Page 15 of Wishing Upon a Monster
We were in my office, as I gathered my copies of my birth certificate, social security card, and magical identification card that marked me not only a daughter of the Aurum family but also as a Talentless, the small ‘t’ within a pentagram star.
“Uh, no, I have that pump in my pumphouse, but I could see why that wouldn’t work for you. Are you planning to reside in it? I thought you were okay with the gue––the room I gave you to use?” I tripped over my words. Of course, it wasn’t a guest room anymore, it was Olan’s. He was my roommate...cottagemate? Maybe the room wasn’t to his liking, though.
“The room is fine,min guldklump, but to travel, I would need an open well, like the ones I have used in the past. I have taken a look at your pump, and it is fine for what you need it for. What is lacking is the void, the place in between where my shadows can take us to Ignesious Avenue.”
“Okay, I...” I turned, documents in hand, and putthem in a leather document case I used in college—good Goddess, how long ago was that now?—and my thoughts stalled out. I had wished, however unintentionally, to be saved. He woke up for me, I wished him here, and… I just realized, he was being very deferential for a god. “Why are you asking me if you can make a well? Couldn’t you just do it?”
Olan cocked his nonexistent brow at me, my cat Sashimi, the hussy she was, cradled in his obsidian arms, and asked, “Is it culturally acceptable for me to do so without your permission? Rocio explained a great deal to me, very quickly, but I’m certain she said I should not be as controlling as I was in the meeting.”
I snorted. Rocio was doing me a solid; she knew that I was reserved with my social interactions. Being a being of indeterminable age, she more than likely has associated with beings far beyond the powers that man could control. She was looking out for me. A pleasant feeling diffused through my body as I thought of her care.
“You were pretty firm, but considering it was everyone against you, I don’t get how you were controlling?” I crossed my arms, feeling a bit jealous of my cat and not sure why.
Sensing that in a way that only cats seem to be able to do, Sashimi gave me a cross-eyed look of smug satisfaction as she stretched in Olan’s arms. She had plenty of space and let out a thunderous purr when he began to scratch her under her chin.
“The way I held you during the meeting was controlling. I am aware of consent; this is not a new concept to my people. However, I was staking my claim, and your friend was concerned that I was overstepping what you were comfortable with. That included my attire, or lack thereof.” He dragged long fingers down my cat’s back.
I felt the heat rising to my face. I admit, I was very glad that Olan was wearing pants, Goddess bless Rocio for that. I imagined us coming to the ECCM with him stark naked, and I feltthe metaphorical steam exiting my face in a large cloud of anxiety.Goddess bless Rocio.
“The clothing was a good call,” I said, surveying his black pants with the gold button before looking down at my wide-leg jeans with a colorful scarf threaded through the belt loops. I pulled the leather folder to my chest, resting it against the cream cropped bishop-sleeved cardigan. My little love potion necklace, fake of course, fell in between the covers of the folio. “We shouldn't like to offend anyone’s sensibilities... at least not this trip.”
Making sure my crown was in place, because there is transparency, and then there istransparency.I took a breath, “I like the displays of affection. If that’s something that is a part of your character, I mean. I don't think that if you are a touchy-feely being, you should deny that part of yourself. I... used to be someone who enjoyed casual touch.” I fidgeted. “The hugging yesterday was fine. It has been a long time since––and well, I was visibly upset, so of course you would, if you are a being who you are, I wouldn’t want to stifle that––”
He bent at the waist, listening to me fidget and blather as he plopped my Thai princess on the rug. My voice stalled in my throat as he approached. His ruby gaze stared kindly back at me with something mixed in I couldn’t name. He reached me and lifted my chin up with a long finger, his shadows caressing my cheeks. “Min søde skat,I long to touch you in any way that you will allow. Your light calls to my darkness, and it has been almost unbearable not to have any contact. This is a gift.”
My phone’s alarm blared in my pocket, breaking the spell he’s put me under. One where I didn't notice the teeth and the otherworldly features, where I just saw... Olan.
“We need to leave in half an hour.” I cleared my throat, tearing my gaze away from his, and his hand fell away from my chin. “You have my permission to make any improvements toyour room to ease our travel. I just ask that you consult me before you change my home structurally. I am open to listening. You are... stuck with me,” I chuckled, ignoring the slant of his eyes, “and it is important you are comfortable here too.”
“Stuck is not the word, honored is more appropriate,” he said before I walked around him.
I admit it, I was uncomfortable with his positive language. It’s not that people were rude to me overall. My skills spoke for themselves here on the preserve. I’m an excellent fighter and a very reliable enforcer. But all of that was job-based. Outside of that, society found me lacking. Being good at something ‘for a Talentless,’ is not as big of a compliment as the person giving the praise thinks it is. I was used to that, though, the chafe of the ill-fitting compliment. When given one that actually fits, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I didn’t know how to enjoy the luxury of the fit.
I continued the self-reflection as I hustled out to the front door.
“Where would be a good place for this wishing well of yours?” I gestured to my property.
He chuckled, the sound eliciting goosebumps down my arms.It's not as jarring as it was yesterday.
“A wishing well, you say? I suppose it is.” He walked past me, surveying my yard.
I followed, enjoying the spring chill, knowing soon enough I’ll be hiding indoors from the overenthusiastic pollen that would eventually coat every blade of grass.
He stopped far from my house, towards the back of my property.
“This should be far enough away from your pump yet close enough so as not to encourage trespassers to engage me for wishes,” he said, turning to me.
“When it comes to wells, that’s something I wholly trust you on. If you say it’s a good spot, then it is,” I shrugged.
With a nod, Olan raised his hand in a blasé wave, and shadows peeled from the surrounding forest to converge on a spot in front of him. They condensed into the shape of a ring, winds picking up around us as the shadows rotated. As they spun, light seemed to be sucked down into the center of the chasm being drilled into my yard. I clutched my folio tightly, closing my eyes against the debris. I feel a great lurch from the center of my being, then a stillness.
I opened my eyes in time to see the last bits of shining gold foreign script working itself along the top of the stones.
“Is this the famous warning you mentioned?” I asked, walking closer.
“It is,” he rumbled, crossing his arms and looking into the darkness.
It was a well. A deep, dark, empty space, just as he had described. “Is there water?”
