room. She trailed behind the boy and when they got to the end of the rooms, she ducked into the closest one as he continued to the exit. The room had been dark, but its occupant was awake. The elderly gentleman was reading by the light of a small book light. He raised an eyebrow at her. She brought a finger to her lips. He chuckled as she ducked behind a hospital curtain as a nurse went by. ¡°Have a good night.¡± She whispered before leaving the room. He gave her a little wave as she left. ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t stand to leave you alone tonight.¡± ¡°Thank you, dear. But what about Callie?¡± Zaira took out the mattress she had packed for the cave and made a little nest for Callie under the hospital bed, as out of view as possible. ¡°I suppose that works.¡± ¡°It''s only temporary.¡± Zaira sat on the floor to be able to keep an eye on Callie. ¡°Here,¡± Hannah handed her the unused pillow. ¡°Thank you.¡± Zaira sat on it. Zara stayed awake and watched as Hannah drifted off. She kept an eye on Ryan¡¯s machines. She couldn¡¯t read them, but if any major changes happened, she would rush for an attendant. Otherwise, she kept quiet and hid in the bathroom every time a nurse would come by on their rounds. A couple hours before sunset Zaira saw Hannah¡¯s eyes open and immediately tear up as she remembered the events of the night. Zaira didn¡¯t know what to do and found herself moving to lean against Hannah¡¯s legs. Hannah patted her shoulder and leaned back. Chapter Nineteen ¡°She isn¡¯t family! I want her removed!¡± Zaira heard a familiar voice say as she stepped into the lobby of the hospital. She had gone to the nearest fast-food joint and gotten breakfast for everyone save Ryan. Walking a bit further into the lobby she spotted Arthur speaking to a couple of members of the hospital security. ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir. Even if she isn¡¯t family, the file has been changed to ¡®open¡¯. As long as she isn¡¯t causing trouble, she is allowed to be there.¡± ¡°Well then, change it back! She is trouble!¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask your mother what she wants?¡± Arthur jumped at the sound of her voice and even looked nervous as he watched her approach them. She continued speaking when she was uncomfortably close to the boy. ¡°You may not like me, but I care for your parents. And I will continue to help them until they decide to cut their ties with me.¡± Arthur opened his mouth to reply but she cut him off. ¡°Now. Here is breakfast.¡± She handed him the bag with his food. ¡°Your mother said it was your favorite. I will undoubtedly see you later.¡± With that, she walked off toward Ryan¡¯s room. He didn¡¯t yell after her nor did she hear him continue to argue with the security guards. She hoped that would be the end of that. Zaira made a quick stop in the room she had hidden in the previous night. The elderly man was still there. A younger couple was present with a toddler sitting on the bed in the arms of the elder man. She had bought the man a couple of cookies. One chocolate chip and one oatmeal raisin, to account for taste. She thanked him for keeping her secret and he thanked her for the cookies. He took the oatmeal one and gave the chocolate chip one to the toddler who was introduced to her as his little grandson. Back in Ryan¡¯s room, she found Hannah and Callie playing with the stuffies she had pulled out of her ever-bag when Callie had woken up for the day. It seems Calliope had been a welcome distraction for Hannah this morning. Zaira knocked gently before entering. ¡°I have breakfast.¡± ¡°Oh, thank you, dear.¡± Zaira took out their food, handing one package to Hannah and opening hers and Callie¡¯s on the table. ¡°Where¡¯s Arthur¡¯s?¡± ¡°I gave it to him already. I saw him at the reception.¡± Hannah nodded. ¡°How much do I owe you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Eat. Come here, Callie.¡± The toddler moved into her momma¡¯s arms and onto her lap. The baby only glanced at the disassembled breakfast sandwich before tapping on her momma¡¯s chest, asking for some milk. ¡°Not right now, Callie.¡± She¡¯d already nursed the girl at dawn. She turned the girl towards the table, picked up a bit of egg, and brought it to the girl¡¯s mouth. Calliope wasn¡¯t having it though. She whined and pushed the hand away from her face. She tried turning around but Zaira held firm. ¡°No Callie. Have some eggs, you like eggs.¡± Zaira brought the eggs close to Callie¡¯s mouth. Callie listened this time, but she caught her mother¡¯s fingers between her teeth and seemed to bite down harder than what could be considered a normal accident. ¡°Really? Really?¡± Zaira squished the tubby cheeks between her fingers rapidly. Callie giggled, and so did Hannah. The next bit of eggs was less painful for both mom and baby. Callie ate half her allotted amount of eggs before choosing to suck on a piece of toast. This feeding was considered a success. Zaira¡¯s eyes circled back to Ryan. Overnight the doctor had come in and changed the medication attached to his IV. She was pleased to see he had already regained quite a bit of color and was breathing easier since the switch. ¡°Did the doctor come in this morning?¡± Zaira asked. ¡°Yes. They said they might be able to move him to a transitional care room this afternoon.¡± Zaira was happy to hear that, he was stabilizing. ¡°Did they say what they think is making him sick?¡± ¡°No.¡± Hannah deflated. ¡°They haven¡¯t said. They gave him meds that are helping him. How can they do that if they don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with him?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know Hannah. I only know some medications target symptoms and others the problem.¡± Zaira shrugged sadly. ¡°I can¡¯t explain what they are doing, but we can trust that they are doing their best.¡± She had addressed this to herself as much as Hannah. ¡°Could you search the medication?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You know, what you young ones do with your computers.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a phone or a computer. I could go to the library. But wouldn¡¯t it be best to just ask the doctor?¡± ¡°Right. Ok.¡± Hannah readjusted herself and turned her focus back to the baby. Arthur came to join them a little later that morning. ¡°Have you called Julian yet?¡± He asked as he sat on a folding chair he had brought with him. ¡°I suppose I should try again.¡± Hannah handed Callie to Zaira. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Zaira kissed her little girl. ¡°What was the fight about?¡± Zaira looked up. Arthur was glaring at her again. ¡°A difference of opinion.¡± Zaira shrugged. ¡°It wasn¡¯t really important.¡± ¡°Mother seemed upset about it.¡± ¡°Yeah, she really doesn¡¯t like conflict.¡± ¡°Voicemail again,¡± Hannah announced as she walked back into the room. She walked to her husband¡¯s side and fussed a little over his blankets, making sure he was tucked in properly. She had just sat down when a doctor walked in. ¡°Good morning.¡± He nodded to all of them and went to check Ryan¡¯s monitors. ¡°How is he?¡± The doctor looked at Hannah. ¡°He is doing much better.¡± The doctor gave her a smile. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he woke up today.¡± ¡°Oh! Wonderful!¡± Hannah straightened in her seat with a large smile, then frowned. ¡°Do you know what was wrong?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be getting a visit later today with more details.¡± He left before the confused group could ask him what he had meant. Hannah looked at Zaira. Zaira shook her head. Hannah looked to Arthur, who shrugged his shoulders. Hannah sighed and looked down at Ryan. She took her husband¡¯s hand in hers and rubbed her thumb along the back of it. ¡°I hope he wakes up soon. I want to tell him how much I love him.