Twenty-One

It took us three days to emerge from the house.  Mostly because Ghua had refused to let me put any clothes on.  He loved watching me walk around the house naked.  I loved feeling safe enough to do so.  I also loved the curtains.

“We will not stay out for long, Eden,” Ghua said firmly, as I pulled the door closed behind us.  “Humans get cold easily.”

“Right.  Because it’s the cold you’re worried about, not the lost time you could have spent playing with all my girl parts.”

His stern expression turned wistful.

“I like your girl parts.”

“And that’s why we’re doing this.”  I nodded toward the two bags he held, and the box I carried.  “A girl wants to know she’s not just a replacement sex toy.”  What we carried now was only a portion of the collection of porn and dildos he needed to get rid of, but it was a start.

He frowned at me.

“You are not a toy, Eden.  If I could never touch you again, I would still beg you to stay with me.  I love you because of what you do and say and think.  Not because of your body or how you look.”

I grinned.

“But you like how I look, too, don’t you?”

That wistful expression returned.

“Oh, yes.  Very much.”

Knowing the direction of his thoughts, I laughed.

“Come on.  Let’s see where we can ditch this stuff before the sun sets.”

We walked side by side toward the dump pile he’d told me about.  I only hoped it was late enough in the afternoon that no one would be out to witness who was leaving Santa sized bags of dildos in the recycling heap.

“Molev!”

The yell echoed through the neighborhood, and the door of a house just down the street opened.  I froze like a burglar in a spotlight.

“Ghua, we gotta go,” I whispered.

I turned to dash back to our house but was brought up short at the sight of two men running toward us.

“Molev!” the one in the lead yelled again.

“Drav’s going to get him,” Mya called from behind us.

I looked over my shoulder and saw more people coming out of their houses and walking our way.   There was no way to escape being seen, now.

Mya, Julie, and Mya’s father hurried toward the two newcomers.  Both fey looked in rough shape.  Their clothes were dirty, their hair unwashed, and their skin covered with scrapes and scratches.

“Who are they?” I whispered to Ghua.

“Thallirin and Merdon.  They are outcasts, exiled for killing Oelm.”  With an undecipherable expression, Ghua watched the two then glanced at me.  “They said it was an accident.”

“You don’t believe them?”

The two groups met right in front of us.  Afraid of drawing their attention, I stayed where I was.  Ghua didn’t leave my side.

“Looks like this hunt was rough,” Mya said.

Thallirin nodded and held out three hearts.

“The hounds these belong to have been following us for days.”

Merdon favored his right side slightly.  I knew what kind of injury a hound could inflict and wondered just how badly he was injured.

Molev and Drav came around the corner with Nancy and her kids in tow.  Everyone stopped talking and watched their approach.  Around us, the lights imbedded into the wall came on one by one, dispelling the encroaching shadows.

“I’m here, Thallirin.  Do it now so you can leave again,” Molev said, coming to a stop beside Mya.

Thallirin lifted one of the dark, ragged rocks in his arms.  It pulsed with negative light, a blackness that cast a shadow on anything around it.

He fitted his hand around the object and squeezed, his muscles bulging.  I could hear the grinding crackles a moment before the thing disintegrated into black dust.  He shook out his hand in a move reminiscent to what Kerr had done in the bunker.

Nancy wheeled toward us so she had a better view.  Her kids followed.  Thallirin glanced our direction as he gripped the second one.

Hoping what he did would be enough to distract any curiosity from the objects trying to stab through the sides of the semi-translucent bag Ghua held, I shifted the weight of the box in my arms and tried to be patient.

“That is eight, total,” Molev said.  “Go.”

“Can’t they at least stay the night?” Mya asked.

“It looks like Merdon could use some rest,” Julie added.

“They struck a bargain.  Ten hearts each for the life they took.”

Merdon swayed on his feet but bowed his head in acknowledgement and turned to go back the way he’d come.

“I know I’m new here,” I said, hating myself for speaking up.  “But it seems to me, for a people who live in a town named Tolerance and who’ve been mistreated by humans, you’re pretty short on kindness to your own people.”

“They are being punished and need to earn their place here.”

