Page 55 of Run Like the Devil

“I feel unsettled.” I looked ahead as I spoke, opening and closing my hands as though that might ease the tension inside me. “It feels as if my skin is too small, as if my true form is pacing inside me and reaching out. Things that did not bother me before irk me. I feel an annoyance at my attempts to fit in and more so at those attempts failing. I am not human—why should I be held to human standards?”

Gorrin didn’t answer at first, but after a long moment, his voice came out slow and careful. “You remember Koller saying this place twists people? It exposes people’s deepest fears and magnifies them.”

“My fear is not fitting in? That doesn’t make any sense. I’ve never fit in, and it’s never bothered me before.”

“And if you were here a decade ago, I bet you wouldn’t feel this way. You’re different since you met Loch, though.”

“Am I?” I didn’t ask that as a way to be a smart-ass. I feared I could no longer clearly see myself.

“You haven’t shown interest in many individuals before. What if the Path is magnifying your fears about her accepting you? You may not care if anyone else accepts you, but perhaps your fear revolves around hiding your true nature, about how Loch might react if she saw it?”

I frowned, not responding to his words right away. They felt uncomfortable, which in my experience, meant they likely had some truth to them.

Of course, the idea that something as insignificant as this tiny strip of space known as the Path could manipulate me in this way, could affect me, chafed. It felt beneath me.

I was too old and far too smart to fall to such tricks, yet when I rubbed my shoulder, trying to ease the aching in my skin, I couldn’t deny it.

When I could neither agree with nor dismiss his statement, I decided to set it aside. I could think about it later, let it simmer, gain more information before I made a decision.

“Loch’s just ahead,” I said to change the topic, that electrical sensation on my skin drawing me nearer to her. I scented no blood, no signs of violence, nothing to imply she’d been harmed.

Gorrin and I passed by a few more trees, then came to a stop.

A darkness filled the space before us as though bathed in a deep shadow. I could see into that darkness, peering through it into the secrets it hid.

The sight before me might have made me trip over my own feet if I had to walk much farther.

Every inch of Loch’s skin was on display, with small bruises that had obviously been a result of either bites or rather aggressive sucking on her skin. Where this may have set me off, her expression kept me still.

Her eyes were closed, her face relaxed and peaceful. She had her head in Tyrus’ lap, her arms wrapped around his waist. Behind her laid Hale, his arm thrown over her, his head in Tyrus’ lap as well. The whole thing appeared uncomfortably cozy…

Tyrus narrowed his eyes but didn’t focus on us, as though he sensed us but couldn’t actually see us.

Gorrin rushed forward, and before I could stop him, he stepped into the shadow. He froze immediately, his gaze darting around.

They must not be able to see anything inside.

I approached the shadow but didn’t pass through it, not wishing to end up trapped as well.

“Yazmor?” Gorrin called out, his voice distorted.

So it isn’t just light but sound that is affected inside that.

“Gorrin?” Tyrus responded, his hand going to Loch and Hale’s shoulders to wake them.

“Well isn’t this a fun reunion?” Loch muttered, sleep drenching the words.

And boy didn’t her voice soothe me?No matter how awkward things might get between us, it seemed hearing her could calm me.

“Can you hear me?” I called into that darkness.

Gorrin turned toward me, answering me with his actions before he had to respond. He held a hand out toward me, but when he took a few steps my way, he didn’t seem to actually move closer.

That meant the shadow also distorted space. No wonder they hadn’t escaped it, yet.

“Don’t try to come toward me,” I said. “It won’t work. Go the opposite way so you’re with the others. Give me a minute to work out a way for you to escape.”

Gorrin nodded, then turned his back to me. He called out for the others, and it was almost amusing to watch them all fumble about in a game of Marco Polo in the darkness.

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