¡± Zaira smiled. ¡°I¡¯m sure he knows.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Hannah wiped at some tears. ¡°I haven¡¯t told him in a bit. Since¡­¡± The fight. Zaira stood and wrapped her arms around Hannah. ¡°Thank you.¡± She whispered. Hannah returned the hug with her unoccupied hand. ¡°Since what?¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok love, it¡¯s all resolved now. Oh, Zaira? I made a list of things. Could you go pick them up at the house?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°I can go Mother.¡± ¡°Thank you dear, but Zaira knows the house better than you.¡± ¡°Do you need anything, Arthur?¡± ¡°No,¡± He thumped back unto the wall, ¡°Thank you.¡± Zaira took Callie with her to give Hannah some alone time with her boys. Callie wasn¡¯t as good in the car as she had been on the flight there. Zaira frowned as she turned onto their road. There were two cop cars parked outside the Rosses¡¯ home. She parked on the road behind them and walked up to the front door. The door was ajar. She knocked on the door. ¡°Hello?¡± Four police officers appeared in the hallway from different rooms. She took a step inside the house, holding up the hand not holding Callie. ¡°Can I help you?¡± ¡°And you are?¡± ¡°Zaira. The neighbor. Hannah sent me to grab some things for the hospital.¡± ¡°Ah, Zaira.¡± The officer speaking with her took out a pad and waived to one of the men. The two other officers returned to the rooms they had come out of. ¡°We¡¯d like to ask you a couple of questions.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Zaira walked to the kitchen and pulled a chair out. ¡°Could I offer you anything to drink?¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t your house.¡± ¡°No, but Hannah would approve of the hospitality.¡± ¡°Thank you, but we don¡¯t want anyone to touch anything unnecessarily.¡± ¡°Ok¡­¡± Zaira sat across from the two officers, baby on her lap. Callie looked between the two officers and babbled. Their professional composure broke a bit as they greeted the baby. ¡°Hello, sweetie¡± The second officer smiled widely at Callie. The first officer spoke again. ¡°I am Detective Miller; this is Detective Constable Brown. We¡¯d like to ask you a few questions.¡± ¡°What can I do for you Detectives?¡± Detective Brown had pulled out a notepad, and Detective Miller had a pensive look. ¡°Zaira.¡± He said. ¡°I apologize but I didn¡¯t get your last name?¡± ¡°Um, it''s Lawley.¡± She grimaced. It had been her husband¡¯s name. She¡¯d not had one previously, which wasn¡¯t uncommon in non-human circles. She¡¯d panicked when the humans had asked her for one and she¡¯d been too lazy to change it since then. ¡°Yet you told the hospital that it was Ross,¡± Brown stated. ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t know if the hospital would let me see him last night. The Rosses have been like a family to me, and I really wanted to see them. I was worried.¡± ¡°Do come here often?¡± ¡°Yes. Weekly suppers. I help Hannah with the chores she has a tougher time doing every month or so. She also forces Ryan to accept my help with his projects from time to time. Hannah is often at my place too.¡± ¡°Hannah, not Ryan?¡± Zaira shrugged. ¡°He¡¯s a bit more introverted. Hannah¡¯s a chatterbox.¡± ¡°Do you do anything in the garage?¡± ¡°Sometimes.¡± ¡°Anything recently?¡± ¡°Yeah, Hannah had us clean it out recently in the hope of getting the car in. It didn¡¯t work out, but Ryan was happy to rediscover some of his old belongings.¡± ¡°Any work with the car?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a new car. We haven¡¯t fiddled with it.¡± The officers took a moment to finish scribbling on their notepads. She asked; ¡°Officers? May I ask what this is all about?¡± ¡°Ethylene glycol was found in Mr. Ross¡¯ system.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°A compound found in windshield wiper fluid. Tastes sweet, but very toxic.¡± Zaira felt faint. She leaned back. Her claws dug into her palms. She was seething. Someone had tried to kill Ryan. Her eyes closed tightly. It had to be Arthur¡­ She felt bad that that was the first person to cross her mind but ¨C something was off about him. Why on Earth would he try to kill his father? His parents were some of the nicest humans she had ever met. She forced out; ¡°If you are asking if I would have any reason to touch the wiper fluid. Yes. I co-signed on the car, and I do use it. We just cleaned the garage. I have definitely touched the box of wiper fluid.¡± They wrote that down too. ¡°Where have you been in the last 48 hours?¡± ¡°I just came back from Europe. I spent three days with a friend there. My taxi brought us back here last night just as Ryan was being loaded in the ambulance¡± ¡°Can we see your plane tickets?¡± She shook her head. ¡°I tossed them out at the airport. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d need them. But I can give you my friend¡¯s number.¡± Detective Miller slid her his notepad and she jotted down Rushka¡¯s cellphone number. He tore the page from his pad and handed it to Detective Brown who took the page and left the room. Presumably to call Rushka before she could let them know the police would call. ¡°Have you noticed anything different with the Rosses¡¯ lately?¡± Detective Miller continued. Zaira took a moment to think. ¡°Yes.¡± Honesty would be best. She hoped her suspicions were wrong, for the Rosses¡¯ sake. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Their son has been coming over to visit.¡± The officer raised a brow. She explained; ¡°Arthur showed up for the first time in years just a couple months ago. Hannah told me that both the boys hadn¡¯t come to visit in years. Julian occasionally calls or sends pictures of the grandchildren, but nothing from Arthur. I was their only guest for the holidays, they weren¡¯t invited to their children¡¯s homes. They were so happy when Arthur finally showed up over the winter¡­¡± She trailed off. ¡°Has he been behaving oddly?¡± Zaira shrugged. ¡°Not really. A little distant, but I suppose that¡¯s normal when you haven¡¯t seen your parents in years. I can¡¯t explain why he gives me the ick.¡± ¡°Do you know of any reason why Arthur would want his father dead?¡± ¡°No sir.¡± ¡°Then why point the finger at him?¡± ¡°Because only three people have been around Ryan lately. Hannah adores her husband. I know I didn¡¯t do it. That leaves Arthur.¡± Zaira shrugged as Detective Miller narrowed his eyes at her. She understood the predicament she was in. Though the humans¡¯ crime-solving skills had gotten much better in the last century, so hopefully, she could trust that they would figure out she hadn¡¯t done it. ¡°Do you know why Arthur showed up unexpectedly?¡± ¡°Something about his life changing and wanting to share it with his parents? I¡¯m not sure, he was very reserved when I was around. He talks about his business a lot. Doesn¡¯t like me much, the feeling is mutual.¡± ¡°You point the finger at him¡­ He pointed the finger at you when we interviewed him this morning.¡± Zaira frowned. When had he been interviewed? ¡°He told us you had recently had a fight with the Rosses.¡± ¡°A disagreement with Ryan¡­ His Christian values and my own non-Christian values had clashed a little. Hannah was trying to mediate. Nothing anywhere serious enough for me to kill him.¡± Detective Brown re-entered the room. ¡°She wasn¡¯t in the country.¡± Detective Miller looked at his partner and nodded. ¡°Thank you, Zaira.¡± Detective Miller stood. ¡°That will be all for now.¡± ¡°Am I good to continue to visit the Rosses?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t stop you.¡± Zaira nodded. ¡°Can I get the items I came here to get?¡± ¡°Detective Brown will follow you.