“Is she…okay?” I gently press, watching her reaction closely.
Her lips thin as she smushes them together. I can see her eyes shift slightly, but I hold her gaze, hoping she can see my true intentions.
She shakes her head. “It’s not for me to tell you, but…she’s okay. It’s nothing to dowithyou, if you were worried about that.”
I respect that she keeps Pinky’s private details safe, and it does make me a bit less worried knowing it isn’t something I’ve done. I’m working hard to gain Pinky’s trust.
And man, is it ever hard sometimes to resist the trickery in wish granting. A few of the wishes I’ve grantedafterpenis-pants man could have so easily been twisted up.
But I didn’t.
“Okay, I’ll take your word for it—thank you.” I stand up straight, pushing off of the counter.
Before I turn to leave, I can’t help but ask, “How did a shadow demon end up here, in Harmony Glen?”
She tilts her head, smirking at me. “How does a genie end up here?”
“Touché.” I nod at her, turning and leaving the store.
While I don’t know much about the innerworkings of shadow demons, I do know there aren’t many that live normal lives amongst humans. They come from another realm and generally use their abilities to do any number of bad things.
Shadow demons are known to be assassins for the higher-up demons in the other realms. They can travel quickly—both across realms or within one.
The coolest—or scariest—thing? They use shadows to do it all. So, you’re onlytrulysafe from a shadow demon if you’re somewhere that has no shadows.
Which I don’t think exists. Not that I’ve seen.
As I stroll around the town, I take in more of the details. When I arrived, I didn’t care to look at things closely. Seeing now that it very well will become my new home… I appreciate the finer details.
This town is as diverse as the city I just came from, New Bria, but with fewer problems. Here, there isn’t any sort of power imbalance between monsters and humans.
It’s one of the reasons I think it’ll be easy to call this place home.
There are monsters and humans of all kinds here. I’ve seen two gorgons, both with vastly different looks, and a giant. Down by the marina, I saw a glashtyn, which I haven’t seen anywhere else in my travels.
Gods, maybe the sign at the entrance to town reallyisn’tlying. I might just be staying for my happily ever after.
I pull out my phone, texting Raya, whose contact name is my preferred name for her—Pinky.
Hey, what’re you doing tonight?
The message shows as read right away, and the sight of typing bubbles brings a grin to my face.
I have a stream scheduled from 6 until 9ish, why?
Just want to see you, but another day then, Pinky.
Well, you could come over for a bit afterward? I’d like to see you too :)
I’ll be there :)
Now that I have something to look forward to, I just want these next few hours to fly by. To do that, I’ll see who else around town needs a wish granted—withnotricks.
Gods, please don’t let there be any wishes that tempt me to abandon my newfound sincerity.
As I knock on Pinky’s door, I hear her voice call out from somewhere in the distance. “Out here!”
She didn’t sound like she was inside, but where is she? I turn around and walk off her front porch, glancing around. I don’t see her anywhere.
