Page 12 of The Monster of Darkspell Comics

Fanny

M y hands are shoved into my back pockets, and I rock patiently back and forth on my sneakers, my Walkman blaring Judas Priest in my ears over the popular tunes chosen to be played through the mall’s speakers.

I bounce to the rhythm of the music as I patiently wait for my turn.

It’s good that Pashar has been loosening the leash a bit more.

After my first trip, fetching lunch has become one of my daily responsibilities, and I’m really enjoying the opportunity to stretch my legs.

And after having my eyes opened in a big way at the roller rink, I’m exploring the mall far more attentively and with far more enthusiasm as I walk through it to and from the shop.

Although there are quite a few humans, I’m learning to pick out the non-humans present, and it’s a trip.

Unfortunately, it looks like my spooks-watching won’t be happening much today.

I seem to have hit my timing wrong because the line at the Good Char is longer than I expected.

Finally, it’s my turn, and I step up to the counter and exchange a smile with the girl stationed there as I pull my headphones from my ears.

“Hi! Welcome to the Good Char. What can I get you?” she chirps with an amazing level of cheerfulness.

“Hey! Let me get—” I begin but my voice trails off as I’m distracted by an unsettling presence moving from the corner of my eye.

I turn to look at the source more fully and frown when I see the guy from the other day lower himself into the chair across the way.

His eyes are fastened on me, and the small hairs on the back of my neck prickle in response.

He smiles and tips his head to me before opening his newspaper.

He puts on a good show pretending to be absorbed in its contents, but I’m not fooled.

The subtle shift of his head and the flick of his eyes are enough to tell me that he’s watching me.

A chill creeps over me, and I start to back away from the counter, but the wiener-girl catches my wrist and looks over at me with concern.

“Are you okay? Is that guy bothering you? Maybe I should go get Dzik,” she rambles worriedly. “Dzik?” she calls over her shoulder.

The huge linebacker stationed behind the grill looks up and makes his way toward us as he wipes his hands on a rag. This must be Dzik. His dark eyes sweep over the crowd coldly before focusing on the girl in front of me.

“What’s going on?” he demands in growl that could rival anything that came from Pashar.

“The guy over there—with the newspaper,” she babbled, but I patted her hand, not wanting to distress her. And with the hope that she might loosen her death grip from around my wrist.

“It’s okay. No one’s bothering me. It’s just... have you seen that guy around here a lot?” I ask, tipping my head toward him.

Dzik squints at him for a moment but shakes his head as he slaps the rag over his shoulder. “Him? Nah. But I don’t pay much attention to the meat-sacks. You recognize him, Kimmy?”

I freeze at his turn of phrase, but when I peer over at him, he’s not even looking at me but scrutinizing the girl at his side.

Her eyebrows beetle, but she shakes her head. “I don’t know. I think maybe I’ve seen him walking through the mall a few times, but nothing that really stands out. Do you think he might be trouble?” she whispers as she looks anxiously toward Dzik.

“I wouldn’t worry about the likes of him,” Dzik gruffly replies. “There’s not much he’s going to be able to do around here except blow his hard-earned cash.”

Maybe. He still gives me a bad feeling. For someone just “passing through,” he’s certainly hanging around longer than expected. Especially for a town in the middle of nowhere.

“Are you planning on ordering before much longer or should I order my lunch from somewhere else?” a voice coolly interrupts from behind me.

I glance over my shoulder and grimace apologetically to Ms. Kremble. Dzik’s scowl just gets more impressive as he shifts the weight of his glare to her.

“What makes you think I care if you are fed or not?” he growls. He jabs a thick finger at the stack of flyers in her arms. “And don’t even think of giving me any of those. I’m not free advertising.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” Ms. Kremble sighs with a roll of her eyes. “Community involvement benefits all of us. Pinning a flyer up is the least you can do.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” I chime in, earning an approving smile from the boss lady while Dzik’s scowl becomes even more foreboding.

“I mean, think about it,” I rush to add.

“Halloween can turn the mall in a holiday draw in town over time if people really play into it. Especially if we capitalize on the spooky themes that it already has going for it. Pashar has even agreed to participate.”

Dzik’s eyes narrow on me speculatively, and he harrumphs. “Like I care what dream boy is doing,” he sneers.

