Wielder

Chapter 13 - Wandering

Michael couldn't sleep. Despite his exhaustion, he couldn't shut out the ambient sounds of the others in the rooftop lounge. Every scrape of a foot on the floor, every sniffle and cough and snore pulled him back into a state of alertness. So when, maybe a half hour into their stay, Darrel pushed out of his chair and threw his pack over his shoulder, Michael heard him. 

   He didn't even bother lifting his arms or opening his eyes as he called out, "You're just going to leave without bothering to say goodbye?"

   The thief froze, turning slowly around as Michael cracked open one eye. An embarrassed smile flashed across Darrel's face. "I'm not great with goodbyes."

   "I already told you: I'm not going to hold it against you."

   "Still." Darrel shuffled his feet, gesturing to a small bundle wrapped in cloth on the ground by Alie's feet. "I wrote you some directions for how to get back to Safeton. The last of my granola cake is there too, and what coin I could spare. It's not a lot, so you'll have to spend conservatively, but you shouldn't have much of a problem with that if Alie can imagine whatever you need."

   Michael's eyebrows rose. "You didn't have to do that."

   "Well, I did get you involved in a lot of unnecessary trouble." He scratched at the back of his head, casting his gaze at everything in the lounge except Michael. His discomfort was becoming more apparent with each passing second. "If you keep your heads down and stick to the paths, you shouldn't have any problems getting back home."

   Of all the things he had expected Darrel to do, this was not one of them. Michael stared at him for a long moment, his jaw slack. "Thank you," he finally said. "Really. That's... Thank you."

   "Yeah, sure thing." Adjusting the strap on his shoulder, Darrel turned for the exit. "Later."

   Michael watched him go. It was strange to think they would spend the next week or two in this realm without him. Even though they had only known him for a handful of days, and had known from the start that they would go their own ways, they had been through so much that separating now almost seemed wrong. 

   Michael pushed to his feet and chased after Darrel. "Hold up."

   Darrel turned, a mix of dread and confusion creasing his eyes. 

   "Are you sure you don't want to go back with us? I mean, there's not much left for you here, if you're on the run."

   "Back to Earth?" He gave a short laugh and shook his head. "There's really nothing left for me there."

   "You could always crash at my place until you got back on your feet. My mom's super chill with having people stay with us if their reasoning is good."

   Darrel gaped at him. "You're offering for me to stay at your house?"

   "Where else would you go?" With a shrug, Michael glanced back at Alie. She slept soundly, unmoved from the position she had collapsed into. "It just seems like a better option than trying to get by here. Even with magic, it seems like a tough life."

   Slowly, Darrel's signature smirk spread across his face. "It's not so bad. I've got some places I can go. But thank you for the offer."

   "If you change your mind, you could always call me." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, where he kept a few cards with his information. "That's my cell. Call me whenever, it's always on."

   Darrel squinted down at the text. "You're a window cleaner?"

   "It's just a few hours a week for the summer."