Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Memnon
Still not sure what I’d been thinking.
I mean, yeah , I had enough dinner for both of us—Maya didn’t look like she ate nearly as much as Simbel, after all. And yeah , it would be simple enough to print out the papers and fill them out.
But I’d invited her into my space? On purpose?
She needed you .
Granted, it wasn’t the kind of needing like Help I’m dangling from this bridge, someone save me, or I need closure in this murder case or any of the other ways I’ve helped humans over the years. Come upstairs and eat chicken didn’t sound too heroic, did it?
But she’d been hungry, and I could fix that.
Huh. Maybe I was a protector, like Sakkara claimed.
What was interesting was that Maya made us go out the front door of The Garden Shop , then walk all the way around Roe Row and along the back alley to go in through the back door. It seemed excessive, especially since we could have just cut through the back room, but what do I know?
I was shot in that alley.
I pretended like it wasn’t a big deal. After all, when I’d gone looking for empty apartments in Eastshore, I told the realtor, Sami Shayson, I didn’t mind that this one was right by Roe Row. Buying the whole building was kind of an act of defiance, I guess.
But whenever I crossed that alley on my way to my apartment, I could smell the gunpowder, hear the shot, feel my leg being torn out from underneath me. It had been in the middle of the Christmas parade, and Jingle Bell Rock —which the high school pep band had been playing in the distance—was always going to remind me of the smell of my own blood.
Maya was explaining her plans for the landscaping job. “After we take down all the limbs that look sketchy, we’re going to revitalize the beds themselves. The rhododendron bushes seem in okay condition, and I love how big they’ve gotten, even though they’re not native on the sea islands. We’re going to put in flowers and bushes around them, but not bulbs. I want to focus on native grasses and pollinators, like muhly grass, coneflowers, and wild indigo. We’ll have a purple theme going?—”
When we turned down Roe Row, she suddenly shut up.
It was such a surprise, I glanced down at her. She was staring at the far wall, at the exact place where I’d laid after getting shot. Did she know?
I saw her bite her lower lip. And then, without looking up at me, Maya slid her hand into mine.
It was so unexpected, I forgot to pull back. I don’t like being touched. Right? But somehow, she’d made it seem so natural, I didn’t flinch.
In fact, my fingers curled around hers, as if I could protect them from the horrors of that area. When in reality, she was trying to protect me.
Huh.
I cleared my throat. “How about some orange?”
Her confused gaze jerked to mine as we turned down the back alley toward our door. I elaborated. “Milkweed blooms orange. It’d look good with all the purples, and it’s good for?—”
“The butterflies,” she breathed, wide-eyed. “I love it, Memnon, yes! Oh my gosh, we could turn the park into a monarch butterfly oasis—wait, maybe that would be better along the boardwalk at the nature reserve?”
Whatever had passed between us on Roe Row dissipated as she chattered on about plans.
But she didn’t release my hand, even as we climbed the stairs to my apartment.
Once up there, though, I gently untangled our fingers so I could go check on the food as she explored the space.
And you know what?
I didn’t hate it. I didn’t hate having her there in my space. I could hear her, feel her moving around, and I didn’t hate it, the same way I didn’t hate when she’d taken my hand.
Huh .
“You want beer? Water? Milk?” I was standing in front of the fridge, trying to figure out what I had to offer.
From the living room, she called back, “Whatever you’re having is fine, thanks. This painting is lovely, did you do it?”
I snorted and grabbed two beers, popping the tops as I strolled into the living room. As I expected, she was standing in front of the big framed painting that hung between the two front windows. Beneath it was a long table that held a picture taken of me and Simbel when we graduated from the academy, a carved wooden tray for our keys and wallets, and those stupid elastic bands I was supposed to be using for PT.
I stepped up beside Maya and tipped my head back to stare at the artwork. I really needed to put in some kind of better lighting. Still, it was gorgeous on its own.
Without looking at her, I held out the beer, and felt her fingers brush mine as she took it.
“Nah, I didn’t paint it. That’s Karnak’s work. He’s an artist, trying to keep our traditions alive. He said he painted it last year and didn’t know why, then when we moved here, he just knew we had to have it.”
That’s not what he’d said. He’d said I needed to have it, but it was easier to lump my brother in with me.
