Page 12 of Lunar Desires
“I—”
The door opened, warm air and the smell of pine wafting in my face.
“Get in!” a voice hissed in the space beyond.
Drake dragged me inside, a goblin closing the door behind us.
A single bulb cast a bright light over a room filled with shelves, each one stuffed with comic books and graphic novels.
With knots in my chest, my body in need of a timeout and a spiced rum, I faced the goblin.
She smiled warmly at me, a mass of vibrant pink hair framing her green face. “Hi. I’m Molly.”
I shook her heavily ringed hand, loving her white jumper with the words ‘Goblins Hug Best!’ emblazoned across it in turquoise letters.
Wow, those were the most orange sweatpants I’d ever seen.
“Riley,” I answered. “Nice to…” A fresh wave of haziness rolled over me. I swayed again, leaning on Drake for support. “I need to sit down.”
“Poor thing,” Molly said. “Let’s get him a chair and a cuppa. Can you walk, babycakes?”
I was all out of sorts with shock and drained from Moon Illusion, but hearing babycakes made me giggle. It put a little spring in my step.
Who didn’t love a sprinkle of lightness to chase away some of the anxiety of a crappy situation like this?
But unease scratched at my senses, putting a pin in the nice vibes.
We weren’t out of the woods yet.
“Yeah,” I answered her, “I can walk.”
In fact, my energy levels were filling back up again. I’d be better in no time, especially after a hot tea and a sit down.
Yay to one of the perks of my blood.
Drake slid an arm around my waist, facing Molly. “I’ll explain everything.”
“I know you will, hun.” She set off down a narrow corridor, exposed floorboards creaking beneath her.
We followed.
There were posters of various rock bands plastered on the walls, the ceilings painted a pure white. Ahead was a door leaning into the main shop, from what I could gather. To my right was a closed door, and a curved staircase sat on my left.
Molly led us down the stairs.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Drake asked.
“I’m fine,” I replied. “Getting better by the minute.”
I went down the stairs first, making good use of the rail. Drake stayed hot on my heels, his breathing hitched. Afraid. I wanted to turn around and give him a reassuring hug. Yeah, this was a terrifying situation, but we were okay. We’d got away and into this safe space because of him. And he needed to know how much I appreciated that.
Later.
Hug him later.
Another room filled with comic books greeted us at the bottom of the stairs. The goblin crouched, running her fingers along the weathered spines of some omnibus editions on a bottom shelf.
Click. Click. Click. The bookshelf vanished into the floor, revealing a door with peeling black paint.
