needed,
sir,” I replied. “Goodnight.”
Before I got into
bed, I padded to the covered doorway at the rear of the room. The hide covering
the opening was soft and heavy, but a faint, cool draft escaped the seams. I curiously
lifted the edge to peek inside.
The leather
covered a narrow crevice in the rock that began a dark passageway sloping
gently down and then disappearing around a corner. No light was inside except
what came from my own candlestick.
I dropped the leather
with a shiver. How far away was Merrick? What was there with him?
Returning to the
bed, I felt completely spooked. I looked around the quiet room with sheepish
anxiety, hoping Merrick wasn’t too far, and that there were no ghouls between
us. I didn’t mind if he was one, but at that moment I wasn’t interested in
meeting any others.
I snuffed the
candle and lay back, sighing.
I was back in the
bed.
It felt like my
brain tried to pick up right where I’d left off, thinking about the night
before. But I’d all but concluded it was just a dream. I pushed it all out of
mind as best I could, though it was hard to ignore the memory of how powerful
the dream had been – how I’d never felt something like that before.
Enough!
I put my hand over
the source of my trouble, as if that would prevent anything. This was getting
exhausting. It certainly couldn’t last forever. Sooner or later, I’d get used
to Merrick, and to the fact that there were no girls around. My body would
settle down, and I’d forget all about these strange little urges.
Sooner or later.
Chapter 10
I woke up to the
sounds of crows and the sensation of smooth, cool skin beneath my cheek.
Oh, no.
Merrick was gently
extricating himself from my arms.
Oh, no .
Blinking in bewilderment
as the man slipped out of my embrace and left me with one arm reaching across
his side of the bed where it seemed his chest had been, I was too stunned to
move a muscle before he left the room.
Oh, God. How long
had I had my arms around him?
My eyes felt
funny, and I shut them tightly. True, embarrassment on this level was worth a
tear or two, but I didn’t need to feel any worse about my manliness.
For God’s sake,
how much humiliation was I going to put myself through?
Merrick was in his
chair when I slowly came out of the room, and greeted me as normal.
“Good morning,” I
mumbled, and cleared my throat. I served myself my breakfast and sat across
from him.
“We’ll be
journeying on foot today.” He leaned back in his chair and took a drink of tea.
“There may be mushrooms to gather near the creek.”
I nodded, finding
it still a bit hard to speak through my embarrassment.
We set out on a
different path from the one I usually took, one that led us through the damp
savannah and into denser forest.
I could no longer
stand it. “I’m afraid I disturbed your sleep last night, sir.”
“Not at all,” he
replied calmly.
I shut my mouth.
There was nothing more to say, I supposed. That would have to do it.
We went into a
little valley, then up the other side. The terrain became difficult. I could
see no path. I watched Merrick’s sure feet, his confident movements beneath his
cloak. “Are there more like you, Master Merrick?”
He always paused
before answering my questions on this matter. “Yes.”
“Do you know them?”
“Yes. But not
here.”
“Are they kind
people?”
“I wouldn’t say
so.”
“Ah.” So he was
the benevolent one.
“When you lose
mortality,” he said, “You gain strength and lose consequence. It does not bring
out the best in anyone.”
“You can’t die at
all?” I asked, intrigued.
“Not easily.”
I kept following
him. I was thinking I would have had it figured out, if not for one thing that
didn’t make sense. And it didn’t seem right to just come out and ask him. Do
you drink blood, sir? No. That didn’t seem altogether polite. “Does it
affect you when the moon is full?”
He glanced at me,
or his hood
sir,” I replied. “Goodnight.”
Before I got into
bed, I padded to the covered doorway at the rear of the room. The hide covering
the opening was soft and heavy, but a faint, cool draft escaped the seams. I curiously
lifted the edge to peek inside.
The leather
covered a narrow crevice in the rock that began a dark passageway sloping
gently down and then disappearing around a corner. No light was inside except
what came from my own candlestick.
I dropped the leather
with a shiver. How far away was Merrick? What was there with him?
Returning to the
bed, I felt completely spooked. I looked around the quiet room with sheepish
anxiety, hoping Merrick wasn’t too far, and that there were no ghouls between
us. I didn’t mind if he was one, but at that moment I wasn’t interested in
meeting any others.
I snuffed the
candle and lay back, sighing.
I was back in the
bed.
It felt like my
brain tried to pick up right where I’d left off, thinking about the night
before. But I’d all but concluded it was just a dream. I pushed it all out of
mind as best I could, though it was hard to ignore the memory of how powerful
the dream had been – how I’d never felt something like that before.
Enough!
I put my hand over
the source of my trouble, as if that would prevent anything. This was getting
exhausting. It certainly couldn’t last forever. Sooner or later, I’d get used
to Merrick, and to the fact that there were no girls around. My body would
settle down, and I’d forget all about these strange little urges.
Sooner or later.
Chapter 10
I woke up to the
sounds of crows and the sensation of smooth, cool skin beneath my cheek.
Oh, no.
Merrick was gently
extricating himself from my arms.
Oh, no .
Blinking in bewilderment
as the man slipped out of my embrace and left me with one arm reaching across
his side of the bed where it seemed his chest had been, I was too stunned to
move a muscle before he left the room.
Oh, God. How long
had I had my arms around him?
My eyes felt
funny, and I shut them tightly. True, embarrassment on this level was worth a
tear or two, but I didn’t need to feel any worse about my manliness.
For God’s sake,
how much humiliation was I going to put myself through?
Merrick was in his
chair when I slowly came out of the room, and greeted me as normal.
“Good morning,” I
mumbled, and cleared my throat. I served myself my breakfast and sat across
from him.
“We’ll be
journeying on foot today.” He leaned back in his chair and took a drink of tea.
“There may be mushrooms to gather near the creek.”
I nodded, finding
it still a bit hard to speak through my embarrassment.
We set out on a
different path from the one I usually took, one that led us through the damp
savannah and into denser forest.
I could no longer
stand it. “I’m afraid I disturbed your sleep last night, sir.”
“Not at all,” he
replied calmly.
I shut my mouth.
There was nothing more to say, I supposed. That would have to do it.
We went into a
little valley, then up the other side. The terrain became difficult. I could
see no path. I watched Merrick’s sure feet, his confident movements beneath his
cloak. “Are there more like you, Master Merrick?”
He always paused
before answering my questions on this matter. “Yes.”
“Do you know them?”
“Yes. But not
here.”
“Are they kind
people?”
“I wouldn’t say
so.”
“Ah.” So he was
the benevolent one.
“When you lose
mortality,” he said, “You gain strength and lose consequence. It does not bring
out the best in anyone.”
“You can’t die at
all?” I asked, intrigued.
“Not easily.”
I kept following
him. I was thinking I would have had it figured out, if not for one thing that
didn’t make sense. And it didn’t seem right to just come out and ask him. Do
you drink blood, sir? No. That didn’t seem altogether polite. “Does it
affect you when the moon is full?”
He glanced at me,
or his hood
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