Chapter 3 - Hollyn

A metal leviathan screamed at me as I stepped off the edge of the ground. I stumbled a bit as the ground fell away from under me. I stretched my hand out to catch my balance. I slammed a hand against his nose. "Hey, I'm walking here." I shoved two spread fingers up in the air at the man inside the beast.

The man behind me laughed before he caught me around the waist. "Yeah, that's traffic. They can kill you."

I shrugged. Right. Of course. I nodded. "I knew that." No, I hadn't, but he didn't need to -

"No, you didn't." He smiled.

Jerk.

His mouth tipped up in a smile that I kinda wanted to bite. "Do they not have cars where you come from?"

I could listen to this man read a recipe and find my first sexual satisfaction, I think. It sounded like a heavy wind rushing through the mountain passes. A low sound that was both comforting and exciting.

I shook my head as I chuckled. "You mean the magical wall? No. No carsth there." I grimaced at my impaired speech. "Do you know of any tooth doctorsth? While sthounding like Annie from A2 wasth kinda funny at firsth, I'm really not into it anymore."

His dark eyes glittered. The lights from the passing beasts-I mean cars-alternately lit up and shadowed his face. His swarthy skin was a beautiful counterpoint. "Dentists? Sure. We have them. Lucy has a lisp then, huh?" He angled me down the path. "Let me get back to my home. Get you cleaned up. We can see what kind of damage we're looking at."

I nodded. I pulled up the pants I'd been able to swipe from Zee. The vine belt I'd made was starting to fray. I needed to find some replacements. And soon.

I looked at the man next to me. One of the few who was actually taller than I was. I trailed my gaze down his body. Now see...I wouldn't have minded having him naked at our new moon celebrations. Not an extra ounce of fat or flub anywhere. His belly looked like a ladder of muscles I kinda wanted to climb.

His black shorts hugged to his waist where his hip bones disappeared under said shorts. While he had some hair on his chest, it wasn't a matted forest like the men from the Oaks. I grimaced as memories tripped through my brain.

"Not a fan of male chests?" he asked, a laugh highlighting his words.

I shook my head. Wanted to slap myself in the face. "I like yoursth. It'sth not too hairy."

"So glad it meets with your approval." He snickered.

I nodded. "You're welcome." I dipped my chin at him the way I'd seen Lucinda do to the men who wanted in her bed.

He laughed out loud this time. "What's your name?"

I raised a single brow. "Hollyn. What'sth yoursth?" I looked up at him.

"Thane."

"Greetingsth and sthalutationsth, Thane." I made the greeting arc from left to right.

"Thank you." He at least tried to smother his laugh that time.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Okay, fill me in. You sthaid I'm in Triport. Where isth that? And there are carsth. Are there any other differenthesth?"

He stopped walking.

I had to backtrack when I realized he wasn't with me anymore. "Thane? Are you in a trancth?" I waved a hand in front of his face. He seemed to go out of his brain quite a bit. "You sthtill in there?" I reached out, about to knock on his forehead.

Blinking rapidly, he shook his head and stepped back. "Triport. One of the biggest cities in North America." He peered at me, his eyes narrowed. "How old are you?"

I crossed my arms. "That'sth kinda rude. How old are you?"

"Thirty-four." He mirrored my stance, raised his eyebrows. "Your age?"

I glared at him. "Thirty."

He nodded, a smile tugged at his mouth. "So you count years the same way, at least."

Hmph.

I rubbed my hands up and down my arms. It was colder here in Triport than it had been in Alder Valley. I looked up into the night sky. Heaved a relieved sigh. At least the stars hadn't changed.

"Let's get you home. You can shower, warm up. I'll call my brothers. We can brainstorm."

I nodded. I just prayed to the stars that he wasn't a bad man. I mean, sure, I could kill him. But he was so pretty. It would be a sin against the earth to destroy that beauty.

He picked up the pace a bit.

I kept up with him. The faster pace got my blood pumping, chased away the chills.

"So you still haven't answered me. Not really, anyway. Where are you from?" he asked as we jogged down the pathway.

"Alder Valley."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him shake his head. "I've never heard of it."

I snorted mentally. Of course, you haven't. You're not a crazy person eager to give up all your personal rights and mental safeties.

We continued on in silence.

At one point, I thought I heard him talking, but when I looked over at him, his mouth wasn't moving. His gaze was bright and happy. Well, at least brighter and happier than before.

"What are you sthimiling at?" I asked him after we'd gone a little longer in silence. It was getting a little weird.

He shook his head. "Just thinking."

"About what? Maybe I need a laugh."

He burst into laughter. "Maybe some other time." He pointed at a building that speared up into the dark night. Lights at even intervals showcased the wonder of the accomplishment. "This is me."

Oh crapsticks. Maybe he was stupid. "You're not a building. I don't care how many timesth you sthay it." I shook my head.

He snorted, the sound light in the quiet.

I looked around. There were no cars out. When had we passed away from all the stinking metal beasts?

"No, this is where I live."

"I knew that." Crap. I really needed to stop letting random thoughts just slide out of my mouth.

"No, you didn't. But that's all right. Come on." He put his hand behind me. I could feel the heat of it even though he didn't make contact with my body.

I sighed internally. Maybe he was a good person.

As we crossed through the doors, a man in a black jacket with bright golden buttons stepped up. "Good evening, Mister Ladon. Enjoy your r-" The man looked at me, his words cut off. His gray eyebrows rose while his eyes widened. "Do you need an ambulance, sir?"

Thane waved the man off. "No, thank you. Just an accident. It looks worse than it really is." He ushered me through a set of gold doors, that when they opened, slid into the wall. We stepped through. White buttons lined the wall. He hit the top one that had PTH written next to it.

After he fished in his pockets, he pulled out a small white rectangle. He laid it against the black shimmering square above the PTH button. A red light came out and slid over the card.

"What isth thisth?" I asked him.

"Called an elevator. Makes it so you don't have to take the stairs. Forty floors of stairs is quite the feat."

I nodded, even though I had no idea what he was talking about. We didn't have stairs in Alder Valley. At least that I knew of. But yay me, keeping my mouth shut and not spilling my ignorance at his feet.

The room started moving.

My eyes widened right before I jumped in his arms. "What the stharsth isth happening!?"

He laughed as he adjusted me in his arms. "It's an elevator. It's a small car that moves on cables. It's very safe."

I glared at him from inches away. "You're laughing at me again, aren't you?" I wiggled, tried to get down.

"Maybe a little. But not at you, at you. More at the things that seem new to you." He moved his hands as I lowered my feet back to the floor.

His hand brushed the skin of my calf.

That's when the world exploded.