“That’s where the illusion of control comes in,” said the woman. “I come to a bar. Make a new friend. Possibly… do something that makes me feel alive, and powerful. It’s certainly better than cowering in the dark, and being scared.”
Malcolm nodded, though he could tell she was speaking of something personal, something he wasn’t sure he understood. He was about to ask her more, when a muffled shout came from outside.
“Let me go down, then! Let me see for myself!”
“I told you,” replied the bouncer, in an equally loud voice. “The shadow spryte isn’t here. Now buzz off!”
Malcolm sat up a little straighter on his stool. He tapped his fingers on the counter, debating with himself over whether it was worth looking into. The shouting outside began to intensify, and he eventually couldn’t keep himself still.
“Leaving so soon?” asked the woman. “You still don’t know my name.”
Malcolm just shrugged at her, his mind already on the commotion outside. He ran up the stairs to find Onyx, the bouncer of Terri’s Tavern, standing over a blond man who was down on one knee, clutching at his stomach.
“You bastard!” snarled the blond man. “Tell me where she is.”
“You can either get the fuck out of here, or get another beating,” said Onyx.
Malcolm held up a hand in the bouncer’s direction.
“Let me handle this,” he said.
He walked over to the man, who was still catching his breath, and offered him a hand. The blond man scowled slightly as he took it.
“Maybe you can help me, then,” said the man. “I’m looking for someone. A shadow spryte. Her name is Rosalina.”
Malcolm kept his expression from giving anything away.
He’s looking for Rose. I need to find out why.
“Let’s walk and talk,” he said.
CHAPTER 13
The man introduced himself as Brenden Barnes. After a moment’s hesitation, Malcolm replied with his own name. His instincts told him that this man was new to Vanderbrook and that it didn’t matter what name he gave him. If felt nice to be himself, if only for a minute.
Brenden was tall, with handsome facial features and the kind of crisp blond haircut not often seen outside of movies. He wore a button up shirt over khakis, and the clothes looked ruffled and slightly dirty from several continuous days of wear.
It took a couple of minutes for Malcolm to warm up to him, and vice versa. Malcolm talked about Terri’s Tavern, its reputation, his experiences there, all the while thinking furiously about how to gauge the man’s motives without giving away his own.
“So…” said Brenden. “If you’re a regular at this place… You must have seen her.”
“A couple of times, maybe,” said Malcolm. “I don’t remember everyone that comes in.”
It wasn’t necessarily a lie, at least not in regard to how often Rose attended the bar. Malcolm licked his lips and weighted his next question carefully.
“Who is she to you, anyway?”
Brenden’s face tightened at the question, and his eyes glared with deep, complicated emotion.
“She’s my fiancée,” he said.
Malcolm tried to control his reaction as his heart began thumping in his chest. At least some of his surprise must have shown on his face, because Brenden stopped walking.
“You do know her!” snapped Brenden.
“No,” Malcolm said, quickly. “It’s just… sprytes and demon usually don’t have relationships like that.”
How long have I been sleeping with Rose for? And this man, who claims to be her fiancé? Has he been searching for her this entire time?
“She is my fiancé,” said Brenden, in a low, dangerous voice. “From before. And I know she’s here in Vanderbrook, or nearby. I’ve seen the monster profiles on the internet.”
Malcolm had heard about those from Second Wind. Several websites were now dedicated to keeping track of the movements and whereabouts of powerful demons and sprytes. It was a way to warn people who held the real power in a particular region.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” Malcolm said.
“Tell me where she is!” Brenden surprised Malcolm by rushing toward him, grabbing him by the shoulders, and knocking him to the ground. Malcolm was also surprised by his own restraint. Rather than retaliating, or using his powers to defend himself, he merely put his hands up to guard against a possible blow.
But Brenden didn’t punch him. He just clung to Malcolm, holding onto the scruff of his shirt.
“Please…” said Brenden. “I… have to find her.”
Malcolm stood up and disengaged from him without further struggle. He massaged his temples, wishing that he knew what to do or say. Would Rose want to see Brenden? Did she even know that she’d had a fiancé, back before she became a spryte?
An odd mixture of doubt and jealousy wormed its way into Malcolm’s chest. Was it possible that Rose would meet with Brenden, remember him and her previous life, and return to it? Of course it was, he decided. And he had no right to keep her from that, if it was what she wanted.
“You know her,” said Brenden. “I can tell. Please… I’m staying at the Clearwood Motel. Room 16. Just tell her… I’ll be there for the next few days. Tell her to come in the afternoon.”
Malcolm didn’t respond. Brenden watched him for a moment, and then without saying a word turned back toward Terri’s Tavern and walked away.
The walk back to Malcolm’s hideout felt like it took an eternity. He called the phone number he’d been given on the way. A feminine voice that he was fairly sure he recognized as the spryte Fantasy picked up, and Malcolm disguised his own as he asked for Rose.
He told her to meet him at his hideout, but didn’t say more than that. He wanted to approach telling her about Brenden as carefully as he could. It was a big, emotional thing, and already Malcolm felt as though he was sticking his nose where it didn’t belong.
Not just my nose. All this time… I’ve been sleeping with another man’s fiancée.
Waiting for her to arrive was almost intolerable. Keeping an eye on the entrance, Malcolm paced back and forth just inside the warehouse above his hideout. After close to an hour, Rose’s silhouette finally appeared, beautiful and backlit by the moon.
“Malcolm,” she said. “What’s going on? You sounded worried on the phone.”
She walked over to him and took his hands into hers. Her hair was messy, as though she’d been in bed when he’d called. She wore a blue sweatshirt and black jeans, and slid the hood down as she leaned in to kiss him. Malcolm turned his face, letting her lips brush against his cheek.
“I ran into someone tonight,” he said. “At Terri’s Tavern. A guy, blond hair, blue eyes. Tall, good looking...”
If you’re into the sculpted Adonis type…
He watched Rose’s expression for any sign of recognition. She gave him a slightly confused look and glanced toward the hatch leading down to his hideout.
“…Okay,” she said. “Did something happen?”
“His name was Brenden,” Malcolm offered.
Rose shook her head.
“Are you expecting me to-”
“He said he was your fiancé.”
At that, Rose’s bodily language stiffened, and her mouth fell open in surprise. She looked about how Malcolm had felt when Brenden had told him the same thing. Malcolm felt a little ashamed of how much relief that brought him. It would have been more painful to discover that Rose had known about her fiancé and been intentionally keeping the detail to herself.
Or worse. If she’d still be in contact with him, or even still seeing him.
“Oh my god…” Rose was shaking her head. “I… can’t believe it.”