1
A cold nose pressed against my cheek, the body it belonged to invisible. Dusty, the Elusive Rare Dust Bunny that had somehow become a pet of sorts, was spending more time invisible these days. It was an ability I was becoming more and more envious of.
“We’ll get used to it,” I said, making no move to get out of bed, in spite of the constant steps and people yelling to each other outside my door.
“Musso! Dinner is getting cold!” Bertha, Musso’s wife, boomed through the stairwell from the landing of the first floor.
“I’m coming!” Musso yelled from above, before his steps thudded overhead like his feet were boulders. Musso and his wife had moved in a couple of months ago, along with others. Gone were the good ol’ days when there hadn’t been a third floor.
Another set of steps sounded from down the hall. I was still on the second floor, but it was much larger these days.
“Tippi, you coming down?” Oscar asked from the other side of my closed door.
Oscar had moved in a few days before Musso and his wife, which had been right before—
More steps thudded. It was hard to think at this point with all the noise. The steps were soon followed by pounding on my door.
“Tippi, come on! Get out of bed,” Zab yelled. “Bibbi thinks you’re sick again.”
Yeah, so Zab had moved in right after Musso, but right before Bibbi. I still wasn’t sure why everyone had decided this was the place to hole up, but now I was surrounded, everyone so close. Too close, some might say. Uncomfortably close, a sane person might suggest.
I liked living alone. I enjoyed putting things down in a spot and having them be there when I went back, and having quiet to think my thoughts. Now I was surrounded from the moment I woke up to the second I fell asleep. Every waking moment, someone was there, talking, yelling—being.
“Tell her I’m coming,” I yelled back.
I’d locked myself up here for a couple hours, just to get my head together. It wasn’t as if I’d become a full-on hermit. If anyone disappeared for too long, though, you could count on Bibbi to gather the troops. She’d fuss that they must be sick, dead, or lying in an alley somewhere, with a horde of grouslies eating their flesh to the bone. Considering the current darkness shrouding Xest, it wasn’t that outlandish a fear—except that everyone knew where I was.
I got up and pulled my hair back into a tight ponytail, ignoring all the streaks of colors that were startlingly bright in contrast to the half of my hair that had remained a normal black. My boots with the heavy tread were excellent for a good, swift kick, and went well with my soft leather pants. I was ready for dinner.
The No Evil monkeys were up to their normal antics in the office. They’d transitioned from music to stand-up comedy.
I walked in, and Speak No Evil said, “A girl walked into a building…”
My glare cut his words short. For some reason, all their jokes started with this mysterious girl.
“I know who the girl is,” I said. “Find some different jokes.”
Speak No Evil glared back at me as his two cohorts watched on. Finally, his face softened and he shrugged. “Fine. But this is censorship.”
I rolled my eyes and continued on to the back room. It was nearly triple the size it had been a few months ago. A full kitchen and cupboards were where the tea and cocoa station had once been. The fireplace had been enlarged and now had a metal rod to swing a pot over, which Bertha manned diligently from sunup to sundown, acting like a loving but pushy drill sergeant most of the day. I’d found out that she’d owned a meal delivery company, Hearty Brews on Brooms, before she retired. She ran this kitchen like it was her business and we were all her sous-chefs.
“Tippi, good job on the dicing,” she said, nodding.
“Thanks.” I’d done a good bit of prepping and chopping before I’d gone to hide, afraid to skip out on my food chores.
She handed me a plate and pushed me toward the table. “Make sure you eat well. You’re too skinny.”
I smiled and nodded. Any will to resist Bertha had withered after the first week. The war against the darkness taking over Xest might be possible to defeat, but no one and nothing would beat her.
I took a seat at the table beside Musso, who was eating cold eggs.
“And people wondered why I didn’t bring her to the office,” Musso mumbled, but his stare was what said it all. I’d never seen such love packed into a glance in my life. For all their yelling and bickering, and there was a lot, the looks between them showed the truth of their relationship.
“That’s enough out of you, old man,” Bertha teased as she dumped another piece of meat on his plate.
Bibbi didn’t appear her normally perky self, with her lavender hair sticking out this way and that. Her eyes were red as she took a seat on the other side of me.
“Yellow bellies again?” I kept my voice low.
“Yep,” she whispered, afraid Bertha would hear her complaining.
Yellow bellies were a type of onion in Xest that had to be shredded. Bibbi had made the unfortunate error of saying something needed more flavor a couple weeks ago. Now it seemed she was getting stuck on yellow bellies every time a recipe called for them.
“You want me to try to talk to her?”
“No.” She jerked back as if I’d said something shocking. “What if she stops cooking? I know I complained that one time, but her food is amazing. We can’t risk it.”
Zab, who’d sat down on the other side, laughed as he listened in. “Good,” he said, and leaned forward so he could see me. “I would’ve had to tackle you if you tried.”
Oscar strolled in the back door, letting in a brutal gust of fifth wind as he took his time.
“Shut the door,” I yelled, my voice drowned out by the other four voices yelling the same.
Oscar strolled over, smiling at the plates of food on the table. He reached to fill a plate, and Bertha whacked his hand.
“Um, ooow?” Oscar said, looking at his attacker.
“You were supposed to trim fat today. Where were you?” she asked, pointing her spoon at him.
“I had an errand for Hawk. Had to be handled.”
Bertha scowled but lowered her spoon. Oscar slowly reached out to the food, waiting to get his knuckles rapped again.
I took one last bite before I got up. “Thanks, Bertha. Dinner was amazing as usual.”
I edged over toward the door to the office, hoping no one was watching me grab my jacket.
“Going for your walk?” Oscar asked, smirking, as he alerted the entire room to my departure.
Bibbi swung around, glaring at me.
“I’ll be back in a little while.” I shrugged on my jacket. Not even my mother had hovered the way she did. Although that might not mean much.
“Shouldn’t you have someone with you? I don’t like how you head out alone every night. We’re not supposed to go out without a buddy.”
Oscar laughed. “Don’t worry, Bibbi, she’ll have a buddy.”
“I’ll be okay.” I made a fast exit before I decided to steal Bertha’s spoon and whack Oscar over the head.
2
The warm glow from the homemade dinner with people I loved was immediately wiped away the second I stepped out of the broker building. The fifth wind was worse than ever, burning my skin where it touched. The streets were quiet tonight, but they were always quiet these days. That didn’t mean safe.