Under the Darkest Skies

Chapter 9

WARNING: slight mutilation

"I know it's not a death orb," Seth said as he glanced as the stone sphere in Becky's lap for at least the tenth time. "I'm just saying I'd be more comfortable with it if it looked a little less like... you know, a death orb."

"Seen a lot of death orbs, have you?" In truth, Becky wasn't thrilled about the milky quartz sphere either. It seemed to shake a bit whenever her fingers touched it, but if she left it in her purse, it emitted a low-level thrum that crawled up the back of her neck like the first flashes of a migraine. Setting it on her lap seemed to be the safest option.

"Well, I've seen enough. In movies." Seth glanced over again, but this time he looked at Becky's face. "Are you okay? Does it... hurt or anything?"

Becky shook her head. "It's fine. It... has a hollow feeling. I'm not quite sure how to describe it." If the sphere—Becky didn't want to give it delusions of grandeur by calling it an orb—had been human, she would have said it was condescending, making her feel lesser than. It seemed to amplify a lack she didn't even know she had. "I'll be happy to get rid of it, I'll say that much."

Seth gestured to the heavily wooded stretches on either side of the winding road. "Will we need it to get back out?"

"I don't think so. It's not... magic GPS or anything like that. And I think Finn said we're supposed to leave it there. It's like a host gift and a gesture of good faith all in one, I guess." Becky gave the sphere a cautious poke. She wondered if its resemblance to the moon was deliberate or not; she didn't know a lot of werewolves and the ones she did were more solitary, living in cities and gathering with other solitary werewolves on full moons or simply running on their own.

When her leg suddenly felt warm, Becky worried that the sphere was heating up, but Seth had rested his hand on her thigh, squeezing gently. "If you don't want to go in or it's not safe for you," he said gently, "I understand. I don't want you endangering yourself for me."

But YOU'RE endangering yourself with ME, Becky thought. Every time they were together now, she worried that her magic was eroding his resistance that little bit more. "It's okay. I want to be there for you, if they'll let me. I know Latham told Finn it was fine," she added, "but he might change his mind. Or he might have said that simply to put Finn at ease. Most people don't want to make an enemy of a demon."

Seth patted her knee. "If they hassle you, we can just leave—"

"No," Becky said sharply. "You need answers, Seth. You need to know how strong your wolf is and if it's going to be an issue." When Seth started to protest, she covered his hand with hers. "No. Listen to me. This isn't just about me—or us. If you lost control of your power during a match, you could hurt someone, and I know that's the last thing you want."

"But I've been fine. Sora said so, right?" Seth reminded her. "I've been wrestling for almost twenty years and I've never—"

"Been involved with a supernatural before, most likely," Becky finished dryly. She didn't know all of his exes, of course—and she knew he had more than his fair share of hook-ups back in the day—but the ones she did know about were all resolutely human as far as she knew. "That's the worry, Seth. It's not what's inside you. It's how I'm affecting what's inside you."

That made Seth fall silent for a while, so much so he nearly jumped when the GPS dinged and told him to take the next left-hand turn. "But... well, there must be something I can do, right? You wrestle, and you've never hurt anyone with your powers. Hell, Finn's a demon and he's never hurt anyone. There! Finn!" Seth tapped her leg enthusiastically. "How many times have I wrestled him and I've been fine, right?"