Across the Veil: Open Eyes (Book 1)

Chapter 5: Trick of the Eye?

Hot water poured from the showerhead as Willow took one of her midmorning showers. Just as her shower was coming to an end, she noticed that the water had stopped draining and was rapidly pooling around her ankles. It wasn't surprising really. The old townhouse probably hadn't seen a proper drain cleaning in ages. Just a few days earlier the pipe for the kitchen sink stopped draining and they had to get some drain snakes to fix it. They'd wound up pulling an obscene amount of decayed food and garbage from the single, thin pipe. Blake had to leave the kitchen window open for a few hours to help get rid of the smell.

Willow quickly towelled off and got changed before she went fishing for the drain snake at the bottom of the bathroom cabinet. She knelt down and fed the metal snake into the drain until she felt it catch hold of something. The metal snake pulled free from the drain with a bit of force, pulling with it a thick mass of what looked like muck and...

"Oh, fuck me!" Willow yelped, dropping the drain snake and reeling backwards. She moved back to the door, opening it quickly and calling out with a hushed voice, "Hey! Anyone up yet?"

Vilis peeked out of his room, hair a mess and sleep still in his eyes. He blinked a few times, "Willow? You okay? You look a little green in the face." The sleep cleared from his eyes a bit as he stepped from his room, "Are you sick?"

"No... It's just... I found something in the drain. Can come you see this?" she asked.

Vilis nodded and followed her into the bathroom. His eyes widened slightly as he looked at the muck.

"I think those are... scales? Did the last person who lived here have a snake?" Willow asked, voice a little shaky.

Vilis cleared his throat, "I have no idea... But yeah. Uhm... I'll get rid of that for you."

Vilis carefully picked up the piece of snakeskin and dumped it into the garbage can. He was going to have to talk to Nina about that once she got up. He glanced back at Willow and gave her a sympathetic smile, asking if she was okay. The woman nodded, but her face still looked a little pale.

He went to place a hand on her shoulder, "You sure you're okay? Here, let's get you to your room so you can sit down." He led her into the hall, "Did the snakeskin really shake you up that bad?"

"More so the muck. It reeked... But the scales didn't help." Willow admitted as she opened the door to her room and stepped inside, "I should really clean it out... I don't want it backing up into the tub the next time I shower or something."

Vilis patted her head gently, like a brother to a younger sister. "I'll clean it out. You just get changed and focus on not getting sick." He teased. He turned and started to move down the hall, glancing over his shoulder, "If you need a bucket, just let me know. Okay?"

"Geez, at this rate I'll have to start calling you my big brother." Willow replied from her doorway.

"Eh, another sibling wouldn't hurt me any." Vilis shrugged.

Willow paused as she began to shut her bedroom door. "How many do you have?"

Vilis paused to think for a moment, "Last time I was home? I had about five siblings, three of which were triplets."

"Fuck." Willow breathed, "How do your parents manage?"

"Coordination, family, and friends." Vilis smiled.

"Sounds nice."

Vilis nodded, a pleasant smile appearing on his face as he remembered his family back in Avalon, "It is."

***

Willow flipped on the television as she took a seat on the couch with a bowl of cereal. She figured she would listen to the news and weather forecast before running out to her classes for the day. Her housemates had invited her to come by The Blue Shoes after her classes were done to see one of the performances Nina had coordinated. Willow had known that her friends worked at The Blue Shoes basically since she moved in with them, but she had never been inside the establishment before. Her curiosity only grew as her roommates shared more and more stories about their experiences at work.

A few nights ago, her friends came home from work with an invitation to come and see the place for herself. Apparently Madame Celeste and Memphis had taken an interest in her and wanted to meet Willow themselves. Savio figured it either had something to do with him mentioning Willow not being satisfied with her work, or they just wanted to keep tabs on the Human living with their employees.

Blake flopped over the back of the couch, their chin resting on the top of Willow's head as they looked at the television. "What's the good word for the day, Will?" they asked, voice chipper as always.

"Sunny and cold as fuck." Willow chuckled as the weekly weather predictions rolled past on the screen.

"Eh, I'll take it." Blake grinned, moving to sit on the arm of the couch, "I'll come by the campus around four to grab you and Savi, and then we'll head to The Blue Shoes. Sounds good?"

"Would not miss it for the world." Willow grinned.

***

Willow had spent six hours in the workshop complex on campus. The building itself was hot due to equipment being used almost constantly, but it sure beat the freezing cold of the winter weather outside. The professors had been merciful enough to open the workshop's rooms for a few extra hours so people could wrap up their final projects and models before the break. According to the news, there was a heavy snowfall coming which would make travel damn near impossible for people living off campus. It was a fair trade off. A little extra work at school for some extra time to rest at home and not worry about projects or assignments. Judging by the half-filled workshop, not everyone had taken advantage of the opportunity.

By the time she and her group were done for the day, their skyscraper concept was nearly finished. They had decided to try and design a residential skyscraper which ran on mainly green energy, while also maintaining cost effectiveness. It had been a semester long project between the research and scrapped models they had come up with. Finally though, they were confident in their final product and were eager to present it during the final week of classes.

Willow and her team parted ways, eager for some well deserved rest and relaxation. She tossed on her coat and gloves, flipped up her hood, and made her way outside to wait for Blake and Savio. She rubbed her eyes as she leaned against the concrete wall. It was already dark out and she felt exhausted. She glanced over at a building just across the parking lot and noticed a flood of students leaving the building.

She paused, squinting her eyes as she noticed a dark shape moving along the outside of the hoard of students. It moved like someone who was trying to sneak away from something. She blinked and looked back at where the shadow had been. It looked like a shadow but... It was too solid. It almost looked vaguely like someone wearing a dark grey bodysuit. She followed it with her eyes, watching as it approached the bike racks under a bridge that connected two other buildings. The shadow seemed to pause and look around before locking eyes with her. But that didn't make sense. Shadows didn't have eyes, and yet two green dots peered at Willow from the shadow's head.

She quickly closed her eyes and shook her head. That didn't make sense. She was exhausted and her mind was playing tricks on her. She opened her eyes and the shadow was gone.

"Will?" Blake's voice sounded beside her, making the woman jump.

"Blake! Geez, you scared the hell out of me." She took a deep breath, "Sorry... I was just distracted."

"You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost or something." They asked, eyes full of concern for their friend.

Willow shook her head, "It's nothing. I just... Thought I saw someone by the bike racks skulking around." She ran a gloved hand through her hair, "I'm exhausted... and hungry. I think my eyes are just playing tricks on me at this point."

Blake furrowed their brow, glancing over at the bikes. They had seen Savio leaving the building in his shadow form, but usually Humans didn't pick up on that. As if on cue, Savio emerged from under the bridge area not far from where some bike racks were set up. The Fae glanced at Blake as he ran over before turning a smiling face to Willow, "Hey there Will! Ready to head out?"

"I say we let Willow chill at the bar once we get to work. She could use some quiet and food before the show." Blake said, giving Savio a slightly sharp and knowing look.

Savio pressed his lips into a firm, thin line. They were definitely going to have a talk about this tonight. He'd seen how Willow looked at him as he left the building. She'd been able to track him as he moved, even when hidden in the shadows. Humans weren't supposed to see a shadow Fae when they moved in shadows... So why was Willow suddenly able to do just that?