Free Deadly Violet - 04 by Tony Richards

ever lived in apartments before, and loved the space and freedom that was now at her disposal. In particular, she adored her new backyard – which was extensive – and the small creatures that visited her here. It was the main reason she’d chosen this particular property.
    There was a flash of crimson in the corner of her eye, a swift flurry of wings. And a red-breasted robin – its lower stomach startling white and its feathers ruffled out against the chilly clime – alighted on a nearby bush and stared at her. It cocked its head expectantly.
    “There you are!” Ellen grinned. “I’ll bet you’re hungry, aren’t you?”
    Robbie gave his wings a twitch. How could anything that couldn’t move its face be so expressive?
    “Come on then,” she gestured. “Lunch.”
    The bird hesitated and then darted forward, gripping the edge of the table and scooping up the pellets right in front of her, practically within arm’s reach. Robins were the tamest birds she’d ever known.
    “You found yourself a lady friend yet, Robbie?” Ellen asked him.
    She certainly hoped so. Because she’d read up on the subject. And if he had, then there’d be fledgling robins – tiny things with dappled tummies – visiting her garden in the spring.
    The bird gobbled down a few seeds, hopped across to the birdbath and took several sips, then flew away.
    Ellen didn’t feel compelled to hurry back inside. She was perfectly warm in the fake fur coat that she was wearing, fake fur hat with earflaps and her thick suede boots. And she was genuinely taking pleasure in the soft tranquility of this crisp, blissful day. A section of the clouds had parted and the sun had come half out again. It looked like a big, bright penny, and she turned her face toward it.
    But she still had work to do – she had some spreadsheets to look over. Her company had let her work from home, these last couple of days before the break. And she was finally heading back indoors, when she heard another sound behind her.
    It wasn’t a fluttering this time, so it couldn’t be a bird.
    It was a mild but insistent humming. And there were no bugs at this time of the year. So Ellen turned.
    Dots had shown up on the air. Glowing purple ones, each of them moving. In fact, they were moving very fast, spiraling and darting round each other so she couldn’t tell how many of the things there were.
    Twenty at least. Ellen’s brow creased. Even if some insects had survived, these were too large to be fireflies, and entirely the wrong color. So what were they?
    The nape of her neck prickled. Instinct told her to hold back. But anything this small couldn’t hurt her, surely? She extended a hand in their direction.
    Several of the tiny creatures noticed that. They hovered closer. And then one of them came skimming across.
    And went right through her palm, coming out the other side and shooting away to rejoin the others.
    Ellen yelped with fright, drawing her hand back and examining it quickly. There was no blood. And there appeared to be no hole. The creature hadn’t injured her in any way. But how had it gone through without that happening?
    The intrusion had hurt a little, all the same. There was a sharp stinging sensation lingering in her nerves.
    Another purple dot darted across, going through her shoulder this time, with an even more painful result. Her upper arm started going numb. And she was pretty sure she wasn’t going to stand around for any more of this.
    Ellen began floundering to the kitchen door. But the humming sounds did not recede behind her. They were growing louder. The purple dots were following her.
    And they could move a great deal faster than she was able, even when she broke into a slithering, ungainly run.
    One went through the top part of her ear, making her shriek again. Another one went through her thigh. She wailed and gripped at it, still hurrying away. The thicker the part of her body that the creatures flew through, then the worse it seemed to