章 38: Chapter 38

I blinked, because I was expecting a crazy, modern version of Leatherface; expecting it so much that I had to double check if my mind wasn't tricking me with fake images. But a man was indeed standing several feet away, watching us with an expectant, excited look on his face.

He took a few steps toward us and clapped his hands together in what I would've pictured a kid doing while looking at his Christmas presents. Eagerness wasn't exactly the word. Frantic wasn't either.

“Isn't this wonderful?” Comus said, ping-ponging his eyes between Ian and me, as if he didn't know where to look first. “Visitors! Hah!” He half-laughed and half-squealed.

I jumped a little.

“My dear she-fledgling, do not be scared,” he told me with regret in his eyes. “An old man like me does not know how to handle excitement well.”

She-fledgling? I turned to look at Ian. He shrugged and made a looping motion on his temple, with an I-told-you-so stare.