Page 18 of Aberrant Monsters
Truth was, I was protected from the Order. They couldn’t touch me, but Telarion’s otherness could, and it was slowly infecting me. We still needed a solution, so why not go to the Order directly and get one? Why lie to me?
Something was wrong. Something felt off, and suddenly coming here seemed like a bad idea. I needed to speak to my uncle about this. I had to come clean about what I’d discovered and find out the true motives behind his lies.
He loved me. That much couldn’t be faked, so I needed to give him the benefit of the doubt and hear him out.
“Can you help us?” Telarion asked Elina. “Do you know how to separate us?”
Her eyes looked huge behind her spectacles as she stared at him. “Oh…Oh, dears, no, I don’t.”
“In that case, you are of no use except as food.” His maw elongated, thick tongue dropping out.
Elina made a strangled, horrified sound.
“Don’t!” I grabbed his arm.
“Hungry,” he growled. I ignored the sight of his ravenous maw and the drool spilling from it, focusing instead on his emerald eyes, eyes that remained human and sentient.
“Is she evil?”
He made a low rumbling sound of frustration.
“Telarion, is she evil?”
He looked down at the cowering witch. “Not evil.”
“Then we leave her. We’ll find someone else.”
His head swung my way. “We better, or I’ll be feeding on you tonight, and this time it won’t be quick.” His face shifted back into the sharp-jawed, beautifully feral one I was accustomed to, and he moved closer, his breath hot on my face. “This time I’ll take my time.”
I needed to find him a meal. And fast.
six
Silent Hill Trail was the worst part of the city. A dangerous place of twisted streets, dark, shadowy alleys, and doorways that led to forbidden pleasures, most of which were illegal.
Not even the Night Guild ventured here. Crime needed a home, a place it could run rampant and satisfy its needs. Silent Hill Trail was that place.
The crime lords here had a deal with the guild and human PD—they kept their activities out of the main city, and in return, Silent Hill Trail was left alone.
The crime lords ruled here, and the residents pledged affiliation to them. I didn’t understand how it worked, but I knew that if you had no affiliation to protect you, then you walked the streets of Silent Hill Trail at your own risk.
Just as I was doing now.
Telarion needed to feed before we headed back, and this was the quickest way to do it.
“Ah, the air here reeks of depravity,” Telarion said. “Why have you not told me of this place before now?”
“What, so you can have an all-you-can-eat buffet? Don’t you think that kind of feasting will be noticed?”
“And you think I’ll refrain from rampaging if you’re here?”
God, I hoped so. “You want to remain undetected by the Order, then you need to be smart about who you…how you…”
“Kill?”
“God, I hate this.”
“This, my tiny human, is a public service. I will be cleaning up the streets, one evil human at a time.”
