Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 46314 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46314 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
“You think they’re blaming you for the attack? If that’s what happened?”
“I cannot assume anything else. Except for one option I prefer even less than being regarded as a traitor.”
“And that is?”
“Can you not imagine? They might all have been slain. It is possible all are gone, and I am the last of my line.”
“You think they’re dead? No. Sally wouldn’t die. She specifically said she wasn’t interested in doing that.”
I know that’s not how it works really. I know death can come swiftly and unexpectedly, that it does not always give notice, and sometimes happens entirely undetected. But I can’t believe Sally is gone. She was so brave. She wouldn’t have it. Not if she had any choice at all.
“Who would attack your people? Obviously not you.”
“I can only imagine that Rage had some kind of dead man’s switch, and perhaps somehow deployed our enemies. That would be the ultimate revenge. Or perhaps there are other forces at play.”
“Alright. Well. I think the first and most sensible thing to do would be to head off to the house you came from and see what’s happened to it.”
“I did not come from a house, or a home. There are things there that cannot be unseen,” he says. “I fear for your sanity if I am to show you my place of origin. It is strange and frightening to people.”
“Everybody comes from a fucked-up family,” I tell him. “Don’t worry about it.”
He looks away from me. I cannot see his eyes, for they have to remain hidden in public, but I can feel a wave of emotion coming from him, a melancholy angst that is nearly tangible to me.
I have the impulse to hug him again, and this time, I do. I wrap my arms around him and I feel him stiff against me, his lower limbs trapped against his body while wearing attire that really can never fit him at all. He feels like he’s smuggling, well, four arms.
He hesitates briefly, then returns the embrace.
“You are very sweet, Tessie,” he says. “I never expected you to show me affection if I did not capture you.”
I snort against his chest. “I’m going to guess there weren’t a lot of dating and general socialization lessons in whatever curriculum you had.”
“No. We were not made to live human lives. We were created to save them.”
“Created? By who?”
“I’ve said too much,” he says. His words indicate a pulling away, but he stays wrapped around me, holding onto me like I am something very precious he does not want to lose.
“You haven’t said nearly enough. I am guessing you come from West Virginia? And I am guessing Justice took Sally home?”
“That’s a lot of guessing for a detective.”
“It is, but only because you’re forcing me to guess and because Sally left without leaving us anything in the way of cues. If we’re going to see if your house has been attacked, I’m going to need some information.”
“Alright, detective,” he says, calling me by my title for the first time. He gives me a wry little smile with it, a sexy expression that makes me fizz with excitement.
While we reach new levels of trust and intimacy in our relationship, Obigor has begun barking aggressively at a trash can, giving it a good, solid telling off. I scoop him up into my arms, where he sits very satisfied with his outing, an expression of contentment and righteousness on his gray and gold face.
“Alright,” I say. “Let’s go.”
5
“Where the hell are you?” That question is barked down the phone at me by Chief Connor, who is not happy to discover that I am retracing Sally’s steps. I can’t tell him about Order, obviously, or any of the mysterious going home stuff.
“I’m on my way to Point Pleasant, West Virginia. I can’t give any more details at the moment, Chief, but I promise you, I’m being safe.”
Order glances at me with his eight eyes, each one of them seeming to hold a slightly unhappy expression. He doesn’t want me reporting to the Chief at all. I am stuck between a web and a growly place with these two.
“I want a call when you get in, and I want a call with an update on what you’ve found. If I have to come after you, I can promise neither one of us will be happy.”
“I’m going to be fine,” I tell him. “Don’t worry.”
“I do worry,” Connor says. “I always worry.”
He ends the call having said that. I sigh, feeling uncomfortably guilty.
“I really don’t like lying to my boss.”
“I really don’t like the increasing number of humans who seem to know about the intimate details of my life.”
“Nobody even knows you exist, dude. Relax.”
Order gives me a sharp stare. “I don’t like that tone, Tessie. I understand you’re used to ignoring the wishes of your boss, but I am more than that. I am your master, and you are my pet.”