“Jax, does your residence have security of some sort?”

“Yeah.” I slow my steps and turn to face him, walking backwards. “We don’t have any sort of fancy force field thingy to keep aliens out though, so no worries.”

“Thingy? Tech that is more advanced than anything you humans came up with or probably even could come up with and you call it a thingy?” He shakes his head with his eyes upwards and smiles. “That is not why I was asking though.”

“And…”

With an amused sparkle in his eye, he looks at me and smirks. “Are all humans this petulant or just you?”

I narrow my eyes. “Are all aliens this arrogant or just you?” Lir laughs. I don’t. “No, really, are they? Because your whole prim and proper ‘humans are vermin’ attitude is beginning to get on my nerves.”

“Look, we got off to a bad start— again.” He holds his hands up by his chest in surrender. “I only asked about the security, because I am not going to fit in and that might make it difficult for me to gain entrance.”

He’s right. Doesn’t mean I have to admit it though. “I’ll get you by the guards,” I say. I swing my pack off my shoulder and pull out my cloak. “Here. Put this on. Make sure you cover your hair.”

Lir catches the cloak before it hits him in the head. Okay, so maybe I was aiming a bit high. I don’t have to be nice to him just because I’m stuck with him. Shaking it out, he wraps it around his shoulders and pulls the hood up. “Better?”

The hood shades his face and with his oddly colored hair covered, Lir could almost be just another human. My eyes linger over his face, the brightness of his eyes standing out even under the hood. Those might be an issue, but as long as he keeps his head down and no one looks too closely, we shouldn’t have any problems. Flint did tell me to be sure I came back with an escort; this is just not the one anyone will expect.

Anyway, I’m not planning on hanging around Bridgelake long enough for anyone to take notice of my guest. Or is he my prisoner?

I lean forward and grab one corner of the cloak, pulling it closed in front of his chest. “Keep your head down and don’t talk,” I say. With a jerk, I pull my hand away, suddenly aware that I’d let it linger too long on his chest. What the hell is wrong with me?

Lir falls in behind me. He’s at least a few inches taller than Jace, but he slumps his shoulders and hunches down. Maybe I can pull this off. I stride ahead and walk through the gate, nodding at the guards. The one on my right, Steven, squints his eyes a bit and purses his lips. He knows I’m not supposed to be out there, but he’s not going to say anything either.

My breath flows out of my mouth in a slow stream once we’re past the gate. I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding it. It’s just a little farther to the house. We’re going to make it.

Then again, maybe not. Flint’s voice calls out behind us. “Hey guys, wait up.” He has got the worst timing today.

“Just keep walking, straight ahead, the house on the left with blue curtains,” I say under my breath. Lir’s steps speed up at my whispered instructions. I wait until he’s a few feet ahead of me before turning back to Flint.

“Hey Flint.” I smile, going for the innocent look. “Jace had a bad day today, not feeling well or something, so he’s headed in to lay down.”

Flint’s brow furrows and his eyes follow Lir’s retreating form. “He was just fine earlier. We were supposed to… meet up to go over some stuff.”

I shrug. “Maybe tomorrow? I’ll let him know you were looking for him.”

“Yeah sure,” Flint says. His gaze narrows and lands on my face. “Is something wrong?”

“No.” I shake my head. “Nothing at all. Just have to get home. We’ll catch up with you later, or tomorrow, or something. Sound good?”

Flint nods slowly, his eyes not leaving mine. “You know you can come to me if something is wrong, right?”

I’m smiling so big my jaw is cramping. “Of course I know that.” I spin on my heel and practically run to my door, calling out a strangled goodbye to Flint over my shoulder.

Lir’s waiting on the small porch when I reach the house. He starts to speak, but I wave him off and open the door.

Following me silently into the cabin, Lir settles into a chair and watches me pull down a first aid kit and wet a clean towel. I rustle through the cabinets for some food, loading up my arms with a loaf of bread and some cheese. Everything goes to the table with me and I push the medical supplies and some food across to Lir. His eyes follow each movement.

“What?” I ask.

“Uh, nothing,” says Lir, “I was just… Thank you. For the food. And the help…”

“I can’t very well have left you lying on the ground.”

“Well, you could have—”

“And never gotten my brother back? Nope. It was the only choice I had. Don’t think I’m doing any of this for you.” My eyes narrow as he picks at his food. “I expect you to pull your weight, so don’t think you can just sit back and let me serve you all the time.”

One eyebrow quirks up. “Is that what this was?” Lir motions to the food and first aid kit on the table. “You serving me?”

I roll my eyes and stuff another chunk of bread in my mouth. He laughs. He actually laughs at me, full out, mouth open, eyes twinkling laughing at me. I squash the answering smile trying to creep across my face and force myself to look away. It’s no good getting too friendly. He is the enemy after all.

A drop of green liquid traces its way down Lir’s forearm from underneath his makeshift bandage and drops to the table. Blood? I think I’d heard somewhere that the aliens bled green. The amount of information we actually have on Earth’s— invaders? Visitors? Settlers?— is pretty lacking, but I guess that little tidbit must have been correct.

“You’re bleeding on the table.”

Lir’s shoulders jerk. “Oh sorry.” He pulls the first aid kit closer. “I suppose I should go ahead and take care of this then.” He carefully unwinds his jacket from the wound, a hiss escaping his mouth when the cut is fully revealed.

The slice is a good eight inches long, nearly from wrist to elbow. Although sluggishly, it’s still bleeding too. Green blood. Interesting. Despite their near human appearance, how many other oddities do these creatures have that set them apart from us?

“It’s a clean cut,” I say. Lir’s head shoots up at my words and he sends me a dirty look. “You might need to sew it up though.”

The eyebrow goes up again. Damn eyebrow. “You are a helpful one aren’t you?” He smirks and scoots his chair closer to mine, pulling the white box along the table until he’s next to me. “I am left handed though, and it is not exactly in a convenient spot. Not to mention, you are the one that caused it. I think you might need to sew it up.”

“Me?” The word comes out in a croak.

“Well I cannot exactly wander around leaking blood now can I?” He tilts his head to the side. “Not if you want my help anyway.”

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and will my hands to be steady. I can do this. “Okay,” I say quietly.

Lir leans closer and sets his arm down across the table in front of me. It’s just an arm, nothing special. Warm skin with a dusting of pale gold hair. Nothing scary. It’s going to sit there and I’m going to sew it up. I’ve sewn up wounds for Jace before. No big deal.

Except I’ve never been as… aware… of Jace as I am of Lir. Jace is Jace, my brother, no one that could hurt me, but Lir is different. An unknown. He’s been pleasant enough, but that could change in an instant. I slide the med kit across the table and take out some gauze, suture thread and the small curved needle.

Lir shifts when my fingers brush against his arm and I flinch, jerking my hand back.

“I’m not going to bite you know,” he says.

He’s facing away from me— Is he queasy?— so he must not have seen my expression. His head turns and I bring my eyes back down to his arm. No good to have him thinking I’m scared.