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Maybe this world is different. Maybe here it’s acceptable to speak up in the presence of a man. Koschei always taught me that as a woman I have to follow the holy hierarchy. As Malaya Zhritsa, however, I only had to submit to him and his holy friends. The men who came to the village and the male children were all below my standing.
I obeyed them all just in case. Koschei’s punishments were sometimes unexpected and at some point, I got tired of trying to figure out what rule I had broken and how I’d let the darkness seep inside me. A cleansing is always easier than thinking. Easier, but way more painful.
I lean on one of the steel walls as I continue to observe the two mortals above me. Do I approach them? Ask them what they know about my world?
I bite my lips, unable to decide.
How much would I be able to learn if I stayed hidden in the shadows? I straighten, a bit disturbed about how comfortable I’ve become with the darkness in this new world. It doesn’t seem to hurt me, so I don’t fight it. Koschei would take the skin off my back if he saw me now.
As I’m about to walk around the steel house and find a way in and up, the woman slips and screams. A second later, she’s holding on to the edge of the blue house with one pale arm, dangling in the air. Without thinking, I take a few steps toward her, extending my arms and releasing a little gasp.
The children would sometimes climb bookcases and I would try to catch them without knowing if I had the strength to do so. It’s an automatic reaction.
The woman doesn’t let go, however.
“Give me your hand,” the man says from above, peering down and extending his arm.
I shrink back into the shadows, hugging myself, feeling stupid. I hope he doesn’t see me under them. I’m not ready to talk yet.
The woman huffs and turns her head, clearly avoiding the man’s face. His eyes are glued to her head, but her eyes meet mine. I cover my mouth with my hands, shrinking even farther.
Her shadowed face has the sharp lines of someone familiar and out of this world. Someone frommyworld.
Have I seen her before?
Chapter 9
“Give me your hand.” Ben reaches toward me and I wish I could swat his hand away.
My fingers are burning with the effort to keep my whole weight from dropping to the concrete below. It’s my fault, really, for choosing to climb on the top container.
I’m concentrating too hard on holding on to shout my refusal at Ben, so I just turn my head sideways. I can do this on my own. And everything else too. I don’t need any help, especially not from him.
My eyes widen as I see a person in the shadows. They look absolutely terrified, covering their mouth and slouching like a gremlin.
I’m confused by their presence. I was sure I was alone when I came here. Well, Ben snuck up on me, and if he could, why not someone else? A strange emotion, something between anger and disappointment boils inside me.
Why can’t I have a peaceful night out by myself?
The negative feeling injects me with adrenaline and I push through the burning in my arms as I swing to one side and grab the edge of the container with my other hand. Then I engage my core and strain my muscles to pull myself up.
Ben ignores my clear rejection of his help and captures my forearms, tugging me over the edge. I try to twist away but end up sprawled on top of him, my chest on his lap.
“Why does fooling around with you come with danger to life?” He smiles his damned charming smile that used to have my stomach in knots back in Lavender.
“Don’t touch me.” I roll over to one side, avoiding his arms reaching for me. He was going to hug me while I was on top of him. The audacity!
“Too late for that, don’t you think?” He turns to his side and leans on an elbow, the pose doing nothing to repel his annoying charm.
“We don’t do stuff like that anymore.” I look up, trying to calm myself by looking at the dusty sky.
“Well, you can make an exception. I just saved your life.” I can hear the smile in his words and that agitates me even more. But I measure my words, knowing there’s another person listening in. I’m too tired to care what the fuck they’re doing in our vicinity.
“I didn’t need your help. I don’t rely on other people,” I say.
“Relying on me back in Lavender wasn’t so bad.” Ben plops on his back too. He sounds hurt, I think. What does he have to be hurt about? He’s the one who left me that night.
“You want to reminisce?” I huff a little humorless laugh. “You know we’re not alone, right?”
