Xander vol.1 Transmutation by Jaz Johnson

widening some, taking the joke a little too seriously after
the brief discussion of anomalies. “You’re not like, going to shut
down, are you?”
    Xander scoffed, glancing
up at the clock that hung over a wall shelf, which held various
framed photographs of Fran and Saphora.
    “ In about 38
seconds.”
    “ What?!” she squawked,
scrambling to her knees and reaching for Xander.
    Xander laughed outright,
playfully swatting her hands away and standing up to showcase his
heath. Nora watched him with anxious eyes, worry and fear written
clear across her gullible features. He rolled his shoulders and
stepped away from the sofa, stretching his arms backwards as he
looked up the staircase.
    “ You,” he said, glancing
at her with a pointed index finger. “Are fooled entirely too easily.” He pointed
back up towards the stairs, making a gesture with his head. “You
can sleep in Saphora’s room. I’ll take the woman’s.”
    Nora frowned. Not because
she had been tricked, but because he had said that they would be
sleeping in separate rooms. They had spent nearly every minute
together since Xander had saved her from the clutches of Richard’s
wrath – Xander keeping an appreciated watchful eye, even though
they had not left the comfort of the house.
    And during that time, Nora
had felt safe – secure. Even in the presence of the enraged and
temperamental Loni. She hadn’t realized just how safe she felt
until the abrupt mention of separation. Her body language and
facial expression changed almost immediately, a chill running
through her. She made a quick glance towards the front door, before
returning to Xander’s calm violet eyes.
    “ But …” she
whined.
    Xander’s brows rose, in
what was quite obviously amusement.
    “ What? Did you want to lay
together after such a short time?” Xander chuckled, turning fully
to face her again as he leaned his arm against the railing of the
staircase. “I wasn’t aware that your species –“
    Xander was cut off by the
sudden collision of Nora’s shoe with his face. Xander flinched,
throwing his arm up a moment too late, and seemingly cowering
behind it as he looked at Nora with alarm, the amusement gone from
his features from the sudden assault. Nora’s face, on the other
hand, was burning in colour from the embarrassment of the
assumption.
    “ I wasn’t going to say
that, you pervert!” she screeched.
    Xander’s arms inched down,
leveling with his shoulders, his eyes still holding a certain level
of uncertainty. Nora hesitated a bit, now embarrassed by her sudden
fear of being left alone. Xander sighed, thinking that she wanted
to keep talking about Athena, his arms dropping to his
side.
    “ Look,” he sighed “We can
keep talking tomorrow. Right now –“
    “ No, it’s not that, either
…” Nora mumbled. Xander’s brows furrowed, looking over her body
momentarily.
    “ What is it, then? Are you
hurt? In pain?”
    “ What if Richard finds
this house?” she finally asked after another moment of hesitant
silence.
    She averted her eyes to
the door, almost ashamed of her paranoia. Xander paused, looking at
her blatant fear, and sighed. One hand found his hip as the other
raked briskly through his hair.
    “ You’re afraid,” he
somewhat laughed. Nora frowned, her eyes snapping back to his and
threatening to water from the mockery.
    “ It’s not funny. If he
finds me, he’ll –“
    “ Have to go through me,”
Xander finished, crossing his arms. “No one’s going to get you. And
if it makes you feel any better, I’ll stay down here, and keep an
eye on the door. If he does manage to break in, I’ll be here
waiting.”
    Nora gnawed at the inside
of her lower lip at the offer. While it was true she was scared,
she didn’t want to endanger Xander’s life just so that she could
feel at ease. That would be doing the opposite, if
anything.
    “ Hey,” Xander called,
seeing the look of hesitation and the beginnings of guilt on her
face. “I beat him