But then what Jeremiah had said, about selfish motives.
His hand closed into a fist at the thought. It had been so … spiteful, mean, cold. That almost pushed him right to Sunny’s doorstep. He did want to talk to her again. He really did. It had been a while and she might know something of the silver stone, or even about this “Ming” fellow that Temperance had found mentioned.
Logically he wasn’t among the ‘missing’, but they had mentioned he was ‘different’ too, and different could mean a lot of things in Ashdown.
But Sunny also seemed like she might not tell him, or be able to tell him.
But Heliodora might not remember.
He cursed under his breath and stared at the hand into which that silver stone had vanished. He’d started calling it ‘tiny terminator’ which was part of his concern. What if it was just some other things way of getting him to go back to Heliodora with questions and then it would… jump out and stab her or something awful.
It might be a silly thought because if he meant to try and take her test he’d have to go back eventually.
He even considered, if briefly going to see a certain florist, but decided it wasn’t worth making the poor young man that uncomfortable. If people looked so strange and alien, it seemed cruel to ask him what if anything odd his hand might look like.
In the end it was the a combination of proximity and ‘might be my last chance’ that led him towards the beach. Maybe it wasn’t the best choice, maybe it was. Maybe he just missed her.
shibrogane