“You think you can lick me? I’ll break you,” I said, though he was already gone.
The flames faded from my skin, leaving a black-rimmed hole on the sheet beneath me. It was a small price to pay for an epic struggle.
I headed out to the front desk. There was a woman there sitting in a chair.
“Hello, yes, excuse me,” I said. “I’d like to report an attack.”
“Attack?”
“The man who just ran out of here, is he staying in the hostel?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t see anyone run out.”
He must have left. I did a quick glance around. He certainly wasn’t here anymore. I said, “He ran out.”
“Kay.”
“Well, he licked me.”
She made a face.
“I know. Disgusting. No one should wake up to that.”
“Agreed,” she said. “Unless that’s their thing.”
Their thing?“It was not consensual.”
“Would you like me to phone the authorities? You can file a report.”
I didn’t really want to take the time to deal with that. The clock was ticking on my mission. Plus, the assailant must have suffered third degree burns. He was unlikely to return.
“Not particularly,” I said.
“Did he…dothatto your clothes?”
I looked down at my dress, now twice burned. In addition to the burned seams and small holes, a large hole bared my midsection in a less than flattering way. It was a sad state of affairs and would need to be addressed.
“No,” I said.
“Okay…How am I supposed to figure out who this guy is so I can keep him out?” The desk woman glanced at my neck, then back to my face so quick I almost missed it. Then she looked at my neck again, this time staring.
“Well, he has beady eyes. Hair. Broken nose. Oh, and a fresh foot shaped burn in the center of his face.”
“That sounds…distinct.”
Yes, it did. “So you’ll bar him from returning?”
“Definitely.”
“Thank you for your time,” I said, and left.
As I strolled out the door I realized why exactly she had been interested in my neck. A feather fell from my collarbone, floated down and landed on my left boob. I captured it and popped it into my bag. That’s right, universe, I was in control.
The best part of the assault wasn’t the self-assurance I felt after I’d burned the licker’s face. It wasn’t the satisfying crunch of his broken nose, or the pathetically feeble sounds he’d made after. It was the fact that I wasn’t thinking about Silas Huxley even a little bit.
I wasn’t lingering on the satisfying frustration he’d shown when Edwina Aldea had suggested I punish him for attempting to speak with her. I wasn’t thinking about the drinks we’d shared, or the new and strangely pleasant sensation of Silas’s touch. And I certainly wasn’t lingering onthe kiss.
I was focused on the mission.