"Broken people don't hide from their monsters. Broken people let themselves get eaten by their monsters."
-Francesca Zappia, "Eliza and Her Mobsters"
I watched the girl walk away with a weird expression almost like curiosity. Misrey said it was time to go back inside the Gate, but I couldn't. I knew I should because I do better in the dark than the light, but this girl...Nicole...intrigued me too much. I meant what I said about finding another demon or something to try and scare her, but I wanted to figure her out first.
After about an hour, I went after her. She wasn't that far away, surprisingly. Any creature from the Gate could come and rob the people of their lives, yet, they were sleeping fitfully in their tents and nestled tightly in their sleeping bags. I went to one tent and opened up the zipper a little to see her there lying with the other girl I did not care to remember the name of. Nicole wasn't asleep, but staring up at the top of the tent with wide eyes.
She must've heard the zipper because she sat up and stared at me. I looked back into her green eyes, hypnotized as she seemed to be with me. Her hair was braided down her back unlike earlier and she seemed more scared now than when we were at the Gate. Glancing at the girl, Nicole slipped out of her sleeping bag and crawled towards me slowly. I leaned away from the opening I made and watched it open more to let her slim form slip through before closing the tent. When she turned, the breath caught in my chest as she glowed in the moonlight.
She wasn't in jeans anymore, but sweats and a t-shirt. Very loose-fitting clothes that looked comfortable. I on the other hand wore a muscle shirt with leather pants and boots. On my back were a pair of swords that I didn't need, but had. My iron fangs were enough weapons for me. I backed away from her and leaned against a tree, watching her glance around at the world around us. She seemed uncomfortable for some reason, yet less so out here in the open than in the tent. I couldn't understand why...
"Who are you?" she asked softly.
"I could ask the same about you," I say and she glanced up at me, getting dazed a bit. She swayed on her feet before glancing away. "I'm none of your concern, Nicole."
"Then, what are you?"
"Something you should run away from," I hiss. She raises her brows at me as if she didn't know why. "I can kill you easily enough if I wanted to, Nicole. The reason I don't is that you aren't afraid of me, and I want to know why."
She shrugged, crossing her arms in front of her. "Maybe you're not frightening me. Maybe I need to see what you are in order to run away."
I smirk, shaking my head. "Somehow, I don't know if that will happen. You just saw a Geryon and a Qiqirn...maybe my true form won't frighten you a bit."
Nicole tilts her head to the side and studies me. "Tell me what you are if you won't show me."
"I don't think so."
"Why not?"
I give a dark chuckle. "First of all, I don't have time for it. Second of all, I don't think you'd know what I am or be able to comprehend the details. You're just too..." I searched for the right word, "innocent."
"Am I so innocent that you're afraid of telling me?" she asked harshly.
"No. I don't care if you know about me or not, but I want to test your limits first..."
"My limits?" she asked softly. I nod. "By sending more monsters to terrorize me?"
"I won't send them to you," I say and straighten. "You'll come to them if you want to see what I have in store. If you don't show, then they will wait until you do and we'll see what happens. I will make them stay near the Gate for as long as it takes for you to see them."
Her eyes fluttered for a moment, her lashes creating butterfly wings on her cheeks. 'I'll come every Friday. Maybe with others, maybe not." She pauses and glances at the tent behind her. "Why couldn't they see them?"
I start backing away slowly. "That is an answer for another time. Watch yourself, Nicole."
"Wait!" she gasped and ran up to me. I stopped and looked down at her. She was at least a head smaller than me and her big green eyes didn't do much for her innocence. "Tell me your name then."
"Which name? My creature's or mine?"
She shrugs. "Does it matter?"
"It most certainly does."
"Which one are you willing to give?" she asks.
I smirk at her and take a step back. "Neither, but I will give you mine. I am Ezra."
She mouths my name with her lips and turns it over in her mind. "Ezra...the Not-human who looks like a human."
I nod and turn away, walking back to the Gate where Misrey was waiting patiently.
