Page 36 of The Deer and the Dragon
I dared to ask, “What do you do with the big, strong man when you find him?”
Her eyes darkened and her voice lowered as she said, “Well, that depends what kind of mood I’m in.”
I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to speak if I stayed. I abandoned her to watch TV as I walked numbly to my bedroom. I could hear her giggling at the cheesy dialogue and gasps over the dragons even as I closed the door behind me. I lay down, hair still wet from the shower, and let the pillow absorb what remained of the water and, with it, everything I thought I knew of the world.
Chapter Thirteen
“Jesus Christ!” I jolted awake, heart leaping into my throat until I practically choked on it. I scrambled backward so quickly that I nearly tumbled from the bed.
Fauna winked from where she’d been staring at me, waiting for me to open my eyes. “Not quite, but you’re getting closer. Cool guy. He put his clairsentience to way better use than your dumb ass. Hate his fan club, though.”
“What are you doing in here?” I sputtered. The sun wasn’t even up. The gentle gradient of dawn set my room into a lavender glow. The purples reflected off her hair, showcasing her outline as she leaned forward enthusiastically.
“I’m hungry. Let’s get coffee.”
“I have a French press…” I stammered.
“No, I want doughnuts. Or muffins. Let’s go out.”
I stared at her for several long moments. “How can you go out?”
“Quite easily,” she said. “Wanna see?” She procured a baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses as if she’d been clutching them to preempt this question. “I’ll just be a very pretty human.”
“But why would you want to?” Coursing with adrenaline, I crawled out of bed and sidestepped toward my dresser, as I wasn’t confident it would be wise to turn my back onher. “Aren’t you people—things—normally…invisible? And why muffins?”
She looked at me as if everything I said gave her further confirmation that I was born yesterday. “Because muffins are delicious. Come on, mythologist. Your secondPantheonbook was all about your Greeks and Romans, right? Tell me: how often did nymphs interact with the humans?”
“Often, I guess. But…”
She pushed past me and helped herself to my drawers, rummaging around until she wrapped her fingers around a thong and an athletic bra. She shoved them into my hand and headed for my closet.
“I can dress myself,” I said.
“Yes, but you’re not being very quick about it, and I want to see the city. I never get to go out with a friend. Plus, I have so many theories to share with you. Your sigil? The Prince? You being a dipshit with a death wish? Let’s go be gals on the town.”
“Gals on the town?” I copied each word woodenly, certain I’d misheard her. My inability to articulate a single thought probably wasn’t doing me any favors. “Fauna, I know you’re trying to get my brain on board with all this, but—”
“Yeah, that’s part of it, Crazy Pants. I’m going to talk to the barista and place our orders while you wait off to the side so you can see me interacting. And we’re going now before the world is awake because it’s a Saturday, and no one gets out of bed this early, so it’ll be dead inside. We’ll be able to talk.” She’d selected a pair of black leggings and a slim-cut athletic top. Her eyes crinkled with her smile. “Unlike you, I’m very clever.”
“You’re dressing me like we’re coming from yoga,” I said.
She beamed. “Now your outfit matches my pants. Bohemian suits me. And lots of city ladies get up early to go to exercise classes. No one will bat an eyelash. Now, we’re wasting daylight and it’s going to be a beautiful, summer day.”
“We’re not wasting daylight. The sun isn’t even—”
“Can’t hear you!” she sang as she danced from the room, voice trailing down the hall.
I grabbed my phone and saw sixteen notifications. I grimaced as I unlocked the screen.
(Nia) Let me know when you get home
(Nia) You did go home, right?
(Nia) Don’t make me regret giving you that address
(Nia) Jesus, Mary and Joseph, if you went to a murderer’s house, so help me god, I will be the next face on the news next for being the one who ENDS YOU MYSELF
Two missed calls
