City of Magische Geschöpfe [Complete]

Chapter Fourteen: Concern for the Enemy

Taylor:

Roman coughs and I snap to attention, immediately checking to make sure he's alright. He flashes me a thumbs-up, eyes watering, and points down to his food, miming a choking motion. It's alright. Just food that went down the wrong pipe. Or tastes horrid. I had no idea, but I did know I couldn't cook like Jay and that's there is a good chance I'm slowly poisoning Roman. Either way, I've gotten far too jumpy for anyone's good. Taking a deep breath and try to settle back down and stop the shakes that make my hand visably tremble.

Somehow, over the last little while, I had grown concerned about him. I have no reccolection as to quite when this happened, but it did. And now I'm here growing conceren about the reason why my brother is in an alternate universe. An unstable and violent alternate universe at that. That didn't seem to change a thing in the way I had grown to see after this man. Man? Was that right? Was angel or fairy a better fit?

Logically speaking, I know that Roman has weeks left - if not months or more - to go before he even starts his decline. Not to mention, not having the stress of school and constant outer stimulus was helping too, unlike what Jay and I had gotten Ally into.

I couldn't say I was feeling guilty about shoving Ally into school. Frustration or irritation? Yes. But not guilt. I couldn't let myself feel guilt. Instead I took on anger. Anger that built from confusion and hopelessness.

Subtle anger. Anger at Jay for being to valiant. Anger at Ally for keeping so quiet and to herself. Anger at Roman for messing this all up. Anger directed at everyone else but me, because I don't think I could handle the fact that everyone did what they thought was best, and that wasn't something that involved me. Or how I felt. Damn it.

"Taylor?"

My head shoots up instantly to look at the boy across the room. "Yes?"

"Are you alright?" I think I hear a little something akin to concern tinting the question.

"Yep."

"Are you certain? You seem a little off your game. Twitchy, almost."

"Yeah, I'm fine." I say so vehemently, trying to convince myself of this too.

"Well, fantastic. You humans can be so susceptible to irrational emotion."

I groan at that. Humans this, humans that. Sure, they think they're superior and all that, but does he have to shove this in my face every chance he got. I push off the sofa and make a beeline for the stairs. Escape.

"Since you're alright," Roman continues, ignoring my obvious dismissal. "I think this is the good time to get you up to date and starting some self defense."

That makes me take a pause. With one foot on the stairs, I freeze. "You wanna do what now?"

"Self defense," He repeats, sounding tired and bored of the idea already.

"Yeah I heard that."

"Really? Then why did you ask me what."

"'Cause that's ridiculous, that's why." I turn around and face him, crossing my arms over my chest defensively. "Self defense?"

"I see nothing strange about that. After all, if you insist on following me back to the City, you must eh aware you're stepping into a war zone."

I roll my eyes and laugh. "What, so you're the random warrior from another alternate universe who will now take me - a poor human - under your wing and teach me the ways of your world? Guardian angel? A cliché storyline you could find in half the books out there. This is ridiculous."