It was Thursday now and I went outside the Gate for a snack. Humans can't really reside inside the Gate since their fears would stop their hearts, so I needed something sweet and delicious. As usual, Misrey followed until we got to the forest tree line, then disappeared quietly. I found the nearest house where I haven't snacked on before and jumped up to the second story to a child's bedroom.
I had just bitten into the girl when I heard a voice outside. Covering up the unconscious body, I snuck to the window and took a look down at the street. It was Nicole's friend. She was on her phone talking to someone and she was heading straight to the forest. "Yes, I am! You can't stop me, Simmons!"
I narrowed my eyes and climbed out, shutting the window carefully and stalking after her.
"What do you mean he won't be there?... So, you're saying I won't find anything there except that metal contraption? I think you're hallucinating!"
Getting closer, I heard the voice on the other end of the line. "Hannah, it's dangerous! You don't understand—"
"I do understand, now that you've told me your secret!"
"That's not what I meant, and you know it!"
The girl stopped and sighed. "Look, all I'm doing is proving my brothers who's strongest. Once I do, I'll be right back in the dorm and in bed beside you. You don't really think something is going on with that thing do you?"
"I don't know, but I know you shouldn't go near it."
"Well, too bad!" Hannah hung up on the person on the other end and sighed. "Monsters? Seriously Nicole, at twenty-five, you're afraid of monsters?" She shook her head and started walking again.
Afraid of monsters? I thought. Nicole isn't afraid of anything! She almost cuddled with a damn Qiqirn! She almost touched me, knowing I wasn't human but something dangerous. What the hell is Hannah talking about? Unless there is another Nicole, but I didn't think so...
I followed Hannah into the forest and back to the Gate, slipping her phone from her purse and putting it in my pocket. You never know sometimes... When we were in sight of the Gate, she slowed down a bit and looked about. "Hello?" she called.
Misrey appeared to me, but the human didn't seem to notice what was in front of her.
"Hello!"
"Is she stupid or ignorant?" Misrey asked me as Hannah walked up to the Gate again.
"Well, little one, I think she's just like any other human who fell captive to the Gate's malevolent beauty. I mean, how could they resist such a thing they have been warned not to go near?" I said and stood back as Hannah got swept away in her fears. She screamed...thrashing around in some creature's giant arms as it growled and roared, scaring her completely into stillness. Her body dropped to the ground at the Gate's entrance, thrown out by whatever was on the other side...an ogre is my guess, but you can never be sure...crumpled in a heap with her eyes wide and lifeless.
The phone buzzed in my pocket and I took it out, looking at the screen that lit up. Nicole. It buzzed again and I flipped it open to see the screen read, "Incoming call from Nicole Simmons. Press Phone to answer."
I obeyed. Putting it up to my ear, I almost jumped at the shouting voice. "Hannah! Please tell me you didn't do what I thought you did! Please tell me you're alive! Please tell me—"
I hung up.
"Who was that?" Misrey asked.
I frowned. "Our little brave girl who told her friend she's afraid of monsters."
"Nicole?" I nodded and slipped the phone back into my pocket.
Walking up to Hannah, I found her neck was also broken. "Grab Rhas. Have him throw her body to the hellhounds. Leave no remnants of her ever being here."
"What about Nicole?"
"What about her?"
Misrey shrugs. "The girl was her friend, wasn't she? She'll come looking for her eventually."
I smirk. "Maybe. We'll see soon enough. For now, have Rhas do what I said. We'll figure out Nicole's situation later. I have monsters to gather.
Frogu and Celiana were in place, hidden behind the trees while I watched for Nicole. Something told me she'd be a raging spit-fire tonight, but that didn't stop the plan. If Frogu wouldn't scare her, then Celiana would with her talk of the dead. Frogu, although fierce and strong, could act like a kitten when spoken to correctly. He knew it, and he knew I knew, which is why I told him not to fall into any traps tonight. He promised, and I just muttered that he better not.
As predicted, Nicole came storming through the forest, not even trying to act like she was before. Her green eyes were ablaze and her hair flew behind her in waves of black that shone in the moonlight. Her jeans were skin tight and her shirt was fitting, but still protected much of her femininity. I signaled for the two to go and with a puff of smoke, Frogu lumbered forward.