“I’ve got it, Ms. Kremble,” Kimmy sys, reaching over the counter for the flyer that’s passed to her.

I glance back over at 007-Creepo, but his chair is vacant, and the newspaper is abandoned on the table beside it.

I bite my bottom lip apprehensively. Maybe it’s nothing but my imagination.

After all, he hasn’t done anything out of the norm.

But it doesn’t feel like nothing. I’m almost grateful when I feel Ms. Kremble’s gaze settle on me.

“Is everything okay?” she murmurs.

I shake my head and give her a weak smile. “Yeah, I think I’m just psyching myself out. Maybe it’s Halloween in the air, but the guy who was sitting over there just creeps me out. I got a weird vibe from him when he came into the shop a few days ago, but I keep seeing him hanging around here.”

Ms. Kremble leans in close, a strange peppery-minty fragrance filling the air between us. “Is Pashar aware of this?”

I shake my head. “He never shows up when Pashar is around, and it just seems like a weird thing to bring up, especially when he’s never really done anything in the shop. Pashar isn’t much of a people-person to begin with, so it seems a bit silly to bother him when it might be nothing.”

She hums to herself thoughtfully. “True. I will check over the security tapes, just to be on the safe side, but advice is to alert Pashar to what is going on. Even if it turns out to be nothing, your safety is important.”

I nod mutely and then jump when a large paper bag is suddenly thrust at me.

“Here,” Dzik growls. “I just tripled the usual order. That should be plenty for both of you—on the house. Now get back there before that idiot comes looking for you and causes a bigger ruckus around here.”

I take the bag in a bit of a daze, but Ms. Kremble gives me an encouraging smile and nods before turning a sharp look on Dzik as I move away from the counter.

“Now listen here, furnace-butt, don’t even think of trying any of your cheap jokes or tricks with my order unless you want to be roasting wieners for the next millennia,” she barks, her entire personality morphing.

“I don’t know how you managed to get such a sweet girl to tolerate your surly ass; but I’m not compensated enough to deal with your crap. ”

Biting back a smile at Kimmy’s giggle, I head back to Dark Spell with lunch only to find Pashar standing at the entrance of the shop with an expression that could make a grown man cry.

What the hell is that look for? He looks like he’s about to go murder something or someone.

Is he looking for me? What the hell did I do?

My skin prickles had his eyes land on me, but then a look of relief passes over his countenance, and I hide a smile as I watch a portion of the hostility and tension drain out of him.

Not all of it of course, but I’ve never seen Pashar where he isn’t at least a little bit hostile. So, this is normal.

“I got lunch,” I say cheerfully as I lift the bag.

His brows knit as he scrutinizes the bag for a moment before his eyes turn toward me. “You’re eating that?”

I shrug. It’s free food. Can’t get much better than free. And I happen to like corn dogs. “I don’t see why not. It smells good.”

He shakes his head at me, a strange look crossing his face. He doesn’t comment, however, so I just inwardly shrug again as I carry the bag over to the counter and plop it onto its surface.

“I decided that I didn’t want to go anywhere else,” I reply lamely as I unpack the bag.

His eyes focus on me, and I swear I see the true yellow-green hue beneath the smoky hazel color as he peers at me with an expression that looks a lot like concern. There’s no one else who can see through me quite like he can.

“Are you okay?” he rumbles with a faint inflection of worry in his voice. “You’ve been unusually jumpy the last couple of days. Is there anyone I need to send an infestation of nightmares to?”

I frown, uncertain how to respond, and my eyes drift over to Chewy.

Ms. Kremble is right. I have to tell him.

Even if it’s nothing, he should be alert to the possibility, especially when the mall is preparing for festivities and everyone’s attention is going to be distracted and pulled in multiple directions.

“I don’t know. But there is something I need to tell you...”

I tell him everything between bites of my food.

The corn dog is really good, and it’s a little difficult to not let it distract me, but Pashar seems to be following along well enough.

Perhaps too well. His entire countenance has been darkening by the moment, which is making me nervous.

What does a complete meltdown look like for a nightmare demon?

Does he spew nightmares everywhere once he reaches that high level of detonation?

To my surprise, he manages to control himself well enough, but I’m pretty sure the entire mall heard him bellow his dark outrage.

“ What? ”