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“You don’t want to do this anymore?” His savior’s voice was little more than a whisper and still held an edge to it. Micha could picture his sorrow perfectly.
“I—”He didn’t.The longer Micha stayed at Paranormal Guilty Delights, the more he felt as if he was the one in the wrong.
“I thought you wanted to help me like I helped you. I got rid of the monster that had hurt you for so long. I freed you, did I not?”
Micha shut his eyes. “You did.” A shudder raced down his spine. He hated remembering it, and most days, he didn’t. Not while working or even relaxing with some of his fellow hosts. If anything, Micha’s life was better than it ever had been in the past twenty-seven years.
“It was you who said you wanted to repay me. I didn’t ask anything of you, Micha.”
True, but it didn’t feel the same as it did before. Everything he thought and knew about Arden seemed fake after meeting the man and working for him.
“If you don’t want to help me anymore it’s okay. I understand. You have been through a lot. I will have to find someone else to help me bring him down. My sweet Kyree will have to wait to rest in peace.”
Micha’s heart twisted; he knew all too well about Kyree; it was the only information his savior would give him about himself. It was the reason he was trying to bring Arden down. A child no more than ten gone from this world. It wasn’t fair, and Micha was still alive, moping about. At least he had the chance to move on with his life.
“The only way to truly bring a dragon down is to have him executed. I alone could never take on a dragon of Arden’s descent. Finding someone will be difficult. You will have to leave the host bar.”
Leave? Where would he go?Micha wasn’t ready to leave; how would he say goodbye?Did he even have a right, and what would Eldon say? Spooky?He just met Bash, but the bear had been so nice to Micha, even if he was scary.There was so much at PGD that Micha enjoyed, and it was starting to feel like a home.
“My original offer still stands. I’d give you some money to start fresh in another city and set you up in a nice place. But if I have to start over, I will no doubt have to give it all to the new person.” His savior sighed. “Where would I even find someone who could remotely understand the pain I’ve felt. Someone who has been hurt by another’s hands?”
Micha’s teeth sank into the flesh of his lip, and the metallic taste of blood alerted him before the pain registered. “No, wait.” He wiped the blood from his mouth and stared at the back of his hand. The smeared crimson line made the images of his past flash before his eyes. The abuse, the pain, the torture. He’d beensavedfrom that life. How dare he not be more grateful? How dare he not help the man that had rescued him when all he wanted in return was the man that had killed his daughter. “I can do it.”
“I don’t want you to feel forced, Micha. I know what you went through and I don’t ever want you to feel that way with me. You should always feel safe.”
Micha audibly swallowed. “I do. Thank you.”
“I believe in you and remember I sent you back up. She is only there to watch over you but if you get into trouble she will help you out,” his savior said.
Micha’s stomach plummeted further, and he knew it was supposed to sound reassuring, but he couldn’t help but feel like a collar was being placed around his neck. He nodded, not that his savior could see him. “I’ll do it.”
“I know you will. You want to protect others who might end up like you and my—” His voice broke slightly. “Kyree, right?”
“Yes.” It was only right that Micha paid it forward. And he truly wanted to pay his savior back.
“Just remember that if he is capable of killing, he is capable of so much more. Your ex was a man very much like Arden.”
Micha wanted to nod that he understood, but his body refused to respond. It felt wrong. Arden was just Arden.
“I’m glad I found you before your ex could go any further. You might have ended up like Kyree. Your feathers scattered all over the small apartment was the only reason I knew someone else was there. I followed the trail of blood soaked feathers…” He trailed off. “No one should have to be found like that.”
Micha’s breathing picked up as his memories clawed to the surface. They thrust him back into a time where every move he made might result in abuse. Where he was caged, and his wings were clipped.
“I’ll check back in a few days.”
There was a beep signaling the end of the call, but Micha barely heard it over the rushing of his blood. Shadows moved, and the sound of glass shattering echoed around him. Terror gripped Micha with its icy fingers and promised to never let go. He didn’t want to remember; he didn’t want to be stuck in the nightmare of his past.
Micha’s fingers threaded through his soft brown curls and fisted the strands. He tugged, hoping the pain would drag him far away from his own scarred psyche. But no luck; he was forced to remember more as his scalp throbbed. His stomach turned, and he barely made it out of his room and to the community bathroom in time.
Micha’s arms wrapped around the toilet as he emptied the contents of his stomach. Tears rolled down his cheeks, and as his back arched and he began to dry heave, Micha realized that something needed to change. He couldn’t keep being sent back to the darkest parts of his life. He was set free, but for some reason, there was still a chain around his ankle, making it impossible for him to fly.
“Finish this and leave,” Micha mumbled. He’d do this job to help the man that saved him, and then he’d take to the sky and never look back. He’d have a place of his own, somewhere the bad thoughts couldn’t infiltrate because it would be sunny and light. His savior had shown him the most beautiful lofts, filled with sunlight and rooftop gardens and he focused on those now.
But even as he thought about the future, his heart squeezed. One by one faces came to him and turned the dagger that was already in his chest. Eldon, Spooky, Bash, and even Gamble, made sense. They were nice to him even if a bit cranky or annoyed. But when he thought about Arden, he couldn’t figure it out. He was supposed to hate the man.
Micha wouldn’t miss him.He was a monster presenting himself as a person. It’s what Micha had been told, and he’d seen more than enough evidence.
So, why didn’t he believe it?
