I didn’t get any bad vibes off of the place but at this point that didn’t mean jack shit to me.
I sent Rain our location on my phone and dropped it into the cupholder. I didn't want to be distracted during this by my phone going off at any second by people demanding an update on Ariel. And by people I meant Quinton. I wasn’t worried about Rain calling me, he was on his way and now knew where we were, there was no need for him to call.
I wanted to do a walk through of the park by myself but Ariel wasn’t having any of that. She said we all went together or not at all.
She pissed me off but I could understand why she wanted it that way.
So we all got out of the SUV together like she wanted.
Ariel always got her way, one way or another.
There was no sign of that broken, completely shut down girl from yesterday. This morning her game face was on and firmly in place. I hoped like hell it stayed there.
We had been walking for less than five minutes when I spotted him. He was seated on a park bench facing away from us. From what I could see he was throwing bread into the little pond in front of him.
Feeding the ducks.
How fucking normal.
How fucking absurd.
He had a black baseball cap on and wire framed sunglasses covered his eyes. He wore jeans and a plain black hoodie.
He looked like any normal dude off of the street. I wouldn’t look twice if I walked past him on the sidewalk.
There was no lingering touch of magic in the air at all. He’d blend in with the normals perfectly.
We did not and were the people who were out of place here.
Simon and I both stood out with our tattoos we never bothered covering up and our silver eyes. Ariel looked like some goth punk and her scar was on display this morning. She never tried to hide it but today it stood out more than normal.
She’d done that on purpose. I just didn’t understand why.
Simon and I stood side by side with a small gap between us for Ariel to be able to look through. It was as close as I wanted her to get to the man.
“What’s your name?” she asked him and I wanted to tell her to shut up. She didn’t need to talk to him.
He continued to throw chunks of bread to the ducks as he replied to her. “My name matters not to you. I assure you, it’s not one you’d recognize like yours. I’ve spent my whole life blending in with normal society. I do a little freelance on the side, like I did for your aunt. It pays the bills and keeps me in the lifestyleI want. Born different but never really special enough to stand out. Not like you, Ariel Kimber. You stand out, even if you don’t try.”
I wanted to laugh at him. She’d definitely come here with the intent of standing out. I didn’t laugh though because the way he was talking was giving me the creeps in a really big way.
This man was off.
He might have been able to blend in until he opened his mouth and started speaking. There was nothing normal about him then.
“It doesn’t seem fair that you know my name but refuse to tell me yours. Keeping your name from me won’t save you. You know that, right?”
Jesus.
That was a threat from Ariel if I ever heard one. That wasn’t how you started off a civil conversation.
I understood her clothes now. She came here looking for a fight and she was going to do anything until she could get one.
I wished she’d given me a heads up or something.
“I don’t take kindly to threats. And I’m not afraid of Rain.” he turned his head and looked directly at her. “It’s obvious to me that you grew up with Vivian and learned from her. She threatened me once too. Now where is she?”
“In the dirt where she belongs. Would you like to join her?”
