Page 11 of Heartsong
Waving her hand, she told him, “Go around to the other side, I’ll open the bigger window.”
Anna heard him grumble something but didn’t stay to listen. In a haze, she entered her dark apartment, wondering if she was crazy to let him in.
She stood in the dark of her living room, her cat Captain chirping happily and rubbing all over her feet once he realized she was home.
“I know, bud,” she said numbly. “It’s been a weird night.”
Her feet didn’t want to move, gripped with indecision. Her phone felt heavy in her back pocket as her heart began to beat fast and reedy. The worst of the pain was fading from her head, though she could count on getting woozy any minute now. Woozy often meant sleepy, and the best thing to do would be to just go to bed.
She watched as Frey landed without a sound on the fire escape through the main living room windows. He cut a dark, hulking figure, like something out of nightmares and fairy tales. The sharp tips of his wings and horns were distinctly inhuman, and she knew the moment those gray eyes found her through the darkness, a slight green glow to the pupil like a cat’s. Those pinpricks of reflective green made her shiver.
He did nothing but stand there, waiting. For her.
Anna sucked in a breath, stomach clenched with dread.
“If he does anything sketchy, scratch the shit out of him,” she told Captain before creeping over to the large window.
It took a bit of work getting the old thing open, but she only needed an inch. Big, claw-tipped fingers wrapped around the sash from the outside, and Anna gulped as he easily opened the creaky window. She retreated into the dark apartment, giving him room to maneuver his big body inside.
Feeling Captain at her feet, she knelt to pick him up and give her hands something to do.
She didn’t know how he’d manage with those big wings of his, but she watched in amazement as they slipped under his arms to wrap around his chest, the curves of the wing claws hooking together like a clasp. He ducked inside with far more grace than she’d managed, fitting his body through the opening without hardly touching the frame. He shut the window again behind him, the smallsnitchof it closing quiet but resounding.
Alone inside with a gargoyle.
She buried her face in Captain’s fuzzy belly.
“Where are your lights, Anna?” Frey asked, padding further into the room. “I know humans no longer use candles, but I do not know how you make the light.”
His not knowing how to use lights somehow both baffled and calmed her somewhat. “Here,” she said, walking over to the main switch and turning on the overhead light.
Frey winced at the sudden brightness, scowling up at the fixture. “Interesting. It is what you call electricity?”
“Yeah.”
He turned a look on her, but she just shrugged, carrying Captain into her small kitchen. She didn’t have the wherewithal to explain modern inventions to an ancient statue-come-to-life right now. In fact, if she thought about it any harder, she’d start laughing hysterically.
She went through the motions of feeding Captain, who didn’t seem fazed by their houseguest. Anna focused on her movements, trying to keep the wooziness at bay.
The gargoyle didn’t help by announcing, “I will check your dwelling for dangers.”
“There’s not—” But he was already gone, straight into her bedroom, tail lashing behind him.
Her apartment was small, one of a handful of one-bedroom units on the top floor of her building. A living room, kitchen with dining alcove and banquette, bedroom, and bathroom were the only rooms, yet he took his time doing a full security sweep.
Anna watched him from the corner of her eye, unsure what to do.
She’d just pulled out her phone to check the time when he appeared before her, an unhappy frown on his craggy face. She jumped at his sudden appearance, and his mouth drew even further downward.
“You scared me.”
His nostrils flared and flattened, not unlike a cat’s.
“You are sure this dwelling is secure.”
“I mean, yes? I’ve never had a break-in before.”
He looked down at her, unimpressed. “It is not an ideal location.”
