“He’s normally back by now…” Kohra muttered under his breath as he watched Psiksi wander around the living room.
“Is he?”
Kohra didn’t think Psiksi had heard him, but clearly he did. “Yes. Rarely more than a couple of hours. But we have been here for a while now. Everything just feels… uneasy…”
“Oh yeah, I get that… I’m not feeling too comfortable myself…”
“Like something is wrong?”
Psiksi nodded.
“We should return home.”
This time Psiksi didn’t agree. “Why?”
“I don’t know. I just feel we should go home. Get out of his way.”
Psiksi shrugged. “If you think it’s best, I’m not gonna argue. You know him better than I.”
Kohra nodded, then pulled out a key. He inserted it into the front door then removed the key and opened it. The door no longer led to outside, but to a small apartment with rather basic décor. Kohra waved goodbye, then left, closing the door behind him.
Psiksi shrugged again. Part of him wanted to stick around. Maybe this was normal. Maybe it wasn’t. He didn’t know. After a brief moment of thought, Psiksi decided to head back. Maybe Tenuk would know better.
Using his tea strainer the same way Kohra used his key, Psiksi swiftly found himself in a more familiar setting, his own home. Psiksi climbed the stairs up to his bedroom, where his partner Kass was lying in bed.
“You’re back early.”
“Things… didn’t turn out as planned…”
“Yeah, I gathered…” Kass seemed uneasy. “You didn’t really miss much. Except for this weird feeling everyone has been, uh, feeling…”
Psiksi climbed into bed, giving Kass a big hug. For some reason he felt cold.
“No one can explain it. It’s like…”
“Like someone breathing down your neck?”
“Yeah…”
Psiksi sighed and cuddled up closer to Kass. “It’s okay.”
“Is it? I was watching the news earlier. You know that your new friend Retvik of the Dessaron went back to the Rethan homeworld?”
“No?” Psiksi blinked. “I literally just got back from my… mission…”
“Your Dessaron mission. With-”
“Retvik wasn’t involved. It was me and Tenuk. We were talking to the Lord of Death. Trying to get him to change his ways. But he disappeared and didn’t come back.”
“Who, Tenuk?”
“No, Arkadin. The Thantophor. We don’t know where he went.”
Kass didn’t know what to say. Psiksi kept on trying to hug him more and more.
“I get what you mean about this weird feeling…” Psiksi muttered, changing the subject. “It’s weird.”
Kass nodded. “I was talking to some Ksithanai today. They think it’s something to do with the Goddess of Life. Have you met her?”
Psiksi hesitated. “Uh, no. Just the Death God.”
“Did he make you immortal?”
“He said he can’t do that.”
Kass hissed. “He’s probably lying.”
“Possibly, but I’m not going to push that too much. Why the Goddess of Life though? Why did the Ksithanai say that?”
“Eh…” Kass didn’t want to talk any more. Instead, he hugged Psiksi back, pulling him close. “I dunno. I just want the damn feeling to go away.”
“Maybe if we go to sleep…”
Kass rested his head on Psiksi’s chest. “Yeah. I want to do that…”
Psiksi smiled as he gently stroked Kass, helping him slowly drift off. “Well, you go to sleep then. I’ll be here to look after you…”