My car nearly bottoms out on the curb lip that leads to her apartment building’s parking lot. She lives fairly close to work, luckily. It's easily within manageable walking distance. I look around from within the car counting the building numbers and hoping she was coherent enough to give me the right one. It was weird enough getting her into my car, but this is going to be tricky, too. I don't think I can get her back out, into the building, onto the elevator (please God, let there be an elevator) and into her apartment without being seen.

Or can I?

I've used my negating ability before to hide. It takes away energy, making me undetectable to some supernatural beings or, like earlier with the incubus, dispelling some of their power. But if I put out enough mojo, could I actually become so nil that people may not notice me? Like, being so boring that I fade into my surroundings and fade from perception? That shouldn't be too hard for me. There's no way to test it on the street, because people will ignore just about anything there–possibly even a man carrying an unconscious woman. I pull her out of the car as gently as I can and sling her over my shoulder. It is undignified, but I'll be more noticeable if I'm shuffling while trying to carry her weight next to me or even if I carry her in my arms. At least that’s my assumption. I walk up to the door and pull on the handle and . . . nothing. The door doesn't budge.

Crap.

It takes a key or a badge of some kind and I don't want to look through her pockets or purse. I may be carrying the aforementioned unconscious girl over my shoulder to her apartment, but I'm no creep. Fortunately, or unfortunately given the situation, there is someone walking up the sidewalk to the door. I really try to force my boring aura, but the kid that walks up has his face buried in his phone, and I'm not sure if he would notice me anyway. When he walks past me, something makes him look up. He stops and turns his head slowly, looking directly at me. I look around and am about to try to explain, but his gaze isn't technically on me. He's kind of looking through me it seems. He raises an eyebrow, then looks down again and continues walking. I follow him, trying to match his footsteps to make as little extra sound as possible. He gets to the door and runs his hand down all of the buzzers for the different apartments. In return, there is a cacophony of voices asking things like, "Who is it?" or "What do you want?" or more annoyed responses like, "I'm not interested," or my personal favorite, the F-bomb and a dismissal. The kid speaks in a forced high pitch voice and whines, "I forgot my key." The buzzer for the door sounds, and he opens it and walks in. I slide in after him, but the door hits Anna's head. Sorry, Anna. She doesn't react at all. I hope she's going to be alright. He presses the button for the elevator and I say a silent thank you to the builders for putting one in. I wait closely behind him, but he is concentrating on his phone again. The door opens a moment later, and I follow again, trying to keep Anna’s head from hitting a wall. He presses a button, but I dare not. I'll just wait till he gets off and hope no one else gets on.

"Hey, uh," he says, and I nearly jump out of my skin. "What're you doin?" I open my mouth and close it again. I don't really have anything to say. I shrug.

"Just riding in the elevator up to your place.” he says then is silent for a moment. “I dunno, I keep feeling like someone is watching me," he says looking around. I notice now that there is something in his ear, and he's talking on the phone. When the elevator stops and the doors open, he looks around once more before stepping off and into the hallway.

"I'm on your floor, be there in a sec," I hear as the doors close. I sigh with relief and press the button for her floor. The elevator creaks but resumes its upward climb.

I check Anna's breathing, then her pulse. She still seems simply unconscious. The elevator reaches the floor and the doors open again. I try to walk out, but someone else is trying to come in at the same time. We collide and I fall backward, dropping Anna. The other person fell backward as well. Clearly neither of us had our footing. Anna is somewhat under me, and I try the only thing I can think of.

"Anna, Anna are you okay?” I ask, shaking her arm. She mumbles something unintelligible, and I turn to the person I just knocked over to offer her my hand.

"I'm sorry," we say in unison. She takes my hand and recoils when we touch, then looks up at me wide-eyed. I tilt my head. “Can I help you up?” I ask. She eyes me for a second and tentatively takes my hand, so I help her up. I’m getting a weird vibe from her. She dusts herself off, then sees Anna still on the ground.

"Oh my God! Is she okay?" she asks. I look down at Anna.

"Yeah, she had a tooth pulled and was still a little loopy. I was carrying her in and I didn't see you," I say, picking Anna up again. I totally could’ve used that excuse before if my brain worked faster. The other woman rubs her forehead, where a red spot is forming.

