Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Atlas
Iflipped on the switch, careful to keep my jeans up as I walked into my home. I didn’t know why I did it; it was a habit. Once entering the forest, my moth form would take shape, and I wouldn’t look like a human.
As soon as all the lights came on, I saw none other than Hollow sitting in my chair, twisting shadows between his fingers.
I let out a high-pitched scream at the sight of him.
The denim slipped out of my hands and past my hips, pooling at my feet while my wings beat the air in a panic—thwap-thwap-thwap, stirring dust into tiny cyclones.
One step forward, and the fabric noose around my ankles yanked tight.
The ceiling spun, then the walls, then a glimpse of Hollow’s unamused face before my cheek smacked against the cold floorboards.
Thankfully, I had tucked my dick away in my slit.
The mayor rose from his seat, his elongated frame unfolding as he approached. I struggled to my feet, wings shedding a fine layer of dust across the floorboards. A groan escaped me—another mess I'd have to clean before I could ever invite Kassie into my home.
The mayor tugged on his suit and stood before me. We were about the same height if he didn’t use his magic, still, I found him to be intimidating at times.
Hollow’s voice dropped to a silky rumble.
"I heard you shouting about finding your match.
" He leaned in, with no eyes to be seen.
"Surprised you didn't drag her back to your little nest for a proper claiming when you woke.
" His talon-like fingers idly smoothed invisible wrinkles from his immaculate suit jacket.
I scratched the back of my neck, fingers drifting to the downy fluff beneath my chin. "I can't be sure it's real," I said, tugging at the soft tufts. "I called her my match, but I was half-conscious. And I didn't feel that... that lightning strike everyone talks about. That certainty."
The mayor's smugness faded as he patted my shoulder with one long-fingered hand.
"I don't mean to distress you, Atlas. You may have called her your match, but we can't be certain until you see her without the witches' glamor clouding your perception.
Only when you look upon her with your true moth eyes, will you know for certain. "
The glorious scent that came from Kassie was the one thing that stood out in my mind. Could that not be a tell? That felt more real.
Hollow tilted his featureless head. "I can practically hear the gears grinding in that moth brain of yours." He glided into my kitchen, lifted the teakettle from the stove with his unnaturally long fingers, and filled it with water from the tap.
I kicked off my jeans and shrugged out of my plaid shirt, leaving both crumpled on the floor. "But her scent—it's like nothing I've ever encountered," I said, all four hands fidgeting nervously against each other. "Couldn't that be enough to know she's my match?"
Hollow’s mouth appeared, the large rows of teeth showing. “No, it cannot. Humans are living beings with basic needs. The need to procreate, and just, primal hunger. What you are smelling is her arousal. All humans can smell like that.”
My antennae curled up in disgust. No one could smell as nice as Kassie.
The mayor chuckled, “Since you slapped so many of those rutting patches on you, we will never be certain. I suggest you wait before you try to do any activities.” His smile and mouth disappeared.
The kettle's shrill whistle pierced the air.
The mayor glided to the stove, lifting it with those unnaturally long fingers before drifting to my kitchen island.
A single mug waited there, already filled with a mountain of cocoa powder.
My antennae drooped as he poured steaming water into it, and a defeated chitter escaped my throat despite my best efforts to contain it.
“What are your plans? I’m assuming since you like her, you will see her again?” he asked.
One antenna lifted upward. “Tonight, I am going to her house for dinner and to watch her play a game. I am her good-luck charm.” I puffed out my chest.
The mayor tapped his long, clawed finger on the table. “Did you not forget what happens once the sun goes down and the night appears, Atlas?”
I tapped my finger on my chin. “It gets dark?”
The mayor turned his back on me and headed toward the door.
“No, wait!” I yelled. “Wait, I know! Oh, fuck this isn’t good!”
He turned around and bobbed his head back and forth. “Do you think so? Could you not come up with a better idea to get together with her?”
I pulled on my antennae. “I-I couldn’t think that fast!
Then things were getting hot and heavy. She put her hand…
on my thigh!” I pointed to the culprit, aka, my thigh.
“It was like I could feel the heat of her hand right there. Then she rubbed it, and she smelled good. Then I started letting off pheromones. I couldn’t think because the entire room was filled with pleasant smells! ”
The toilet flushed, and we both turned our heads to the bathroom. Lucien walked out, his antennae swaying back and forth. “What did I miss?”
The mayor groaned, the tentacle that sometimes protruded from his back massaging his shoulders.
“Help him!” He waved his hand at me for Lucien to see.
“Help Atlas get ready for his date while I go collude with the witches, to see if there is a way to get his disguise to last past sunset and stay in town.”
My antennae perked up. “You would do that for me?”
The mayor huffed. “Certainly. As I said, you cannot claim her unless you are certain. The consequences would be disastrous. Especially when I don’t know why she is here.”