Maya’s hand rose in my peripheral vision, and I saw her fingers reaching for the stand of aspen trees. “It’s stunning. I can almost hear the water. Is this what it looks like?”
When she asked that question, she twisted to stare up at me. I raised a brow. “What looks like?”
“Is it really that beautiful? Your home?”
Home .
She’d seen it. She got it. I exhaled slowly, staring up at the painting. Karnak had captured a mountain stream, the highlights and shadows and movement. While his art was more often an idea than reality, this painting looked like it had stepped from my memories.
“Yeah,” I finally admitted. “It really is that beautiful.”
She made a sad little noise. “I wish I could see it.”
Me too . “You ever been out to the Rockies?”
“I’ve never been west of the Appalachians.”
I turned away from the painting. “They’re nice too. But my home is—was—out in what the humans call the Rockies. I learned to—” Best not get too personal. “Doesn’t matter. But if you ever want to see something that beautiful…” I jerked my thumb at the painting as I walked back to the kitchen. “Visit the Rockies. There were a group of us who decided that was the closest they could get to paradise.” My voice dropped to a whisper. “It’s almost as good as going home again.”
Simbel used to tease me for taking my vacations to Denver. But after the third time, he shut up and started going with me. No, we couldn’t go home again. And after everything I’d seen in the last decade, I doubted there could be a place for us there.
But hiking out into the middle of nowhere and stripping down to my shorts and just being still ? That was as close to peace as I could come anymore.
Maybe you ought to look into plane tickets, because you’ve been anything but peaceful lately .
I snorted at my own self-burn.
Maya helped set the table, asking questions about the orcs’ world and how we’d crossed through the veil and how I’d felt at first. I wasn’t used to answering so many questions, and I’ll admit my responses were a little monosyllabic. I would rather listen to her story, but she was so damn interested .
She knew the basics: After generations of isolation from the humans, fewer and fewer orc females were being born, which meant our species was dying. Our elders finally agreed to send a small cohort through the veil—us, led by Sakkara. He was smart enough to bring us into the public eye, so the military couldn’t hide us away. We spent a year at a government facility, being poked and prodded, learning English and human culture, before being paid hush money and sent into the world.
Dinner was halfway over before I could finally turn her attention away from my past by asking her more about the plans for the landscaping. That was going to be my job, after all, right?
“We can’t start on the park until after the Festival?” I nudged as I cut into my chicken. “It’s oyster-themed?”
“The Oyster Festival,” she agreed with a chuckle. “Although the season technically goes till April, most people stopped eating them last month. We’ll have some at the Festival, but it’s more about the food trucks and the auction.”
Winding noodles around my fork, I raised a brow in question at that last bit.
“Charity auction,” she clarified. “Local companies donate goods and services, and we all bid on them. The money is going to the playground equipment fund this year.”
I think I remembered Simbel saying something about this when he told me about the oyster roast he went to at the school. There’d been something about a gym teacher from the high school… “Do people put themselves up for auction?”
“Not really.” She shrugged as she focused on her meal. “It’s more about the services they offer, although I guess that means standing up on stage. Luckily, the stage is portable—I think Jess is having it taken out of storage and set up on Thursday.”
“Hopefully it won’t ruin the grass.”
Maya smiled at me. “The fact that you thought of that means you’re perfect for this job.” She still sounded a little surprised by that. “But they set it up over the old volleyball court, that’s kinda useless now. In my proposal, I suggested we put pavers down and set up some picnic tables instead.”
Fostering more community space. Yeah, from what I knew of this town, Eastshore would be all about that.
“So you’re thinking more native plants in the park?” I prompted, scooping up my salad. “The council approved that?”
“It was one of the highlights, they said.” She leaned forward eagerly, and I tried not to notice how great her tits looked in that shirt. “All the other proposals included the usuals—tulips and other bulbs in the spring, rose gardens, etc. But Eastshore doesn’t need a rose garden.”
“Nope. And tulips or daffodils are pretty, but they only pop up for part of the year, then need to be cut down.”
“Right !” I liked the way her smile seemed so excited as she spoke about something she was clearly passionate about. “I pointed out that they would need maintenance—which, I mean, would be great for me, but not great for the town’s coffers. And plants that look good all year—even if they only bloom for part of the year—was going to be better for the overall health of the park.”
