Page 73 of Starlight

It must be one of those wards that hid things. So even though it looked like a trail to him, maybe it wasn’t. That didn’t stop him from being careful. He followed the trail about a hundred yards before reaching a clearing, where Akai directed him to park and got out.

Should he get out or wait in the truck?

He couldn’t see anything but trees. Akai confidently walked toward the trees and disappeared.

The seconds ticked past, and his nerves increased. What if Akai had abandoned him there? No, Cole turned and checked the backseat; Akai had left his bag full of jewelry. He must have gone to speak to someone.

If he couldn’t see anything monster-related, did that mean there were monsters walking around his truck? He kept his hands on the steering wheel like it was a traffic stop and waited.

Seconds became minutes.

How long did he wait?

There was a cold, creeping sensation that he didn’t belong there and that he should leave. Was that more monster magic?

Sweat beaded under his arms and between his shoulder blades. Akai would lick the sweat up like it was as delicious as honey…maybe it was to him.

The nerves twisted into sharper anxiety with a dash of panic. Was this whole thing a mistake? What had he been thinking? He hadn’t been, not with his brain anyway. That he couldn’t tell anyone about Akai had to mean it was wrong, right?

Or had he created some kind of hallucination, and Akai wasn’t real?

Had he lost his mind?

Was he in a coma?

Had he never woken up, and had dreamed the last seven years?

No…all those physio and psych appointments, they had to be real. But if they were real, then Akai and monsters were real. Unless he was dead.

Just as he was about to launch into a fully-fledged existential crisis, Akai stepped out of the trees. Cole sagged with relief as the tension that had gathered in his muscles melted away like storm clouds in the sun.

Then another man appeared. He had massive wings and crackled with power.

Akai beckoned him over, and Cole got out of the truck. He wiped his hands on his jeans and hoped he appeared calmer than he felt. Not that it mattered since Akai could hear his heartbeat and smell the sweat on his skin.

“Hi.” Cole offered his hand, hoping that was the right thing to do. “I’m Cole.”

The monster clasped his hand. “Bob.” His voice was deep like thunder rolling through the clearing. “You may go and set up, Akai.”

Akai glanced at Cole and hesitated.

“I will bring him to you if he is allowed through,” Bob confirmed.

Cole forced a smile. Of course his entry wasn’t guaranteed, but he and Akai had acted as though it were a formality, not a pass/fail exam. “Hopefully, I’ll see you soon; otherwise, you know where to find me.”

He tried to keep his tone light but wasn’t sure he succeeded from Akai’s stricken expression. But Akai nodded and retrieved his things from the truck, then disappeared into the trees again. If he followed, what would he see?

“Why don’t we have a seat?” Bob indicated to a couple of logs that Cole hadn’t noticed before.

“Sure.” He walked over and sat, expecting this to be like the nightmare where he was handed an exam paper only to realize he was naked, and everyone was staring. He rested his elbows on his thighs and laced his fingers, not sure what kind of questions to expect. Akai hadn’t given him any kind of heads up, so maybe he didn’t know either…or wasn’t allowed to say.

Bob sat diagonally opposite him, instead of directly in front, which made this feel like an informal talk, not a prosecution. However, his anxiety didn’t dial down much. If he failed, he wouldn’t be allowed in, which felt like a big deal even though a month ago, he hadn’t even known he’d wanted this.

“You found Akai and helped him?” Bob’s question was innocent enough, but there was something beneath his words that put Cole on edge. Bob was one of the few people who knew Cole had shot Akai.

“It was the right thing to do since I was the one who hurt him.”

Bob smiled. “You weren’t scared?”