Nicole stopped in her tracks at seeing the large dragon. Her eyes went wide like last night and she stood stalk still. Frogu gave a large roar before glaring down at his prey. Then Nicole saw the hag... And I saw the first sign of horror on her face. I grin.
"What are you doing up there?" she hissed.
I frown, confused by her question. The hag seemed to ignore her because she slipped off Frogu and took hold of Nicole's shirt by the hem. "The last pair of clothes I stole from a woman was barely enough to cover her slim body! She was sent directly to Purgatory for being a disgusting creature!"
Nicole frowned now and crossed her arms. "And that concerns me why?"
"You don't want to go to Purgatory, do you, deary?"
Frogu made his way around Nicole and started sniffing her up and down while she glared down at the hag. "Who cares about Purgatory? You're stealing clothes off of dead people? What does that have to do with anything?"
"The heavier the clothing, the less guilty you are."
"Remind me to wear a heavy coat and snow pants when I die then," Nicole hissed then looked around. "Where's Ezra? I know he's close! Ezra!"
Celiana spun around to face me, shrugging her shoulders in defeat. Frogu blew fire at Nicole in determination to scare her, but she turned and held up a finger at him. I smirked at the way he cowered beneath her heavy gaze. "He's only playing with you, dear!" Celiana said.
"I don't care!" Nicole hissed and gave Frogu one last glare before turning. I stepped out from beneath the shadows and walked up to my dragon. "Why didn't you come when I called you?" she growled at me.
"Because I, unlike these two, don't give a shit if you give me the death glare or not. I'm older and more dangerous than you. I don't take orders from a human and will never be overpowered by one either."
Nicole seethed while I pet Frogu on the head gently. "I could have been killed!" she snarled.
I shrug. "And that is my problem...why?"
She blinked in surprise and gulped audibly. "Where's Hannah?"
"Who's Hannah?"
"My friend who was with me and the men from last week. She came here last night and never returned." She looked away and glanced around. "I want to see her again."
Celiana opened her mouth, but I gave her a hard glare to which she bowed her head and kept quiet. I put my hard eyes on Nicole. "If she came here last night, then the creatures who were here probably scared her to death."
"But Hannah—"
"Literally."
She took a step back and hugged herself. "She's dead?"
"More than you want to know," I say and clap my hands once. "Same time next week?" I ask cheerfully.
Nicole bows her head and I see tears run down her cheeks. Celiana looks at me in question, but I cross my arms and glower at the human. She must've finally processed my question because she says, "Maybe."
"Great! I bring the creatures and you bring the fear?"
Her green eyes glance at me from beneath her lashes and I see what Hannah was talking about on the phone. "I need to go, Ezra. Maybe if I'm back next week, we can meet up, but it's not exactly looking that way."
"Why not?"
"I'm going home."
I furrow my brows. "Home? Where?"
She shakes her head. "It doesn't matter. I can't live here anymore."
"Why?"
Now, Nicole looks angry. "Just leave me alone, Ezra! I'm not in the mood to tell you anything else about me!" With that, she starts back towards the city.
I blink in surprise. Celiana gives a dark chuckle and shakes her head. Misrey appears and glances at the three of us. "Where's the body?"
"Walked off after smart mouthing Ezra!" Celiana explained. I glare at her. "Well, don't look at me! Go stop her!"
"You and I both know why that will not happen," I say flatly.
"Oh, forget the consequences! Misrey and I will handle that!"
"We will?"
Celian nodded emphatically. "We will! Now go, Ezra! Ride Frogu if you must!"
Frogu and I both glance at each other and I shake my head. "I'll be fine. She isn't that far away." Turning on my heel, I start walking quickly after the human girl who took me completely by surprise.
~~~
Datsue-bae (Celiana)
Definition: An old hag who steals clothes off the dead to see if they were good or bad in life.
Dilong (Frogu)
Definition: Dragon creature