I was nodding along. “Preventing erosion, stuff like that.”
“We’re a beach town, we know about erosion. Native grasses are necessary to hold everything in place. Tulips can’t do that.”
Stabbing a piece of chicken, I used the fork to point at her. “And a rose garden is useless.”
Suddenly she sat back, a flush causing her skin to darken just slightly. I popped the chicken in my mouth and watched her, intrigued at this response. Finally, she peeked up at me from under those ridiculously long lashes.
“I…did have a thought. I haven’t run it by the council yet, but it could be done after we’re finished with the landscaping.”
I raised a brow as I chewed.
She glanced down at her plate. “I thought… What about a community garden? Along the west side, beside the dog park?” She shrugged. “I know a lot of homeowners have space in their yards for gardens, but with the mayor putting in those condos, and people who live in apartments, it would be nice to have someplace where we could go to grow vegetables.”
I hummed. “It’s a good idea, Blossom. And even if people live in a house, they could still have a plot there. Foster community, et cetera .”
She’d caught her breath when I agreed and now smiled shyly up at me. “Exactly. I thought I’d talk to Jess—she’s the Community Development Coordinator—and maybe ask about a mini-farmer’s market in the summer, so people could sell or trade their produce.”
I knew Jess; she was Karnak’s Mate, and more or less kept Eastshore going. “Go for it, Maya. Eastshore is going to love it.”
She beamed at me.
And that joy on her face? Her joy? It reached down into my chest and squeezed . My Kteer howled in pride that I’d made her feel like that, and I knew I was going to spend every minute on this job trying to make her feel that kind of joy again.
The rest of the meal, and the clean-up, and the hanging out on the couch after was… fun .
I was understandably surprised by that.
When was the last time I had fun? When was the last time I hung out with a female?
Maybe you ought to hang out with girls more often .
No, it wasn’t just any female, it was Maya . Maya made things fun. Even though I was just sitting there listening to her talk about the stuff she was passionate about, I enjoyed myself. I figured I could watch her talk—the way her eyes seemed to glow, the cute way she flailed her arms around as she gestured, the enthusiasm in her voice—for hours.
Which is what happened.
I mean, I participated, offering suggestions and thoughts when she asked for them, and helped her plan out the schedule for the job on her phone. But still, it was late when we both finally realized the time.
“Want me to walk you home?” I offered.
And for the first time, she shut down. Her expression shuttered, she wrapped her arms around her middle, she looked away. This wasn’t the openness and honesty I was used to from her.
“Um, thanks, but no. I’m good. It’s not far.” She inched toward the door. “But thanks. For dinner. For everything.”
I walked her to the door. “You sure? I can go with you…?” It didn’t feel right, sending her out into the darkness alone.
“Nope, I’m good!” she blurted. “Don’t want to hurt your leg going up and down these steps uselessly.”
“That’s the point,” I growled, but she was already out the door, skittering down the steps.
“Bye, Memnon!” she called.
I watched from the window as she walked back up the alley, then turned down Roe Row to head out to Main Street. I could have limped across the apartment to peer out the front windows, to watch her progress…but she’d said she was fine, and I needed to respect that.
My Kteer didn’t like it, insisting I protect Maya. But fuck it, my Kteer is a primitive throwback to when we needed violent instincts to survive.
You mean last autumn? New York was a violent place .
I snorted at my own sarcasm and went to take another shower. Cold this time, to try to chase away my body’s response to having Maya in my space.
It didn’t work, and I was still sporting a cockstand as I stepped out of the shower, looking for a distraction.
Except…it sounded as if the water was still running. I wrapped a towel around myself and cocked an ear. There was water running in the bathroom downstairs. Not the first time I’d heard it after hours, and up until now, I’d been afraid I was going to have to call a plumber.
But it was the first time I could also sense Maya downstairs. I could almost hear her puttering around for a half-hour or so, until everything went quiet.
Except…I swear I could still feel her, down there. In my space.
I stretched out on the bed, my hands behind my head, and focused on what I thought might be her heart beating below me. I shouldn’t be able to hear it, hear her . But somehow, my Kteer knew her.
I didn’t have nightmares about the flash of guns that night, and I didn’t get up to exercise either. I slept beautifully, knowing she was nearby.