While You Were Creeping - Poppy Rhys Page 0,17

a timer. As soon as it filled, the last drop blooping into the pot, I heard Holly’s door creak open.

When she rounded the corner, the sight of her nearly spooked me as much as the unexpected hissing of the coffee maker.

Her eyes had dark circles of smudged cosmetics and her hair was flattened on one side of her head while the rest frizzed and shot in various directions. And she was wrapped in a big blanket that dragged the floor behind her.

Was that drool on her cheek?

“You look terrifying.”

“Jee,” she groaned, and I imagined the dead sounded nicer, “tell me what you really think.”

“I just did.”

She huffed. “Asshole.” Then poured her coffee and headed to the living room, plopping down on the couch.

I grabbed a cup of coffee and followed but kept a healthy distance. Somehow, she’d wrapped the blanket around her in a way that made it look like a hovel while she sniffed the coffee fumes like a true witch about to taste her brew.

“What happened to you?”

“Shhh,” she hushed me before taking a slurpy sip of her coffee and moaning. “It’s the first day of winter break and I’m not ready to brain yet.”

After a few more sips, she finally cracked her eyelids open again. Her green orbs slid my direction before she scowled. “Stop staring at me like that.”

I took my own taste of the coffee. “Like what?”

“Like I’m a feral pig about to gore you.”

“Are you?”

“No!” She took another sip. “Maybe.”

I snorted. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”

We remained there in silence, the only sounds coming from her. Either a slurp or an ahh after a sip. Did she even know she was doing it?

“Why are you grinning?” She mumbled into her mug, eyeballing me suspiciously. “It’s creepy.”

Was I grinning? I let my lips slide back into a flat line before taking a gulp of coffee. Change of subject. “So about our deal...”

That seemed to perk Holly up. The coffee was breathing some life back into her.

“I’ve been thinking about that... and I have a confession to make.”

Why did that make me anxious? “This ought to be good.” I braced myself for a letdown. Berchtas would be berchtas after all.

“It’s just...” She fiddled with the handle of her mug. “I wasn’t lying when I said I’m not a witch. I don’t know how to free you. If I hadn’t seen you pop in and out of that cube with my own eyes, I still wouldn’t believe it’s true. I... I just thought you should know. I’m not going to trick you.”

I set my mug down. If my grip got any tighter, it’d shatter in my hand. She’d kept insisting she wasn’t a witch. There’d been inconsistencies. Things Holly did that a berchta wouldn’t.

My head kept telling me this was another trap. A trick. Even if she said otherwise.

The muscles in my jaw throbbed, but I loosened them enough to get out, “No freedom, no deal.”

I meant it. There were no favors I could offer Holly if she wasn’t willing to grant my freedom. I didn’t care if she claimed she couldn’t.

“Wait!” She set down her mug and got up, leaving the blanket behind. “What if I promised to help you get free?”

I sighed, my frustration venting from me. “And how would you do that?”

“I don’t know! I’ll make calls. I’ll try to get in touch with the elf who gifted me the cube. I-I’ll talk to her boss. And their boss, and the next boss until I can get to the bottom of this!”

The more she rambled, the louder she got until I wondered if the coffee short circuited her brain.

“Please? We’ll get this figured out. I’ll try my hardest to find a way to free you.”

It wasn’t what I asked for. I didn’t want the possibility of release. I wanted freedom. Cut and dried.

I wanted to tell Holly to fuck right off with that nonsense, but my anger wasn’t directed at her specifically. Just her kind. Or not her kind.

I didn’t know anymore!

Lying or not, I still didn’t fully trust Holly.

I chewed on it. Deep down I knew it was better than nothing. If Holly couldn’t free me, but was promising to help, could I afford to brush her offer aside?

Would I rather snatch the possibility of release or remain in this limbo with a guaranteed imprisonment?

Hated both options. Yet, one dangled hope.

I chose hope.

“Fine. But no half-assed attempts.”

Holly squealed, then sobered, holding up two fingers in some oddball human gesture. “No half-assing it. Scout’s