Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
It had almost been dark when Cole left the cabin. The stars had been coming out as he’d kissed Akai goodbye with a promise that he’d be back next weekend with a plan. This time, they had exchanged numbers.
Akai sat out on the deck drinking tea sweetened with honey. If he could fly, he’d have followed Cole into town to make sure he arrived safely. He would’ve watched over him during the week, even though that risked a sighting.
He flexed his wing, stretching it and working the muscles, sure that they were weaker than they had been due to inactivity, not that there was much he could do about that.
He’d checked the message boards about wing injuries, but it seemed as though there was nothing he could do except wait. He scrolled through the message board looking at the posts to see what was going on. BigTraveler was online.
MothAkai: What’s happening with all your weird friends?
BigTraveler: What? Which one?
Akai frowned. BigTraveler seemed to know heaps of random monsters. He seemed to get out a lot for Bigfoot.
MothAkai: Did your shifter friend move? Is the Beast of Blah Blah real?
BigTraveler: Ohhh…no she didn’t take the risk but I’ve been keeping up with the gossip there and it’s weird. So still no concrete ruling on real or not real.
MothAkai: See you at solstice?
He’d never met BigTraveler face to face, but he was already gone. He sighed. Boone was online, maybe he could ask about Geyser Man?
It wasn’t an inflatable man he was thinking about, it was Cole.
But there was no point in Cole making plans if Akai couldn’t get him a token to pass through the wards that hid the monsters from prying eyes.
His options were limited when it came to tokens. After deliberating who to talk to while he finished the tea, he decided that Thunderbird Bob was probably the best choice, in part because he had a human mate…but he also had wings, so he might get a little sympathy.
However, Bob also thought of him as an annoying child because he was less than a hundred years. Boone didn’t treat him as a child, just a problem.
The situation with his sister wasn’t his fault…and he had never admitted to being at the scene of the accident, though he was sure some suspected he was involved.
The only people who knew the truth were his parents, and that was how he wanted to keep it.
MothAkai: Hey, I’m going to need a token for a human.
Maybe he’d hand one out without too many questions. It wasn’t as though there was an official process or questionnaire to fill out.
ThunderbirdBob: I’m going to need some more information.
Akai rolled his eyes.
MothAkai: He’s human, and he’s driving me to solstice.
ThunderbirdBob: Why aren’t you flying? There’s a story and I want it.
Akai’s shoulders slumped. He stared out across the valley. Was Cole already home? Was he staring up towards the mountain? Perhaps he was driving and watching the stars. It was almost dark, and up here the stars were much brighter than in the human town, where there was too much light.
Older monsters talked of a time before electricity, and the shadows were deeper, and they were freer to move around. It must’ve been nice to live with less caution.
MothAkai: It’s a long story.
ThunderbirdBob: I have time.
Akai pressed the phone to his forehead. Of course he did. How much did he tell him? If he lied, there was a damn good chance he’d get busted.
MothAkai: It was an accidental sighting, and an accidental shooting, which damaged my wing, but he’s been letting me stay in his remote cabin while I heal. He’s agreed to drive me to solstice.
ThunderbirdBob: He does not sound like the kind of human we let in. He shot you. Unless you are leaving something out?
MothAkai: He stitched my wing and has been bringing food and is now driving me I owe him.
ThunderbirdBob: So pay him in gold. Humans like that.
Some might, but not Cole.
MothAkai: He wants to come.
He watched the dots form on the screen as Bob typed. Then they disappeared, and reappeared.
Should he say something else? Like how he wanted to share his world with Cole?
ThunderbirdBob: You shouldn’t have told him about solstice.
MothAkai: How else am I going to get there?
It was a brilliant plan…aside from the issue of the token and Cole’s job…
and everyone assuming he had a human mate.
Not that it should be an issue, but he’d always said he didn’t trust them after what happened with his sister.
And there he was, trusting one, spending time with one, fucking one, and enjoying it far more than he should.
ThunderbirdBob: What aren’t you telling me because I’m finding it hard to believe that you are willingly bringing a human to solstice. You have always said you hate them.
Akai winced. Why did Bob have to know everything about everyone? It was annoying. An intrusion of privacy!
And if he didn’t need the token for Cole, he’d be telling Bob exactly that.
Bob typed another message before Akai had the chance to put together a response.
ThunderbirdBob: Are you in danger?
MothAkai: I’m fine.
And if he wasn’t, Bob’s endless questions would get him in trouble.
ThunderbirdBob: I have been told to ask you if you are wooing the human.
Wooing?
It wasn’t the eighteenth century. Not only that, he didn’t woo.
He was interested and enjoying the time they were spending together. Why wouldn’t he want to extend that and show his gratitude by inviting Cole to the party?
Would Bob give him the token if he said yes?
ThunderbirdBob: Are you boning the human?
Akai tapped the phone against his forehead, wishing he hadn’t started this conversation. He hoped Cole’s request for leave from his father was going better.
MothAkai: Yes, okay?
ThunderbirdBob: So he shot you, stitched your wing, and you ended up naked?
MothAkai: That is the short version.
ThunderbirdBob: I can’t wait to meet this human. I will speak with him when you arrive.
MothAkai: You want him to drive me all that way on a maybe?
ThunderbirdBob: Akai…he shot you.
MothAkai: Yes, but it was partly my fault.
ThunderbirdBob: I have no doubt about that, but that doesn’t change the fact that he pulled the trigger. I will meet you at the entrance. And if you try to go around me, the answer will be no. Forever. No second chance.
MothAkai: Fine.
ThunderbirdBob: Good luck with your wooing.
Fuck off.