Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 62637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 313(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 313(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Truly, I question if humans have evolved or devolved. Still thinking about it.
Tarek comes up behind me. “She’s pretty.” He grabs the dirty rag I just threw. “I mean, if you’re into mortals.”
I roll my eyes. Last month he said I was going to find my mate and said to be ready. I distinctly remember flipping him off in my head, my first modern reaction in this timeline. “It’s not that mortals aren’t attractive. They’re just stupid.” I look around the club. “Should we lock up?”
“Teach her how.” He points to where she was just cleaning, but she’s suddenly gone. Huh! “And I’ll see you upstairs?”
“Got it.” I go into my office, grab the keys from the hook, and pause… Something’s wrong.
I don’t know what though.
Everything looks the same.
A whimper sounds from the direction of my desk.
The lights are on, but they start to flicker. I walk around to my desk and find Kit sitting underneath it, hugging her knees. “Don’t fall asleep, dreams are dreams, life is life, sleep is death, awake, awake, always awake.”
I would call her crazy, except her eyes are glowing yellow.
I lean down and snap my fingers in front of her.
A hand jerks out and grips my throat. She tilts her head, her smile sad. “For a god, you’re really dumb.”
“What are you?” I snap.
“Lost.” Her lower lip trembles. “I just want to go home.”
I sigh heavily. “Where do you live?”
She points to the sky with a trembling finger as a tear runs down her cheek. “Up. I need to go up!”
“Upstairs?” Did she rent the room?
She shakes her head, and her teeth start to chatter. “Don’t let me fall asleep. I can’t fall asleep right now.”
I frown. “What happens when you do?”
Her eyes are still bright yellow. I don’t understand because I know she’s a human, and there isn’t any glamour or spell on her at all. I would know, I would sense it, I could pull it from her, test it, taste it even.
Nothing about her ramblings or yellow eyes make sense.
Kit shakes her head over and over again. “Die. I’ll die.”
“You’ll die if you sleep?” I clarify.
She nods her head furiously.
And I suddenly realize it’s going to be a very long night for me; good thing I was just internally boasting about not needing a ton of sleep.
“Get up.” I hold out my hand. She takes it. Her hands are pale and freezing. I pull her to her feet. Her eyes go back to their natural color as she slumps against me.
She’s dead weight.
I slap her face lightly. “Stay awake, then.”
She nods, but she’s barely walking.
To save time, I pick her up and carry her back into the bar.
“Whoa.” Tarek passes me on his way upstairs. “She passed out because you smiled at her or what?”
“Yes. This is the result of me smiling.” I grit my teeth. “She says she’ll die if she falls asleep.”
“She on drugs?”
“My exact first question when she fainted in front of me a few hours ago.”
Tarek leans forward, his eyes fade to black, and he sniffs her hair and then down her body. I feel weirdly possessive of the tiny human as he continues to sniff up and down her.
He jerks away. “Huh, I’m not smelling anything immortal.”
“Her eyes glow yellow,” I add.
He tilts his head. “And we’re sure about the drugs?”
“I think we’d smell them on her, but I can always drug test her.”
“Death by sleep.” He nods his head slowly. “That’s new.”
“I know”
“Mmm.” She moans in my arms. “I’m sorry, I just need to get home.”
“Do you know where home is?” I ask.
She nods, then stumbles. “Could you maybe help me get there?”
It’s like she’s drunk, but not. I don’t understand it, and I suddenly think we really should do a test on her to make sure she’s okay or maybe just hospitalize her.
Tarek puts a hand on my shoulder. “I’ve got her address. She lives around the corner, above the deli. Just make sure she gets home safe, and we’ll talk about this later.”
I nod. “Right.”
He eyes her up and down, then stares at me. “Interesting, isn’t it?”
“What?” I frown.
“A beautiful woman can’t even keep her eyes open in front of a god.” He laughs. “I can’t wait to tell everyone.”
“Not a word.”
“Word.”
“Very funny.”
“Have a nice walk. I’ll text you her apartment number. Make sure she has her purse and keys so you can let her in.”
“I’m not an idiot.” I would have totally forgotten to do all of those things; it’s just not normal for me to think about purses or keys or jackets, or anything that people bring with them. Why so many things? Add the whole umbrella thing since it rains or mists in the Seattle mornings, and you need a camel to pack all your things on your way to work if you don’t have a car.