Chapter 2
Chapter Two
OBSESSED WITH A STRANGER
ORIE
Who is he, and why did every single one of my demon senses go off when he crossed the perimeter into town?
He doesn’t seem harmful, at least not what I observed from the shadows. All he had with him was a sketchbook and some pencils.
Damn it, why did I even go see who he was?
Because he made me feel things I haven’t felt since my assassin days. It was as if someone I had been tracking came into my proximity…except I haven’t tracked anyone in years.
These are sensations I’ve long since forgotten—ones I didn’t want to remember.
Didn’t want to feel again.
I’ve been quite content with my more human. Tamer, calmer, more…normal. Demon emotions are so intense, so overwhelming.
The bell above the door to my store, Tranquil, chimes. I blink a few times, bringing myself back to reality.
Hot-pink hair bounds toward me. Raya gives me a small smile as she approaches the front counter.
“We still on for our movie night tonight?” she asks, giving me a small smile.
I raise a brow, not sure why she’s even questioning our plans. “Of course. What food are we feeling tonight? Pizza from Italy, or maybe some dumplings, wontons, and dim sum right from China?”
She tilts her head, eyeing me. “Chinese sounds great.”
“I’ll go get it after I close up the shop.” I give her one firm nod. “Did you need more essential oils? I thought you just got some more lavender.”
With a shake of her head, she says, “No, I just came to see if we were still on for tonight.”
Raya, who will avoid unnecessary trips into the heart of town, came to my shop just to make sure we still have plans tonight? How…strange.
“That couldn’t have been a text?” I laugh, narrowing my eyes at her.
Both eyebrows fly up her forehead, and she tilts her head more. “I did text you. You didn’t answer.”
I blink at her. “No way. I always respond to you.”
“Well, it was two hours ago.” She eyes me again, and my tail flicks behind me. “Something on your mind, Orie?”
Shaking my head, I pull out my phone. “No, what would be? And there’s no way I didn’t answer a text from two…” As I stare down at the screen, I see the text from her beaming up at me—alongside two missed phone calls. How did I not feel any of the vibrations from them?
Have I really been that lost in thought?
“It’s been a busy day, that’s all.” I make an excuse, but as my eyes dart away from her, I can tell she doesn’t buy it.
She doesn’t push me, just stands straighter and nods a few times. “Okay, well, I will see you later, then.”
“Is Arman joining us for dinner and our movie?” I call out as she crosses the store.
Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she shakes her head. “No, he’s going to go to New Bria for a few days to visit some former business partners. Apologies he owes, or something.”
“Okay, girl’s night it is.” I grin, tapping my fingers against the counter.
She stops when she reaches the door, looking back one more time. “Oh, and please don’t make me leave my house again this week.”
After a laugh and a roll of my eyes, she leaves, and my mind instantly wanders to the man who’s just arrived in town.
He’s handsome, even I’ll admit it. I studied every visible inch of him over and over again from the shadows.
His brown hair parts in the middle, resting just above the golden frames of his glasses. He has a close-cut beard and mustache that surround full lips.
While his clothes looked worn—and were covered in dry paint—and his peachy skin looked soft. I wonder if it really is.
And if he is soft to the touch, is he soft? Or is he something dangerous wrapped in a pretty package?
The answer is clear—danger.
Otherwise, why would all of my demon senses be going off?
Even now, I feel his presence here in the town. He’s near—or in—the Green Glen Cabins, just like last night after he left the forest.
If he goes to the conservation area again, maybe I’ll take a quick peek before movie night at Raya’s. It’s not like he has any idea I’m sort of watching him.
Hell, he doesn’t even know I exist, so what’s the harm?
Somehow, I’ll figure out who he is, and why his mere existence is setting off everything I had locked away inside me.
I try to busy myself with reorganizing some of the crystals on the shelves, but I can’t ignore the swirling feeling inside of me. The thrill of the hunt, the curiosity of the unknown, it’s nearly enough to consume me.
I don’t want to be consumed, not by any feelings—especially not feelings so strong they threaten my peaceful existence in Harmony Glen.
My hunting days are over. My watching days though…far from it.
I feel his presence move from the cabin area, heading toward the conservation area. His location isn’t exact, but close. Maybe I’ve lost some of my skills since my retirement. I mean, it has been many years since this was something I did on the daily.
Then again, I always chose who I was tracking. This isn’t the same at all. It’s as if I was meant to track him, to find him.
But why?
Fuck it, I’m closing up Tranquil early today. I just need to get to the bottom of…this. Of him.