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± The items Hannah had asked for were easy to collect. Toiletries, a couple changes of clothes for Hanna, one for Ryan to come home in. Detective Brown didn¡¯t stop her from collecting any of it. He also seemed quite taken with Callie. Cooing at her every chance he got. It wasn¡¯t long before she was back at the hospital. Hannah was sitting by Ryan¡¯s side, holding his hand. To Zaira¡¯s horror, Ryan was much paler than the last time she had seen him. ¡°Oh!¡± Hannah exclaimed when she saw Zaira. She got up and quickly made her way to the demon, wrapping her arms around Zaira and once again sobbing into her shoulder. Callie whined at the tightness of the hug and Zaira shifted to accommodate both of them. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°The cops came not long after you left. They ¨C they asked who had fed Ryan. They said ¨C They said he had been poisoned!¡± ¡°They were at your home too. Collecting evidence. I spoke to them.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Hannah sobbed. ¡°The worst ¨C the worst part¡­ While you were gone, I went to the washroom and, and the machines started beeping! So many nurses came in¡­ Ryan¡­¡± She hiccupped. ¡°He¡¯s not doing well¡­¡± Zaira squeezed Hannah a little tighter. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Hannah pulled away just enough to look Zaira in the eye. ¡°Arthur, he was alone with Ryan. They ¨C they took him down to the station. You, you don¡¯t think he did it do you?¡± Zaira pinched her lips together. ¡°I don¡¯t know Hannah, but¡­¡± ¡°But he was alone with Ryan when he got sicker¡­¡± Zaira pulled Hannah back into a hug. ¡°He was the only other person at dinner last night,¡± Hannah whispered. Zaira didn¡¯t bother to answer. She wouldn¡¯t speculate with Hannah. She just held her a little tighter. She stayed with the Rosses throughout the rest of the day. She also hid in the hospital room that night. She wouldn¡¯t leave them until she was sure they were going to be ok. Chapter Twenty A bout of dry coughing alerted them to Ryan¡¯s return to consciousness. ¡°Oh! Oh!¡± Hannah straightened in her chair and took her husband¡¯s hand. Zaira couldn¡¯t help but smile as she saw Ryan¡¯s eyes open and look at his wife. Half-closed, heavy but sparkling eyes. He squeezed Hannah¡¯s hand, though there wasn¡¯t much strength there. ¡°I wasn¡¯t quite ready to leave you.¡± His voice was rough and barely audible. ¡°Oh love.¡± Hannah kissed his forehead. The older couple stared at each other for a moment before Ryan surveyed the room, he was in. He spotted Zaira returning from the hallway with a cup of ice chips in hand. ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you awake.¡± She said as she handed Hannah the cup and a spoon. He gratefully accepted a couple of small spoonsful of ice chips. ¡°I told the man at the nurse¡¯s station that Ryan was awake. I¡¯ll leave you two alone for a bit.¡± She touched Hannah¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m going to the cafeteria. Do you want anything?¡± ¡°Some toast when you come back?¡± ¡°Yes, mam. I would offer to get something for you,¡± she said as she looked at Ryan. ¡°But I don¡¯t know what you are allowed to eat.¡± Ryan gave her a small, tight, smile. ¡°It¡¯s ok dear. Go have breakfast.¡± Hanna said. With that, Zaira headed down to have breakfast with Callie. Or rather have breakfast while nursing Callie. She was just tossing out the trash when she heard: ¡°Are you Zaira?¡± The demon in question turned to the unfamiliar voice. She recognized the man instantly. Dirty blonde hair with looks leaning more towards Hannah¡¯s rather than Ryan''s. ¡°Julian. About time you showed up.¡± Julian¡¯s face fell and he looked at the ground. But unlike Arthur, she found this boy looked genuinely upset. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡­¡± He shuffled on his feet, face reddening. ¡°Mum told me I didn¡¯t need to come, that you were taking care of them but, he¡¯s my dad you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry but, you didn¡¯t need to wait until he was sick to see him. They miss you. They miss their grandkids.¡± ¡°I know¡­¡± He kicked at the floor. ¡°Would you mind telling me where my dad¡¯s room is? I promise to get out of your hair shortly.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want you out of my hair, I want you to start repairing your relationship with your parents.¡± Julian finally looked at her, revealing eyes filled with tears. ¡°I can¡¯t be a part of their life.¡± He nearly whispered. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°If I tell you, will you get off my case? Just... don¡¯t tell my parents¡­ Please?¡± Zaira pursed her lips and nodded her head. ¡°I¡¯m gay.¡± Zaira¡¯s heart fell. She was shocked. That was the reason for his absence? Julian took a step back. When Zaira didn¡¯t say anything, he continued. ¡°I left Abigail. We are on good terms though. I¡¯ve been with my boyfriend for three years¡­ The kids are ok. But I really don¡¯t think my parents would want to keep¡­¡± Julian¡¯s sentence was interrupted when Zaira wrapped her arms around him. ¡°Your parents love you. If it means having you and the grandkids back in their life, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be ok with your new beau.¡± Julian returned the hug. ¡°Are you sure?¡± He whispered. ¡°Yeah, I mean, it may take some adjusting but¡­ Where did you get the idea that your parents wouldn¡¯t be ok with this?¡± Sure, Zaira hadn¡¯t talked about this subject with his parents, but she didn¡¯t get the feeling they would react that badly. Well, Hannah wouldn¡¯t. And after the whole ¡®demon¡¯ thing, even Ryan would probably readjust his views if needed. ¡°Well, they are typically a bit more old-fashioned¡­ And Arthur said-¡± ¡°Arthur¡¯s a dick.¡± Julian snorted. ¡°Yeah, he is.¡± ¡°Now, I must warn you. We have talked about¡­the LGBT community before. And they have avoided the topic, but they¡¯ll come around, I¡¯m sure.¡± ¡°What if they don¡¯t accept me?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry they will.¡± ¡°How do you know? Did you come out to them or something?¡± The second question was asked jokingly. ¡°Well, sort of.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Julian blinked in surprise. ¡°Oh, good.¡± Well, that was going to come up later. ¡°Come on.¡± She turned him around with a light hand on his shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s bring you to your folks. Oh, and if coming out doesn¡¯t go well, don¡¯t give up, K? I¡¯m in your camp.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± He smiled at her. Zaira brought him to Ryan¡¯s room. As he walked into the room, she sent up a little prayer that she hadn¡¯t misguided him. Granted that topic may not even be covered during this visit. Zaira went to this section¡¯s nurse¡¯s station and asked them to tell Hannah that she¡¯d gone home for a nap but to let them know not to hesitate to call if they needed her. She flew back home this time. The street was empty. Zaira was exhausted from two sleepless nights. Callie on the other hand was full of energy and ready to crawl around and get into trouble. She¡¯d done so much napping at the hospital. Zaira set her up in her playpen with her toys before she crashed on the couch. She¡¯d at least dozed off, if not slept when the ringing of the phone yanked her out of blackness. Zaira rushed to the phone, it was probably Hannah. ¡°Hello, Zaira.¡± Zaira blinked. ¡°Arthur?¡± ¡°You should listen. These jail phone calls are rather short.¡± He sounded like he was whispering into the receiver. There was quiet on the line as Zaira waited for him to continue ¡°I didn¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°Bullshit.¡± ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t do it the first time. That was you, wasn¡¯t it? I¡¯ll make sure you go down for this as well.¡± ¡°What the fuck are you talking about?