“She’s Harlow’s best friend.”
“I’ve seen that now, without either of your help. Harlow can talk after a few margaritas,” Hollow snapped. “I’d still like more information, if you can manage to get a few words out of Kassie.”
My wings dropped and dragged on the floor away from both of them. I stirred my hot chocolate and brought it to my mouth.
I couldn’t do anything right. I couldn’t help that I got so nervous around her. She was so pretty and confident, and I was the giant who knocked over things and didn’t have the words.
All I could do was chop or stroke wood.
Lucien laughed and patted the mayor on the back, swatting away one tentacle.
“You do that, I will get Atlas all ready for tonight. He will be ready for this date and spend time with her. We will get his confidence boosted, so he feels more comfortable in his human and moth skin, so he has the courage to reveal himself to Kassie.”
The mayor walked out the door, but his head did a one-eighty to look back. “Just remember, if she finds out who you are and doesn’t take it well, you must bring her to the forest. No one can find out about our kind unless she is someone’s match…”
Ha. Ha. Yeah, no pressure.
The door hadn't even clicked shut behind the mayor when I grabbed my axe from its hook.
A conversation with Lucien was the last thing I needed.
The forest called to me—the deeper parts where the trees grew thick, and my wings could stretch without catching on cottage walls.
Where I could lose myself in what I knew best: the rhythm of steel biting into wood.
I felt Lucien trail behind me, his red eyes glowing at me like twin lanterns in the darkness.
This deep in the forest, no sunlight penetrated the canopy.
Gnarled branches clawed at the sky, while deep gouges from unknown creatures scarred the blackened trunks.
What might have once been undergrowth had withered to skeletal remains, crackling beneath my feet with each step.
Instead of flying, I dragged my body through the dead leaves, no path to follow until I came upon a tree that needed to be taken down. It was near death, I could feel it, and it would be good to work with.
From the corner of my eye, I caught Lucien lounging against a nearby trunk. Before swinging, I hefted the axe behind me and checked that my wings were folded tightly against my back, safely out of the blade's path.
I surrendered to the rhythm of the axe…swing, bite, crack. Wood chips scattered like confetti with each impact. Every blow drove me deeper into exhaustion, exactly what I needed. If my muscles screamed loud enough, maybe they'd drown out the anxious whispers about tonight's inevitable disaster.
I wanted to forget it all.
I didn’t want to think about how Kassie might not be mine. I could be so pessimistic, but I literally saw her as my light, the light I wanted to flutter around because I was drawn to her.
How could something so pretty be my match?
I wouldn’t have to worry about her emotions; she just told me what she wants. She does not hide who she is, and it was so easy to know what she wanted.
She wanted me this morning.
I continued to chop, my wings fluttered behind me, and my feet hovered below me as my excitement grew. The tree would fall, I would cut off the limbs, and a perfectly good tree would be ready for harvesting.
The crack sounded, and the tall tree was ready to fall amongst the forest. It leaned away from me, scraping trees beside it until it fell on other logs that had fallen in the dark forest.
Sweat dripped down my neck as my wings beat rhythmically behind me, sending cool air across my overheated skin. I nuzzled my face into the soft fur collar that framed my jaw, a contented rumble rising from deep in my chest.
Much better.
Lucien's voice cut through my post-chopping haze. I spun around to find him hovering just behind me, antennae twitching with impatience. "If you're finished with your tree therapy, we need to move. Sunset waits for no moth, and we've got serious work to do before your date."
I dropped my axe and rubbed my eyes. “Why are you even helping me this much? Don’t you want to laugh and watch me fail?” I walked over to the stump and sat down, my ass nearly covering the whole stump.
Lucien scuffed at the carpet of dead leaves with his foot.
His lower arms fidgeted behind his back, while his upper pair wrung together nervously in front of his chest. "Look, I'll level with you.
The others have become invested in this whole thing.
No Mothman has ever found a human match before, and everyone's curious how it'll play out. "
I leaned my head back, my red glowing eyes reflected off the branches.
“They are rooting for you, Atlas. They wanna help. That’s why”—Lucien smiled and leaned forward to whisper to me—“they’ve gathered at the shop to give you pointers.”
I groaned and rubbed my hands over my face. “That’s even worse!”
Lucien chuckled and pulled me up. “Nope, we help each other out. It’s what friends are for. Let’s get going before they eat all the overripe fruit, and we are stuck with the fresh stuff. I heard someone brought some fermented durian fruit.
My stomach rumbled. That sounded delicious, but I wasn’t going to take any chances.
“You can do this, and with the help of dating magazines, the Ticking Klocking app, and reality TV shows, we will make you the perfect gentleman.
My antennae wiggled uneasily.
Disaster, I tell you.