CHAPTER 87

He smiled and grabbed the back of her head to pull her in for a kiss. Taking a step back also meant making time for the finer things in life, and he could think of nothing better than a nice, long hot bath with an eager nymph.

Kisa sat just outside Mike's bedroom door, her sensitive ears listening in on the playful splashing inside. It had been child's play to sneak away from the others who were busy examining pieces of whatever had been killed in the front yard. Eventually the splashing stopped, and she could just barely make out the sound of Mike talking with someone through the door.

What is this place? she wondered, then turned her head down the hallway to watch Beth and Quetzalli reach the top of the stairs. Beth led the dragon girl into her bedroom, and a discussion about sleeping arrangements began.

There had been a moment when Mike wandered through the front door that she had been tempted once more to flee, to run away and leave this place behind. Though everything about the man seemed harmless, she had sensed something deeper in him that triggered a primal fear.

What had stopped her had been the way that he held the fairies in his hands. He had been worried for them, acting so protective over creatures so small. The house was hers to stay in, if she chose, or she could leave if she wanted to. The fact that he had given her such a choice had immediately triggered another memory.

She sat at his table, the empty bowl of soup in front of her. Now that she had been fed, she turned her eyes on the large man in front of her. He wore a tight turtleneck sweater and a hat with giant ear flaps, and both of his hands were wrapped around a large mug of tea. His face was covered in deep lines that made her wonder if he had seen hard years like she had.

When he had found her shivering in the alley, she had been too cold to refuse his offer of food, blindly obeying him when he coaxed her out of the cardboard box she had been using as a shelter from the storm. One of the first rules of the street was to trust no one, but her hunger had betrayed her.

Now that she was warm and fed, what would he ask of her? It wasn't uncommon to hear such stories, and she wondered what was going to happen next. Did she even have the energy to fight him? If it meant surviving another night, did she even want to?

"Did you get enough to eat?" he asked. "I have more, but didn't want you to make yourself sick."

"I got plenty," she said, wondering if she could move quick enough to pull the knife from her sock. It was an old kitchen knife she had found in the dumpster over the summer, and it had protected her more than once.

"Good." He stood up and moved to the window. His apartment was small, and it overlooked the rec center across the street. "This storm will take many lives tonight. It is much too cold, much too quick." He pulled off his hat and held it in his hands. "You are stray?"

"A what?" she asked.

"A stray...you have no home, nobody to call?"

"I manage just fine on my own." He was looking away, so she leaned back in her chair, letting her arm dangle so she could reach the knife in her sock just in case. Now that she was warm, she could think clearly.

"Ah. I see." He turned around and set his hat on the table. "You are brave little kisa, aren't you? No matter. If you would like somewhere to stay, my bedroom door has lock on inside." He pointed at one of two doors in his tiny apartment. "Or you can sleep in building. Just promise you won't try to sleep outside, not tonight. Is too cold."

"You...want me to stay?"

The man lifted the tea to his lips. "I want you to live, kisa. One night on the couch will not break me."

The old man had saved her life that night, of this there was no doubt. Pieces of her memory were coming back to her, and she couldn't help but think about what would have happened if she had turned down his hospitality. Mike was doing the same thing, and until she could get her head screwed on straight, it would behoove her to stick around and see where this went. Maybe learn more about who she was, and then go from there. While her memory was nothing more than a void, she knew one thing for sure.

She was a survivor.

There was a loud clunk from the stairs, and the goblin appeared, a toolbox in her hands. She set it down by the railing, mumbling to herself until she lifted her head to see Kisa sitting by the door.

A growl escaped Kisa's lips, and she remembered how the two of them had fought. While she felt no animosity toward Mike himself, the goblin stirred something up inside of her that she couldn't quite explain.

"Nosy little pussy," Tink grumbled, then pulled a hammer out of her toolbox. "Tink ready for round two."

Kisa smiled and stood, the growl dying in her throat. "I don't think Mike would be very happy if you tried to hurt me. He told me I could stay, you know."

The goblin grinned, showing all of her teeth. "Husband have big heart, make Tink proud. But Tink always watching. If nasty pussy step out of line, Tink learn new way skin cat, tan hide, then use to wipe ass."

Kisa laughed, then took a step toward the goblin before casually leaping up onto the railing. Despite the beam only being a few inches wide, she had no problem balancing on it. She walked along the railing and past the goblin.