KIRA

"It's you," I exclaim, pleasantly surprised when I open the speakeasy window.

The stranger smiles at me. "I hope I have not disturbed you."

It's almost like he heard my thoughts. He showed up right when I needed him to. Maybe he was the figure in the woods.

If it was him, it almost has to confirm my theory that he's got more going on in the back than the average man. I know the fog can distort what's visible, but come on...with everything that's pointed to him not being human, it's almost a safe bet at this point.

Besides; he's never exactly said "Hey, I'm a human! Promise!" or anything like that. Of course...most humans don't go around saying that either.

Either way, it's a relief to see him, even if it does make my heart race to think that the last time he saw me—if that really was him outside my bedroom window—I was in a...pretty vulnerable position.

"You haven't," I tell him, pressing my face a little too close to the speakeasy window. "It's been a chaotic day."

He nods, his black eyes growing serious. "I understand. I came to call on you earlier, but it seemed that you had a visitor. I didn't want to intrude on your conversation so refrained from making my presence known until now."

"That wasn't a visitor; someone broke into the cottage," I explain, and his eyes widen. "Did you see who it was?"

"I tried not to pry." He shakes his head. "Would you like some company?" he asks me. His black eyes are earnest.

"Yeah. For sure," I agree.

I smile softly at him to show that I'm grateful not to be alone right now.

After everything that has transpired today, I'm honestly a little frightened to be alone. What if the intruder comes back?

What would he even do if someone came here? Is his being here a secret? He certainly didn't seem upset with me being out here, other than the fact that he was upset that I'm not Elsie.

If he is a spider creature, would he web up the intruder and get rid of them for me? Would I want him to?

Fuck. This is all so weird—I'm weird for thinking it, when I don't even know for sure, but...fuck.

Still, without him here, I'd be alone. I may have scared off the intruder once, but god forbid they come back more prepared next time.

I'm in the middle of nowhere and by the time anyone got here—if they ever came, that is—It would be too late.

Now my head is in a downward spiral of what-ifs. Luckily, he pulls me out of my inner panic.

"If I may ask, have you found any writings of Elsie's, since you've been staying in the cottage?" he asks. "I wonder if she may have left any messages for me."

"All I found was a letter addressed to me, from years ago—it looks like whoever found her after she..." I trail off, finding myself unable to finish the thought without my eyes threatening to tear up. "It looks like they took a lot of things from her house."

His jaw tightens, and he looks concerned. "Do you know what, exactly, was taken?"

"Well, no," I confess. "I hadn't been here in a decade, but Elsie always kept journals and sketchbooks, all over the place, and I haven't been able to find one."

"That is...troubling."

"Yeah," I say weakly. "It is. I was a fucking mess when I first heard that she passed, and now knowing that someone got rid of her things? It's like losing her all over again, and the thought of never seeing her again is too much..." I trail off, shaking my head.

"I understand," the man says gently. "And for that, I must apologize. I am so very sorry for my part in this."

My eyes widen. "Your part?"

Was he somehow involved in Elsie's death? No...that wouldn't make sense, since he hadn't even known that she was dead.

"My path takes me by this house often. I have been busy with my duties, but I should have taken a moment to stop by and check on Elsie. I should have been here." He bows his head, his voice cracking as he speaks. "I should have known something was wrong when I saw her plants growing more untended."

His words cut through me like a knife.

Maybe, if I had gotten Elsie's letter when I was still a kid, I could have begged to be allowed to visit her, hell, maybe I would have moved out here, and she wouldn't have been so alone.

It's not like my mom really cared to have me around anyway; she just didn't want my dad to have me.

I should have been with Elsie.

"You couldn't have known, though," I whisper, wanting to comfort him.

"I could, had I seen her. And I will carry the burden of not having said goodbye for the rest of my days."

Me, too. If I wasn't so afraid of breaking down in sobs, I might have thrown open the door and asked him in so we could talk more about her.

But I'm scared. I'm terrified.

Not of the idea of what I might see behind the door, but how I'll react if he isn't human.

I'd like to think that everything will be fine—I've had a lot of time to think about it, but what if I see him and I devolve into a quivering mess of fear.

He sounds like a good man, human or not, and I don't want to do that to him.

Even though logically there really is nothing we can do about people aging and dying, the sense of "should have" is so strong it binds me to him on a level I don't expect. The way he speaks, the lilt and timbre of his voice, also has a poetic rhythm to it.

It reminds me a great deal of the way Elsie was.

That's probably why they were so close.

"So, I have to ask; do you...live around here?" It feels like an odd question, but I'm still trying to figure out exactly who...and what he is.

