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next.”
    “ As you wish.” When Riss looked again, Michael was gone. Riss watched Kala for a few more seconds as what she was saying became clearer. She was still ranting about how her life was uncertain, and she was simply tired of it. Riss could relate to her feelings, but not in how she wanted to handle things.
    “ I have two weeks to find a home, pack my stuff, and move. How do I do that? Burn the place down with me in it comes to mind.” She sat down, and he watched the tears flow. “I’m such a failure. I’ve always been something of a flop, and now…who the hell cares?”
    She stood up abruptly and moved out of the kitchen ette, and Riss followed her. When she was in the bedroom again, he watched as she pulled hanger after hanger out of the tiny closet and tossed them with the clothing on them to the floor. He had no idea what she was about until she left him to go to the bathroom, only to return seconds later with a large trash bag. Watching her stuffing things into the bag with such force as to tear it, Riss sat down.
    “ You’re going to be fine. And you’re not a failure. You’re brilliant and beautiful.” Kala didn’t pause in her packing but pushed things harder into the plastic. “I know you don’t think so, but I bet in a few months when you’re settled in a new job and a new place to live, you’ll wonder why you were so upset.”
    “ Shut up.” Riss wanted to take her into his arms again, and nearly stood up to do so when she spoke again. “I’m done with this life. I’ve had enough.”
    This time when she went into the bathroom , he followed. She was running a bath, and he had a feeling she wasn’t going to go into it with the idea to relax. Moving to the front of the tiny apartment, he went out the front door to the hallway beyond. Summoning Michael, he waited for him to show.
    “ How do I appear to her? She is about to kill herself, and this is all I can think about doing.” Michael moved through the door and was gone for longer than Riss thought necessary. When he returned, he frowned.
    “ You think of being a human.” Riss waited for more, but apparently Michael thought he knew what he was to do next and disappeared. Riss thought of all the things he’d do to the man once he saw him again and thought of Kala in the other room.
    Being a human was something he ’d never thought of. They were creatures that, while he found fascinating, he was still afraid of. So when he had to concentrate on being one, it was more difficult than he’d thought. Finally, after what he was afraid was too long, he knew that he’d achieved it. Reaching to the bell he’d seen others press, he heard the tinkle of the sound through the door.
    ~~~
    Kala pulled her robe on to go to the door. Whoever was on the other side was going to get an earful when she opened it. Laying on the bell like it was their job, she thought maybe she’d pull the sucker out after she murdered the person pressing the button. When she tore open the door, she nearly swallowed her tongue when she saw him standing there.
    “ Hi.” Kala nodded at his greeting but couldn’t for the life of her think how to use her mouth. “I was wondering what you’re doing.”
    Doing? Right now , she was trying her best to figure out why she was having a massive heart attack and how not to drool on the best looking man she’d ever seen. Nodding, she felt at once stupid and needy when he smiled.
    “ Miss?” He started to step toward her, and Kala had the overwhelming need to step toward him. But instead she stepped back.
    “ What do you want?” The man stepped back but smiled. Kala had a feeling he was as uncomfortable as she was right now. “I was about to kil…take a bath.”
    “ I see.” He put out his hand, and she reached for it without thinking. “I’m Riss. I live around here.”
    “ Kala Marrow.” She frowned at him, trying to remember where she’d heard that name before. “Do I know you?”
    “ I don’t think so.”