“These are not your frail, pink flesh dust mites. They are of the Dust Devourer phylum, a group of species not native to this realm.”
“Realm?”
“Plane, domain, sphere, dimension, whatever you want to call it, the being is not from this world, nor from the universe your Earth inhabits.”
He presses his fingers together and the bug audiblypopsas it disappears.
“Where did it go?” I ask, my voice a little frantic. I try to take a deep breath but hell on earth my legs are on itchy fire.
“I…sent it home,” he says as he reaches for the next bug.
That’s when I see it, a black sheen surrounding his fingers. He’s not grabbing them with his hand, but with his magic. He plucksthem free, one by one, and the incessant itch that had me on the brink of madness decreases steadily.
When the final bug is pulled from my legs and squished out of this realm, I groan in relief. “So much better.”
His grip tightens on my wrists, and I look up at him. His pale eyes bore into mine. I know I owe him gratitude for this, despite him being a total jerk all day.
“Thank you,” I say. “Sincerely.”
The golden scales on his cheekbones glimmer, but then he blinks, and looks away.
“I didn’t do it for you,” he says, releasing my hands. “They would’ve eaten my treasures.”
I grunt. “Well, thank you for not killing them, either.”
He raises an eyebrow.
I scoff. “I know it’s silly, but I try to avoid killing creatures when I can. It just doesn’t seem right, you know. They’re just going about their business. I wouldn’t appreciate it if some higher being squished me for no reason.”
He studies me silently for another uncomfortable moment, then turns away.
Awesome bedside manner.
I blow a raspberry and open my to-do list, then check off the water utility box. Next up, internet. Please, for the love of god, let there be an internet option.
I stay on the side of the tub, picking at the holes in my stockings as I talk to the local Disch Network dude. Apparently, satellite is theonly game in town, so, whatever. Wi-Fi is Wi-Fi, and I’m going to need it for processing sales.
I remember how the kid at the grocery store said it was down, then ask the technician, “Is the service pretty reliable?”
He “uhs” for a long time.
“Never mind.”
The technicians will be out in a few days to install my Disch, so I mark off another item. Oscar mewls loudly from the other room and I realize it’s already evening. It’s still so light out for eight, it seems more like six. Maybe that’s just what it’s like living this far north. I bet winters are going to be so cozy. I’ll be lighting that wood burning stove every night.
I walk back into the main room to see Bastian is once again at the center of his summoning ring, eyes closed, meditating or whatever. I get a hefty scoop of food out of Oscar’s bin and drop it in his bowl next to his water dish that I filled from my bottle earlier.
My stomach growls, so I shove a protein bar in it and hook my phone up to my portable power bank. I decide I deserve dessert, so I have an apple with a smear of peanut butter that I have to lick off my fingers.
I swear Bastian’s face is a different shade of green when I catch him looking my way. Can he see better than he’s letting on? Maybe the books are helping?
Doesn’t matter. Not my business. I don’t care.
Time to get back to work.
I close off the bedroom and put a checklist item on my to-dos to handle the infestation, somehow…
I sweep the floors and pick up large debris, and then when my body demands a tinkle, I test the water. Thank science it flows, so I flush the toilet a few times to get it going, crossing my legs all the while, and then handle my business.
