Page 11 of The Monster of Darkspell Comics
He startles at my turn of phrase, but his brows somehow inch even lower as he studies me with displeasure. “I don’t accept prostitution as a form of payment for your debt. And no—what is this roller skating you speak of?”
I nearly choke on my gum, embarrassment making my cheeks hot. He actually thought I was suggesting that we... that he and I...
“Ew,” I say, my nose wrinkling playfully. There’s no way I’m admitting to anyone that I’ve begun to find him appealing as fuck. “Don’t make me ralph. How ancient are you anyway?” I tease. Shaking my head, I tap the flyer in his hand. “Roller skating is rad. I kid you not. The roller rink is totally tubular on the weekend, but that might be too much for a first timer ancient dude, even if you are a demon. Technically, Sunday night is considered the start of the weekday. So, tonight will be perfect.”
“Rad,” he echoes. “Tubular. Dude. I have no idea what, in the name of hell, you are speaking of.”
“You aresoold,” I sigh. “Just... trust me, okay.”
Chapter 10
Pashar
Iknew I shouldn’t have trusted her. The smell of cheap food, stale beer, and rank gym socks in the air makes my stomach curdle with disgust. Even the loud music being played is of an obnoxious sort that mingles with the sounds of the arcade and the shouts of the guests in a way that scrapes across my nerves ceaselessly. But it is the strange shoes fastened to four wheels that the clerk at the desk hands me that really makes me believe that Fanny must be the spawn of something unholy bent on tormenting me.
“No,” I growl as I stubbornly cross my arms over my chest instead of taking the suicide shoes.
An uncertain look crosses the young male werewolf’s face, which should have been at least a little pleasing except that he glances toward Fanny, seeking help from the damned female. He’s also looking a little too long at her, which makes me want to rip his eyeballs out.
“Come on, Pashar,” Fanny urges, dragging the words out in a way that makes my eye twitch.
My gaze shifts to her. “You cannot seriously expectmeto put those on my feet.”
“Trust me, it’s fun! Afterward, we can grab a couple slices and chill.” She smiles at me hopefully, and I feel my prickly resolve starting to crumble.
“I’m not going to enjoy this,” I inform her as I take the skates. “How long are you expecting me to do this for, anyway?”
“Oh, tonight is Moonlight Madness; we are open all night on account of the full moon,” the male explains cheerfully.
“Isn’t the full moon tomorrow night?” Fanny asks, peering curiously at him.
He nods happily, cheerful as a damned lap dog and just as eager to cuddle up tomyFanny. I fight back the urge to throttle him. “It is! We are closed tomorrow night and the next two nights following, so be sure to enjoy your skate!”
Fanny nods quizzically and appears to be ready to fire another question, but I grip her forearm and give it a slight squeeze, bringing her attention back to me, where it belongs. “Do you want to skate or not? Or would you rather stand here yapping?”
She gives me a startled look but promptly grins with renewed excitement. “I just knew you would get into the spirit. Come on! Oh, bye... uh...”
“Lucus,” the male calls after her, and I’m pretty sure I hear a couple of my teeth break with how tightly I clench my jaw.
“Dude really seems to be into the moon,” Fanny observes as we head over to the benches off to the side of the polished rink. She plops down on the bench and immediately toes off her shoes. “He’s nice.”
“He’s going to end up as a nicer throw rug this full moon if he doesn’t watch himself,” I growl as I lower myself beside her.
Although I have no actual shoes to remove, I make it a point to make it appear as if I’m removing my shoes as I unravel the illusion around my feet. Using the skates as a model, I draw the etheric mists from the air around my feet, encasing them in something identical that I can actually wear on my feet. It’s still uncomfortable since I’m not accustomed to wearing much in the way of actual clothes and definitely never anything confining my feet and toe claws. Already, I’m starting to seriously regret my life decisions.
“Throw rug?” she queries, her expression turning thoughtful. “I don’t get it.”
“Werewolves may be able to hide their wolf features during the rest of the month, but not on the full moon,” I explained. “They go full wolf, so that’s the best time to get a good quality pelt from them.” I allow myself as moment as I mentally savor the image of a good werewolf pelt on my living room floor.
“There are werewolves here?” she says in awe, her head whipping around.
My hand comes beneath her chin, cupping her face as my thumb and forefinger put light pressure on her jaws, and gently turn her head back to me. “You are with a demon, and you find werewolves exciting?”
I can’t quite keep the note of disdain from my voice. Fanny giggles in response, however, and gently extricates herself from my hold.
“Trust me, you’re exciting enough,” she assures me. “I just didn’t realize that you aren’t the only non-human around here.”
I bark out a laugh. Sometimes I forget how painfully oblivious humans can be. It’s easy for them to ignore the unusual and unexpected. Their minds just mentally adjust to it, making everything seem normal unless it’s blatantly not.