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how you did it, but I know you poisoned him at the house. I was only trying to finish what you started.¡± ¡°You are fucking crazy, you know that?¡± ¡°Nah, I know about the new will. They put you on it. You just wanted a piece of the pie.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not crazy enough to kill someone over a fucking will. Unlike you apparently.¡± Arthur laughed. ¡°You are just happy I¡¯m taking the fall for it.¡± ¡°And you are a fucking idiot. These calls are recorded. If they didn¡¯t have you before, they do now.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯ll be coming for you next.¡± ¡°Fuck off and rot Arthur.¡± Zaira slammed the phone back down on the receiver. She growled. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists. Waited for some semblance of calm to return to her. Something wet landed on her nose. The fuck? She opened her eyes. Bubbles. There was a cloud of bubbles around her. The cloud was coming from a trail, which was coming from the living room. She followed the trail all the way back to Callie. Her little hand was extended towards her mother, she wasn¡¯t smiling, just sending bubbles her way. Zaira let out a laugh. ¡°You are such a sweetheart.¡± She scooped up Calliope and peppered the little girls in kisses. Callie laughed and the bubbles ceased appearing. Zaira swung the girl around in a little dance and the baby squealed happily. More kisses were peppered on the baby before Zaira¡¯s thoughts derailed and one came to the surface. The pukwudgie. It didn¡¯t have a hand in this did it? Arthur was just trying to rile her up with a lie about a second poisoner. Right? Probably. But she needed to check. ¡°You are a sweetheart.¡± She repeated as she placed Callie back down in the playpen. Callie whined and lifted her arms to be picked up. ¡°Mommy would love to play with you. But mommy has to check something very quick. You stay here, I¡¯ll be back very soon.¡± Callie continued to whine, threatening to cry. She would have to wait for a bit. Zaira took out the baby monitor. Leaving one in the living room and taking one with her. She¡¯d be quick. Zaira made her way to the garage and did her best impression of a bloodhound, circling the building. The garage smelt of human strangers, likely the police. She was about to leave when the scent of wildflowers made its way to her nose. She was right next to one of the garage windows. She entered the building. She circled the room, smelling the air. Her stomach turned. The smell of wildflowers was strongest near the box of extra windshield wiper fluid. The used bottle was missing, likely in police storage but this was enough proof for her. That asshole hadn¡¯t been lying. He hadn¡¯t poisoned Ryan the first time. The Yulmuth stormed out of the garage and into the backyard. ¡°You do not kill people because they refuse to give you a plate of food!¡± She snarled. Glamours down, wings extended, teeth bared, she clipped through the backyard hoping to find the little creature. Some rustling to her left. Her head snapped in that direction. She couldn¡¯t see it, so she stretched out her senses. Her heart raced a little faster as she felt it just off to her right, getting closer. She lunged for it first. She felt its quills dig into the flesh of her arm and torso as she gripped the small creature tight. It dropped its invisibility spell. She dug her claws into its arms, drawing blood. The creature screeched, its struggling only served to drive her claws deeper into it. She leaned close to its ear and growled. ¡°You will leave this territory. If I find you here again, I will remove your head from your body. Understand?¡± The creature stilled. And nodded. ¡°Make good on your promise or I will make good on mine.¡± She dropped the Pukwudgie. It scrambled away and disappeared into the treeline. There was crying through the baby monitor. Zaira swept through the surrounding area with her senses. No sign of the cryptid. Zaira made her way back home to comfort and play with her little girl. Chapter Twenty One The phone once again pulled Zaira from unconsciousness. She sat up to take in her surroundings and a half dozen stuffies fell off her torso. Callie babbled a complaint. Zaira had passed out in the playpen. And it looked to her like Callie had taken the opportunity to stack all the stuffies available to her on top of her mom. There were a couple of dozen still left on her legs. The phone rang again. Right. Zaira stood up. And Callie cried. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Zaira scooped the girl up. ¡°But someone is trying to reach us.¡± She looked at the phone number this time. Not that it mattered, she hadn¡¯t paid attention when Arthur called so she couldn¡¯t confirm it was him. The Rosses only had a landline. She didn¡¯t know the number, Hannah always just walked over. She picked up the phone crossing her fingers that it wasn¡¯t Arthur. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Hi. Is this Zaira?¡± Zaira smiled. ¡°Hi, Julian. How¡¯s your dad? How did the reunion go?¡± ¡°They were so happy to see me.¡± ¡°I told you.¡± ¡°Yes. And Dad¡¯s doing so much better. The doctors want to keep him at the hospital for treatment for about another week, then he¡¯ll be an outpatient for a couple of months.¡± ¡°So, everything on track?¡± ¡°Yeah, though Dad thinks he¡¯ll be able to leave sooner.¡± Zaira rolled her eyes. ¡°He better stay there until discharged or I¡¯ll drag him back there.¡± Julian laughed. ¡°I¡¯ll help.¡± ¡°So um, did you tell them?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ Mom didn¡¯t care at all.¡± Zaira smiled. ¡°And your dad?¡± ¡°He, he¡¯ll get used to it I guess.¡± ¡°He will,¡± Zaira assured him. ¡°You also have grandkids to bribe him with.¡± She joked. Julian snorted. ¡°Yeah. You have kids too, right?¡± ¡°Just the one, Callie. A little young to play with yours.¡± ¡°I can hear her whining.¡± ¡°Yeah, I had to topple her tower of stuffies to come to the phone. She isn¡¯t pleased.¡± Julian laughed. ¡°I know the feeling. My eldest actually loves to play with babies. My youngest is a little rough and tumble tough.¡± ¡°Jordan¡¯s eight and Luke is five, right?¡± ¡°I guess my parents told you about them.¡± ¡°Your mom loves to talk.¡± ¡°Yeah, she does. Are you able to come back to the hospital today?¡± ¡°Yep. What¡¯s up? Do they need anything from home?¡± ¡°No, Dad just wants to talk to you.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°He says he owes you an apology.¡± ¡°Um, right, ok. I¡¯ll be there in a few hours.¡± ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll see you then.¡± ¡°See you later.¡± She ended the call and returned her attention to her unhappy baby. ¡°I know.¡± She kissed Callie. ¡°I¡¯m so mean. Come, we have time to build another pile.¡± This time she made sure she wasn¡¯t the base of the structure. The pile was a slow build as Callie seemed to have precise plans for every stuffy. Zaira enjoyed watching the little girl¡¯s mind work as she piled the stuffies into an unsteady pile. To be honest, pile was a generous word. Accumulation maybe? It was only two stuffies tall at the highest points. She heard a knock on the door. What was it now? She threw her glamours up and made her way to the door. Detective Constable Brown could be seen through the window. ¡°Detective Brown. How can I help you?¡± Zaira opened the door and stepped aside. ¡°Thank you,¡± He stepped in. ¡°We collected quite a few prints from around the Rosses¡¯ garage and house. We are assuming some of them are yours but have nothing to compare them to. I was sent to collect your prints.¡± He shrugged, ¡°We should have done it during our first interview honestly.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± She waved him to the dining room table. ¡°Would you like something to drink?