Chapter Twelve Rex #2
Darien shakes his head. “No. She just called me a liar and left.”
I tamp down the anger rising in me. I don’t like anyone calling my maybe boyfriend a liar.
“I’m sorry she was so rude to you.” I attempt to keep my tone light.
“Oh, that’s okay. Working with the public is like that. The plant nursery was a real challenge. I mostly took care of the plants, but customers would come to me all the time and yell at me about how their azaleas or tomatoes died a month after they brought them home.”
“I suppose they thought they were defective too?”
Darien rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah. Like ignoring them for a month had nothing to do with it.”
We chat some more, and as we get closer to the turn-off where I park my truck. I realize he doesn’t know about the magical field protecting the cave’s perimeter. We’ve never discussed what happened to him that day in detail. He never asked and I didn’t think to explain.
At first, all he wanted to know about was my Howler world. Then his interest expanded to the different cryptids and how the Monster Network works. And since he’s never been back to my cave again, there wasn’t a reason to reveal how I protect my home.
Now I’m worried he’ll be upset when he finds out that’s how he was hurt. He didn’t trip and hit his head, which is what I let him assume when I was still hiding my identity. Then everything went so fast after that, it never crossed my mind again.
I steal a sideways glance. Will he be mad, think I lied to him?
Darien leans forward as we pull onto the private road. “So no one ever comes back here?”
“Hunters sometimes pass through despite the no trespassing signs, but…” This would be an excellent time to own up. “There’s a reason it’s not a problem.” I put the truck in park. “
“Do you scare them away with your Howler shriek?”
Darien no longer radiates fear when mentioning my Howler. Instead, he appears eager, as if he’s cheering for the bad guy. Although I don’t think I’m a bad guy. I try not to be. I don’t scare people just for the fun of it.
“No, I keep my Howler hidden as much as I can, so I don’t draw attention to the legend.
That whole episode with your boss was my mistake.
I had no idea they were there. They picked a very secluded spot and the campfire was out.
Once I realized I was too close, I hurried to get away from there, and you know me,” I chuckled.
“I don’t have the most graceful of bodies.
In my haste, it was like an elephant crashing through the jungle. ”
“Don’t say it that way.” Darien squeezes my hand. “You’re big and strong. Nothing wrong with that.”
I squeeze his hand back in response. “You’re so sweet. But my frame doesn’t lend itself to being stealthy. Anyway, when I realized they were following me, I thought if I stayed still and hid, they’d lose interest and go back to camp.”
Darien laughs. “They went back to camp, all right. Running and screaming.”
I feel a bit ashamed that I scared them so badly. But I suppose it did give Virgil a good story to tell.
“But you see, that’s why I don’t do the Howler scream randomly. This was a rare case where even though it was only two kids, I was being hunted. Not that they were planning to hurt me, but I couldn’t have them following me back to my cave.”
“Right.” Darien’s brow creases. “But how do you keep people from accidentally discovering your cave? That day is still fuzzy to me, but I didn’t notice it being particularly hidden.”
I clear my throat. “So that’s what I need to explain to you.
We’ve talked a lot about the magic we use for various applications.
It’s also utilized to protect our private spaces.
Homes, hideouts, our celebrations such as the summer solstice.
The wards around the areas we protect render those locations invisible to humans. ”
“Yeah, but they could still, like, stumble on them anyway.”
I wince. “That’s why the wards create an energy field.
It keeps humans and those we wish to keep away from crossing that barrier.
The magic is specific to the location. For instance, I’ll have to get a special token to attend the solstice.
It’s not a monster free-for-all. But at my home, the protection applies only to humans.
Monsters who visit, or my animals, can come and go as they please. ”
Darien’s jaw falls open a bit. “Ohhhh…so that’s what happened.”
I lower my eyes. “I’m sorry.”
He frowns. “What are you sorry about?”
I look up. “Because the shield zapped you so hard, knocked you out. I had to summon Edgel to perform a healing.” My voice catches. “I was so afraid you wouldn’t survive the intensity of the magic.”
Darien clutches my hand harder. “Hey, you didn’t do it on purpose. And you did everything you could to help me. Don’t feel bad, it's okay.”
“I’ll find a way to make it so you can go through anytime you want. I’m sure Edgel can come up with something.”
“I still want to meet him.” Darien smiles. “And thanks. That would be cool.”
He scoots closer, leaning over the center console. “I love your world. Thank you for trusting me with it.”
Our lips meet in a searing kiss, and all thoughts of regret, food, or anything else fall away. As I wrap my arms around him, take his mouth over and over, I make a plea to the forest gods.
Maybe someday, someday soon, Darien will love me as much as he loves my world.