The Cold Inside: Call of the Necromancer (Open Novella Contest II)

Chapter 11 - Residual

It was the smell of herbs that greeted Becky as she slowly drifted back towards consciousness. She felt calm and relaxed and well rested, so much so that, for a moment, she completely forgot how she came to be asleep. The moment she remembered her eyes shot open.

"Well, hello," said a male voice it took her second to recognise.

She looked over to find Valoia sitting in a comfortable looking chair next to what turned out to be a rather large bed.

"You're prettier as a woman," Becky said before she quite had control of her faculties.

She mentally kicked herself in the head several times as Valoia laughed, loudly.

"I know," Valoia said, "but I am at the mercy of my whims. It takes a great deal of effort to maintain a shape when one is not in the correct mood."

"Really?" Becky asked and mentally kicked herself again.

At least they weren't talking about the whole death thing, but this was only slightly better.

"Alas, I am a fickle creature," Valoia replied. "Although, for you, I might be willing to make the effort."

Becky couldn't help it, she blushed. They might have been vaguely flirting before, but it was definitely not vague anymore. It seemed she needed to ask herself some serious questions, soon, but there was far too much going on to concentrate on that. If the fact that her aunt had told her Fae could be tricky wasn't enough, there was the whole thing where she had been exclusively attracted to women her entire life and Valoia was not always a woman. It needed careful thinking about. Her practical nature that had been known to be overruled by her heart took the reins this time.

"While I am enjoying this flirting immensely," she said, pushing her mortification about the whole thing as far away as possible, "I'm just coming off a really bad breakup, so I'm not even remotely in the right headspace, and I think we have more important things to worry about. Can we take a rain check? And, for that matter, where's Rosalind?"

It only then occurred to her that her aunt was nowhere to be seen in the sumptuously furnished room.

"Oh, around the citadel somewhere," Valoia replied. "I have never heard the term rain check before, but I assume it means to put off until later?"

Becky nodded.

"I would suggest to you that no matter the circumstances in which we find ourselves, that is no reason to ignore personal needs," Valoia said, "but I do respect your personal heartache. I shall take your reticence under advisement; however, I would ask you forgive me should I forget myself. I must admit I find you utterly fascinating."

"Good enough, thank you," Becky agreed, trying her very best not to blush again. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Six days."

Becky's brain stopped for a moment.

"Six days?" she finally asked, her voice rising far more than she would have liked. "Oh my god, my parents will have called out the police. I was expecting to go back the same day and make some excuse, even if I had to come straight back."

Valoia was smirking at her again.

"You are most intriguing, so calm about some things and yet so passionate about others."

"You don't know my parents," Becky countered. "They will have the whole village, the army and Crime Watch trying to find me by now, especially after the Sarah debacle."

If Valoia didn't stop smirking at her soon, Becky was inclined to slap the superiority right off his face.

"Relax, Rebecca," Valoia said before she could rile herself up any more, "your aunt took steps. I believe a letter was delivered explaining that you will be staying with a friend who has unexpectedly lost a loved one. There was talk of something called email and smart phones as well, but you will have to excuse my ignorance, I have not been to your realm in over a century."