Page 111 of Oh No! There's an Incubus in my Hot Spring
One of them leans so close I can smell their crusty deodorant. “Did you hear me?”
Don’t answer. Don’t nod. Don’t do fucking anything.
The officer sighs and his chair scrapes on the tile. “I’m calling it on this one. You have fun.”
The door opens and closes. I can hear the other person in the room breathing. It’s not particularly loud breathing, but the air’s not on in the room, so it’s dead quiet otherwise. My heartbeat comes into focus now. If my head wasn’t throbbing like a nightclub, I might be able to fall asleep like this.
The silence stretches on and I fight the itching need to fill it with something other than our breathing. I start counting the minutes in my head, willing away my need to urinate.
Ten minutes of silence.
This dude is creepy as fuck.
Fifteen.
What in the hell is going through their head?
Twenty.
I really need to pee.
“Are you a witch?”
“Jesus—” I gasp, despite myself.
“I was starting to think you’d gone mute,” the woman says.
I open my eyes and raise my head to look at her. It’s so bright in here it hurts. I wince as I take her in. Late twenties, tanned, well-muscled, brown hair pulled back in a tight bun, and wearing the blues of an officer. Her name tag reads D. Rosa.
“The DJ was live streaming on ViewTube. He turned that footage over to us,” she says, and I do my best not to let my face talk for me. “Your arms go out and the guy two rooms over flies backwards. Can’t see if he actually got the hit off since it was so dark, but based on your ex’s wound, I’d say not.”
I clench my jaw shut.
“That gust of wind seemed to come out of nowhere…”
I hold her gaze.
“Maybe it came from outside. Maybe one of those mountain breezes swooped in, hit the back of the room, and slammed into him.”
The doorwaspropped open for the breeze to keep it cool.
Officer Rosa nods. “That sounds kinda plausible.”
What’s her angle here?
“I always knew there was something special about those waters up in the mountain. I took a dip a time or two when I was younger, and it always left me feeling surprisingly good,” she says, leaning back in her chair. “You know, that used to be the location of Silver Mountain Resort, built right up in it. Mark’s great-grandmother had it moved closer to town to get more tourists. Seems to have worked.
“I’ve been to the new Silver Mountain Resort and those waters are nice, but nothing like what you’ve got up there. That water is magical, isn’t it?” She gives a disarming smile.
Don’t move. Don’t flinch. Don’t blink. She’s a T-Rex and she will spot me.
Officer Rosa grins wider and gets to her feet. “My god, you’re made of steel. You’ve been in that chair before, haven’t you?”
I give her a slight shrug and she laughs. “Your lawyer arrived about thirty minutes ago. Thought I’d give it one more go, for Mark, since, you know, he paid us to give you hell.”
I grimace, bouncing my leg to keep in all the putrid, vile things I could say about Turdleneck.
“Need to use the restroom?” she asks.
