Dust (Of Dust and Darkness) - By Devon Ashley Page 0,44
echo throughout the cave and a steady glow lights the upper part of my hole. Jack hovers in the air, flitting back and forth. “Freakin’ unbelievable! One stupid joke and I’m stuck babysitting pixie delinquents! I can’t believe my father agreed to this!”
Great. I’ve gone from a jerk to a spoiled brat watching me. Flippin’ fantastic.
You know, I’ve never truly hated the faeries. I knew other fae existed, and probably other Hollows, I just never dwelled on it because I never saw them. So I’ve never formed an opinion of them. But honestly, this species has just about pushed me to the limit on my patience scale. No wonder my Hollow hides away without contacting other groups.
After continuing his rant of it’s so unfair for an additional ten minutes, I’m close to snapping. I’m already wishing I had Finley back. At least the things he did knocked me unconscious for a day or two. But one thing’s for sure: Jack is nothing like Finley and anything but intimidating.
After cursing yet again, I’m quick to snap, “Hey! If you’re going to keep whining, could you take it elsewhere?”
His fluttering stops and he looks down to the darkness, appalled, but I don’t care; this guy is way less scary than Finley. Sarcastically, he bellows, “Oh, I’m sorry! Am I bothering you?”
“Yeah. As a matter of fact you are. Could you stuff it for awhile? Thanks.”
I think I threw him for a loop. His mouth opens but he doesn’t know how to respond. He ducks out of view but the light doesn’t dim. Next thing I know, a pail of water is smashing into the ground and my heart jumps against my ribs, so hard I’m surprised it’s still contained.
“Oops!” he shouts. “My bad!”
Well, at least he didn’t drop it directly on me like the others. Every cell in my body protests but I quickly lean to sit it topside before all the water is lost to the ground. While I’m up, pellets fall all around me, a few pricking my back. I pat the ground aimlessly. Seeds!
“Hey!” he calls. “Need a light?”
“Uh-oh,” I mutter, my eyes fearfully looking topside.
A wave of light rushes towards me. A burst of adrenaline shoots my heart into overdrive. Once again it doesn’t hit me, but I’m not sure it’s from a lack of trying…I’m hard to see in the darkness. The glass lantern smashes to pieces on the opposite side, and I instinctively duck and protect my head, but nothing seems to nick my skin.
“You jerk!”
“Have a nice dinner!” Under his breath, he adds, “Freakin’ pixie,” but I still hear it.
“My. Name. Is. ROSALIE!”
“I. Don’t. CARE!” he shouts back, his voice fading more and more the farther he travels away from my hole.
“Arrgghh!” I shout. I’m so tired of these jerk faeries treating me like I’m in the wrong here! “I’m not a criminal! I haven’t done anything to deserve this!”
If Jack’s still close enough to hear, he doesn’t respond. I’m left to sulk and cry in silence, but at least I’ve got some fat and protein to put into my body again.
Alright, I may have been quick to judge afterall. Though Jack was really angry the first two days and threw my rations down the hole, the last two days he didn’t. Just like yesterday, when I awake from my nap today – er, passing out from exhaustion – I feel my food in a nice pile and my water bucket sitting properly with enough to actually cleanse my skin. My rations haven’t gotten any bigger, but at least Jack’s feeding me daily. It’s nice not having to scavenge the floor for what meager morsels I can find. And I’m still coming across shards of glass that nick my fingers and pierce my knees and feet, so it’s nice to avoid that too.
Apparently, Jack only guards me during the day; he’s free to go where he pleases at night. When he’s here I never see him, but I can hear him though. He fancies the harmonica, and I too, have come to enjoy listening to him play, though I dare not say so. The hypnotizing melodies calm my nerves and soothe my mind. I even recognize some of his tunes. I don’t know why that surprises me, given the history of our species. Several centuries ago we were mostly segregated, but we still intermingled with one another. I imagine we shared simple things with one another, like music. Some of his music reminds me of