The Blood Moon

The Bounty Hunter

"What? Why?"  I blinked and rubbed my eyes, as I tried to aclimate to the sudden shift in my perspective.  Across from me I found Hen hunched over herself, her whole body tight and compact.

"Sorry," she groaned.  "I, uh, feel quite a bit of what you feel in your memories and, well, I hate to admit my weakness here, but I was not ready to be in the passenger seat for, uh, all that..." She shivered while my skin burned.

I wanted to say something.  Maybe an apology, or an excuse, or some type of defense to help me bury the embarrassment flooding my system, but nothing came out of mouth other than a few pitiful croaks and a pained whimper.

"Don't," she said, holding her hand up and raising her eyes to meet mine, "you don't need to say or do anything.  Don't be embarrassed, don't be guilty, or whatever.  You two had a good time together, there's nothing wrong with that.  I just couldn't maintain the hold on your memories once I, well you, maybe both of us, uh, climaxed..."Again she shivered and a more pronounced groan rolled through my throat.  "Sorry, I don't actually have anything against Dragan, but I've never looked at him as anything other than an eccentric lecher.  But now...dear goddess, I hope he doesn't start popping up in my dreams now."

I tried to take comfort in her words, but, despite her assurances, all I could think about was the fact I shared my first truly sexual experience with someone outside of myself and my...lover.  I took some consolation in the fact that, at least, that person was Hen and not someone else.  After all, it could have been her father that experienced that with me.

I felt like I might throw up.

"I need some water," I sputtered as I rose from my seat and stumbled towards the door.

"Yeah," she agreed.

She, however, didn't follow me out and part of me whispered a words of thanks for that.  I didn't know what Kyra might deduce from my state as I wallowed through the haze of post-ecstasy, but it would be easier to manage her response without an equally flustered Hen beside me.

When I opened the door, I found Kyra standing about where I left her with Luc.  However, Luc had disappeared.  Instead, a new guest had arrived at the police station.  One that was situated behind bars.

"Aw," whined the prisoner, "I thought maybe you were coming out because the curse had been lifted."  He paused and stretched, his brown eyes squinting as he scrutinized my appearance.  "You're close though.  You all stopped right before the good part."

It took a moment for me to fully recognize the character sitting with his legs stretched out in front of him and his back reclined against the cool cinderblock walls of the cell.  I wasn't used to the jovial, mischievous smile that parted his lips and gave definition to his sharp cheekbones.  However, I did recognize his dark, curly hair and his iconic notebook, that was shoved into his back pocket.

"Armand?" I whispered, my heart pounding against my chest as I slowly connected the fragments of my night.  "What do you mean by that?  Actually, how do you even know about..."

"This Body claims to not be a Body," answered Kyra with no malice in her voice, though she did have a tinge of curiosity lingering within.  "He says he's a mage and the source of your curse."

My jaw dropped as I struggled to select the first question to launch at the man who both resembled and didn't resemble the person I knew as Armand.  Despite his current position inside a jail cell, however, he seemed more than comfortable with answering all the inquiries I was unable to speak.

"Yeah, nothing called me here," he said with a shrug.  "As far as I can tell, the town's ambient magic is barely hiding Whisper Valley from humanity's satellites, radar, or even Google Streetview.  I thought I'd have to do a bit more work to slip my way in, but the shield around this place is in tatters."