Whisper to a Scream (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #6.5)(3)

I opened my mouth, ready to demand that Christina tell me who had sent her to distract me. However, her date returned before I could. He tapped me on the shoulder, but when I turned, his irritation was directed at Christina.

“What the hell are you doing?” he demanded.

She looked at me with sudden fear as she replied, “It’s rude to leave a lady waiting. I was just passing some time.”

The man guffawed, a loud, ugly sound. “Good thing you’re not a lady then.” He grabbed her hand and gave a tug before saying to me, “Sorry, pal. You’ll have to pay for your own escort.”

They disappeared into the crowd as he dragged her from the dance floor. She didn’t look back. I stood there for a moment, processing what had just happened. Disappointment settled in my gut, gnawing like the unwelcome intruder it was. Another uninvited guest, harsh and foreign, made itself painfully known: jealousy.

I stalked from the room, feeling humiliated and chagrined. It was getting late. Soon enough, I could vanish from this human playground. Until then, I would dutifully watch Alexa.

The clock struck midnight, and I immediately left the disappointing charity dinner and dance. I walked down the busy city street, an illusion of humanity among those who called the streets home.

A young woman flipped me off, slurring something derogatory as she stumbled away. I winced when she almost went down on her pretty face. Unable to watch her any longer, I turned away.

Honestly, watching them self-destruct never got any easier. Centuries passed, and though time meant nothing to me, it meant everything to mankind. The humans had so little respect for the power of each passing day. They knew nothing of the greatness meant for them. No, they wasted every gift, every precious moment until they had nothing left. Then, once it was too late, regret claimed them.

The city streets were dangerous. Many creatures of the night lurked in the shadows. Most of them were human, broken people lost in the sins of the flesh. The sorrow that I felt for the lost souls tore at my heart.

A homeless man, who leaned against a bus shelter, glanced up as I approached.

He squinted and muttered, “I’ll be damned. Look at those wings.”

No one should have been able to see me as anything more than a man. Humans could see my wings only when I allowed it, although many things were beyond my control. If he saw me, my true self, then surely he was meant to see.

“Bless you, friend.” I paused to lay a hand on his shoulder. With a smile and a gentle squeeze, I nodded but didn’t linger.

Walking among humans didn’t come without a price. They were many things, all of which tugged at my heart in ways beyond my understanding. Those broken, beautiful, lost humans, with their tragic stories and self-inflicted cages, straggled by me. They knew so little of the power they possessed and the wonder they could create. In this dark world, it was far too easy for a creature of the light to step too close to the abyss, then be lured over the edge.

I continued toward the lights of the intersecting street ahead. There was a twenty-four hour coffee shop on the corner. I enjoyed their caramel macchiato. Fabulous little drink.

I ducked inside, greeted by the warmth of the well-lit establishment. It wasn’t busy, but even at this late hour, there were patrons inside. I approached the cashier and placed my order, thinking about Christina. A prostitute, I would never have guessed. I imagined that to be a very painful life. A casual glance around at my fellow customers revealed that pain was present here, too.

A couple near the door sat stiffly across from one another. The woman was tense; fear filled her dark eyes. Please God, don’t let this be real. She projected her small prayer out into the unseen world around us, allowing me to hear her desperation and rage at her companion’s unfaithful betrayal.

Thoughts withheld within the mind, sacred and private, were protected from creatures like me, both light and dark. However, a freely projected thought was open for all to hear. She was fortunate when she wished both her husband and his lover to hell, since no demon was near enough to hear her.

While one couple broke up, another united. Laughter from the back of the coffee shop drew my attention to two teenage kids talking in loud, boisterous voices. The boy reached across the table to take the girl’s hand, and she giggled, a blush coloring her cheeks. Young love begot so much nostalgia in a human life.

“Thank you.” I accepted my drink from the barista and took a moment to inhale the sweet scent. Conflicted, I wondered if I should have let Christina go like that, without another word.

“No, don’t bother. I’ll send movers for my stuff.” The jilted woman’s voice was loud as she quickly stood. She cut off her companion before he could say anything to further the sting. “Save the apology. Sorry doesn’t mean a damn thing after you’ve screwed another woman.”

She paused to pour the rest of her coffee in his lap before storming out of the coffee shop, fighting back tears every step of the way. Then, she was gone.

Angry curses followed her departure. The man piled napkins in his lap to sop up the mess. He had been unfaithful, broken his lover’s heart, but his concern was for his own embarrassment and his dry cleaning bill.

Leaving the busy streets behind, I sipped the sweet, frothy drink as I walked several blocks down a side street until the burnt out remains of the church stood in the distance. It was little more than a shell of what it had once been. Soon, the husk would be razed, though the ground would remain consecrated.