Page 25 of Expose Me

“How do I know you’re not the one who’s actually trying to steal the Onuei for your own greedy self?” I blurted.

“I do not lie,” he declared, jumping to his feet and glowering over me.

“Uh-huh. How do I know that’s not a lie?” I stood up too, refusing to cower. He was taller than me, but I planted my feet and stared him down.

“What do you care?” he scoffed, backing off. “You just want me to clear your name. What difference does it make to you what my true intentions are?”

I watched him skeptically for a moment, then shrugged. “True. OK fine, let’s see if I can find your magic balls.”

“They are not balls. They don’t have a discernible shape. They’re pure magic.” He still looked like he wanted to challenge me to a duel for insulting his honor, but I was about to do what he wanted, so he moved out of my way as I walked to the bed and climbed onto it.

Keeping everything Zey had told me at the forefront of my mind, I closed my eyes and tapped into my power. The ribbons in my mind floated as if on a gentle breeze, ready to be whipped by a strong wind in the direction of what I sought. But without a visual or anything to go on, they remained where they were, floating in various directions fluidly.

Changing tack, I tried to think outside the box and searched for something that didn’t belong, something not of this world. The ribbons shivered and multiplied, some of them unfurling in various directions. I quickly realized that was a bust too. Half the shit on Earth was not of this world since the portals started appearing.

I opened my eyes to find Zey inches from my face, staring at me intently. I gasped and leaned back. How the hell did he move that silently?

“Creep!” My hands went to his chest to push him back.

“Did you find them?” he asked, completely unbothered and unaware of the concept of personal space and totally unmoved by my attempts to shove him away.

“Maybe if you give me some damn space!” I shoved at his chest again.

“Whatever you need.” He leaned away immediately, and I dropped my hands. One of them brushed against his bare forearm. Unbidden, the image of a ribbon twining around my hand, binding it gently to Zey’s forearm, flashed in my mind.

I wrapped my fingers around his arm, instinctually following my power’s lead. “Wait,” I whispered, and he froze on the spot. “Don’t move.”

I let my eyes close, and this time, there was just one ribbon floating on the wind. It was fine as gossamer and felt like it might snap at the slightest pressure, but it was there, and it was unfurling towards ... something.

Zey had an innate magical connection to the items I was trying to find, and my ability was using that to seek them out. Maybe all people from his realm had a connection to the Onuei, maybe it was just Zey for whatever reason—it didn’t really matter.

I opened my eyes, a faint smile pulling at the corners of my lips. Zey had leaned back into my personal space, but I was not startled this time.

“You found them,” he said, his own hint of a smile appearing.

“Not exactly. But I know where to look, which direction we need to head in. Your connection to the Onuei helps, and the closer we get, the clearer the location will be.”

He grinned. “I knew you could do it.”

That made one of us.

“Let’s go. Which way is it?” He got to his feet, his absence making me acutely aware of how close our faces had been.

“No.” I scrambled off the bed. “I told you I need rest.”

He frowned and opened his mouth like he was about to argue, but snapped it shut. I walked to the bathroom, avoiding his gaze.

“I’ll let you know when I’m ready,” I said as I pulled the door closed behind me.

I was beyond exhausted, especially after pushing my power to do something I hadn’t tried before, something I didn’t think I was capable of.

After another shower, I tried to rest. The bed was comfortable and warm, but my sleep was fitful regardless. I kept waking up excited to try this new element of my ability again, then irritated that I wouldn’t have even known I was capable of it if Zey hadn’t barged into my life and ruined it. He sat in the chair near the now-dead fire, unmoving.

I dreamed of drowning in depthless black.

At some point in the early hours, my bladder refused to let me drift back to sleep after another bout of tossing and turning. I must’ve slept for a while though, because Zey was no longer in the chair. He was on his back on the bed next to me. I could just make out his faceless shape in the dark. I was a little concerned that he’d managed to get that close without me noticing.

I summoned a pair of thick socks to save my feet from the freezing stone floors and slipped out of the bed as silently as possible. I wasn’t sure how sleep worked for Vuulectians, but maybe getting some would make him slightly more bearable to be around.

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