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s ok. It won¡¯t take long.¡± They sat at the table and Detective Brown pulled out his materials. He spotted Callie as he did so and waved to her. ¡°Hi, sweetie.¡± Callie barely looked in his direction, she was still concentrating on her pile. Zaira let the Detective do his work and one of her hands was printed in silence. ¡°I don¡¯t assume you can tell me anything about the case?¡± She asked as he pressed her second thumb down on the paper. ¡°No mam.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I thought. Thank you anyways.¡± He nodded and did a couple more fingers. ¡°We heard your conversation with Arthur. Any comments on that?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a fucking asshole. I think he¡¯s just trying to share the blame. As I said, we¡¯ve never really gotten along.¡± She couldn¡¯t mention the pukwudgie of course. In its case, there were no non-human prisons on this continent. It was reform or die. ¡°Fair enough.¡± He said as he finished up. ¡°That¡¯s it. You are good to wash your hands.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. They both stood and Zaira went to the sink to wash off. It took some scrubbing to be able to all the ink off. The detective went to talk to Callie. He cooed at her and watched her play. ¡°Do you have any kids?¡± Zaira asked as she dried her hands. ¡°My wife and I are expecting our first.¡± ¡°Congratulations.¡± She led him to the door. ¡°Have a good day Detective.¡± ¡°You too, Zaira. Thank you for your cooperation.¡± Smiled and closed the door behind him. Just as she let go of the knob, she heard a squeal. She spun to see Callie had set the floor on fire. The baby was giggling at the sight. Zaira grabbed a fire extinguisher and put the small fire out quickly. Callie immediately started crying. ¡°You can¡¯t set the house on fire, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Zaira picked her daughter up. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get ready to see Hannah and Ryan.¡±
¡°Hi, Bean!¡± Hannah cooed at Callie when she saw them cross the room¡¯s threshold. ¡°Bean?¡± Zaira asked as she handed the baby off. Hannah smiled and kissed the little girl before answering. ¡°I don¡¯t know, it just came to mind. Yeah, you are a sweet little bean.¡± Hannah bounced the girl on her lap. ¡°Well, the sweet little bean just set the floor on fire at home for her enjoyment.¡± Zaira took out a portable fire extinguisher from her pack. That drew Ryan¡¯s attention as well. He had been awake when she came in but hadn¡¯t looked up. Now he was frowning at Zaira. ¡°Um, what?¡± Hannah looked at Zaira wide-eyed. ¡°Looks like she might be a firebug.¡± Zaira showed the extinguisher to Hannah and placed it nearby. ¡°Is that normal?¡± ¡°Witches don¡¯t really start to learn to control their magic or understand its consequences until they are a young child. We¡¯ve got a few years of surprise magic to look forward to. I¡¯ll get you some fire extinguishers and pay for any damage if you are still ok with having her at your place.¡± ¡°Of course, I still want her over!¡± Hannah exclaimed. She bounced the baby, who giggled. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll need a safety briefing.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Julian?¡± ¡°He went home. He¡¯s going to be bringing Jordan and Luke over after school!¡± Hannah practically squealed. Ryan smiled at the reminder. ¡°Amazing!¡± Zaira pulled Hannah into a one-armed hug. ¡°I know!¡± Hannah bounced. ¡°I got them some toys at the toy store down the road.¡± Hannah went to get a plastic bag off the floor. She sat Callie in her chair and started pulling an assortment of trucks and dinosaurs out of the bag. Zaira smirked. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of toys.¡± ¡°Yeah, I figured we would keep them with us so the boys would have something to play with when they come over.¡± ¡°That makes sense.¡± ¡°Oh, and of course, I couldn¡¯t forget this little one.¡± Hannah pulled out a purple bunny from the bag and showed Callie. The girl knew that was now hers she immediately reached out for it and squeezed it tightly gripping the soft fur in her fists. ¡°Thank you, Hannah.¡± Zaira moved closer to pluck the price tag of the bunny so Callie wouldn¡¯t chew on it. ¡°One more to add to the pile right Callie?¡± ¡°Pile?¡± ¡°She spent the whole morning gathering her stuffies into a pile on the floor.¡± ¡°Does she walk?¡± ¡°No, she pulls them along as she crawls.¡± ¡°Cute,¡± Hannah said as she watched the baby cuddle the bunny. ¡°Dear?¡± ¡°Mmm?¡± ¡°Julian said you were gay?¡± ¡°Oh yeah¡­ I may have told him I come out to you. I figured if you could deal with a demon as your neighbor, you could deal with a gay son.¡± Hannah laughed and pulled Zaira into a hug. ¡°Thank you so much for telling him to talk to us.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± Ryan echoed softly. She smiled at both of them. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re welcome.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be an interesting correction for Julian later.¡± Hannah joked. Zaira scratched the back of her head. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m not straight.¡± Wouldn¡¯t be that much of a correction. ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°I suppose that¡¯s pretty normal for a demon.¡± Zaira ignored the mumbled comment from Ryan for a moment so she could finish her thought. ¡°I¡¯m more concerned about letting Julian know about the whole demon thing if he starts being around regularly. I¡¯m going to especially have a hard time hiding Callie¡¯s magic.¡± She turned from Hannah to Ryan. ¡°If you must know, sexual orientation does fluctuate in percentage between species. Witches have one of the highest percentages of same-sex attraction than any other species and, as far as I know, my species¡¯ percentages roughly mirror humans¡¯. And the only type of sexual activity that is a sin is one that is non-consensual. If I need to sick Rushka on you again to drill that into your head, I will.¡± Ryan¡¯s mouth was agape. Zaira had never been one to push back, but she¡¯d found her footing, and from now on she vowed to stand up for what she believed in. ¡°And for that matter. My being alive and a demon isn¡¯t a sin either.¡± Ryan closed his mouth and nodded. ¡°Rushka explained that last part to us after you left¡­ I¡¯ll admit, it¡¯s difficult to¡­¡± ¡°Relearn what was taught to you all your life?¡± Zaira asked after the silence had stretched for an uncomfortable amount of time. Ryan nodded. ¡°I understand. I¡¯m very willing to answer questions. Though, for my sanity, I may answer only a couple at a time. I¡¯m working through my own shit right now too.¡± Ryan nodded. ¡°I can definitely agree to mutual respect.¡± ¡°What changed your mind?¡± ¡°Other than the chewing out from that angel? I¡¯m not dumb. You¡¯ve continued to help my family despite my actively trying to kidnap your daughter. I appreciate it.¡± The man turned his hand so his palm faced the ceiling and stretched it towards Zaira. She hesitated but reached for it. He squeezed her hand as tightly as he could, though his grip was much weaker than it would have been and the hand colder than Zaira would have expected. ¡°You are a good woman. I promise you I will try my best to keep an open mind from now on.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± She squeezed his hand back and pulled away. Ryan took a deep breath. ¡°Rushka went over quite a few things with us, so I don¡¯t have many questions at the moment. There is one thing. One thing that¡¯s been bothering me from the start. It¡¯s a hard question. So, I promise it¡¯s the only thing I will ask today.¡± Zaira frowned, then nodded. ¡°What happened to your son?