“That’s fine, but do you really want them to die in the process?  Mya said that each fey matters.  How will periods of rest negatively impact their punishment?  Or better yet, how will losing two more of your brothers impact the future of our world?”

Merdon and Molev both watched me intently as I spoke.  Thallirin, however, only had eyes for Brenna.  The girl was pointedly ignoring the attention.

“Can I help you with that?” Brenna asked, reaching for the box I held and drawing everyone’s attention to the fact Ghua and I had our arms full.

Mya’s gaze flicked to the bags.  Her eyes widened in recognition, and her gaze flew to me.

“Hey, I just got here a few days ago.  This isn’t from me,” I said quickly.

No way was I getting the reputation as a pervert after only living here for such a short time.  Hell, I didn’t want that reputation ever.  Not with this crowd.

She looked at Ghua.  “Why would you collect these?  Do you even know what they are?”

“Yes.  Mom explained them to me.”

“What?”  Mya turned her shocked face toward her mother.

“Don’t you give me that angry look, young lady.  I answered the same questions for you and Ryan.”

“No you didn’t!  I was smart enough not to ask them.”

Julie chuckled.

“What are they?” Thallirin asked.

Mya opened her mouth to answer, but Ghua beat her to it.

“They are supposed to be like human man parts, but Eden says they are not.  Human penises are not this big.  Mine is extra-large.”

Julie covered her mouth with a hand.  Even Mya’s dad grinned at Ghua.  I, however, wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

“I think that’s enough education time,” Mya said briskly.  “Mom, can you and Dad take Thallirin and Merdon to an empty house?”

“Of course.”

“Try not to give them a full health class on the way there.”

Julie laughed and shook her head at her daughter.  The pair walked off with Mya’s parents but not before Thallirin got one last look at Brenna.

“Maybe you should go with them,” Mya said to Drav.  He kissed her forehead then jogged to catch up with Mya’s parents and the two new fey.

“I will walk you home,” Molev said to Nancy.

Mya said nothing as they left. Ghua shifted uncomfortably under her scrutiny and glanced at me.

“Are you angry, Eden?  Your face is red.”

I sighed.  “I’m not angry.  I’m embarrassed.”

“Welcome to my world,” Mya said.  “I’m sorry he managed to sneak those in.  I’ve been trying to help them understand some things aren’t appropriate.”

“It’s not your fault.  It’s his.  He knew he wasn’t supposed to have them because he hid them under the couch cushions and in his closet.”

Mya groaned and shook her head at Ghua.

“You’re very lucky that Eden’s not too afraid of things.  Seeing that many–”

“Man parts,” Ghua supplied helpfully.

“Yes.  Seeing that many could have sent her running for the hills, and you would have missed out on having a relationship of your own.”

“This isn’t even a quarter of what he has,” I said.

“Seriously?”

“Very.”

“What the hell are we going to do with all of them?”

“I was going to ditch them by the recycling pile.”

“Hell no!  That’ll be like a free for all.”  She looked into the shadows around us.  That’s when I noticed we weren’t really alone.  Fey idled about, listening to our conversation.

“I changed my mind,” I said.  “I’m so mad at you, Ghua.”  I did not want to be stuck with his dildo collection.

He dropped his bags, scooped me up into his arms, and started back toward our house.  I gripped the box I still held and stared up at Ghua in confusion.

“Hey,” Mya called.  “Where are you going?”

“I need to go play with Eden’s girl parts to make her happy.”

“Ghua!”  I buried my face in his shoulder.  “I can’t believe you just said that loud enough for everyone to hear.”

Mya laughed behind us.

“Don’t worry, Eden.  I’ll take care of this and come get you tomorrow.”

“Not before eight,” Ghua called back.  “Eden likes—”

I slapped my hand over his mouth.

“If you say it, we won’t do it.”

He leaned in and set his forehead against mine.  I removed my hand.

“Yes, we will do it.  Because you love my touch and what I say and what I do.  You love me, my Eden.  And I love you.”

I tipped my head forward and pressed my lips to his in what was meant to be a quick kiss but turned out to be a toe curler.

“Take me home, you sweet man.”