"Yeah, I didn't see you either--you kinda came outta nowhere. Sorry about that," she says.

I shrug. "It's okay–I've had much bigger people hit me," I say, smiling. She raises an eyebrow and smiles awkwardly. It doesn't take. Smooth.

"Well, hope it doesn't happen again," she says, getting into the elevator. I just kinda creepily nod as the doors close.

Oh well, time to get Anna into her apartment. I get to her door and realize that, all along, there was never a way to get her in here without going through her pockets and/or through her purse. This whole thing could've been at least a little easier. I sigh as I set her down beside her door. I look through her purse first, because I feel it's the less invasive thing to do, as opposed to going through her pockets. I'm probably wrong, but I feel rushed in this scenario: rifling through a woman's purse outside her apartment while she lays unconscious next to me. Her keys are in the second pocket I explore, and it takes me a minute to find the right one.

There’s a small end table next to the doors with a bowl on top, so I put hers in it when I walk past. As soon as we pass her threshold, I feel her body release tension that I had no idea she was holding. She exhales a deep breath as her body relaxes. I check the layout of the place quickly. A small walkway opens into a living room and kitchen. The living room is a mix match of either hand-me-down or flea market furniture. Much better than my dumpster chic collection. There are various pictures hanging on the walls, but I don't take the time to look. There are knitted doilies that are probably from a grandparent or something. Not that you have to be old to knit, but it's always what I picture. A small wall acts as the separation from the kitchen, and a hallway leading off to my left leads to, I assume, at least one bedroom and a bathroom. I take the hallway and push open a door to reveal her bedroom. I carry her in and lay her on her bed. It's really no wonder her place has a decent threshold barrier. She has really made this apartment a home. I cover her up with a flowery quilt that was lying neatly draped over the bed, then hear a knock at the front door. I go back down the hall to answer it, opening the door expecting Kai. There’s no one there, so I poke my head out into the hall to look around. Not a soul in sight, but the elevator doors are closing and there’s a package on the ground. I grab it but get a big shock from it that leaves my hand stinging and I drop it back to the floor. I lightly kick it inside, and it slides under the little end table next to the door that has the bowl on it. I look around again before pulling my head back in. I could have sworn I heard someone say, “Yes.” Maybe it was Anna in her sleep. My foot stings a bit for having nudged such a small box, it felt like I got the same kind of shock but through my shoe. I wonder what’s in the package, but I’m not about to do all this and open her mail.

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I walk back down the hall and look in on her again, but hear another knock at the door.

“Guess I’ll check first this time,” I say aloud.

"Mmmm humph," is Anna's response. I take it as consent to answer it.

Looking through the peephole this time, I see Kai is standing there. He’s wearing a light jacket with a backpack slung over his shoulder, looking around casually while he waits. I open the door and step aside. He walks in, seeming to appraise the place as he looks around.

"Sup, bruh?" he asks, taking his backpack off. He sets the backpack on the couch, then takes his jacket off, folds it, and lays it on the couch as well. Kai is a very large guy, in muscle and height, and has darker skin that makes his ethnicity indiscernible. He usually wears either a muscle shirt or no shirt at all to show off his annoying arms. They are covered in tattoos of various figures and animals. The tattoos never seem to be in the same place twice. Every now and again, the trained eye can see them shifting. It's very intriguing. I asked him once what he was. I’ve never seen tattoos like his, and I can’t place his aura. It’s always moving, shifting like his tattoos. There’s a light about him that’s hard to read. He responded with, "You can call me a Shaman." Dunno what that has to do with tattoos that move, but I didn't press it. I did make a joke one time, calling him Maui from that Disney movie.

He didn’t like it.

He opens his pack and starts sorting through bags.

“So,” he says as he pulls one out that holds a stick, a small tray and a lighter, “How long was the leech on her?” Lighting the stick, he places it on the tray. The pleasant smell of cinnamon fills the air followed by a flowery scent. I feel more relaxed as I inhale.

“Not long as far as I know. I was able to cancel the effect, but he was putting out a lot of energy,” I respond. I explain the events while watching his hands as he works.

He nods and reaches in for another bag that contains a coffee mug, then grabs a flask out of a side pocket on his pack.

