Chapter 11 — The First Time He Bled
776 Words
For a few seconds she just stared at him.
The man who had shattered a creature made of living shadow… was leaning against a crushed car like he might collapse any second.
That didn’t make sense.
“You’re joking,” she said.
He wasn’t.
A dark stain had started spreading across the side of his coat where the spirit had hit him earlier.
Her stomach dropped.
“That’s blood.”
“Yes.”
The answer came flat.
“You bleed?”
He gave her a tired glance.
“I was human once.”
“Once?”
He didn’t answer that.
He tried to straighten up but his hand slipped against the metal of the car hood. The sharp scent of blood mixed with the damp night air.
Her brain was still trying to catch up with everything that had happened in the last ten minutes.
Spirits gathering.
A giant one trying to tear him apart.
Him ripping its arm off like it was nothing.
And now this.
“You look terrible,” she said.
“I’ve looked worse.”
“That’s not reassuring.”
He pushed away from the car slowly. The movement made his jaw tighten slightly, but he didn’t complain.
The street had gone quiet again.
Too quiet.
The spirits had vanished.
But she could still feel them somewhere out there in the dark.
Watching.
“They ran,” she said.
“For now,” he replied.
“That doesn’t sound permanent.”
“It isn’t.”
Great.
She rubbed her temples.
“So let me summarize tonight.”
He didn’t stop her.
“You created emotion-eating shadow creatures centuries ago trying to save someone you loved.”
“Yes.
“They’ve been multiplying through human feelings ever since.”
“Yes.”
“They hate you.”
“Yes.”
“And now they’ve decided to kill you.”
“Yes.”
She let out a long breath.
“That’s… a lot.”
He didn’t argue.
The wind moved through the empty street again, rustling loose paper across the pavement.
“You shouldn’t stay near me,” he said after a moment.
She blinked.
“What?”
“They’ll come after you too.”
“That didn’t stop them tonight.”
“You were collateral tonight.”
“And next time?”
His eyes darkened slightly.
“They’ll be deliberate.”
She studied him for a moment.
“You’re used to dealing with them alone.”
“Yes.”
“That seems like a bad strategy.”
“It worked for a few centuries.”
“And now?”
His silence answered that question.
She crossed her arms.
“You’re injured.”
“I’ll recover.”
“You’re outnumbered.”
“Yes.”
“And those things clearly aren’t afraid of you anymore.”
“They’re learning.”
“Exactly.”
He looked at her.
Something curious flickered in his expression.
“You’re taking this remarkably well.”
She shrugged slightly.
“I’ve been seeing those things since I was nine. At some point you stop pretending the world is normal.”
He studied her more carefully now.
Like he was looking at something he hadn’t expected.
“You’re not scared,” he said.
“Oh, I’m absolutely terrified,” she replied.
“But fear and denial are two different things.”
A faint hint of amusement touched his face.
Then faded.
“You still shouldn’t stay near me.”
She ignored that.
Instead she asked the question that had been building in her head since the fight started.
“Why can I see them?”
His expression changed again.
That question clearly mattered.
“I don’t know,” he admitted.
“That’s not comforting either.”
“It’s unusual.”
“Unusual how?”
He hesitated.
Then answered carefully.
“Most humans can’t see the spirits because they’re born from emotion, not matter.”
“Okay.”
“But sometimes… very rarely…”
His eyes met hers again.
“…someone appears who can see the doorway between the two.”
A cold shiver slid down her spine.
“You’re saying I can see where they come from.”
“Yes.”
Her stomach tightened.
“That sounds important.”
“It is.”
A long pause passed between them.
Then she asked the question that had been sitting quietly in the back of her mind since the moment they met.
“If I can see that doorway…”
His gaze didn’t leave her face.
“…then maybe I can close it.”
The wind stopped.
The street went still.
And for the first time since the spirits appeared…
He looked genuinely shocked.
- Writer
