Sliding tiles stirred my consciousness. I was somewhere much softer and warmer than the leather seat in the living room. I jackknifed in a sitting position, in Ausmane’s bed, instead of him. There were no thermoses on the nightstand.
Ausmane was climbing up his secret underground hatch and he paused when he saw me awake. He pushed himself up deftly to his feet, and the square slid closed.
“Did you carry me here?” I said, not pleased. He didn’t answer and opened his closet. “Are you fine moving around like that?”
“I’ve been fine since yesterday,” he told me. He appeared fine, but I saw with my own eyes the volyr put its whole claw through him. When he rummaged through a shelf, I realized something was different.
His clothes! He was wearing grey sweats and a black shirt taut against h