¡± She felt the air being pulled out of her lungs. Her knees weakened and she sat on the edge of the bed. She felt Hannah¡¯s hands on her shoulders. ¡°Ryan! I told you he died when people found out she was a demon. You don¡¯t have to answer, dear.¡± ¡°There¡¯s more to it than that Hon.¡± ¡°There really isn¡¯t. I was such an idiot.¡± Zaira¡¯s eyes burned, and she closed them. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Both elders gasped before Zaira felt something wet pop on her nose. She smiled slightly. She heard the hospital door close. She opened her eyes and bubbles were filling the room. Again, Callie wasn¡¯t smiling. One hand still gripped the bunny tightly, but one fist had opened to let bubbles rise from it. Zaira leaned forward, scooped Callie from the chair, and kissed her cheek before settling her on her chest. The best safety blanket one could ask for. She took a shuddering breath. ¡°His name was Asher.¡± The name rang in her ears. She hadn¡¯t said it out loud since he had died. She hadn¡¯t even told Rushka. ¡°I met his father when I was living amongst a small village of humans in Habsburg. He was so kind to me. I lied to myself that I could make the relationship work, and pretend to be human. His personality changed the night we were married. I was too scared to leave.¡± ¡°I feel like you could have just killed him and left.¡± ¡°Ryan!¡± Zaira snorted. ¡°You aren¡¯t wrong. I could have killed him, flown away and no one would have been the wiser. If the non-human rulers had found out I likely would not have even been prosecuted given what he had done to me. But one¡¯s mind can create the strongest of barriers.¡± Zaira took a break. No one spoke. Callie had stopped producing bubbles, but they still hung in the air. She stared at the wall and continued. ¡°Asher was born the next year. He looked human,¡± He was human, she bothered to start the rituals that would have turned him into a Borim, ¡°When he was about 8 months old, his father took him for an outing, and I took the opportunity to remove my glamours ¨C the spells that make me look human¨C¡± ¡°Why would you do that?¡± Ryan asked. ¡°Spells take energy. I¡¯m well practiced in these ones, so it isn¡¯t too draining but it still gets tiring.¡± Callie cooed in her ear. Zaira imagined to herself that the baby was commenting about spellcasting. She laughed. ¡°Yes, you would do a better job.¡± She peppered some kisses on the baby, who giggled. ¡°Anyways¡­¡± She shifted Callie to the other side. ¡°They came back earlier than I had thought¡­ He put Asher aside and¡­ Well, he was not a fearful man. He beat me, worse than before¡­ I suppose he hoped to kill me then and there.¡± She felt Hannah¡¯s arms tighten around her. ¡°I pleaded for him to stop. Of course, that didn¡¯t work. I ran to Asher and took him. Before I could fly away, he ripped Asher from me¡­¡± She looked at Ryan. ¡°You have no idea how much I regret flying away without him. When I returned to get him¡­ They had already killed him. The humans figured he was a demon as well and needed to die.¡± Her tears had stopped. She was just numb. Ryan put his hand on her thigh. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± She pinched her lips and nodded. ¡°I need some air.¡± ¡°Go. Do you want us to watch Callie?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± She handed Callie to Hannah. ¡°I won¡¯t be long.¡± Zaira left the room. As she walked away, she heard Hannah scold Ryan. ¡°What on earth were you expecting?¡± ¡°Not¡­ That. I don¡¯t know anymore.¡± ¡°Be nicer to her.¡± ¡°I will.¡± Zaira circled the city of Nanowin several times. Enjoying the wind and freedom. She returned to the hospital, her head slightly clearer. When she returned to Ryan¡¯s room, Hannah was in the bathroom changing Callie¡¯s diaper. Ryan waved her over. He took her hand again. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to comment on this. But I want you to know, that nothing that happened was your fault.¡± After all that work to clear her head, her eyes teared up again. She closed her eyes and tried to push down the memories once more. Thankfully Hannah came in and broke the tension, cooing at Callie. Zaira pulled away from Ryan. ¡°Oh, um¡­ I should probably tell you. Arthur called me. He confessed to poisoning you at the hospital.¡± ¡°Oof.¡± It was Hannah¡¯s turn to go weak. She sat down in her chair. Ryan¡¯s lips were pursed. ¡°Why would he call you to admit that?¡± ¡°He accused me of poisoning you at home.¡± ¡°He readily admits to poisoning me here but says you did it at home?¡± ¡°I had that same thought. The first thought is he just wants to try and frame me too, or rile me up¡­ But I had to check¡­ I investigated your garage and, well, the cryptid living in your backyard, it poisoned you at home.¡± ¡°What!¡± Both elders looked at her wide-eyed. Then anger flashed in Ryan¡¯s eyes. ¡°Was this because we were feeding it?¡± ¡°Well, actually, I think it''s because you kept trying to tell Hannah to stop.¡± ¡°And it poisoned him over that?¡± ¡°Cryptids are fickle. This isn¡¯t the first time someone was targeted for something similar.¡± ¡°So, what do we do about it?¡± Ryan looked almost ready to jump out of bed to confront the pukwudgie. ¡°I¡¯ve taken care of it already. I caught it and told it that if I ever saw it near your vicinity again, I would kill it.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Ryan said. ¡°Do you, do you have to kill it? What about jail?¡± ¡°For one, cryptids don¡¯t really follow most non-human laws. For two, the non-human cultures here don¡¯t really believe in imprisonment¡­ It''s be nice or die.¡± Zaira shrugged. ¡°It sounds a little vulgar to say out loud but it''s quite common.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Their conversation was interrupted by loud footsteps running down the hallway. ¡°Boys! You missed it.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Hannah jumped up from her seat and went to greet her grandchildren at the door. The rest of the afternoon was spent with Julian and his boys. They were lovely, generally well-behaved boys. You could tell Julian loved them just as much as Hannah loved her boys and he made sure to show them. By the end of the afternoon, Ryan had perked up, looking rejuvenated by both the visit and an extra round of meds. The Rosses reconnected with their grandchildren, and Ryan even made an effort to reconnect with Callie, who was still wary of him. Callie also became quick friends with Jordan. As much as everyone was enjoying themselves, Zaira noticed that Ryan was slowing down two hours later. ¡°Jordan, could I have Callie back? I think it''s time for us to go home. Your grandfather looks like he is getting tired.¡± Everyone but the two youngest looked at Ryan. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he said, a dinosaur in his hand, his eyelids drooping. ¡°No, Zaira¡¯s right,¡± Julian said. ¡°It''s time to go home.¡± ¡°Will we see you again?¡± Hannah wrung her hands as she addressed her son. ¡°Of course,¡± Julian pulled her into a hug. ¡°How about we visit on Saturday afternoon. It¡¯ll give Dad a couple days of rest and more time to visit since the boys won¡¯t have school.¡± ¡°We look forward to it.¡± His father smiled. ¡°Come on boys.¡± ¡°Can I carry Callie to the car?¡± Jordan bounced the baby on his hip as she was slipping. Callie giggled. Julian looked at Zaira. ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± ¡°Yay!¡± ¡°Hannah?¡± Hannah looked at her husband. ¡°Go home with Zaira.¡± ¡°But ¨C¡± ¡°No buts. You¡¯ve slept in a chair for the past few days.¡± Hannah hesitated but finally said. ¡°Oh, alright.¡± She leaned down to kiss her husband. ¡°I love you.¡± ¡°I love you too.¡± The boys kissed their grandfather goodbye and so did Julian. Ryan asked to see Callie and he shook her hand goodbye and blew her a kiss. Finally, he wished Zaira a goodnight and all left the room and headed home for a routine night. Chapter Twenty Two ¡°Is Callie sick?