Something moves on the other side of my bed.I blink rapidly, sure that I am seeing things or maybe it’s an aneurysm and I’m about to stroke out.
“Or what?”A gravelly voice says.
Chapter7
Farrow
Slidingunder the bed and leaving was the smart thing to do.But no, the human wanted to issue demands and make accusations.I did not get off on scaring kids.It was my job to make sure they didn’t cross a bridge.
I smelled fear on his skin.Why was he scared of me?Most adults don’t even sense me.Yet there he was, staring at me.The ink on his forearm was dark against his skin.Despite there being no traces of magic in his room, he must be a sorcerer.
What a Santa-fucking mess.
And not the fun kind.
But if he was a sorcerer, why didn’t he attack instead of standing there with wide eyes, clutching a towel?
Emboldened, I jumped onto the bed in a crouch.My claws gripped the sheets, and my tail waved, keeping me perfectly balanced.
“You’re real,” the man said.He took one step forward and stopped.
I tilted my head.Of course, I was real.A sorcerer wouldn’t doubt my existence.Oh…had he been bluffing, trying to bolster his courage?Did that mean he hadn’t seen me, and I’d revealed myself?
Oops.
I was so going to get written up for being spotted.If I told.If I said nothing, who was going to find out that I’d been seen, right?No one.He wasn’t going to tell anyone.
I flashed him a wide, toothy grin.“And so are you.”I needed to think fast about how to un-fuck this situation.“Why do you want me to stop scaring her?”
“Because it’s not right?”He said slowly, as if he wasn’t sure what he was doing.
“It serves a purpose.”
“What purpose?”
“That’s classified.”But a sorcerer would know.What was he?
“Are you a monster?”He took another step forward.
“Yes.”The solution was obvious, and while I’d be able to do my job, it would be limited if I couldn’t scare the kid.Which is exactly what a sorcerer would want.My eyes narrowed.“Are you a sorcerer?”
“A…a what?”
“A magic user.”I pointed at his arm.
He glanced away, and I jumped off the bed to stand in front of him.
He gasped and stepped back.“No.Magic isn’t real.”He closed his eyes.“Monsters aren’t real.I’m unconscious, or dying, or something.”
“You are not.”I pull the towel out of his grip with my tail and drop it on the floor.“If you want me to stop scaring her, I want something from you.”
He opened his eyes, and he stared at me.His gaze dropped to my fangs, then lifted to my horns before settling on my eyes.“Me?”
“Who do you think took your underwear?”I grinned.
His pulse kicks up.“You were there?Youwerewatching?”
I point at the wardrobe with my tail.“I want more of that.”
