Stonecast by Anton Strout Read Free Book Online Page B

something.”
    I let go of him and nodded, waiting.
    Marshall leaned forward, hovering over Rory’s head, mere inches from her face. “Rory,” he whispered. “I drank the last of the milk and used the last of the toilet paper . . .”
    Our friend remained lying there, unmoving, and I was already reaching for my cell phone. I wasn’t sure how I was going to explain to paramedics that my friend was under the influence of some kind of Sandman dust, but I could worry about that later.
    Marshall grabbed my hand before I dialed, then leaned even closer to Rory’s ear this time. “Aurora,” he said, singing it out long and slow, like a nursery rhyme.
    Rory’s hand shot straight up, grabbing him by his neck meat, choking him. Surprised, I let out a small yelp and fell back from the two of them. Marshall tried to pull himself away, but Rory had him in a grip so tight he couldn’t escape.
    “
Don’t
,” she said, eyes still closed, “call me . . . Aurora.”
    Marshall’s eyes turned to me, and he wrapped his hands around her arm. “Yeah,” he croaked out. “She’s fine.”
    When Marshall couldn’t break her grip, he reached out to me and placed my hands around hers. Despite our joined effort, Rory’s grip still held tight, but after a minute or two, we managed to pry her thumb away from the front of his throat, and Marshall managed to slip free, falling back on his ass.
    He scrabbled to his feet as he cleared his throat and rubbed his neck, moving to the tray he’d brought in on the table at the center of the room. Rory, still out, lay there with her hand still up in the air as if still clutching Marshall.
    “Awesome,” he said, his voice raspy. He grabbed a bottle of seltzer off the table and took a deep swig, clearing his throat. “I think she’s sleep strangling. Just what you want in a roommate.” He walked back over to the two of us and stopped, just standing there looking down at me. “You’ve got my back, right?”
    I nodded, but warily. “Sure. Why?”
    “Just remember you said that,” Marshall whispered, then upended the bottle of seltzer into Rory’s face. It poured down on her, and her eyes shot open, her glasses doing little to protect them. Her mouth opened, too, and the carbonated water ran into it, causing her to choke and sputter.
    Marshall was already stepping away from her, but Rory—prone though she was—launched in a defensive reactionary mode. Her legs whirled out toward him, catching Marshall behind his knees, knocking him back onto his ass. His head bounced off the stone floor once, and it was his turn to lie there, eyes open and groaning.
    Rory sat up first, swallowing. Marshall was a bit slower, clutching the back of his head when he rose. “I think that’s enough concussions for one day,” he said, pulling his hand away and checking for blood. Luckily, it came away clean.
    Rory hopped up onto her feet, staying squat. She wobbled forward, and I caught her before she could fall on her face.
    “Easy, now,” I said.
    “Where is he?” she asked, looking around.
    “Long gone,” I said. “I mean, did you see how fast that guy was moving?”
    Rory nodded and stepped away from the hold I had on her.
    “Your intruder was superhuman?” Marshall asked from his place on the floor of the guild hall.
    “Yeah,” Rory said as she stared death at him. “And where were you, by the way? You might not have helped in a fight, but maybe I could have got the drop on him while he was beating on you.”
    Marshall pointed to the tray. “I was being a good friend,” he snapped, looking back and forth between Rory and me. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t expect you two to get attacked
in your own home
.”
    He had a point, and I did my best to let go of any anger I felt building up in me toward him.
    “Sorry, Marsh,” I said, offering him my hand, helping him up. “We’re just a little on edge. There was a stranger in not only my home, but this space, which I consider sort of