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“N-no,” Grey breathed, taking a step back.
Are you sure? A chuckle. There’s no need to be scared.
“Please l-leave me alone,” Grey forced out, his teeth starting to chatter.
Come here. Let me have a closer look.
Grey shook his head, unable to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. It might as well have been nowhere and everywhere at once. He turned into the fog, picking up his pace in the midst of clouded trees.
Then the voice was right next to him.
Hello, Grey.
He yelped and jerked to the side, covering his ear and shaking as he collapsed into a trunk. Bark snagged his sleeve and scraped his hands while he panted, searching for the person it’d come from.
Another chuckle sounded, radiating in from all sides. What a frightened little thing you are…
Grey shrank down, pressing himself into the small nook at the base of the tree, like the creature wouldn’t be able to reach him there. Nothing lurked at the corners of his vision or silhouette itself in the churning mist.
“Go away?—”
Now, now.
He flinched, covering his ears as the voice pressed in again.
Don’t cause a fuss, my little finch.
A phantom touch caressed Grey’s cheek, and his arms shot up, batting it away as he toppled over.
You’ll be mine, soon enough.
* * *
Grey woke up drenched in sweat and gulping down panicked breath after panicked breath. His anxiety was only suppressed by footfalls climbing up the steps. He shoved his hoodie sleeve in his mouth to keep quiet.
“Good news, they accepted.” Doctor Cavan’s cheery tone made his head spin. “I sent Daz out to get the van. We’ll load them both up in an hour and head out.”
“And payment?” Trin asked.
“Considerably more than giving them trinkets the past few times. They’re rather pleased, so I can’t imagine them backing out once we offer him up.”
“Do you want to have him cleaned up before we go? Wouldn’t that?—”
“No time. When they say as soon as possible, I plan on delivering as soon as possible. I’m sure if they want him cleaned up, they’ll handle it. Not our problem, so long as he’s in decent condition. I’m going to close up the shop and run out for supplies. If the macharomancer does anything stupid, kill him.”
The chunk of his sleeve fell out of his mouth with the jogging footsteps back downstairs. Grey stayed perfectly still, counting down the seconds after the doctor left before he pushed himself up on shaky legs. “Trin,” he rasped, hoping against all odds that he might be able to somehow talk his way out of this with the sole member of the group that appeared to have a shred of humanity.
“Quiet.” A harsh snap he hadn’t expected, especially with his calm demeanor earlier.
Grey recoiled. “Trin, please, I?—”
“Be. Quiet.” A growl this time.
He lowered himself back down to the mattress, staring down at the floor. That creature knew his name—pried into his dreams. Whatever Doctor Cavan showed them, they latched onto, but Grey didn’t even know what the crystal might’ve leeched from him.
You’ll be mine, soon enough.
Trin’s shadow vanished from the door, his near-silent footsteps trailing away.
