“The den that’s next to the living room?” Moni chimes in. She looks at me like I’m daft. “There was a doorway on the other side of the fireplace. Does that mean you didn’t see JP’s room either?” she giggles.
JP laughs, a dark and husky sound that caresses my body, and I swear my panties just got wet. Coming close to me, he pulls me into a side hug. “Honeypot, the monsters here at school are going to eat you alive if something that obvious can get past you.” I blanch, thinking about some of the monsters that I’ve seen walking around. I might have a real reason to worry about being eaten. “Don’t worry, though, babycakes, with me by your side, I’ll keep you safe. I’m sure we’ll have a few classes together. You’ll just have to pay me back with late night study dates.” He chuckles and wags his eyebrows. He’s being silly, but of course I kinda like the idea of paying him back, but I would never tell him that.
Pushing him away playfully, I watch as he stumbles into Moni with a squeal. I swear it’s like watching my own personal comedy show as they tumble over each other, still moving down the sidewalk in a massive heap, cursing up a storm. I laugh so hard I lean against the wall of a building to keep myself from falling over. Unexpectedly, a cold, bony hand grabs my arm and pulls me into the alley we just passed and pushes me against the cold brick wall.
A gnarly looking woman wearing a white shawl over a burnt orange dress steps into me. Her slate-gray hair hangs limply around her face as her milky white eyes swirl with power, electricity filling the air. I try to pull away from the crazy lady and sidestep her, but she tightens her hold as I yelp, hearing my bones grind under her bruising strength.
She leans in closer and brings her thin lips to my ear as her raspy voice whispers, “You, Nerezza, should not have come. You will bring death to us all. For they will come to seek their pound of flesh above all that you hold dear, and nothing or no one will stop them.”
“Hey! Get away from her!” JP yells, and the pressure around my body vanishes as the woman disappears in a puff of white smoke like she was never there. I slump against the wall, wide eyes swinging around looking for her.
“Rez? Are you okay?” Moni asks, fear tinting her voice as she stands wide eyed in shock, her skin going a ghostly white.
I pull myself up on wobbly legs while rubbing the soreness from my arm. Looking at it, I can see bruising from where she held me. Nodding, I’m not able to bring myself to make eye contact yet, the crazy lady’s warning still running through my head.How had she known my name? What the hell just happened?So many questions filter through my mind, but only one is pounding to be voiced.
Finding my courage, I look up at my new friends and ask the most straightforward question I could muster. “Who was that?”
Moni and JP share another look that speaks of uncertainty, and I’m sure I’m not going to like what they have to say. JP clears his throat, “That was Mertle the Banshee. She only seeks those out that will soon deal with death.”
Well, fuck my ass with a barbwire dildo. This place keeps getting better and better.
Chapter Seven
Sonic Pixie
Rez
“Um, so?” Moni hesitates, looking all sheepish. “Did you still want to go out to eat?” She asks, and I swear my eyes bug out.
“What!” I shriek.
“What? Oh, that?” She points back to the alley that’s a few blocks back now, “Who cares if you’re touched by death. It’s nothing.” She waves off my concern.
Unbelievable! First of all, I just met a banshee, and it’s nothing like the movies or fairy tales. I thought they only cried, not gave you cryptic messages that I needed a Ph.D. to figure out. But secondly, the hag, and I mean it in the nicest way possible, just ruined my appetite.
“Let’s just grab some Chinese and head back to the dorm, okay?” JP says, grabbing my hand again and dragging me behind him to get food.When did I suddenly feel okay with guys grabbing and dragging me along with them?One look at JP’s ass in his tight leather pants, and I figure ‘who cares,’ when they have an ass like that.
When we get back to our dorm with the food, we find Lynx still in his Marten form lounging on the sofa with the TV on, and thankfully no one questions how my pet turned it on to watch Baywatch. Sitting down to join him, we hand out food and settle down to finish the show. Feeling up to eating now that the smell has revived my appetite, I grab an eggroll and pass it over to Lynx as he curls up next to me. From the other end of the couch, I catch JP eyeing Lynx as he gets his own food out and onto a paper plate.
‘You okay there, Rezzi-Bear? You don’t look so good,’Lynx asks while he starts eating his pork egg roll.
‘I don’t know. It’s just a lot to take in, and something happened when we were out, but I don’t want to talk about it. Okay? I promise I’ll tell you all about it later. I can’t right now. I just need to zone out and quit thinking about it for right now,’I say, giving him some scratches behind his ear.
“Hey Rez, since we’re roomies and all. Can you tell me about your pet? I’ve never seen one like that,” JP asks. Popping a wonton into his mouth as he leans back into his seat.
I let out an exasperated sigh. I knew it was coming, the dreaded ‘what is Lynx’ question. When we were younger, everyone only saw the massive cat next to me if he was in one of his animal forms. It was hard for people to comprehend that Lynx was just a normal cat that just got big. It was the only explanation I could give since no one saw what I did. I often saw him in multiple forms. The Lynx, the Marten, the Raccoon, or pretty much whatever he needs to be. I just stopped questioning what was real when no one else saw what I did and I definitely stopped after my mother died.
I plaster a smile on my face, hoping it looks sincere, “Well, Lynx has been with me since I was six. He’s my bestie, and I would be lost without him.”
JP quirks an eyebrow at my answer and takes a sip of his water. “So, a rodent showed up at your house one day, and you claimed him?” He asks, disbelief heavy in his tone. My head snaps up at him as my jaw drops.
“Wha–What?” I stutter, looking back at Lynx in his Marten form.
Am I going crazy?
“I asked how come a ro—,” he cuts off as I shoot out of my seat to stand in front of the sofa.
My eyes widen in excitement, and I start pacing and shaking out my hands to help get rid of this nervous energy. “So, wait. Let me get this straight.” I stop and look at JP but point at Lynx. “You see a Marten right now, right?” I ask, almost pleading.Please, God, say I’m not crazy. I don’t want to lose the only friends I have in this wild ass insane asylum.
