Page 78 of Misfit Monsters
I want to unwrap her and understand exactly what she is. How she works. What would fascinate her the same way she’s hooked my attention.
Maybe if I got as close to her as Raze seems to have, the questions would stop nagging at me. I’d see she’s just another being, with the same desires and weaknesses as any other, just different trappings than I’m used to. Then she wouldn’t have any hold over me.
The idea steadies my mood. I polish off my chili fries with their kick of spice while only stealing a few more glances toward the cream puff.
Before I decide whether to start implementing my plan right here, Jonah gets up from the table. Peri turns immediately as if attuned to his movements.
She always notices things quickly. I’m going to have to be careful to convey exactly the right attitude.
The sorcerer in our midst waves us toward the door. “We’d better get some rest.”
He’dbetter get some rest, he means. All I have to do is slip into the shadows for a matter of minutes, and any fatigue this human-esque body took on will have melted away.
We all have to maintain our sham of mortality, though.
We head out of the restaurant, Peri and Mirage wavinggoodbye to the locals they chatted with. I force a small smile so I can’t be accused of sabotaging our mission.
Jonah waits until we’re in the van before commenting on everything we’ve learned. “I think we should head up to that hermit’s property first thing in the morning. Find out exactly what monsters he’s been seeing.”
Peri nods eagerly. “That’s our best lead.”
As Jonah drives a little farther outside of town so we can settle in for the night without unnerving the locals, she sinks back on the bench as if getting cozy. Raze rests his large hand on her knee with a possessive air that rankles me.
He didn’t eat anything at the restaurant, only drank some soda. They don’t serve the kind of bloody meals he needs. Which means he’ll have to go on a hunt once we’ve found our spot for the night.
As I expected, the moment our sorcerer pulls off onto an overgrown lane, the carnivore murmurs something to Peri and lunges into the shadows. Mirage bounds after him.
While Jonah gets out his sleeping bag, I aim the warmest smile I can summon at Peri. “We’ve been stuck in one box or another almost all day. Want to take a walk with me?”
Jonah shoots me a wary glance, but all that matters is the brightening of Peri’s face in response. How do her eyes sparkle so vividly?
She springs off the bench to join me. “That sounds great! Thank you for inviting me.”
My senses aren’t as honed as the basilisk’s, but I can pick up traces of our companions’ presence well enough to set off in a different direction from both Raze and the ridiculous fox. It’s a pleasant enough patch of forest. Pines and birch trees loom tall around us. A light breeze rustles through their leaves.
The terrain is bumpy with protruding granite, but thatonly makes it feel wilder. Unhampered by human expectations.
I breathe in the cold night air and let it ripple through my nerves. With the natural world all around me, it’s easier to shed my qualms and focus on my goal.
And that’s especially important when the cream puff insists on being attuned to my mood.
She aims a softer grin at me, her hood pulled back now so her teal hair tumbles over her shoulders. “You really like being out in nature, don’t you? I guess you don’t have many chances to enjoy forests back at the school.”
I think about the arid desert around the academy, the hot sun baking my skin to the point of pain. “The environment there has some aspects I appreciate… but I am most at home in greener places.”
Something about my being resonates with the woods, as if I was made for this setting even though I came into existence on the other side of a shadowy rift.
Peri inhales deeply with a satisfied sound. “It is nice being somewhere so peaceful… I need to be around people some of the time, but all the emotions can get a little overwhelming.”
I wouldn’t have thought she could appreciate the stillness the way I do. But possibly she’s only saying that to cozy up to me the way she seems to with everyone.
That’s fine. Right now, I’m aiming to cozy up to her too.
A particularly steep jut of the forest floor gives me the excuse to take Peri’s hand and help her up. Once we’ve clambered onto flatter ground, I keep my fingers wrapped around hers. My thumb traces patterns across the soft skin on the back of her hand.
The rest of her must be even softer.
I need to get on with finding that out so I can set aside this absurd attraction.
