Chapter Thirty-Five – Taran
Chapter Thirty-Five
Taran
The car drove away, and I stood there for minutes on end, unmoving, looking at the spot across the highway where I’d kissed my mate for the last time. My roots dug into the earth, I became still, my leaves unbothered by the wind. Before I realized what I was doing, a quarter of my roots had disappeared into the ground. I snapped out of it and pulled them out. This was not the time, nor the place to ground myself and fall into slumber. As much as I was hurting, I had to force myself to stay aware, stay sharp.
I couldn’t go home. Not when the nest I’d built for Thea was waiting for me, empty. I knew I wasn’t going to destroy it this time, but right now, I couldn’t see it. Her smell lingered there, her presence... It would kill me just to be near it.
I decided to go to the MSA branch instead. I called Harrison to tell him to meet me there, and he sounded much more relaxed than a few hours ago. Bill Everhart had let him know his daughter was back with him, and everything was fine. The branch was nearby, so I got there in less than an hour. When I went to work for Monster Security Agency, I’d asked them to attach me to a branch – no pun intended – that was near the forest Everhart Furniture had just cut down. During my first year with the MSA, I built the oasis in between jobs. The two activities were exhausting enough that they hadn’t allowed me to stop and think about my own misery. They’d saved me.
What would save me now?
I could’ve taken Thea to the city myself, since that was where I was headed, but I hadn’t wanted us to be surrounded by people when we said goodbye. It had been better that way. Less stressful, less obvious. We’d been able to share one last moment of intimacy.
I was tired. It wasn’t something I could say often about myself – that I got physically tired. As I entered the city, I turned as human as I could, with legs and all, pulled out my phone, and ordered a taxi. I’d only done it a few times before, when the job required it. Otherwise, I was fine traveling on my own roots, even long distances. I was a creature of the woods. I didn’t like being confined in a tight metal box that rolled around on four wheels. The buildings humans and a lot of monsters lived in didn’t interest me, either. Made of steel, glass, bricks, and sometimes wood... Filled with furniture that reminded me of how much I’d lost, and how much I’d lose still, just because I was a leshy. Most monsters fit into this world that was dominated by cars and technology. I didn’t.
The MSA branch was in the business district. Because ninety percent of its employees were monsters, the building was huge. Large rooms, tall ceilings, a combination of stairs, elevators, ramps, and ropes hanging in between floors – all to accommodate all possible species. Harrison’s office was on the first floor, thankfully.
“Taran! Sit down.” He welcomed me with a wide gesture and a smile on his thin lips. He was a man in his thirties, tall and thin, with big glasses on his nose that made his eyes look rounder than normal. “Coffee? Oh, right. You don’t drink. Sorry, I keep forgetting, what with you looking so...” He waved at me. “Normal.”
It would’ve been polite to smile, but I didn’t have it in me. Now that I was here, I wanted to leave. Harrison’s office felt stifling. I couldn’t breathe properly. The sun was setting, and it was getting dark. Harrison had the lights turned on, and they made me feel uncomfortable. Artificial light. It had zero properties compared to the sun. I couldn’t believe Harrison’s office plants were still alive.
“Okay, or you can stand,” Harrison said when he noticed I had no intention of sitting down. He leaned against his desk, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s late, and I have to get home to my wife. She has a stake in the oven,” he said. “So, let’s make this quick.”
“Works for me.”
“I’m glad you came in, and I’m sorry about the call this morning. I freaked out a little, and I shouldn’t have. After five years of working together, I should’ve trusted you.”
I nodded. “We’re good.”
He pointed a finger at me, grinning. “So good that you got a bonus.”
“Really.”
“Yes. Mr. Everhart was so impressed with your services that he insisted on adding a bonus to our usual fee. I heard you saved his daughter from... two assassins?” His eyes widened behind his glasses. “When he came to the MSA, saying the job consisted of escorting his daughter to the Celestial Pines Sanctuary, assassins were the last thing on my mind. I would’ve beefed up the fee, but I thought you’d just have to make sure she didn’t get eaten by a bear or something.”
