Page 10 of Incipient

I looked over at him and held his stare. He was totally serious. “What do you mean he didn’t do it on purpose?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “All I know is everything was fine when I made supper last night then dude comes to my house for twenty minutes and suddenly everything is rotten. I’m talking curdled milk, molded bread, apples that look like they’ve been sitting there for over a year.” He rolled down the window and threw his piece of gum outside. “It was nasty.”

“Hm.” I let that sink in for a moment. “I guess that’s why they call him Famine. I can’t imagine getting much to eat with him around being that he rots everything in sight.”

“Exactly.” He grimaced. “I don’t even want to know what Death and War can make happen.”

Yikes. I hadn’t considered that at all. “We should probably be thankful we got rid of Pestilence in that case.”

“Silver lining,” he said and we both laughed at the inappropriate comment.

“You want to grab something to eat first? There’s a drive thru open over there,” I said and pointed to a burger place just off the main highway.

“Nah,” said Trace and then looked over at me, his gaze discretely taking me in. “Let’s pick up your clothes first and then we’ll eat. There’s this restaurant I’ve been wanting to take you to.”

I immediately started shaking my head at the idea.

“It’s not a date if that’s what you’re worried about,” he continued before I could object. “Just two friends and some good food.” Something about his smirk made me think there was a lot more behind it than just a meal between friends, but that dimple made another appearance and I’d pretty much stuck a fork in myself.

Like I said before,badidea.

I knew no good would come of this. I knew every moment I spent with Trace was a dangerous moment and only increased the chances of triggering his memories. I knew every night we spent together only made it harder for me to leave him in the morning. I knew all of that and yet I couldn’t seem to stay away from him even when our lives depended on it.

It was the way it had always been, and something told me it was the way it was always going to be. z

5. BLANK SPACE

The Blackburn Estate stood tall and looming, draped in shadows that spoke of its defeat. I couldn’t help but feel a pull of sadness as I drove up the winding, fog-kissed driveway and stopped atop the hill. The life that had once lived inside those walls was now gone. There wasn’t a single light glowing or even a vagrant soul roaming. Just a pile of bricks and mortar, sitting against the backdrop of dusk, looking wholly and pitifully abandoned.

I unlocked the front door and walked inside, taking in a lungful of that familiar sage scent as Trace trailed behind me. It really hadn’t gotten any easier coming here since my uncle passed away. I supposed I hadn’t been here nearly enough to get comfortable with it again. And now with Dominic’s open invitation sitting heavy over the entire house, that probably wasn’t going to happen any time soon.

“You can wait here. I’ll just be a minute,” I said to Trace as I started up the grand staircase. Being alone in my room with Trace again was hard enough without the added stress of worrying whether it might trigger one of his memories. I needed to minimize the amount of time spent in places where we’d previously spent time together. And my bedroom was certainly one of those places.

“I don’t mind coming,” he answered offhandedly as he followed me up the stairs, his eyes taking in the entrance, the stairs, the paintings on the walls, as if searching his memory bank for any semblance of familiarity.

I stopped short and turned to face him. “You have to stop doing that.”

His head snapped forward and then titled back as his gaze climbed up to meet mine. “Doing what?”

Following me. Protecting me. Trying to remember what we were. Being so sweet and charming. “Acting like I’m some fragile mortal. I’m a Slayer, and I can take care of myself. I don’t need an escort to pack a bag.”

“I know that.” He shrugged his shoulder and then smiled up at me. “But your house is kind of creepy and I didn’t really want to stay down here by myself.”

It took me a good, long moment to process that, and then I was laughing. Hysterically. “You cannot be serious.”

“What?” he asked innocently, which only made me laugh harder. “I’m secure enough in my manhood to admit that.”

Leave it to Trace to completely brighten even the gloomiest of days.

“Wow. Alright then, let’s go,” I said, still laughing as I made my way up the rest of the stairs. “It’s a little dark down this hallway. Should I hold your hand, or do you think you can make it?” I asked teasingly and continued trudging forward.

“I didn’t say I was scared of the dark,” he pointed out and then slipped his hand into mine, interlocking our fingers. “I said I didn’t want to stay by myself. That could be for a number of reasons.”

My body damn near exploded from the electrical current pulsing from our touching skin. I quickly pulled my hand away and scowled at him. “What are you doing?”

“Right now?” He looked around the corridor, all casual and innocent. “Nothing really.”

“You were just holding my hand!” I pointed out indignantly.

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