Asher stood in front of  Chantel's door frozen. He had stood there for the last seven minutes, willing his arms to reach up and collide against the iron door, but each time he stretched his hands up he couldn't bring himself to do it. 

Asher wasn't sure why he was so conflicted about coming over today. After his phone call with Chantel, it seemed that this conversation would go relatively well. She was worried about him. She wanted him to be safe, and while that might seem like the bare minimum, to Asher, that didn't matter. 

Maybe it was because the last time he saw her the Harpie attacked. Was there a monster lurking just around the corner of this hallway? Or worse, was there one already in there? Asher couldn't stay with Chantel at all times. He couldn't keep her safe. 

That worried him. 

He slowly lifted his arm to the door, but before he could even knock on the iron door it swung open. Chantel stood in purple sweatpants and a white v-neck at the entrance. She looked surprised as she saw Asher there. 

"How long had you been out there?" she asked confused. Asher noticed she looked tired. Dark circles sat under her eyes, and her hair was disheveled and messy wadded up into a tight bun. She grabbed his arm and led him inside her small studio apartment. The second the door closed she wrapped her arms around him. Asher could feel her heart beating in her chest as she held onto him for what seemed like dear life. 

"I just got here," Asher lied. He hoped that Chantel had not been looking through the peephole in the door. He imagined how stupid he looked just standing there with a concentrated look on his face. 

Jeez, I hope she doesn't talk to her neighbors. He thought to himself as she broke the hug apart and walked over to the bed. Chantel scooted to the top left corner pushed against the brick wall. She curled her legs up in a ball and wrapped her arms around them. 

This was not the girl that Asher knew. Something was wrong. 

"Chantel, what is going on?" Asher asked. He tried to sound nonchalant, but he couldn't help but feel a ball in his stomach had begun to form. 

"Asher," she said as her voice trailed off. "I...I haven't been able to sleep since everything happened," she said almost in a whisper. Tears started to well up in her eyes and she put her face in the pit between her two knees. "I keep seeing that thing."

Her voice had an edge of fear to it that Asher couldn't ignore. He wondered how Chantel would take everything given time to process the events of that day. The answer to his question was written all over her face. She was scared shitless. 

And it was his fault for bringing it to her. 

"I'm so sorry," said Asher as he crossed the room to the bed. He reached out to Chantel but she flinched and he instantly recoiled "I'm scary of you," he said shocked.

Chantel's face softened and she reached her hand out to touch Asher's. He felt his body relax upon her touch and she shook her head. "I'm not scared of you. That was just...a lot to process, Ash. One minute you were a guy that I drunkenly hooked up with from a club and the next you're some water God fighting a monster in my living room? How am I supposed to take that?"

Asher didn't have an answer. He of course knew how he wanted her to respond, but what he wanted and what was logical are two very different things. He wanted a scene from one of those movies. Where the girl sees that the guy has some extraordinary gift and they decide their relationship is worth the danger. 

Asher didn't see that happening. 

"I sleep with all the lights on now," said Chantel. "Every night I do my best to fall asleep but the moment I do I see those tentacle things reaching for me. I take a shower and I've had to learn how to wash my hair with my eyes open because I don't want them closed for that long. I failed all my classes, and my parents are threatening to pull the plug on my university funding." 

A wave of guilt fell over Asher. He hated that she felt so broken. He wanted to help her. He wanted to tell her that everything was going to be alright, but for that to happen Asher couldn't be in the picture. That was something he knew now. If he wanted to make things better for Chantel he had to leave her. 

Even if that thought filled him with a deep sadness. 

"Have you beaten that thing yet?" Chantel asked hopefully. Asher was taken aback. When the Harpie attacked he told her SparkNotes version of his story. Granted, that was before he knew all he knew now. Chantel knew that they were fighting someone named Gedeon and that he had monsters occasionally come and try to capture them. 

And now he was stuck in a moral dilemma. He could solve all her problems right now. He could lie to her and tell her that they beat him. That their lives were going to return to normal save a few new powers that they had before. 

Or he could tell her the truth. Which were they hadn't. Asher didn't even know if they could beat Gedeon. He had years of experience growing his power. Molding himself to become a force that could take down whole realms. 

Asher was a pothead with a chip on his shoulder that could barely form a bubble around a person's head. Their techniques were getting better with their practice sessions in the dead world, but it is only a fraction of what they should be able to do at this point.  

"We did beat him," said Asher before he even had time to think. A look of relief fell over Chantel and she smiled. It was the same smile that Asher had fawned over that night in the club. Her perfectly straight and white teeth lit up the whole room with warmth. "He was a total bitch baby. We had him eating out of the palm of my hands. He begged for mercy." 

Chantel lunged from the corner of the bed and wrapped her arms around Asher. He hugged her back, but now with even more guilt. Sure, he took away her fear, but now she was going to be unprepared. 

What are the odds that something ever comes back to her apartment? He thought to himself as she pulled away and laid down in the bed. It's not like Chantel is one of us. She's just a human. They can't be interested in ordinary humans. 

