Where The Numinous Awaits

Ch. 10: Nixie's Voice

August 16 | After Midnight

Under the cover of night, Legend and I crept across immaculate backyards and tiptoed along flawless fence lines. I kept glancing over my shoulder, but no one was following us. My companion took my hand to guide me, and I felt more at ease. We passed houses that looked like they had been featured in high-end home magazines. When we reached a sidewalk, we followed its winding path to an empty street where the red light swayed in the wind.

I had a lot on my mind. How could a person's life change so much in such a short time? Fitz and I had joked that I needed adventure, but this was more than I could have ever imagined.

From daydreaming on the couch in Arizona to walking the streets of Louisiana, nothing was the same. My mother had died. I had learned that I had been kidnapped—rescued?—and that Mama had been a royal guard to my real parents. The book she had left me with turned out to be an esoteric weapon of mass destruction. Oh, and I was the last freshwater mermaid in North America. Supernaturals existed.

I tried to process everything that had happened since the beginning of the summer, but it was too much. I felt like I was in a dream, or maybe a nightmare. I didn't know what to believe anymore. I clung to the hope of returning to the life I once had.

Legend and I trudged past rows of small restaurants, a daiquiri shop, hair and nail salons, and boutique clothing stores. All of them were closed, so we crossed the street to a 24-hour convenience store a short walk from Dex's quiet neighborhood. The brightly lit gas station was empty except for a cheerful clerk with purple braids down her back. She flashed a smile and put down the novel she was reading.

"Will that be all for you?" she asked as I dumped a fountain drink and a pile of junk food on the counter.

Shouldering my bag with the book, I peered at Legend. Dex had taken my phone and wallet. He dug out a credit card, and my eyes bugged. It was a platinum card. When he swiped it, however, the purchase was declined.

"Ooh, sorry. You want to try another one?" asked the store attendant.

Embarrassment crept up my neck as the same thing happened with another card. Legend mumbled something about his father cutting him off as he pulled cash from his pocket and paid the tab.

I found a table for us on the portico outside the store. Despite how late it was, two women were sitting and chatting with an older man who was drinking from a brown paper bag, wearing a dirty t-shirt and jeans. The women, both in casualwear, laughed and talked animatedly. A homeless man was curled up on a nearby bench, asleep. Legend discreetly stepped over and handed him money. Nice of him, I thought.

The air was thick with the smell of exhaust fumes. The moon peeked out from behind clouds, and ribbons of lightning streamed across the sky off and on. It was well past midnight, and the stress of the day weighed on me like an anvil. More than anything, I wanted to go to sleep. But I couldn't rest until I had done what I set out to do.

I tapped my fingers on the table impatiently. "Phone, please."

"You've got five minutes." Legend handed me his device.

Flaring my nostrils, I dialed Fitz's phone number from memory. It was a miracle that he answered an unknown caller. "It's me," I whispered. I told him where I was and that I was safe, relatively.

"I'm coming to get you," said Fitz.

I snuck a glance at Legend as I concealed my true agenda. Inviting my best friend to join us certainly wasn't part of the agent's plan. He didn't seem to suspect anything, though. "Okay, talk to you later," I ended the call.