Lost in Ash (The Phoenix Experiment - Book 1)

CHAPTER FIVE

"What the fuck?! You stabbed me!" The man yowled giving Alva the room she needed to break away from the threat.

"And I'll do it again!" Alva snapped back, holding her little knife up – now dripping with hot blood – to add more weight to her warning.

"Why would you fucking stab me?!"

Alva looked at the tall man in complete confusion, "You had a knife to my throat!"

Blue eyes flicked up to look at her, the man's shaggy black hair fell across his face, but it quickly fell perfectly into place when he straightened. Alva hated the way he held her attention, her eyes tracing the sharp lines of his cheekbones and jaw. A light amount of stubble was peppered too perfectly on his face, it almost made her mad. That is until she remembered that he was the one with the bleeding wound. Not her.

"Well, you didn't knock!" The man insisted, crossing his arms over his chest as if he was the one in the right.

"Excuse me?" Alva dropped her defensive position. Her eyes moved wildly, searching for some sign of if this man was serious. "Where in the hell would I knock?" She asked throwing her hands up and gesturing wildly at the massive empty space they were in.

"Oh, so you draw the line at knocking, but you are fine making the most noise I've ever heard – I mean did you step on every piece of glass you saw?"

"Look you are clearly deranged, and I don't have time to deal with – whatever your deal is." Alva started, eyeing the man as he started walking toward the chair in the center. "So, if you are the Pidgeon, please come with me. If you are not, please point me in his direction."

"Why does Pidgeon equal stupid?"

"What?"

"Earlier, you called me a Pidgeon then called me stupid. Why are those the same?"

Alva sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose, "I just said I don't have time for this."

The man sat in the chair staring back at her. Not offering a word or even a gesture to help her.

"Fine," she found herself groaning. "Pigeons are heavily domesticated and dependent upon humans. Any animal that is that reliant is –"

"Stupid," the man finished for her.

She nodded in agreement.

"All right," the man said with a nod and slapped his hands down onto his thighs. He winced at the fast action, no doubt aggravating the fresh wound. "I'll go with you, but only to prove you wrong."

"No, no, no," Alva tried to backpedal.

"Too late!" The man sang to her in a tone that was far too chipper. He then stuck out his hand in a greeting, "Lev."

Alva rubbed her face in frustration, "Lev, I'm sure you're great - "

"Eh, most reviews disagree," Lev leaned back in the metal chair with a Cheshire cat grin.

Alva rolled her eyes, "Even more reason to tell me where the pigeon is!"

"Listen," Lev sat forward in his chair as he paused. He raised his eyebrows and gestured for her to fill in the blank.

"Alva," she provided.

"Listen, Alva," The way he pronounced her name sent a shiver down her spine. She wasn't sure if the deep register of his voice or the seriousness had suddenly seeped into his tone. "Unless you're looking for a bird, I don't know who or what you're looking for. What I do know is you walked into The Grocery without a gift, and every person in this part of the district watched you do so because you made so much fucking noise." Lev sighed, as he stood from his chair like Alva should have known what kind of inconvenience she had caused.