The Hood, The Bad, and The Ugly

The note sat between us on the table, relentlessly mocking me with its existence. .

"You are not the only one watching."

It wasn't a threat, no not really. If it were, whoever wrote it would have been more direct. There were no demands, no ultimatums, just a statement that someone else had their eyes on me. I hated being watched, it was kind of my entire thing to not be seen, hence the shadows and deception. Cloak and dagger and whathaveyou.

Mara, sitting across from me, read the note over for the third time, her fingers drumming against the wood. She had that look—the one that meant she was either about to come up with a brilliant plan or tell me how much of an idiot I was. Statistically speaking, it was usually both.

"Well?" I asked, leaning back in my chair. "I assume you're done memorizing it by now unless you're planning to eat it for extra knowledge absorption."