Chasing Starlight 💫

5. SURVEILLANCE DUTY

Will:

Will rounded the corner, into the alley behind the strip of shops. Six garbage bins lined the fence. He stopped at the first, with the sticker of 'Rendwick Veterinary Clinic' peeling off. He scanned the area, and then the sky. How many times had he stood there keeping watch for peculiar things that never came? Sometimes, stupidly, he wished for a peculiar event just to see if he was worthy of the title Sepheri, one of the few chosen before birth to guard ancient secrets and lives in need of protecting. But for Ash's sake, he prayed for the ordinary.

He peered through the back window of the clinic. The grooming room was empty. Every minute or so he tuned into her spirit, checking if she was near or far, or if she might be coming out the back door with a bag of rubbish. But he knew one thing for certain, she was unsettled. He'd sensed it the second Lücan had entered the reception. More than that, Ash's feelings zipped through his blood and spirit, as if he was the one who'd just experienced a very confusing and uncomfortable encounter.

Will tried to shake off her mood. He raked his hair, messing it further. A gust of wind passed through the alley, sending an empty can skittering across the pavement. Shadows shifted over the ground. He turned to find the source of the shadow was a gumtree swaying over the back fence. Will let out a breath. He should've been used to that tree by now, but Lücan was insistent that all Sepheri must check within the shadows, looking for the unordinary. Today, the shadows were just leaves.

Slumping down on the wooden crate behind the clinic, he cast his spirit out for danger.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

The door to the next shop opened and Jasper bounded down the steps, looking more like a party-hard rock star than a coffee shop owner or a Lyrethian guard. "Will, message for you. Lücan wants you home within the hour. I'll be taking over your shift."

A bad feeling crept over Will. Lücan never called them back unless something had gone horribly wrong. "Did he say why?"

"I think I only got half the story. The good half."

"There's a good half?" Will laughed. "That doesn't sound like Lücan."

Jasper grinned. "All will make sense when you get home."

We'll see about that.

Leaving the alleyway, they were partway up the hill when Jasper stopped and said, "One more thing..." Then he began walking again, leaving Will in suspense.

"Yes?" he prompted.

"—I'm sorry about last night, for you know..."

Will frowned, utterly confused, as he was most of time with Jasper. "What exactly are you sorry about?"

"That would be asking Ash out. On stage. To dinner. And a movie. I didn't think. Alründ said that if I ever..." Jasper strode faster.

"That if you ever what?"

"Forget I said anything," the singer grumbled.

As they reached the corner of the shops, Will sensed a distance between Lücan and Ash's spirits. He entered her mind, taking great care not to tune into her thoughts, but to see through her eyes, trying to understand her next move. She was placing a necklace around her throat. Then she grabbed her bag and rushed out the door.

"Ash is heading home," Will said.

Jasper nodded, as if he'd sensed her movements, too. "Nelly will cover the shop for me. Let's go."

As they arrived at the corner of the clinic, Will pulled down his red baseball cap. They turned right along the main street, following some distance behind Ash. Sensing she was about to check if anyone was behind her, they crossed the road and continued walking in her direction.