Page 8 of Basilisk

“It’s the day I run errands.”

“Then let’s run errands.” Bain tilted his head. “So you only do that the one day of the week?”

“Schedules are important to me,” Clive mumbled as he turned to grab his keys from their holder next to the door.

“So, what’s on the agenda?”

Strongly flustered, Clive fiddled with his keys. “Bank, pharmacy, then groceries. Are there any particular foods you’d like to have?”

“If there are, I’ll pick them out myself and pay.” Bain held up his hand. “Wait here while I check outside.”

Clive nodded, watching as the bodyguard slinked out the door. He must have walked around a bit because it took him a few minutes before he came back and waved Clive out. “I’ll drive,” Bain said.

Clive couldn’t stop watching Bain’s hands once in the car. He had such long, elegant fingers, and he drove with a casual assurance that set Clive at ease. Bain was so intriguing. Flashy, yet he emanated strength and self-assurance. His face was almost pretty with his sharp cheekbones and chin, but still held a distinctive masculinity.

He was truly fascinating, and Clive longed to ask why he’d become a bodyguard, because he really did look like someone who would play an instrument in a rock band or spend his days painting wildly colorful canvases. Did he have a girlfriend? Or—since Clive had recognized the book Bain had been reading—a boyfriend? Not that his choice of fiction said anything about hissexuality. But surely he had a person in his life. Someone that beautiful couldn’t be alone.

Clive purposely looked away from him, instead focusing on the city outside. He loved Seattle and had picked it as his home for several reasons. Mainly because of the tech industry that gave him so many clients, but also because when he did manage to get out of his house, the city was pretty. Surrounded by evergreen forests, mountains and water—if he talked himself into braving the outdoors, there was so much to enjoy. And the atmosphere worked for him. Some found the amount of rain and gray skies depressing, but he liked that. He found rain soothing. And the amount of rain they got was kind of blown out of proportion anyway. Yes, the skies were often gray, but to him, that just made the evergreens pop even more. He had a few in his backyard that looked beautiful when he left his curtains open.

He watched a guy in a bright yellow helmet riding his bike in the designated path. Clive had always wanted to try that form of transportation here, but that would mean crowds—something he just didn’t like to face more than one or two days a week.

He directed Bain toward his bank. Clive was surprised when Bain got out of the car, too. “You can wait, if you’d like. I’m just making a deposit so it won’t take long.’

“I go where you go. Always.”

Clive was about to respond when he caught one of his “sightings” out of the corner of his eye and every muscle in his body went tight.

Don’t look. Don’t look.

He couldn’t help it. He looked. The man, or creature, had blue-tinted skin and a long, thin tail that snapped around his back. Black eyes whipped his way, and Clive hurriedly turned his head.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Bain came around the car and wrapped his fingers around Clive’s arm. He turned his head,obviously looking at the same man before his head whipped back to Clive. “Clive? What do you see?”

“Nothing!” Clive snapped. He pulled away and marched inside the bank. As he approached the teller, he reminded himself that it was okay. He’d seen these…beings…before. He was safe. He had a bodyguard.

It’s not real. It’s not real.

But the mantra didn’t help. The usual fear filled him, turning his legs to jelly, and his hands shook the whole time. He should have started these deposits online, but this was one of his only places for outings, and he needed those. Needed to have his schedule.

Hurrying through the transaction, he tried to ignore the way Bain was studying him. But he wondered why Bain had asked what he’d seen.

He kept wondering as he directed Bain toward his grocery store, and they stayed quiet while they were inside. He felt Bain watching him, could actually feel the questions Bain obviously had for his behavior.

Needing a moment to himself, Clive stopped in the canned goods aisle. “I forgot the chives. I’m going to run back and grab them. Will you get the rice and pasta? I prefer angel hair.”

Bain shook his head. “Remember what I said about where you go?”

He waved his hand. “I’ll be just a moment, and there are people everywhere.” Not waiting for a response, Clive hurried off. The chives were toward the back of the produce aisle, next to the door that led to the back of the store.

As he was bagging a couple of batches, he suddenly felt heat against his back.

“Walk with me and not one word.”

The gravelly voice sent chills down his spine, freezing his legs into cement pillars. There was no way his muscles were goingto work, so he started to shake. “Please leave me alone,” he whispered.

“I said move.” A hand grabbed his arm hard enough to leave bruises as he was nudged toward the back door. Clive had no choice but to walk that direction.

Utter terror gripped his throat, turned his mouth desert dry.

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