Page 37 of Run Like the Devil

“He’s in a mood.” Tyrus took the now vacant spot beside me. He didn’t wear his suit jacket, and that threw me. In the Chasm, he was always dressed in a suit, but it seemed he’d realized that it wasn’t as comfortable for all the walking we were doing.

He still was better dressed than me on my best day, of course. He had slacks on with a tucked in black shirt, tie, and suit vest. Without the jacket, I could see that the vest had a very light embroidered design, also done in black so they were almost impossible to notice.

“I think the stress is getting to me,” I explained. “It’s just all the walking without knowing what is going to happen, without knowing where exactly we’re headed.”

“Then don’t focus on the ultimate goal. Instead, think only on the next step. If you narrow your focus, you’ll find it easier to deal with the unknown.”

“Is that how you do it?”

“Not usually. I prefer to actually know. When that isn’t possible, though, I learn what I can to make the best choice, then focus only on the steps I need to make. I have no control over the unknowable, over things outside of my sphere of influence, so I might as well spend my attention on the things I can control.”

I snorted softly, then gave him a tense smile when he looked toward me. “That’s just so you advice.”

“It’s good advice.”

“Probably,” I admitted as we walked together. A glance out at the endless fog made me shiver. “I feel almost like we’re on some treadmill, like we’re not actually moving at all. I almost feel like if I turned around, even though we left it two days ago, that I’ll see the stairs down to the Chasm behind us.”

“The Path seems to be made to confuse people, to turn them around and make them doubt themselves. Still, people lose their way on Earth all the time—it isn’t quite so scary.”

“Yeah, well, on Earth those people don’t get stalked by some weird creature in the fog.”

“Have you never heard of bears and wolves? Earth has more than its fair share of predators.”

I thought about that and didn’t fight my smirk. It wasn’t bears or wolves I considered chasing some poor lost hiker through the woods. Instead, it was the men.

“That smile makes me certain you are thinking something you shouldn’t,” Tyrus said, his eyes narrowed in suspicion at me.

“Tyrus and Hale and Gorrin, oh my,” I whispered.

He just stared at me for a moment before a rare chuckle escaped him, as if I’d both surprised and charmed him.

A snap to our left broke the moment. As soon as it happened, the sound so strange because of the horrid silence that had filled our trip thus far, everyone moved.

Tyrus shoved me behind him, tucking him against his back in a move that annoyed me as much as it made me swoon. At the same time, the others moved closer, as if closing ranks around me.

To which I kicked Tyrus’ calf. “You know, I’m a Lord, too,” I muttered against his strong back.

He froze, as if just realizing what he’d done, but didn’t release me.

“I have no intention to harm her.”

I didn’t recognize the voice at all. It was soft, clearly a woman, but the accent of it made it seem like she struggled with the language.

“That’s just because you haven’t talked to her yet,” Hale said. “Trust me, that feeling changes.”

At which I point I gave Hale a kick of his own.

An almost lyrical laugh answered the action, and I had a moment of what the fuck when I thought it came from Hale. Quickly, I realized that made no sense.

“I didn’t think there was anyone in the Path,” Gorrin said.

“There aren’t many, but there are a few of us.”

“Why?”

“Because when there is no way back and no way forward, people are forced to live their life between.”

Right, because that doesn’t sound fucking crazy…

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