¡± Zaira turned away from her meal prep and looked to Hannah who was in the living room playing with Callie. ¡°No. Why? ¡°Well, we¡¯ve known her for months now and she¡¯s barely grown.¡± ¡°Oh. Right. Yes. Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s right on track for a little witch. They grow at roughly half the speed of humans, they have longer lives too.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s kind of neat.¡± ¡°Yes, I like it.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have more time with her.¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± Zaira smiled and returned to the week¡¯s meals, listening to the other two¡¯s exchange. ¡°Mail¡¯s here.¡± She said when she spotted the truck roll onto the street. ¡°Mind getting mine too?¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Zaira left the house and walked to get the mail out of both mailboxes. The car wasn¡¯t in the Rosses driveway. Ryan was at his first vet¡¯s meeting since being in the hospital. He¡¯d been out for a couple months now, his last treatment being yesterday. He was back to his regular self. Zaira would daresay even happier despite everything. Julian had kept his promise and made sure to see his parents a day every couple of weeks with the boys. Zaira flipped through the mail as she walked home. She noticed both she and the Rosses had received identical envelopes from the police. She opened her copy. It was a notice. To let her know that Arthur¡¯s trial was starting in two weeks. It also requested her presence to speak on the prosecution¡¯s behalf. Zaira and the Rosses hadn¡¯t spoken about Arthur since she told them about the phone call. It seemed to her as if they were pretending that he was still being his normal distant self. Like he hadn¡¯t ever shown up and tried to murder his father. Guess it was finally time to face the truth. Zaira tucked her letter back into its envelope and returned home. She planned on at least being there. Maybe take the witness stand. Granted they had a recording of her conversation with Arthur. What kind of questions would they ask her? She¡¯d never paid much mind to the courts. She faced enough tragedy at work she¡¯d never felt the need to relive other¡¯s pain. She placed the mail on the dining table and returned to her meal prep. A couple of hours later Hannah and her had switched places. She was playing with Callie and Hannah was making supper in the kitchen. There was a knock on the door and Hannah went to open it without waiting for Zaira. It was Ryan, carrying a large box. ¡°I stopped by the store.¡± He said as a greeting. ¡°This is for Callie.¡± He took his shoes off and brought the box to the living room. He put the box on the floor and the baby started smacking the box, giggling. ¡°What is it?¡± Zaira circled around the box. There was a picture on the front of a parent pushing a baby in a colorful swing. ¡°A swing? Oh, that¡¯ll be fun. Right, Callie? Thank you, Ryan.¡± ¡°Of course. You can install it inside too if you want. I was thinking of that beam actually.¡± He pointed to the large beam on the ceiling separating the living room and hallway. Zaira smiled. ¡°I think that¡¯s a great idea.¡± ¡°I have something else in the car. I need your help to get it into the house, it''s rather heavy.¡± ¡°OK, want to bring it in now?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Zaira had expected the car to be in the Rosses¡¯ driveway. ¡°If it''s that heavy maybe we should park the car in your driveway to cut the carry time.¡± ¡°Oh no, it''s for you.¡± ¡°Callie doesn¡¯t need to be spoiled that much.¡± Ryan shook his head. ¡°No, not for Callie. It''s for you.¡± ¡°Me? Why?¡± ¡°As a thank you, and apology.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t need to.¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°I know. But ¨C thank you for being there. And thank you for finally getting Julian to talk to us. I wasn¡¯t planning on getting you something for it, but I saw this and thought you would love it. I¡¯m not sure how much of a window you will have to use it before the cold weather hits though.¡± He pulled the car door open. The box took up the entire back seat, it would not have fit in the trunk. ¡°It¡¯s a free-standing hammock. No trees needed.¡± Zaira had been watching him since his thank you. He was avoiding eye contact. She wasn¡¯t surprised. Not only was he not someone who voiced his emotions very often, but she didn¡¯t have her human glamours up. He was still very uncomfortable with that. She had actually kept her glamours up during suppers at their place since coming home from the hospital. Zaira gave him a small smile. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m sure I will use it often.¡± She pulled the box from the car and lifted it onto her shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m going to go put it on the deck. Ryan nodded. ¡°Sounds good. I¡¯m going to go to park the car and come back to help you install the baby swing.¡± The swing was simple to install. Drill holes in the beam for the fixtures. Screw the fixture in and hook up the baby seat. In the meantime, Callie played with the box. Crawling in and out, flipping it on its sides. Zaira left her to play with it even after the swing was up as she was having so much fun. That was ¨C until she set it on fire. Zaira put the fire out with the extinguisher and Callie started howling. Mommy was so mean, preventing her play area from erupting into flames. Zaira figured that it was now an ideal time to try the swing. Callie fought desperately against being lowered into the hanging trap. Zaira had to guide the feet in several times. Then one pass of the swing and some cooing from mommy and she had exchanged crying for huffing. A second pass of the swing and Callie decided it wasn¡¯t quite as bad as she had thought. A third swing and there was a smile, then finally giggles. ¡°Yay!¡± All the adults encouraged the little girl who smiled widely. The rest of the evening was close to normal. They ate supper at Zaira¡¯s. Zaira had decided to compromise on her looks, keeping the wings and horns, she switched her skin to a more human color, hoping to eventually help acclimatize Ryan. And honestly, she was still getting used to it after years of hiding her demonic features from herself. It was easier now that she had a daughter and a friend who didn¡¯t even flinch at her looks. They had given Callie a small plate of food. She ended up wearing most of it. Then after a change, Ryan spent some time with Callie on the swing while Hannah gossiped with Zaira. It was rather late when the Rosses left, and Callie was already falling asleep by the time Zaira carried her up the stairs. Despite the late hour, Zaira decided she wanted to build her new hammock. She grabbed the baby monitor and her toolbox and flipped on the deck light. A large porcupine scuttled across the yard. She growled. She opened the door and stepped out into the middle of the yard. ¡°I saw you.¡± A face poked out from the tree line. A pukwudgie. She wasn¡¯t sure if it was the same one that had been in the Rosses¡¯ yard, she had never gotten a good look at that one. ¡°You can stay as long as you don¡¯t cause trouble.¡± She growled. ¡°But I¡¯m not feeding you.¡± She thought she saw the cryptid nod before disappearing into the tree line again. Zaira shook the encounter out of her mind and returned to her deck.