I get the sense that he's a good guy in all of this, rather than another danger for me to avoid, but I know next to nothing about him.

The man chuckles as he draws a little further back from the window. "In a sense."

That is such a bizarre way of answering. He's so frustratingly vague as to be completely unhelpful. Though...that would make sense if he really is a seven foot tall spider creature. It's not as though he'd have an ID and home address.

I've never been in this sort of situation before, so I have no idea what the proper protocol is. If he wasn't so attractive, would I be freaking out more right now?

He smiles kindly at me, making my stomach flutter.

I have to stay on my guard, though. It'd be easy to invite him in and get to know him. But how much risk will I be taking if I do that? For all I know, he's hiding a butcher knife behind his back, or maybe eight fucking legs.

That said, it feels pretty clear at this point that Elsie trusted him, so even if he is a giant spider creature, I can probably trust him too.

More than I can trust that sleazy realtor anyway.

Small towns don't mean that everyone who lives there is a safe person. I need to be careful. Mom would pass out if she knew how casual I am with this stranger who keeps showing up at my door.

I hardly know anything about him. Wait... I don't even know his name!

"You look troubled," he notes.

"Yeah... I just realized I don't even know your name."

He blinks, looking startled, then releases a slight chuckle. "My name is Lukkan. I am the other Guardian."

Right. Guardian. I forgot about that.

What does that even mean? I want to ask but right now, I'm more interested in finding out more about his relationship with Elsie. Maybe he'll be able to fill in some of the holes that talking with the others hasn't been able to resolve.

"How did you and my great-aunt meet?" I ask him.

"We met in the forest. She was foraging for her favorite mushrooms when she came across me." Lukkan smiles, making my heart flutter. "She was quite startled, but soon realized I meant her no harm. I was injured and she brought me back here to tend to my injuries."

I wonder exactly what he means when he says "quite startled." Did she run screaming? Did she try to fight him? Or...did she have the same feelings about him that I'm having now?

Did Elsie and Lukkan...?

"When was this?" I ask, picturing my great-aunt young, and the art on the over the top romance novel covers comes to mind.

Lukkan hums, his eyebrows pinched in thought. "Many years. We became good friends, spending time here in her home or out in the forest. I found her presence most comforting."

Oh.

So their friendship was actually relatively recent, all things considered. She probably wasn't interested in anything other than his friendship.

"You must have met her after I stopped spending my summers here." I sigh. I wish I had made more effort into leaving the city and coming out this way, especially these last few years. "The people I've talked to have said that she became a recluse in her later years. But, that doesn't sound like the Elsie I remember."

"Recluse?"

I shrug. "She rarely went into town and didn't spend as much time talking with people in town."

The confusion clears from his face. "If I recall her stories of town correctly, certain people in Alpine Springs became unfriendly toward her. They found her uniqueness to be off-putting, I suppose."

I wince. I hate the idea of my vibrant aunt getting more and more isolated because people were starting to talk behind her back. Maybe it was less about her becoming a recluse and more about the town shunning her.

He looks away, though, as though there's something else he's not telling me. It's only then that I wonder why the people in Alpine Springs would suddenly start finding her stories off-putting when she's been a little eccentric all her life. She was kind and always had a good heart.

Had her behavior changed in some way? Is there more he isn't telling me?

I'm about to invite Lukkan in so we can talk more—or maybe I'd bring Peanut outside for a walk—when my phone rings.

"You have someone to attend to," he says, backing away from the door. "I will leave you to it. Thank you for your answers, Kira."

"Wait, it won't take long," I protest. Leave it to my mother to ruin my chances with Lukkan before I can even find out if he's actually interested or not!

Lukkan winks at me. "Ah, but the more questions we are left with, the sooner I will find reason to return."

Holy shit. He wants to come back? Because he wants to get to know me?

"Okay," I mumble. "But you do have to come back. I still have so many questions."

His expression sobers. "Of course I will return. Farewell, for now."

He turns and heads away. The phone seems to ring even more shrill and I shut the window.

Probably for the best, anyway.

After all, it's my mother on the phone.

"Hi," I greet, trying to be more upbeat than I feel.

"Monday called me and told me about your night," she says without preamble.

Great. If the cops won't help me, the last fucking thing I need is my mom on the other end demanding I come home.

"Mom—"

"I knew this was a bad idea! It's not safe out there," Mom says, talking over me.

Funnily enough, I feel far safer here with Lukkan watching out for me than I ever did in New Jersey.

"I'm looking at flights right now. You're coming home," she continues. "How soon can you get to the airport?"

I sigh. Thanks, Monday. This is just what I need.