Summoning the Long Dead [Killian]

[Zelda (DELETED 4403)]

Zelda is entirely aware of the man following her. It’s flattering, in a way, to think she’s picked up a stalker. Also slightly worrying; she wonders whether, if it were to come down to it, she’d be able to give this guy the heave-ho—whether she’d be able to either best him in a struggle, or least get away. It’s not a thought that bothers her for too long, as the further she walks, with each twist and turn, the more she concludes that he’s not doing anything but following.

Why, she doesn’t know. She is slightly curious, but not curious enough to give him the attention he’s surely seeking. She won’t give him what he wants. She’ll find an exit, and once out in the city she’ll be able to leave him behind. It would be easier to do so above ground, anyway. At each corner she stops, peers around the edge; she’s looking both for familiar territory and for hunters that might want to send her *** to the Shadow Realm. Whenever she sees a hunter she goes in the opposite direction, which, in the end, probably isn’t helping her to find an exit.

Until finally, up ahead, there’s a beam of light—someone’s shifted a manhole cover. Their shadow climbs up out of the darkness, and into the world above. The beam of light disappears as the manhole is covered once again. Zelda knows exactly where she’s got to go, and is ready to make a bee-line for it, when she’s addressed from behind. Killian. Still following. She rolls her eyes.

”Don’t be ******* ridiculous. Of course he is a he. Of course they’d have genders, she says. ”Or are you a typical man who thinks gender doesn’t exist if sex isn’t involved?” she asks. She doesn’t tell him to go away. She’s completely amenable to continuing to continuing the conversation, but she wants to do so above ground, in the fresh air. She heads toward the exit, assuming the guy will just keep following her, like he has been the last half hour or so. Besides, it’d be nice to get a better look at him. She’ll be able to determine, maybe, with a better look, whether he’s one of those playboy types who only ever thinks about sex.