Edgewise

30

Calponia stood in front of her door, tapping her feet as an internal debate raged. She wanted, no needed, to get out of her room. She really didn't want to encounter Mack just yet, not until her opposing argument was ironclad. For that she needed a weapon. Maybe curry, she made a mean curry. On occasion, her curry persuaded reluctant employers not to fire her, at least until the next catastrophe invariably struck. It was the closest to divine intervention she could manage. Did the Edgewise have a back stairs to the kitchen?

It occured to Calponia that if she voiced the desire, the tavern might reshape itself to comply and with the aftershocks of the dream still crackling through her mind, she found that unsettling. She didn't want the Edgewise to change for her.

Right, she needed to woman up. Squaring her shoulders, she opened her door and marched to the top of the stairs. It was too quiet, but she could hear muttering voices.

Abandoning the high road, she sank to her knees and crab crawled down the first few steps, peering over the rail at the sparsely populated common room. Prospero, his sons, and Miranda were huddled in a whispering mass with Cesario near the fireplace, though they left the Munch's vacant seat open. The sight pinched her heart, a visual reminder bigger things were happening. No sign of Mack; he assured he wouldn't leave without seeing her settled first. To her great disappointment, she didn't see Eugene either.

The depth of that disappointment was another thing she was not ready to examine too closely, not that she could totally keep herself from dwelling on it. After spending a solid hour wigging out over the dream, she'd distracted herself by recalling their brief encounter in the cave. What did she really know about the guy? And she used the term 'guy' loosely here. He wasn't someone she'd exactly ask to go grab a coffee sometime. He was a patron of the Edgewise; she was technically an employee. He was a vampire from Sanguinhiem, that awful, awful bucket of trauma. How did he even survive there? Not like he came for her while she was trapped there. Why was she still salty about that? She doubted he was more than a lowly soldier there, and after seeing how his world operated, she totally understood why he didn't show up when she was strapped to that table. At least, she thought she did.

And yeah, his timing was amazing on Arden, but not like he just showed up for her. He did say he would join them eventually.

It was likely she was reading too much into their interactions. More than likely, since her experience with men and people in general was limited. The bête noire saw to that, like the blind date whose car caught fire while they were at a drive in theater. Or an old coworker that took a chance and asked her out. He even held the door open for her as they left work that night, only for the automatic handicap button to mysteriously malfunction. The door slammed shut on his right hand, and broke all his fingers.

After that, she decided dating wasn't in the cards. Best not to dwell on what ifs. Eugene might be hardier than her previous dates but the thought of the bête noire lashing out at him made her feel sick inside. Plus, there was that whole vampire issue.