6. Feather
CHAPTER 6
Feather
“R umple? Rumple! Is that you?” I woke in the ether, unsure how long I’d been floating since I’d been killed. I’d snatched the imbalance from the redheaded kid, who’d held me on his knees, crying when he realized he’d accidentally killed me. It had probably been the easiest burden I’d ever taken on. And I’d woken without the usual agony, except for a burning question inside.
How the heck had a dog eaten the shadows?
I shouted the name a third time. “Rumple!”
“Yes, little one, I’m here.”
I whirled around, wishing I could see him in the utter darkness. “You’re never gonna believe what happened in my life just now. No, seriously. You will never, ever believe it. It was epic. It was… I never could have imagined it. Like, mind-blowing.”
There was an odd sound, like teeth grinding. “You had better not be talking about sex again.”
I blinked into the darkness. “No, this was way cooler than that.” At least I thought so.
The darkness grew slightly warmer. “What happened, Little Sacrifice? The last I spoke to you, you were with that baker in the alley.”
I caught him up quickly. “And then Bernard—the dog —ate the imbalance.” I waited a moment. “Did you know that was possible? That animals could eat evil?”
“It’s not possible,” he said quietly, almost as if to himself.
“Right? That’s what I thought! But I swear on all the chocolate in the universe, it happened.”
It sounded like he let out a shuddering breath. “Animals cannot. But some dogs…”
Had I heard him right? “Dogs can do… what I do?” For a split second, I worried that Bernard had been in pain, like I felt when I took on evil.
“No,” he replied instantly. “Not any dogs that should be on Earth, anyway. He looked like a normal dog.”
“Wait. You saw Bernard? You were there? I knew it!”
“I may have peeked in for a moment. But I didn’t stay. I… I have to go. I must see if?—”
Before I could say another word, he’d gone, the air around me moving as if enormous wings had brushed past me. Or tentacles.
For all I knew, it could have been hooves. After I figured out his name, I’d need to start a game guessing what parts he had.
I waited, floating, wondering when he might come back. I wasn’t in nearly as much pain as usual. In fact, I almost felt… good. The red-haired soldier hadn’t meant to kill me, and he’d felt so bad about it, holding me as I died. I’d hardly felt it when I took on his burden.
Maybe it was time for my hobby. I worked on my hammock for a while, but got stuck on who was bringing me the chocolate until I fell asleep.