Page 85 of I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker
He held his hand out, and the darkness appeared behind his head.
I shot one last glance at Jackie and wished like hell I could tell her everything I didn’t get a chance to, but time was up.
“Be careful,” she said in a voice smaller than I’d ever heard from her.
“I will. You be safe while I’m gone. Don’t let this place fall apart.” I crossed the room to hug my friend then returned to Raymond, who still held his hand out to me. I placed my hand in his and followed his lead…into the darkness.
21
Take me to the Bane
Ididn’t know how long I thought it would take to walk across the path to a new world, but I definitely thought it would be longer than forty-five seconds. Yes, it was forty-five seconds. I counted. I followed behind him, and as I moved, placing my footfalls exactly where he had, the mental counting was the only thing that drowned out the eerie wailing around us.
Just as I had before, I gripped his hand tighter with each step, and Raymond responded, squeezing his around mine, letting me know I would be okay. He would keep me safe. Only this time, I didn't hear his voice in my ear as we moved, just the counting in my head.
One. Two. Three.
Step. Step. Step.
Seven. Eight. Nine.
And then, ahead of him, there was light. It had a strange turquoise glow to it, like walking into the center of a jewel. I followed him because I trusted him, and I knew wherever that light led, I would be safe with Raymond.
A gentle breeze brushed across my skin as I took the last step from the darkness into that turquoise light. Then, my senses were completely overwhelmed. As my eyes adjusted to the brightness, a strangely sweet scent like pear filled my nostrils. My ears rang as they adjusted to the pressure of this world, and then I could hear the lapping sound of nearby water. In the distance came the strange calling of a bird I couldn't see.
“Are you alright?” Raymond asked me, and I turned to see him standing by me, his brows bunched, his eyes stared at me as if he was waiting for something. “Breathe, please.”
“I am breathing.” I laughed at him, and his jaw relaxed. “Sorry, this place is just nothing like I expected it to be.”
“I told you it wasn't the fiery pits of hell you were imagining.” He chuckled. “The Bane is a beautiful world full of terrible beings, but we care about our home, and we treat it as precious as it is.”
“It's beautiful, and it smells so,” I took a deep breath, “fresh.”
“There are worlds that exist without pollution.” Raymond smiled, proud of his home. “Noville wasn’t trying to be rude when he asked how you live there. Most newcomers to Earth find your world suffocating.”
“Does it hurt you like that to be on Earth?” My chest tightened thinking Raymond suffered like that in my world.
“No,” he tapped my chin with his finger. “Don’t worry about me. I'm made of tougher stuff.”
“Where are we?” I looked around the area. We stood on a small hill, in a simple plain of grass, but I could tell even by the landscape we weren’t on Earth. The trees looked…happy, their branches lush with leaves, waved in a praise dance in the distance. There were also small fuzzy plants at the base of each tree, like something I would have seen in a children's’ book, soft and purple.
“This is a safe space, but not exactly where we need to be. I used to come here whenever I needed to clear my head.” He looked around. “To be honest, I’ve dreamed of this place for so long, almost every night I’ve been on Earth until recently. It felt like the perfect spot for you to get acclimated before being thrust into the chaos of the coming days.”
“This is your spot.” The statement sounded more intense than I meant. This was a special place for Raymond, and he thought to share it with me. He turned to me again, those eyes carrying words he wouldn’t, or maybe couldn’t, speak.
“Yes, it is.” The corner of his mouth lifted just a bit.
“Are you okay?”
His hand returned to mine. “Why do you ask that?”
Damnit! I have to say something. This is too heavy to let it hang out there between us.
I took a deep breath and then let the words fall free. “Because something's different between us. I know it, I feel it, and I know you do too. Whatever we're about to face together, we need to be open and honest about how we're feeling.”
He paused, glancing off into the distance before his eyes returned to me. “How are you feeling?”
Okay, I could go first.
