Page 48 of Starlight

MothAkai: What’s happening with all your weird friends?

BigTraveler: What? Which one?

Akai frowned. BigTraveler seemed to know heaps of random monsters. He seemed to get out a lot for Bigfoot.

MothAkai: Did your shifter friend move? Is the Beast of Blah Blah real?

BigTraveler: Ohhh…no she didn’t take the risk but I’ve been keeping up with the gossip there and it’s weird. So still no concrete ruling on real or not real.

MothAkai: See you at solstice?

He’d never met BigTraveler face to face, but he was already gone. He sighed. Boone was online, maybe he could ask about Geyser Man?

It wasn’t an inflatable man he was thinking about, it was Cole.

But there was no point in Cole making plans if Akai couldn’t get him a token to pass through the wards that hid the monsters from prying eyes.

His options were limited when it came to tokens. After deliberating who to talk to while he finished the tea, he decided that Thunderbird Bob was probably the best choice, in part because he had a human mate…but he also had wings, so he might get a little sympathy.

However, Bob also thought of him as an annoying child because he was less than a hundred years. Boone didn’t treat him as a child, just a problem.

The situation with his sister wasn’t his fault…and he had never admitted to being at the scene of the accident, though he was sure some suspected he was involved.

The only people who knew the truth were his parents, and that was how he wanted to keep it.

MothAkai: Hey, I’m going to need a token for a human.

Maybe he’d hand one out without too many questions. It wasn’t as though there was an official process or questionnaire to fill out.

ThunderbirdBob: I’m going to need some more information.

Akai rolled his eyes.

MothAkai: He’s human, and he’s driving me to solstice.

ThunderbirdBob: Why aren’t you flying? There’s a story and I want it.

Akai’s shoulders slumped. He stared out across the valley. Was Cole already home? Was he staring up towards the mountain? Perhaps he was driving and watching the stars. It was almost dark, and up here the stars were much brighter than in the human town, where there was too much light.

Older monsters talked of a time before electricity, and the shadows were deeper, and they were freer to move around. It must’ve been nice to live with less caution.

MothAkai: It’s a long story.

ThunderbirdBob: I have time.

Akai pressed the phone to his forehead. Of course he did. How much did he tell him? If he lied, there was a damn good chance he’d get busted.

MothAkai: It was an accidental sighting, and an accidental shooting, which damaged my wing, but he’s been letting me stay in his remote cabin while I heal. He’s agreed to drive me to solstice.

ThunderbirdBob: He does not sound like the kind of human we let in. He shot you. Unless you are leaving something out?

MothAkai: He stitched my wing and has been bringing food and is now driving me I owe him.

ThunderbirdBob: So pay him in gold. Humans like that.

Some might, but not Cole.

MothAkai: He wants to come.