Dust

XLII

With Gael's much-needed assistance, I drag Shi to the back room, the second time the three of us have been here amongst the meat fridge and wine storage. Shi, looking exhausted, rests against the wall between two shelves, his head craned back as his chest heaves. I come to a seat in front of him, glancing up at Gael as he stands beside me. "Is the guy alright?"

Gael's clearly still flustered. He looks down at me, then towards the door, then back at me again. "The guy? Oh. Yeah, yeah, he'll be fine. I told someone to get him to a hospital," he says, then gestures toward Shi. "This guy on the other hand..."

"I should've known something was wrong," I say. "He told me he was starving for no reason this morning—"

"Hey," Shi cuts in sharply, his eyes flitting open. He regards me from underneath his eyelashes, lifting a hand to wipe blood from his face—which proves useless, since this only smears it further. "There's no need to talk about me as if I'm not sitting right here."

"Well, fine," I agree, crisscrossing my legs and folding my arms. I stare at him levelly, irritated but not angry with him. "Are you going to tell us what's wrong with you, then?"

"Unless adding to the infamy of Revlin's bar brawls is totally normal for you," adds Gael, looking down at Shi with contempt, barely contained. He leans against one of the shelves, his eyes narrow. "I mean, Jesus, that wasn't even normal for Revlin."

"I suppose I can't get out of this one with a sly half-truth, can I?" Shi replies, an odd smile playing at his lips.

"No, no you cannot," I say. "Spill the beans."

"If you must know," Shi begins, exhaling as he lowers his head. "There's only one reason I ever get that out of control...and I'll tell you this, it's not good."

The picture begins to put itself together before me, and Shi's words are no longer needed. I raise a hand to my temple, groaning. "Oh, God, Shi...you can't mean..."

"Wait, what? What can't he mean?" It's Gael, as clueless as ever. Some things will never change.

"The full moon's coming, genius," growls Shi, glancing in Gael's direction. "That's what I mean. That's the reason."

"You idiot!" I exclaim, unable to contain myself. I strike my hand across Shi's cheek, and it seems to wipe the collected look off his face; now he just looks stunned. "You knew, didn't you? And you didn't bother to say anything?"

"I had a plan, Gemma," pleads Shi, rubbing his cheek tenderly. A red color has began to flood through the spot where I slapped him, and I realize I hit him much harder than I thought I did. For some reason, this makes me feel empowered. "I still do have a plan."

I scoff, rolling my eyes. "And what is your marvelous plan, Shiloh Carmichael? Go on a rampage and eat everyone in your sight?"

"No, no, that is not the plan," Shi counters. He pulls one knee up to his chest, resting his elbow on it. "The plan is that I go back to the Ancient Forest. That is the plan."

"So you're going to change in the Ancient Forest again, is what you're telling me."

"Uh-huh."

"That sounds like a good idea to you."

"It's like you said: a marvelous plan."

"No! No, it's not a marvelous plan! It's a dumb plan! A very, very, very dumb plan, Shi!" I shout. I throw my arms up in exasperation; I thought he was smarter than this. "You think risking getting caught as a rogue again is a good idea? You told me the fact you were let off this time was a blessing, and you're just going to throw that away? Not to mention, what if wolf-you decides it doesn't want to stay in the forest, and wanders back into Revlin? It will be a massacre, Shi, and no one is equipped to handle that much blood on their hands! So, no, it's not a marvelous plan. It's a hideous, stupid, unintelligent, ignorant, all-the-synonyms-for-dumb-in-the-thesaurus plan, Shi!"