"Ah—I'm—I'm meeting someone," I whispered, my heart kicking up a gear, especially when he sidled closer.
"I'll keep you company until your friend gets here," he offered with a smile full of teeth. "What's your name? Can't say I've noticed you here before."
"Uh. I'm—I'm Jennie. My mate will be here really soon," I added, emphasising themate. "He's kind of—ah—jealous? So you might want to sit back a little bit. I mean, if that's okay. I wouldn't want you to get hurt, so…"
Ugh, stop rambling, Hala. I wanted to scream at myself. I should have been snappish and commanding like the barmaid, but as usual, I tripped over my words and spoke quieter with every second.
"Don't worry, little thing," the purple man replied with a big, craggy smile, sliding even closer. "Big Lyle can take care of himself."
Ugh, he was talking about himself in third person?
I opened my mouth to try to be more insistent and confident, but I jumped hard when a massive hand slid across my back, bunching the fabric of Void's shirt.
Panic shot through me like an arrow, and for a second, it wasn't a leery creep touching me but one of the keepers, pushing me forward so I could stand before the Origin and buckle under her disapproval. For a second, I felt volts charge through me, felt the cold tip of the cattle prod as it sent a scalding shock into my body.
I jolted away from the intrusive touch and threw out my hand, not fully conscious of the fuschia light that splashed over him from my own fingers. I only blinked back to awareness when the hand slid away from my back, a rush tumbling through my blood, and liquid splashed my bare legs.
Oh. Oh, god. Oh, fuck.
I jumped to my feet, praying no one noticed me accidentally turn a shadowkind to goop—but conversations had turned to pin-drop silence, and eyes devoured me with equal parts shock, anger, and horror.
I squeaked, backing up a step until I was squashed into the corner of the pub, my instincts going wild,screamingat me to run while the rest of me wanted to cower and plead for mercy and forgiveness.
"She just killed Big Lyle!" someone yelled, breaking the heavy silence, and I flinched at the furious voice.
"I—I'm sorry," I blurted. "It was an accident; he touched me and I—I didn't mean to…"
But no one was listening to my apology. The shadowkind muttered among themselves; to my paranoid mind, they were planning how they were going to hurt me.
The buttercup-coloured barmaid took two steps towards me, but she wasn't smiling anymore. She looked like she wanted to grab my arms and rip them both off.
"Get the hell out of my inn, slayer."
She spat at my feet, and I gasped, pressing my back into the wall and unable to escape the splatter of wetness along my ankles. Ugh. Ugh ugh ugh,gross.1
"I've seen this before," growled a brawny green monster with huge tusks and a protruding forehead. He pointed at the remains of the shadowkind I'd accidentally killed. "This is what happened to Braxar. I left him for two seconds, came back and he was a puddle of guts and eyeballs. It wasthislittle bitch that killed him."
"A human?" someone scoffed, but others were eyeing me warily, as if I was going to attack them, too.
Three smaller monsters headed for the door and hurriedly left. I swallowed. I wasn't evil. I didn't even think I wasbad. I was just … powerful. Messed up. A weapon.
"Move!" a booming voice tore across the room, and I shrank even further away, my pulse pounding in my throat and sweat pricking my upper lip as a big shadowkind with goat's horns and a huge, pointed nose stalked through the gap everyone made for him.
I ran my eyes over his sharp horns, glaring, pockmarked face, and cloven hooves. Oh, no. I knew him. I’d seen him before.
"You!" he snarled, advancing further. "I knew that was your whining little voice. You said sorry that night, too, remember? When you grabbed my arm and pumped me full of poison." He bared fierce teeth, his strange-pupiled eyes leaving me no questions about what he planned to do to me.2
A hush fell over the pub again, but the glares never let up. A handful more people crept slowly out of the door, afraid of me. Or maybe of the confrontation about to happen.
I panickedly dove into memories of scalding pain and water filling my nose and the Origin's eyes—the same shade as mine—watching me scream and writhe on the floor for not meeting her high standards. Again.
Magic rushed up my arms, splashing my hands with pink magic, and I rasped, "Back off. L-leave me alone."
Confidence, Hala! Be brave and strong!
Those weren't Vann's words this time, but my own. I wanted so badly to be kickass and brave and sure of myself. But instead I flinched when the massive goat monster stalked closer, towering so high above me that he could probably step on me and turn me into broken bones and blood splatter.
"Leave you alone?" The shadowkind threw his horned head back and laughed loud enough to rattle my bones inside my skin. "Youkilledme, you ruthless human bitch. So no, I don't think I will leave you alone."