Asher laid down next to her and Chantel pulled him into a kiss. Her lips passionately traced over his as they melted into one another. Asher felt her hands travel along his torso and he felt butterflies erupt in his stomach. She sat up and threw her shirt off her body and onto the floor. She climbed on top of Asher and the two collided. 

Asher stood in the bathroom and stared into the mirror. "Idiot, idiot, idiot," he mumbled to himself. He turned on the water faucet in the bathroom and splashed some cold water on his face. "I shouldn't have lied to her," he whispered to himself. "That wasn't fair." 

He turned off the faucet and walked back out into the studio. The soft sound of breathing echoed through the room. He looked over at the bed and saw Chantel covered in sheets. She looked peaceful as she slept. Not a worry in the world on her face.

Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. He thought to himself. 

He walked toward the bed when he heard a vibrating sound coming from the ground. He ran over to his pants and grabbed his phone. Jayden was calling him. Asher answered the phone and mumbled for him to hold as he threw his pants on and waddled to the front door. He buckled the button of his pants as he opened the door.

"Dude where the hell are you?" asked Jayden. "Elora told us to be here almost an hour ago." 

Shit. 

"I forgot," Asher muttered. "I got...held up with something. I'm on my way now."

"What the hell were you-"

Asher hung up the phone before Jayden had a chance to say anything. He turned back to the entrance and quietly opened the door. He slid into the room and grabbed his wadded-up shirt from the ground. He scanned the room for his shoes and found his black converse in the middle of the kitchen. They must have landed there when he kicked them off. 

He scooped up his shoes and quietly walked back to the door. He looked back at Chantel one last time before silently twisting the knob and disappearing into the hallway. 

Once in the hallway, Asher put on his clothes and then walked toward the elevator. When he got to the elevator he couldn't help but notice a woman with light blue skin. She was wearing a skimpy white top that barely covered her chest and a piece of cloth that covered even less than her top. Her fiery red hair on top of her skin made her stand out like a sore thumb, but it was the red gem on her forehead that alerted Asher to her. 

She looked just like the woman Judah described in Gedeon's castle. 

"Don't try anything stupid," said the woman as she looked at Asher. "I know you know who I am, but let me introduce myself anyway. My name is Deidre." 

Asher wanted to run, but he knew that would only escalate the problem of whatever was about to happen. Instead, he played it cool and took a deep breath. "Asher," he replied and nodded in her direction. The elevator door opened and Deidre looked at him expectantly. 

"After you," she said. 

"Naw," said Asher. He nodded his head and crossed his arms across his chest. "I think I'll wait for the next one. Why don't you head on down though?"

Deidre held her hand out and Asher felt his body lift into the air. He flew into the elevator and slammed hard against the wall as Deidre walked in. When she lowered her arm he fell to the floor with a loud thud. Deidre pressed the ground floor button on the elevator keypad and looked at Asher.

"I'm not one for games, boy," she said. She leaned against the wall and smiled flirtatiously at Asher. "You're cuter than I was expecting," she said as she bent down and stroked Asher's face. She turned and pulled the hold lever on the elevator and looked at him again. "It's a shame that we are on opposite teams. I'm sure we could have some fun." she chuckled to herself and looked at him again. "It sure sounded like you two were having a good time in that apartment." 

Asher had never been one to blush, but he could feel his cheeks burn bright red at the mention of Chantel. "So you're a perv?" Asher tried to regain his composure. "You're one of those freaks that like to watch?" 

"Oh, no," said Deidre with a laugh. "Trust me, I had no interest in watching. However, I couldn't help but notice how pretty she was." Deidre looked at Asher with a frown. "It would be a shame if something happened to that pretty little face of hers."

"What do you want?" Asher said. "Leave her out of this. She's innocent in all of this!" 

"And you love her," said Deidre mocking him. She brought her fist up to her cheek and pretended to cry. "What a beautiful sentiment, truly. The player turns loverboy? Who'd have thought!" 

Asher saw the world turn blue as he raised his hands to the air. Every particle of water became visible in the tiny room, but before he had a chance to react he felt a hard force smash against his chest. He flew into the wall and felt the breath leave his body. 

"I told you not to do anything stupid," Deidre said with an eye roll. "Honestly, teenage boys are the worst. Relax, dumbass, I don't want to hurt the harlot. If you do what you're supposed to it won't even be a question." 

"What do you want from me?" Asher asked defeated.

"I want you to get your team to the beach tomorrow night. No games. No fighting. Just get there. Gedeon is over these pointless games and wants everything to be done. You do this and I leave your little girlfriend alone." 

She pushed the elevator hold key and the lift soared to life. She turned to face the door, and when the elevator door opened she walked toward the exit. "Mess this up, or try any funny business, and I'll slit her throat myself." 

She walked off of the elevator and disappeared into the air. 

"Fuck," Asher muttered as he stood up. 

He had no idea what he was going to do.