The Shadows from Beyond

3 ~ Scared and Alone

When I wake up in the early afternoon the next day, I am thoroughly exhausted. But, I know I have to work. And despite the fact that I'm so tired I swear I could sleep a year, I head into the middle of downtown to the Sapphire Lotus.

When I reach the Lotus, I am met with Scarth. She is looking ready as ever, and she grins at me. Her fangs glint with a faint red tint, and I wonder whose blood she consumed recently.

My attention falls on Annika, who is happily taking orders from a couple of regulars. River and Dilwyn are an elemental and a fae respectively. They are close friends, have been since the 1600s.

Dilwyn's order of flower petal wine and rosecakes is never going to change, according to River. And River, whose order always changes, is unpredictable.

I head to the back of the restaurant, to say hello to Torin and Darius.

But I find only Darius back there.

"Hey, Darius," I say, casually. "Where's Torin?"

"Oh, uh, he was out to see his family today," says Darius.  "I am working double for him."

"Oh. Well, maybe I could help? I can't cook, but uh, it's not like I should just stand by," I say.

Darius smiles at me.  "Don't worry about it, my dear. You do your work, I'll do mine just fine without Torin. Don't worry."

"Yeah, uh, the more you say to not worry, the more worrying I will likely do," I say.

He chuckles.  "Yes, well, I assume you're used to worrying about some things, Wren. But I assure you, I am fine. So, you can go and mingle with the customers."

Annika comes up to us just as I'm about to leave the kitchen. "River will have a bowl of fried rice with some chicken sprinkled in it, and Dilwyn will have the usual."

Darius nods. "Coming right up."

Annika smiles at me.  "You came in late for once. Sorry to keep you up all night."

"It's fine," I say, smiling at her as we walk back out onto the floor. "I'm glad we stayed. It was fun."

"Indeed it was," she says, smiling at me.

The next few days are uneventful, and we all go about our work, serving those who come in for food and drink. Even when all of them are not human.

One night, when I arrive at my apartment, which is four blocks from the Lotus, my phone rings.

"Hello?" I ask, as I answer it.

"Hello, little Wren," says a deep, gravelly voice.

"Can I help you? Who is this?" I ask.

"Names are such powerful tthing, don't you think, Wren? If the wrong person knows your name, they can do something bad about it."

"Are you threatening me?"

A laugh. "Now, why would you ever think that?"

The phone clicks. He's gone, no longer there.

I shake my head and sit down on my couch. Then, I text Darius.

- Some weirdo just called me. I think he threatened me. Said something about wrong people knowing your name can be bad for you. Can you or Annika swing by? I'm a bit freaked out now.

A few minutes after I send that text, my phone buzzes. Thinking it's him, I pick up and click the text. It isn't from Darius.

It's a picture of the outside of my apartment.