Chapter 9 #2
Well, relatively back to normal. Additional heat emanated from her chest, residual bits of whatever virus had tried to wreak havoc on her immune system. Hence the walk to the pharmacy, for more Tylenol and Gatorade.
Her sneakers scattered leaves across the path as music thumped in her earbuds.
She was grateful for the sweater against the damp October chill that had overcome their small suburb.
Their home was only a few blocks from a downtown area where various small businesses displayed their fall sale signs.
In the few short weeks since their relocation there, Lia had memorized the various routes to take around town.
But her mind was lost.
Not exactly lost, but replaying waltzes with Terranth and Kayce to music similar to what she listened to now. She could envision every step, as though her body had truly made them. See their faces above her own, recall the looks in both of their eyes. Feel the warmth where they’d held her.
She had never had such a dream. Not even the one of the smuggling heist and pirate ship felt this real.
Of that, she was grateful, since it kept Papa’s loss at arm’s length, though the clarity still startled her.
It wasn’t even hard to remember the tarts she’d eaten, the flaky crust as easily recalled as the fruity crunch of the cereal she’d had that morning for breakfast.
Did grief do this to a person?
She was old enough to vaguely recall when her father had left. Those memories were quarantined in her mind; she tried not to dwell on them too often. But she remembered her sullen silence, the avoidance of crowds and keeping everyone away.
The dark waters that had welled in her then seemed like a puddle compared to what filled her now. But that was when Kayce first came to her mind. He was the only friend she’d had then, the only one she’d needed. Perhaps there was a connection.
Turning a corner, Lia took a shortcut down an alley.
Brick buildings rose several stories above her head, a cool wind making her burrow deeper into her sweater.
A few trash cans overflowed from the weekend.
She was almost to them when something banged from within one, loud enough to be heard over the swelling music in her ears.
Lia stopped. Removing her earbuds, she listened and eyed the cans warily.
Probably some stray cat or raccoon, but skies and seas knew she wasn’t in the mood to fend off some scrappy animal.
Skies and seas?
With a shake of her head, Lia continued. But another rattle echoed inside a can. This time, a low growl accompanied it.
She froze again. All she needed to do was get past the trash cans. She wouldn’t be discouraged by some rodent. But what if the rodent had rabies? What if it was that animal from the news?
Stupid. She had to get it together.
Lia hadn’t taken but two steps when a can tipped, metal clanging throughout the alley. She yelped, jumping back as moist to-go bags, crumpled paper, and other waste tumbled to the asphalt along with the culprit.
It wasn’t a stray cat. Nor was it a raccoon.
It didn’t remotely resemble either.
The creature was larger than a cat, shaking a bat-like head with large ears that fanned to the sides.
Its scrunched nose scented the air, eyes that shimmered like gasoline in water squinting despite the cloudy day.
Leathery gray skin stretched over its limbs, each one tipped with talons that clicked against the ground.
The fever was making her hallucinate. There was no way that creature was real. Lia didn’t dare breathe. But her shoe scuffed the pavement, betraying her retreat.
The gremlin’s head snapped toward her, baring a mouth full of small, needle-like teeth.
She shrieked, booking it for the street. Lia had to get home, had to get out of here—
Another shriek tore the air as the gremlin gave chase. Hot air chomped at her heels, and the gremlin snatched her ankle, tripping her. Asphalt bit into her hands and knees on impact. Pain barked in her body.
Definitely real.
The gremlin dug its claws into her skin. Snapping out her leg, Lia kicked the vile thing off before rolling onto her knees. No way was this fight fair. She scoured the ground for something, anything. A busted table leg lay nearby, the wood splintered at the end.
The gremlin launched at her again.
Lia rolled out of the way, popping up with a speed her body should not have known before grabbing the table leg. She wielded her instrument like a sword, thrusting the jagged edge toward the gremlin as it skittered closer. It hissed, narrowly missing the wood before swiping its claws.
The table leg broke in half.
Lia chucked her remaining piece at the gremlin, landing a hit on its head. The gremlin growled, shook its head, and lunged for her.
Grabbing a bottle from the debris, Lia whacked it on the side of the dumpster. Glass shattered, and she lunged with her new weapon. Shards sunk into flesh. The gremlin screeched, blood coating her fingers before Lia leapt back. It slumped, twitching once before settling.
Her heart raced, breath coming in short pants. Where on earth did that thing come from? Certainly nowhere natural. She forced herself to breathe in and out in equal measure, but her heart continued to pound like a hammer against the anvil of her ribcage.
Had she killed it?
Her nose scrunched as she looked at the black blood coating her hands. Maybe it’d come from some lab, an experiment gone wrong. Terribly wrong, in this situation. It was the only rational explanation, even though something deep inside told her that was not the answer—even if she wanted it to be.
Blood welled where the creature’s claws had sunk into her ankle. Grabbing her sweater, she wiped most off, revealing a lattice of five shallow cuts. Thankfully, the blood was already slowing.
She rid her trembling hands of the noxious fluid, wiping her palms on her jeans, her skin breaking out into gooseflesh when the scent tickled her gag reflex.
This was too much, far more than she was equipped to deal with.
Lia wrinkled her nose at the sight of her blood and the gremlin’s, smeared like a line written across the pavement.
Should she call the police? Animal control? This was so beyond her wheelhouse—
The gremlin’s body glowed like a flame before snuffing out of existence. Taking all traces of the creature with it, including the black muck spattered on her sleeves and jeans.
Lia whirled, turning left, right. No sign of the creature. As if she had just…fought herself. Her breath came in quick gasps. Had she lost her mind? Had grief ravaged her so entirely that she could no longer cling to reality?
No, she wasn’t losing it. She couldn’t be.
Lia turned, dashing from the alley. And crashed into a pedestrian.
“Oh—Lia!” Mirel’s eyes widened as she steadied Lia, nearly dropping a sleek briefcase. Even with the surprise, she barely seemed ruffled as she let go to dust an imaginary speck from a close-cut pantsuit.
“I’m so—I’m sorry! I didn’t see you,” Lia stammered, whipping around to see if another creature had appeared from thin air. They could multiply like mice for all she knew—if it had been real at all. The second thought nearly cracked her chest in two.
“Is everything all right?” Mirel frowned and smoothed the black sheet of her hair, looking beyond Lia to the alley. “I can walk you home—”
“No!” Lia half-shouted, stealing a breath to lower her tone. “No, there’s no need.”
“Truly, I wouldn’t mind—”
Lia bolted.
Ignoring Mirel’s calls, Lia ran as fast as she could. Ironically, the only thing that comforted her was the sight of her bloodied sleeve and the pain that twinged from her ankle.
Pain was truth. And if her mind wasn’t playing cruel, grief-stricken tricks on her, could there be more of those things?
Thoroughly shaken and doubtful of every traitorous thought, Lia didn’t pause to consider where her quick reflexes had come from, nor how she used the resources around her to defeat the creature so easily. Like a blade she had never touched on this earth.
Her only focus was her racing heart and the safety of her house. Dread dogged her steps, a fear that Lia couldn’t be as brave as Aurelia.