She’s gone for longer than I expect, but perhaps there’s a wait for her to use the waste disposal room. After a moment, I begin to worry she’s been detained. I yank the key out of our rented jet ski, and I head back in, but as I pass through the door, I hear her.
It’s faint, but it’s Whitney.
I can sense that she’s just around the corner to the left.
But the bathrooms are to the right.
Did she lie? Or is she in trouble? Her voice sounds a little distressed. I creep closer as quietly as possible, and then I hear it.
“He said he sleeps, but as far as I can tell, nothing can really hurt him.” She snorts. “Of course I tried, but not with anything really powerful. A few bullets.” A pause. “Yes, I’m sure things have changed since he was awake last.” Another pause. “Maybe a nuke could. Who knows?” She’s silent again. “Yeah, but listen, I’m not sure when I’ll be able to call again. He shorts out tech when he uses his death magic. I’m going to push him toward Sacramento after this, because he’s getting itchy.”
Itchy?
Who’s she talking to?
Did she call in a group of humans to attack me?
I should be delighted.
My entire purpose in slaughtering so many humans indiscriminately when I wake is to draw the attention of whatever humans rule the local government. Once I take that over, I can use their military power to start wars with other governing bodies. It always works to bring the angry, the disgruntled, and the evil warmongers to the forefront, and the balancing occurs faster and with less effort from me.
Her little call is exactly what I need from my general.
But somehow, knowing she’s hiding it from me, knowing she’s hunting for my weaknesses so she can exploit them, it bothers me.
“Yeah, I love you too. I’ll be as careful as I can, but I doubt I can escape, even with his help. This bond thing sucks.”
She loves this person she’s talking to? That can’t be a government official. It must be. . . She also said his help. Who’s this man who might help her get away from me? Rage floods my entire being. I knew she wasn’t excited to be bonded to me, but hearing her say she wants to escape still makes me very angry for some reason. “What are you doing?”
Whitney jumps several inches into the air, nearly dropping her phone. “Xolotl,” she says. “Oh.” She forces a smile. “I—the bathroom was occupied. So, the thing is, I knew my family would be worried.”
The phone in her hand begins to smoke, and she drops it.
“We talked about you not shorting out tech.” She’s glaring now. “This wasn’t even my phone.”
“We talked about it?” The table in the corner catches fire.
Someone in the front of the office starts to scream.
“What if I’m done talking?” I drop the keys to the jet ski. “What if this whole thing was a stupid lapse of judgment on my part, and I’m ready to return to my purpose right now?”
Whitney should be running.
Everyone should run when I’m angry. I’m almost never angry.
Actually, I can’t think of a single time I’ve really gotten angry in the entire length of my existence. But right now, what I want to do most is burn this entire place down. Eliminate everyone close, and then keep moving. It’s time I drew the attention of the humans in charge and started my actual work. I’ve been distracted for far too long, by her.
Instead of running, Whitney does something surprising. She steps closer, dropping a hand on my arm. “Xolotl, I’m sorry. I did need to pee—but I shouldn’t have tried to call my family without asking for permission first.”
Permission?
Because I’m her master—she’s bonded to me. Yes, she should have.
“You called your family?” I arch one eyebrow. “The one you love?”
“My mom.” Her hand tightens on my arm. “I knew she’d be panicked since I disappeared on the day you emerged. I knew she probably wasn’t sleeping. I was worried about her.”
My anger’s diminishing, but I can’t help my frown. “But you said you doubted you could escape.”