“They usually do that kinda stuff at clubs. It’s weird he was doing it in broad daylight like that. What happened after you killed the mood?” he asks, pouring a semi-opaque liquid into the mug and breaking up some plants into it, swirling the contents.

“He said he had everything he needed then left.”

“Weird,” he says, placing his hand over the mug then closing his eyes. Kai’s head falls back and he goes still except for his lips, which make the same movements over and over. It looks like he's chanting something, but I can't hear if he's actually saying words. When his eyes open again, they are glowing with a green energy. The tattoos are pulsing with his chants, slowly starting to twitch. One of them moves down his arm, the other figures shifting to make a path. A snake slithers down the path created for it, then coils itself at his wrist. Its head slides over the back of his hand. It makes a jerking motion. Real fangs push and protrude from Kai's palm. A drop from each fang falls into the liquid before they retract, and the snake retreats. It creeps back up his arm and coils, resting by his shoulder now.

I held my breath when the liquid was on the fangs. It seemed like one of those precarious ‘don’t breathe too hard or you’ll mess this up’ kinda things. Kai closes his eyes for a second and opens them again. I watch as they return to normal.

He picks up the cup, swirling the liquid again.

"Make sure she drinks this. All of it.” He hands the cup to me. “It won't help with the withdrawal, but she won't get any of the nastier side effects."

"Thanks, man. I gotta tell ya, it's really a wonder to watch you work," I say in slight awe of his complete control over his abilities.

He smirks. "You should see the guy who trained me. I'm not even close to his level."

I shrug, not knowing what to say but, "What do I owe you?"

Kai considers his inventory as he packs up.

"Maybe," he says slowly, dragging out the word, "Two-hundred?"

I almost choke."For this? Shi–I don't have that on me, man."

He frowns and raises an eyebrow, "Hm, well, you could owe me a favor, redeemable when I need it."

I don't like that. I don't like owing favors to anyone. Especially when said favor is not agreed upon in advance. But Kai has always been pretty honest about his business and doesn't seem like the kind of guy to send anyone on a dangerous favor. I fight against myself in my head for a few moments, then nod.

"Alright, but nothin' crazy."

He smiles."Crazy ain't my style, bruh."

We talk while the brew finishes settling, then I thank him for everything and walk him out. I pick up the cup and surprisingly, it is warm to the touch. I walk back to Anna's bedroom and call her name before entering.

"Anna? You awake?"

I hear shifting in the blankets. But it stops abruptly at the sound of my voice. "Mike? Is that you?" is what I think I hear. She's still slurring a bit.

"Yeah, I brought you something warm to drink. Can I come in?"

"Uh," I hear her checking her clothes and pulling up the blankets, "Yeah . . . that's fine."

I walk into the room and hand her the cup, making sure she can actually grasp it before I let go.

"How? I . . . I don't remember leaving work."

"You passed out right as we walked outside. You managed to ask me to take you home." I lie. "I'm sorry to invade the privacy of your home. This was never how I thought I'd be invited over. Not that I . . . uh." Awkward trail off complete. Today is not my day.

"It's totally ok."

"You didn't have a fever, so I thought maybe you should decide if you wanted to go to the hospital or anything."

She looks herself over."I'm not sure yet."

I glance at the mug. "You should drink that tea." I have no idea if that's what it is. "I promise it'll make you feel better."

She looks at it now. "Oh, yeah. Thanks." She takes a small drink and closes her eyes, savoring it. A small moan escapes, "Oh, that is good! What is this?"

"Family secret, can't tell ya," I say, smiling. She smiles and brings the mug up to her lips for another drink.

"Well, if you're feeling better, I think I'm gonna go. The drink will help, so drink it all, okay?" Was that creepy? There was probably a better way to say that.

"Sure, thanks for all your help, Mike. I'm not sure what would've happened if you weren't around."

"Someone would've helped, I'm sure. Probably would've just called an ambulance, though."

"Well, I appreciate it nonetheless. Thanks."

"You're welcome, see you later."

"Mike? One more thing?"

"Yeah?"

"Did I fall when I passed out? I feel like I hit my head.” She rubs her back, “and a few other spots."

"Uh," my eyes flick conspiratorially from side to side, "Nope, you didn't fall when you passed out. . . Bye," I say, and leave the apartment, leaving my number on her counter and locking the door before I close it behind me.