Page 101 of Echoes of the Banshee

He kicks off his shoes and climbs in after me.

“Thanks for not making me sleep in the hallway like a creep.”

I snort and close my eyes, falling asleep to his steady breathing.

A knock wakes me and I shoot straight up. Mavrik is already on his feet. His shadows irritated.

The lock clicks open and Ethan stands there.

“Adora, my love,” he slurs.

“Go away,” I snap. I risk a glance at Mavrik but he’s nowhere to be seen.

Ethan stumbles into the room, coming towards the bed.

“She’s mine,” a deep voice growls. Mavrik steps out of the shadows. His shirt is wrapped around his face, his shadows move to make it look like a Rorschach test. His eyes glow through it.

“Whose there?” Ethan asks weakly.

“Your killer.”

Ethan sends a weak blast of magic and takes off, tripping out the door and across the hall. Mavrik moves quickly to lock the door and turns the light on. His muscular chest is on full display. Tattoos dance across his side, they look like birds but I’m sure they’re shadows. They seem familiar though I’ve no idea why.

“Are you okay?” he asks, his voice still deep.

I swallow.

Doesn’t help.

I nod.

He grabs his phone from the nightstand and dials, he puts it to his ear and seems to realize he still has the shirt around his face. He pulls it off.

“Ollin,” he starts. How do they know each other? After a minute he hangs up his phone and studies me.

“He’ll come by tomorrow afternoon and change the locks,” he tells me. “Let’s try and get some rest. It’s only two.”

He lays down beside me and I resist the urge to cuddle into him. He might be my top contender for Lazlo, but…

“Did the shadows know something was going to happen?” I ask him.

“I don’t know. Seems that way.”

Ollin

The Optics Are Terrible

Mavrik spent the last two nights in Thea’s room. I tell myself it’s good. That he can be trusted. Max said that people don’t like him, but that Thea does. I trust her judgement more than ‘people.’

When he calls and tells me what happened, I know I made the right decision.

Rewinding the cameras, I zero in on her dorm, see a guy stumbling toward it. Who let him inside?

Then running like a bat out of hell away. Tripping and falling as he looks behind him like someone is chasing him.

What did they do to him? He won’t be coming back tonight. That’s for certain. I tell Denny I’m going to do rounds and start making a loop. I can pretend all I want. We both know I’m going straight to her dorm.

I’m going to lose my job if I keep being a stalker instead of a security guard. After I clock out at five I go home.