The stars sparkled overhead. It was a little chilly, summer was giving way to fall. She had brought a blanket out and now she was so cozy in her hammock she contemplated spending the night. ¡°Oh, there you are.¡± Zaira sat up a bit and saw Ryan come around the house. ¡°I knocked on the door, but you didn¡¯t answer. You built that quickly.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m really enjoying it actually. Thank you.¡± Ryan smiled and approached. He pulled one of the deck chairs closer and sat down. ¡°Did you get one of these?¡± He held up the letter about Arthur¡¯s trial. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Did they ask you to testify?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Do you plan to?¡± ¡°I was thinking yes. I ¨C I might be persuaded not to if you really want. But the evidence against him is pretty damning even if he only did do the second poisoning.¡± Ryan nodded his head as he stared at the letter, lost in thought. They only really had two major pieces of evidence that Zaira knew of, but they were concrete. One of course was the recording where he admits to the second poisoning. The second was the only open bottle of windshield wiper fluid in the garage. It was the brand that Arthur had brought with him when he had asked his father to work on his car, not the brand Ryan had bought in bulk. Arthur had probably used the bottle after seeing it was open following the pukwudgie¡¯s attempt. He probably had thought she had used it and would have evidence of her prints on it too. It didn¡¯t. She wondered why he didn¡¯t wipe it down. ¡°I believe every action has its consequences,¡± Ryan said. ¡°Hannah does too¡­ We are just¡­ Sad? Angry? That it was our boy. We really fucked up with him it seems.¡± ¡°I doubt it was you, you don¡¯t know the other people in his life.¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± Arthur sounded unconvinced. ¡°Hannah plans on testifying. She was there for both events. I guess we are just going to have to pretend the first one was him too.¡± Zaira shrugged. ¡°They¡¯ll draw that conclusion I¡¯m sure, but you don¡¯t need to point the finger at him, just tell the truth.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll at least be there, right?¡± ¡°Definitely.¡± A heavy silence settled over them as Ryan twirled the letter in his hands. Zaira leaned back to watch the stars once more. ¡°Have you always struggled with mental health?¡± Ryan asked after a while. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Is it like humans? Suck it up and move on? Well, that¡¯s how it was when we were young.¡± ¡°Depends on the location, species, and time. I was raised like that.¡± ¡°Have you ever been to therapy?¡± ¡°I plan on starting relatively soon. As Rushka suggested I do.¡± ¡°It sounds like a lot of hooey to me¡­ But if even the angel thinks it¡¯s a good idea¡­ Hannah and I were debating going to therapy to deal with all¡­ This.¡± He waived the letter around. ¡°That might not be a bad idea.¡± However, she was certain Arthur¡¯s betrayal was going to leave a permanent wound. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine having my own child come after me. Do you know why he would do that?¡± ¡°We changed our will.¡± Zaira frowned at him. ¡°We added you to it.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°For being there.¡± Ryan sighed. ¡°Hannah and I were talking. We didn¡¯t remove Arthur and Julien from it, but we did add you. We think that may be why Arthur showed up.¡± ¡°But why kill you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Whether or not he was planning on killing me from the start, we aren¡¯t sure.¡± Ryan wiped his face. ¡°And how he thought my death was going to change anything, I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Maybe he was hoping he could convince Hannah to change it back?¡± Ryan snorted. ¡°Maybe, but she was the one who wanted to add you in the first place. I just didn¡¯t have a good reason to argue with her.¡± The elder human stood and slapped her knee in what she assumed was ¡®good ol¡¯ dad¡¯ affection. ¡°I¡¯m going to bed. Have a good night.¡± ¡°You too.¡± She smiled at him sadly. ¡°And thank you. It has been nice to have family around. Apart from Asher, I haven¡¯t had a family since I was a teenager.¡± He reached out and squeezed her hand. ¡°Oh, and Julian is coming by in a couple of days. With his new beau and the children. You are welcome of course.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± She said as he disappeared around the corner of the house.
The trial was rough. Hannah sobbed through her entire testimony. Ryan and Zaira had held her hand when they weren¡¯t on the stand. Just as much a comfort for them as for Hannah. Ryan and Zaira had also answered some questions, but they had managed to keep their emotions in check. Julian had come for support, sitting next to his father. The trial lasted only 3 days. A minor blessing. Arthur had gotten 10 years. Hannah sobbed through the sentencing, even Ryan had shed tears. Arthur had remained stoic through everything. He¡¯d tried to lighten the sentence by blaming her again. It didn¡¯t work. The cops hadn¡¯t even brought her in for questioning at the station. A week later Luke¡¯s sixth birthday helped everyone out of the rut the trial had put them in. They had gone to an indoor playground and arcade with about a dozen five- to six-year-olds. Zaira and Callie had been invited. It was a lovely afternoon with love fun and cuddles all around. Zaira launched off her balcony. She needed to stretch her wings. Callie was safely asleep in her crib. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the cool night air. Then she flipped and watched the stars. As she returned home a wave of nostalgia washed over her. She landed on her balcony and walked to her nightstand. After slight hesitation, she took a silver ring out of its drawer. She twirled it around as she headed back to the balcony, leaning on the railing. There used to be a pattern engraved on it, but the years had worn it away. In fact, they had worn most of the ring away, it was now too fragile to wear. It had belonged to the witch who had kept her from starving as a child. She had taken it back out of her ever-bag, along with Asher¡¯s box. He was on the mantle, to be with the family. The ring was in her nightstand drawer, a silent presence for Zaira. ¡°Nana.¡± She said to the ring as she rubbed it. ¡°Things aren¡¯t perfect, but I¡¯m ok. I¡¯m looking forward to the future for the first time in a long time. She moved her hand up to her face. There were very few scratches compared to what there had been before. Yeah, things were looking up. Book Two Teaser and Authors note There was a knock on the door. Callie squealed and ran to the front door. That meant it was at least one of the Rosses. Zaira didn¡¯t bother with her human glamours. When she got to the door Callie was desperately to turn the doorknob, but the babyproofing held up. Zaira spotted Julian through the door. She smiled and opened the door. Jordan was the first one in, scooping up his cousin and bouncing her up and down. ¡°Hi, Bean!¡± ¡°Ordan!¡± ¡°Yay!¡± Jordan ran out of the house towards his grandparents¡¯ house. Callie in his arms. Zaira and Julian watched them go. ¡°I hope you weren¡¯t planning on doing anything today.¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Wanna come visit?¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Let me go get the diaper bag.¡± She quickly grabbed the diaper bag from the living room and headed out the door. Halfway down the driveway her face nearly collided with a floating scroll. She jerked back and blinked, getting her bearings. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°A work summons.¡± Zaira grabbed the scroll from the air. Massive forest fires. Come ASAP. Prepare for a multiple casualty event. There were coordinates at the bottom. It was close by. ¡°This is bad.¡± Julian nodded. ¡°When do you have to leave?¡± ¡°I have time to ask Hannah to keep Callie and say goodbye and then I''m off.¡± Twenty minutes later she had taken off in the direction of the fire. It didn¡¯t take fifteen minutes to see the fire on the horizon. It was near Refuge and she knew that area of the forest was well occupied. This was going to be bad.