Hurriedly, I lock the register and the shop, using the shadows to quickly travel to the conservation area. The air is cooler out here, especially where I remain cloaked in the darkness.
I silently travel through the shadows as I try to pinpoint the man’s precise position, startling a few squirrels here and there.
When I find him, I freeze, unable to look away. I’m closer than I expected to be. The shadow I jumped to is essentially right behind him.
As I take a silent breath, all the smells of the forest disappear, leaving only his. A faint musk, accompanied by notes of vanilla and dried paint, all tied together by underlying notes of what I can only describe as sunshine on a summer day.
His scent is a perfect match for his appearance.
My exhale isn’t as silent, a mistake made by rookie shadow demons. As he whirls around, I jump shadows, now hidden off to the front of him, while he stares into the void I just left.
I mentally kick myself for nearly getting caught, focusing on cloaking myself within the shady darkness of the trees.
He glances around, his eyebrows furrowed enough that they’re almost hidden behind his glasses’ frame. “Anyone there?” he calls out, his smooth and deep voice sending a jolt straight to my chest.
This time, I stay completely silent, watching the man as he examines his surroundings. After a minute, he rolls his shoulders back, shaking his head slightly and making his hair sway around his face.
His focus returns to the sketchbook in his hand, but his pencil strokes aren’t the same. The lead hovers above the paper more frequently, each movement seeming weighed down by hesitancy.
He doesn’t seem dangerous—he hasn’t seemed dangerous—but why else would my senses be going into overdrive?
Maybe I should call my brother. He might have an idea. But I’d have to be ready to admit that not all of my demon instincts subsided when I integrated into the human world.
Damn it, am I ready to admit that to him? Over a human man?
Movie night wasn’t enough to distract me from my thoughts. I hardly touched the Chinese food, which didn’t go unnoticed by Raya. I brushed it off as not feeling well, which in a sense was true.
I’m just not feeling like myself—or maybe, too much like my old self.
Tossing and turning, I flip to look at my clock on my nightstand. It’s 3:30 in the morning and I’ve gotten no sleep.
There’s not even any peace in sensing that the man is in his cabin, rather than up to no good. I feel overwhelmed, even in moments I shouldn’t.
I feel obsessed.
And obsession is the basis of a shadow demon’s core.
Sitting up, I snatch my phone from the bedside table and bring up the phone app, punching in my brother’s number.
My thumb hovers the call button, a brief moment of hesitation. Taking a deep breath, I press the button, holding my phone to my ear.
It rings once.
Then twice.
Then three times.
There’s a click before his familiar voice groggily asks, “Hello?”
I don’t say hi. I don’t apologize for the unexpected call in the depth of the night. I get right to the point. “I have a question.”
“Orie?” His voice instantly clears, a small laugh traveling through the phone. “I didn’t expect to hear from you.”
This was a mistake. I don’t need his help…at least, I wish I didn’t.
My extended exhalation reeks of frustration. “Have you ever had those obsession feelings for someone?”
“Like what we used to do?” he asks, not giving me an answer like I want.
Running my free hand through my hair, I admit, “Yes, but not the same, exactly.”
“Well, sure, if I am interested in someone or if someone owes me something, I begin to track them.”
But it’s not the same.
“I don’t kill anyone I track nowadays,” he says. “Just to clarify.”
“This isn’t voluntary.” The words leave me quicker than I can think.
“Oh.”
Silence follows from both of us. I know he’s still on the other end of the call. I pick up a faint breath every few seconds.
I know what he’s thinking, and why he’s silent. The unspoken question floats in the quietness between us: what do I want from him?
Letting my shoulders fall, I prepare to admit something to him for the first time in our lives. “I need help…dealing with this.”
There’s no hesitation when he asks, “Where are you?”
“Harmony Glen.” Since we parted ways many years ago, I’ve refused to tell him where I settled down. Until now.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” With that, the phone call ends.
Slowly, I lower the phone, turning the screen off as I set it in my lap. Hopefully, that was the hardest part.
Admitting that I need something from him. Admitting that I’m not in total control of my feelings and emotions like I claimed to be—like I claimed made me better than him. More human.
I have no idea when he’ll get here. He could be here in seconds with shadow travel, but I don’t know what kind of life he’s made for himself. He might have a job he needs to take time off from.
Hell, maybe he has a partner he’ll need to explain everything to.
For now, though, I’ll try to get some sleep—if I can beg my mind to stop focusing on the presence of the artist man.