Page 18 of Palingenesis

“Stressed, human?” I ask lowly, my smoke clenching around my arm, the distance between us too great for him to hear it clearly.

I find myself moving closer until I’m perching across the street from where he stands, blanketed only by the haze of smoke that follows me, and the night.

The human looks up, scanning what is ahead of him instead of beside and finally climbs inside the vehicle.

He seems shakier as he makes the engine rumble, and I cannot help myself.

My talons tingle with each stride that grants me proximity to him, my mind reaching out to flirt with his.

“Will you let me in, human?”

Unknowing of me, he begins to drive away.

I know this because his movements are stiff. Slow. Deliberate. As if he would rather do anything except drive the vehicle to his intended destination.

Had he felt my presence, my prodding of his mind, he would have run. Escaped as quickly as possible. All others have except for one.

Maybe I shall follow.

An innocent peeking into what makes the human that used his hands to speak tick.

“I will keep my distance for now.”

Chapter 10

Shannon

I still can’t shake the feeling of eyes watching me.

Even as I tiptoe through my front door and into the silent house, long after the moment with Avery outside his shop.

It’s dark except for the light above the stove that casts a glow so gentle it barely reaches across the range.

The night has never bothered me, but I guess having lived in the city my whole life has never lent itself access to true darkness like it does here. Where the stars shine bright past the clouds, visible only due to the lack of light pollution.

At least, they are when the town isn’t blanketed in a fog so heavy, it blocks almost everything out and leaves a rich scent so thick it’s reminiscent of smoke.

Shaking it off, my body twinges with the aches of the day–of last night. It brings a fresh wave of heat to my eyes that I blink away quickly.

If Henry sees me losing my shit, it’ll only make things worse.

I swallow hard, burying the weight of the last words he said to me before gently placing my keys into the bowl and shucking my jacket.

He should be here, probably fuming, and though I don’t want to see him, I find myself seeking him out. Wondering what hell he got up to while I was gone.

Worry mars my brow and dread silences each of my steps that lead me closer to him.

I need to know if he’s still here.

Fuck, the air is so thick down the hallway that it feels like the fog followed me inside.

I know it didn’t. It can’t. Yet, I still hold my breath as I push open the bedroom door with slow, jerky movements and a sickening hope swirling in my belly.

It’s so still. Maybe he … waited for me? Plans to apologize? I mean … answering my phone was no big deal in retrospect, and I can understand his lack of understanding when someone else called me. If he would have taken a breath and asked me, I would have answered him easily. I was never trying to hide Avery.

But I find the bed empty, covers tossed back the way Henry leaves them every time he gets up, and my shoulders slump.

The sound of my own sigh crackles around me.