| Excerpt |
I’m left gasping for breath, the already evaporating sweat on my skin raising goose bumps as the seconds tick by. Three. Four. Five. Nothing. The tension in my shoulders gradually drains and I can’t help but cast a glance at the guy I’d just saved. He’s staring at me, mouth open like a fish out of water, struggling to comprehend what he just saw. I silently curse. I should have been more careful. How’d I let a human see this sh!t go down?
“W-what the hell are you?” He gasps, coal-black eyes wide in - what the hell? Is that awe? This guy is really starting to creep me out.
“Doesn’t matter.” I answer coldly, finally lowering my hands. They’re still encased in shadowy black, like smoke from a gasoline fire. I wince as the tendrils slowly rescede from elbow to fingertips where the color concentrates and coagulates in my nails. I click my nails together, as if that’ll force the prickling heat to subside any faster.
“Seriously, though.” His warm, tenor voice is right in my ear now. I immediately reach for my pocket knife at the sound, only just remembering he’s human. How can he just sneak up on me like that? Maybe he’s not human after all. I shake my head and release my knife, letting the weight fall back into my pocket. “Really, what are you?” There it is again. Awe.
“Did you hit your head in something?” I ask seriously, my eyes scanning his soot-black hair for traces of blood. Not that I’d see any with his hair that color. He should be forgetting about me right about now. Why is he still fixating? This isn’t right. “Look, the important thing is: you’re safe. The rest doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it matters!” He takes a step closer, practically merging against me before he takes a stumbling step back. Like he’s being repelled by a wall. “And what’s with this fog?” He rubs at his eyes again, cursing under his breath as he fights the Mist. I’m still struck by the fact that he sees it. Sees me. He shouldn’t be noticing either right now.
“You should get home. It’s not safe out here around this time of night.” I state the obvious, hoping against hope that the Mist will help him forget.
“Yeah, you’re probably right - but what about you?” He shakes his head again, the faint opaque film that had covered his irises has faded. He’s just looking at me with those odd coal eyes of his. Like he sees right through me. Into me.
“I’ll be fine.” I reassure him, taking another step back. “My parents are just around the corner.” It’s not a lie. The words come out smoothly and easily and he buys it.
“Oh, okay.” He rubs at his eyes again. “By the way, I’m Lucian Crow.” Crow. Seems fitting. He hunches his shoulders like a crow, long crooked nose could pass off as a beak if you squint a little and tilt your head- “What’s your name?”
“Cia.” I answer before I can stop myself, caught off guard by his question.
“Sia?” He smirks, the crooked smile lighting up his gloomy face. “Like the singer?”
“Cia like C-I-A.” I growl, my temper bubbling to the surface.
“That short for something?” Does this guy ever quit. He’s a pest - just like a crow.
“Yeah. It is.” Is all I say back.
“Ookaay.” He murmurs, looking back down the ally where the Shadows had been only minutes ago. “And what were those things anyway?” He mutters, now more to himself than me. I follow his gaze warily, wondering if I should just knock him out and hope the concussion will five him amnesia. He’s like a dog with a bone.
“I’ve gotta get going, Crow.” I growl at him, turning on my heel to leave the alley as fast as I can without running.
“Hold up- can I at least get your number? Or like a last name?” He makes the mistake of grabbing my hand. Upon contact a sharp jolt of pain lances up my arm to my sealing tattoo on my shoulder.
“Fncker!” I hiss, ripping my hand from his grasp as the reverberation from the pain echoes in my bones. “Take a fūçking hint! Get lost, Crow!” I clasp my wrist to my chest, locking it in place with my other hand as I wait for the pain to subside.
“Hey, are you okay?” The compassion in his voice throws me off again and I look up at him. I realize how this must look to him and roll my eyes. Stup!d human. I close my eyes, feeling Power flow through me one last time. I’m so gonna regret this, but I’m done playing nice.
“Go home.” When I speak I open my eyes, concentrating on each word and forcing my will into each letter. “Forget about me and go home.” His face goes blank, black eyes finally glazing over with the opaque film from the Mist. He begins moving on his own, tucking his hands in his pocket and carelessly whistling as he shuffles out of the alley and down the south side of the street.
As soon as I blink a different, blinding pain cracks through my head. I fall to my knees, letting the world fall into darkness as the reverberation from controlling the Mist shudders through me. I fight to stay conscious, aching to see something, anything. But I know I’ve pushed myself too far already. I feel the ground fall from beneath me, crumbling into oblivion and forcing my consciousness down...down...down.
