Living Amongst the Shadows

Chapter 8

Is this the influence of the nymphs or is it us?

His forehead droops to mine and I'm tangled in his eyes helpless to look away. He gazes at me with an inescapable fierceness and heat. The intensity in his eyes is softened by the focus he has on me, as though he's trying to take a picture or paint a portrait in his memory.

I gaze back but I don't focus on memorising his image. I etch the feeling of him into my skin. Carve the way he moves into my muscles. With my hands I trace his body committing the shape of him to memory. I feel all of the valleys and hills of his muscles and bones. The jagged bumps and hollow dips of scars. I feel the weathered nature of his skin, hidden under a smoothness, the flawlessness of immortality. I'll remember this far better than the way the fire light flickers over his face.

In return he shades my body with his fingertips, they fill me in lighter than air. He moves down my back, under the hem of my blouse and back up again, running his fingers into the current of my spine. I shudder under his touch and arch into him. His lips soften and curve upwards a tiny amount.

Like a musician caressing his instrument, he draws sensitives lines down my back. Stroking back and forth along my ribs and shoulder blades, hiking over the lumps of my vertebrae. Then he sweeps his hand forwards, around my waist. He ghosts his hands up my ribs, his thumbs gliding over the bumps of my bones. At last, he re-curves his arm around my back and settles a palm on my cheek. He strokes my cheekbone with a thumb and closes his eyes. He sighs and then leans down and rests his lips on my forehead. His nose presses into my hair and I feel him breath in deeply and his body loosen against me.

After a while he moves back and opens his eyes. He searches my eyes for something as I stare dumbly at him. I'm gone. Lost in feeling this thing between us.

And then he blinks and goes back to leading us in this dance again as though nothing has happened.

I don't know how long we sway together like this. Pressed into each other, caged in each other's eyes. But if feels like eternity. Sometimes when the music changes or drops he bends me back again and we linger there, swinging like the long limp leaves of flower stems in a gentle breeze.

At some point I droop against him and my eyes close. I'm exhausted from the night, so drained physically and emotionally. It's been chaotic.

"I can walk you home if you would like."

"Mmm I do like." I mumble into his collar. He chuckles and gently removes my head from him with a hand. He supports me as he straightens us and my skirt falls down again, the fabric slapping my thighs. Using his arm around me he turns me into his side and gently walks us away from the party.

Under the trees again it is freezing compared to the clearing. I have no idea what time it is but it must be late into the night, maybe early morning. I close my eyes and allow Salis to guide me out of the trees and park. I think doze off because I don't remember it.

On the road there are barely any cars and all the lights from the buildings are out. There are no other noises around us and I think no Shadows around.

"Where do you live, I can call my driver to take us there."

Where do I live? Where do I live. Come on Shelly wake up. I shake my head and try to think through my tired fog.

"In Queens on- oh no... no I forgot I can't go home tonight."

"You can't?"

"No... well my neighbours didn't want me to work tonight because of the Dark Gods being in the city. I promised them I would come straight home. But then I bumped into Zenya on the subway and begged her to take me to a party despite knowing about your kind being here. So, I forgot about my promise to my neighbours until I was on my way to the party and so I lied and said I was staying at my office to work late... so I can't go home." I explain it all in a babble.