Shadow Play

19

“I’ll tell you about the draug after you tell me what it wanted,” he said with a raised brow, clearly implying that he was the one running the show. “What makes you think it wanted something?” Realizing this man had the advantage in knowing significantly more than I did about the situation, I became cautious about offering up information. “There's no way a draug would make a scene so close to the Huntsman unless it had a very good reason.” “Why would he avoid the Huntsman?” Was it dangerous like Cat had suggested? “Woman, just answer my question.” His exasperation was evident and I didn't want to piss him off. He had information that I desperately wanted and the draug had been scared of him—both good reasons not to make him angry. However, I didn't know what Lochlan's role was in all of this and if the draug was willing to kill me for my necklace, that could mean Lochlan would be, too. “He said something about give it to him and that it wasn’t mine to have, I think he was just trying to rob me. What was that thing? Please tell me what is going on.” He sat motionless, arms crossed in a stance that I was beginning to associate with his interrogation mode. Eventually he spoke. “Draugs are extremely dangerous and this creature should not have been here. It's not the first creature to find its way here and we are investigating how they are getting here.” “We?” I asked in confusion. “Me and my colleagues.” Apparently, I wasn't the only one answering questions with vague generalities. I grunted in frustration and stood with my hands on my hips and began to pace. “What is going on? Why are you being so cryptic? I want to know exactly what that thing was. Some kind of mutant? An alien? I want some answers or I’m going to go crazier than I already am!” I threw my arms in the air, my voice rising the longer I spoke. By the end of my rant I was breathing heavily and had stopped in front of Lochlan's chair. He stood up, forcing me take a retreating step back to make room for him, and placed his hands on his hips, mirroring my stance. “What I can tell you is that you aren’t crazy, and the world is not as simple as you may have once believed. I can also tell you that there are things that go bump in the night and since you seem to have caught their attention, you need to be more careful. Now I’ve told you everything you need to know, for the moment. I still have questions for you, but I’m starting to realize that you're somehow clueless, so I doubt I'll get any answers.” “Well you certainly aren’t a wealth of information either.” “It appears to me the questions revolve around you so maybe you're the one who needs to think of some answers.” “Well, that's super helpful, Yoda, thanks.” Instantly his face was inches from mine, his eyes blazing. “Was saving your life not enough?” Recognizing that I sounded ungrateful, I calmed my voice and spoke softly. “Maybe if I knew more about what was going on, I wouldn’t have needed saving.” Our eyes were locked on each other, mine pleading and his fathomless. Suddenly, I was achingly aware of just how close our chests were from touching and I could feel the air around us shift but the moment was cut short when a man in scrubs entered the room. “Family of Ashley Moore?” All arguments fled from my mind as I rushed over to the doctor. “Yes! Well, I’m her best friend and she has no family here, she’s visiting me from the States.” Hope and anxiety both swelled in my chest. “Is she okay?” My voice cracked on the words. “She’s good. She has a concussion that we will need to monitor for a day or so and her humerus bone in her right arm is fractured. The orthopedist is currently setting it, but otherwise, just some minor scrapes and bruises.” “Can I see her?” “At the moment the doctors are still working on her arm and she’s on some heavy pain medicine so my suggestion for you is to go get some rest and come back to see her in the morning.” My lungs deflated with both relief that she was okay and frustration that I wouldn’t see her tonight. Something about seeing her awake with my own eyes would have gone a long way to reassure me that she was all right. Resigned, I nodded and told the doctor how much I appreciated his help and turned to Lochlan, who was still standing in the same spot with his head tilted down, clearly listening to our conversation. “Come on, I’ll take you home,” he offered, and I was too tired to argue, so I fell into step behind him as he made his way out to the hospital parking garage. I didn’t give him my address, we both were aware that he knew exactly where I lived. The drive wasn't long and while I still needed so many answers, I couldn't seem to form a single question. I was pretty sure shock had set in and shut down my brain because not only were my thoughts suspiciously quiet, but I couldn't seem to summon any emotion either. After he drove up to the curb beside my apartment, I began to lift myself out of his car when he spoke softly. “Try to keep yourself out of trouble, Rebecca.” He held my eyes for a couple beats longer than normal, igniting in me a sudden surge of feelings more intense than I cared to recognize. Once I was safely inside, his black car sped off into the night. I dragged myself upstairs and in a zombie-like state, removed my makeup and put on pajamas. My brain had apparently fried a circuit because my mind was a blank and I fell into a blissfully dreamless sleep. I woke with the dawning awareness that my face was resting in a puddle of drool. It appeared that my brain had been in dire need of a reboot because I had been asleep for over ten hours. I woke feeling recharged and stretched out in bed like a languid cat before a freight train of memories from the night before slammed into me and I shot upright. Ashley was in the hospital. Glancing around, I confirmed that she wasn’t in the bed with me, the black dress I had worn was wadded up on the floor, and a glance down at my arm where the draug had held me revealed a large fading bruise. I was surprised at its blue and green coloring, as if it was several days old and partially healed rather than freshly bruised. My dark complexion had never bruised easily, and I healed faster than most of my friends, so I wasn't terribly unsettled, but it was odd enough to catch my notice.