“There was a bear too.”
“Well, that was expected. But assassins?!” He shook his head. “And what happened when you got to the resort? I know Thea Everhart was supposed to get married. Did she just leave her fiancé at the altar?”
“It’s complicated.” I didn’t want to talk to Harrison about it. He didn’t need to know the details. Bill Everhart had paid, the job was done, and that was all that mattered.
Harrison cocked an eyebrow. He waited another beat to see if I might give him something after all, the tiniest piece of gossip, but I remained impassive, and he eventually gave up with a sigh. He rounded his desk and sat down, pulling a file in front of him.
“You’re officially off the hook,” he said, “Until I have something new for you. Should be a week, at least, so make sure you rest.”
I felt a jolt inside me. Did I want to rest and then get another job? I stepped closer to the desk and touched its shiny wooden surface with my spindly fingers. The wood throbbed, or that was what I thought. It was impossible. It was just a piece of furniture, and I was hallucinating.
Harrison looked up at me. “Are you okay? You seem tired. Which is...” He couldn’t find the right word.
“I am tired. I was thinking of taking some time off.”
“How much time?”
“I don’t know.”
“If a week is not enough, then two weeks? It’s true you’ve never had a vacation since you started working for Monster Security Agency. If you want, you can take a month off. I’ll arrange it. It’s a lot, and unusual, but after five years, you deserve it.”
“A month sounds good. Thank you.”
What if I didn’t return after a month? What if Harrison called me, and I wasn’t there? What if he tried to look for me and never found me, even if I was standing right in front of his eyes, looking like any other tree?
“Don’t mention it,” he said. “The money was already transferred to your bank account, by the way.”
“I haven’t checked.”
He gave me a conspiratorial smile. “So, where are you going on vacation? What plans do you have?”
“No plans.”
“Really? You’ve built quite a nest these past five years, working yourself to the bone. Well, wood.”
Nest. That was a word I never wanted to hear again. I had to get out. This room was making me feel claustrophobic.
“I don’t want to keep you, Harrison. A steak is waiting for you at home, you said?”
“Yes, that’s right.” He started packing his things. “My wife will kill me if I’m late again. It isn’t healthy, Taran, to work too much, too late. Especially when you have someone. Do you have someone?”
I froze. What was with the personal questions? My relationship with my handler had always been cold and professional. Maybe he was in an exaggeratedly good mood thanks to that bonus. Especially when it came after Bill Everhart had accused me of kidnapping his daughter.
When I didn’t answer, Harrison gave an awkward chuckle. “Sorry. I thought, maybe, you had plans with her. Or him.” He smacked himself on the forehead. “You know what? Don’t mind me. It was a long day, and I’m talking out of my ass. You have a nice evening, and a lovely vacation, and we’ll keep in touch.” He grabbed his briefcase. “I’m hungry. I always say stupid things when I’m hungry. Shall we? Do you need a ride?”
“No, thanks. I’m good.”
We walked out of his office, and Harrison locked the door. We shook hands. He went to get his car, and I walked outside, into the stifling city air. Nothing could breathe here. The trees along the sidewalk looked depleted. I ordered a taxi just so I’d get out of this place as fast as I could, and not have to stare at buildings anymore. It dropped me close enough to the oasis.
The stream where Thea had washed her face. There were imprints of her feet, and seeing them broke me. The nest... I couldn’t even look at it. I turned my back to it and went to visit Rune’s altar.
Flowers were growing in a circle around her remains. A crown I’d made of twigs and flowers lay upon the old, dried stump. I settled before it, and my roots started digging their way into the ground. Five years ago, I’d refused to succumb to slumber, but now, there was nothing stopping me. I had no will to stay awake and aware.
In a few more years, my oasis would be a beautiful, young forest. Who was to say Everhart Furniture wouldn’t come back to finish the job? If they found me here, where Rune had stood, and if they cut me down too... Wouldn’t that be poetic?