“Are you okay, Riley?” I asked, moving closer to him. He didn’t move, didn’t even acknowledge me.

Neil leaned forward, examining him. “I’ve got some of the old ‘Chaotic Abomination’ in the back if you need to, eh, calm your nerves.” He winked at Riley, and then looked at me. “I’d actually be kind of curious what it might do to you. I’ve never tested it on humans, per se, but there was this one time about a hundred years ago, I knew this Serbian scientist guy, and there was this old pulp fiction writer he liked to screw with, huge racist that guy, so one day he says to me—”

“I think that’s enough for today, Neil,” said Riley, standing up. “I think, for Andromeda, that is enough in general.”

For some reason his words were like ice-water coursing through my veins. What did he mean by that? Doubly worrisome was the fact that Neil seemed to catch his meaning. “Ha, I figured that might be the case.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “What’s going on?”

“Don’t worry about it, my little cream puff,” said Neil, standing up and ruffling my hair. “It’s not your fault you’re in way over your head.”

“Neil—” Riley warned.

“I’m just saying,” Neil continued, bowing apologetically to my Great One, “you’re the one being deliberately vague, I’m just being the adult here and reminding her not to worry her pretty little head about it.”

“Worry my pretty little head about what?” I asked, staving off tears. “What’s he talking about, Riley? You resisted the call. You said there was nothing they could do now. They can’t wake up Azerath.”

“Azathoth,” corrected Neil. “And no, they can’t. We think. We surmise.” He started chortling. “I don’t actually know. Honestly, I’m just the errand boy. Or at least I was up until—”

“We must depart,” said Riley. His gaze was now on me. Cold. Hungry, even. But for what? His eyes were so deep, so verdant, I couldn’t read him.

Where was the softness I’d seen in him earlier? The soul who had responded so readily, so openly, when I had told him those three terrifying, deadly words:

I love you.

I swallowed. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

“Alright,” Neil said. “But you tell me if you need any of the old ‘Abomination,’ if you catch my drift. Calm the old nerves. Her too, I’m curious to see.” He gestured to me. “You know. Chemical reactions and such.”

Riley didn’t speak another word to him, instead he only grabbed my arm coldly, firmly, and dragged me out of the shop back to his black BMW. “Get in the car,” he said.

I obeyed. It was the last thing he said for the entire ride.