Page 49 of Beneath the Desert Bloom
She set the coffee down, unfinished, and walked toward the door. She wasn’t going to mope around like a girl in a horror movie waiting for the monster to call back.
If he wasn’t going to show himself, fine. She’d just make sure the desert knew she wasn’t afraid.
Or at least fake it until something exploded.
She stormed outside, slamming the screen door with unnecessary force. The obsidian in her pocket thumped against her hip like a pet rock with an attitude.
The heat hit her hard. It clung to her skin like a warning:you’re not built for this, soft girl.
She ignored it.
Sand crunched beneath her bare feet as she headed down the trail. She didn’t bring water. Or shoes. If Asher was going to do the whole mysterious desert guardian thing, then fine. She’d go full unhinged desert woman.
She passed a cluster of Joshua trees. One of them had a vaguely humanoid silhouette that had tricked her before.
He wasn’t there.
But the air changed anyway.
A ripple. A pause.
Her skin lit up in goosebumps.
She stopped. Turned in a slow circle.
Nothing. No shadow. No voice. No dramatic wind.
Just that feeling, like something had walked through her and kept going.
She squinted at the horizon. “I know you’re out there,” she said, not quite yelling. “Unless I hallucinated the whole thing. In which case—great. I’ll be out here making out with sand until someone locks me up.”
Silence.
Her laugh came out too sharp. “Come on. You can stalk me but not say hi?”
Still nothing.
She waited. Too long. Long enough to feel ridiculous.
The silence wasn’t empty. It was deliberate.
“You’re a real dick, you know that?” she muttered, turning back.
The breeze returned. It slipped across the back of her neck like a ghost’s finger.
She didn’t flinch. But she walked faster.
By the time she got back, the house felt smaller. Cave-like.
The obsidian burned against her thigh. She pulled it out and held it to the light.
Still black. Still smooth. Still smug.
She rolled it across the table like a magic eight ball.
“Is he avoiding me because I’m turning into something weird?” she asked it.
It didn’t respond.
