Page 15 of Thane's Demon
I told myself I was imagining it.
My mind was playing tricks on me.
Leftover fear. Leftover adrenaline.
That was all.
But as I walked, the warmth did not fade. It followed me quietly, almost gently, settling behind me like a presence one step out of sight. It did not feel harsh or threatening. In fact, the sensation was the opposite, something almost protective. Almost careful, brushing the back of my neck with a strange sense of familiarity.
I carried my notebook pressed against my chest, shifting my backpack strap further up my shoulder as I moved through the busier streets, and whispering half-formed lines of poetry in my mind to keep myself grounded. The city was alive aroundme, people rushing past with hurried expressions, cars honking, street vendors setting up their stalls, the smell of fried dough drifting through the air. Yet none of it settled inside me.
My thoughts kept drifting back to the alley, to the impossible strength in the stranger’s arms, to the blue flicker in his eyes. To the way my fear had vanished the moment he stepped between me and the man who tried to hurt me.
He had been terrifying.
But in the way storms were terrifying, not monsters.
In the way power was terrifying, not violence.
And I couldn’t understand why that made me feel safe.
As I crossed the park near campus, I felt the presence behind me again, stronger this time, like a shadow stepping closer. My breath caught in my throat, not in fear, but in recognition. Impossible recognition, because I had no reason to believe it was him, yet somehow, I did.
My steps slowed, and I turned. But the path was empty.
A soft breeze brushed against my cheek, warm despite the morning air, and I closed my eyes for a moment. Now letting myself feel it fully, letting myself entertain the impossible thought that he might be there… watching… guarding… keeping the distance I sensed between us last night.
I whispered into the quiet space around me, barely audible even to myself, a question that had been echoing in my mind since the moment he disappeared into the shadows.
“Who are you?”
The breeze carried the whisper away, but the warmth stayed.
And deep down, somewhere I did not understand, I felt certain he had heard me.
Or maybe that was just…
Wishful thinking.
8
THE UNWANTED PULL
THANE
Ishould have left the alley the moment her footsteps disappeared, should have turned from the scene like I always did. Letting death fade behind me. As easily as a shadow at sunrise, cold and unbothered and untouched by whatever horror I had left in my wake. But instead I stood there far longer than I should have, staring at the space where her small trembling form had been moments earlier. Feeling something inside me ache in a way I did not recognize.
My demon pressed itself against the inside of my chest, pacing and snarling as if I had betrayed it simply by letting her walk away. The ground still held the shape of where I landed, the air still carried the faint scent of fear and blood. Yet all I could taste was her, soft and warm and impossibly pure. A scent so gentle yet it cut through the filth of this city and lodged itself under my skin.
‘Mine.
Ours.
Bring her back.
Follow her.
Keep her.’
