Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 123065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
The townspeople know what Cleo doesn’t. Nothing good ever comes from an encounter between me and Apep, at least right now we have a buffer.
“Yes.” He looks to Cleo. “Ah, the girl from the ferry. Glad to see you made it into our sleepy little town safely.” He leans in. The last thing I need is for him to smell his own power on her.
I immediately shove her behind me, something I’ll probably regret because it shows weakness, protection, and the last thing I will be doing is protecting her; quite the opposite actually.
That’s new, normally he stalks them until the time is up and then he chases them until the sacrifice before we go our separate ways. The fact that he’s even speaking to her is strange. Then again, he always does like to taunt me. This could be a new hobby of his, taunting the last sacrifice because he knows I’m more powerful and can do nothing to stop me. He can only annoy me to death.
If I could kill him right this second, I would, but that pesky balance exists still.
I look back at the flames lining the pub wall, they start to flicker. People look up from the streets and walk quickly by.
Maybe one day I’ll find a way for his death without ruining the balance of the sun and the moon.
“Thank you,” Cleo says cheerfully diffusing the situation. “For the talk on the ferry. You were right about it eventually being okay. And you were very kind.”
“Kind,” I repeat. Is she on drugs? Kind is the last thing he is. “Yeah, well, Enki’s father has the potential to be nice I guess, though he just rarely uses it. A little rusty, hmmm, old man?”
Cleo frowns up at me. “He can’t be over forty.”
“I assure you he is,” I say low in my throat, while Apep smiles down at her, teeth clenched.
“Botox does do wonders these days, right, Cyrus? It’s… shall I say downright magical?”
The need to choke him is so strong that my nails are managing to dig into my palms, creating tiny creases. I’m sick of his mind games, and sick of him in general. Instead, I give him a polite smile and grip Cleo’s hand, I’ll regret it later because she’ll have questions about why I’m actually holding her hand, but for some reason having him around her makes me want to commit violence despite knowing their connection.
At least more than usual. “We should be going.”
The smell of the Puget Sound fills the air as several people move from our side of the street closer to the water. Sadly, they’d rather take their chances with drowning than be that close to me and Apep when we’re talking.
I tug Cleo away as gently as I can, but she still stumbles and waves back at Apep.
When I look over my shoulder, his eyes swirl a deep blue then blacken to utter darkness as if reminding me that the time is near.
And time is one thing we both have too much of and not enough of in these situations.
“That was rude.” Cleo slips her hand away from me. She crosses her arms over her chest and inhales the thick salty air, then exhales abruptly like I’m causing her anxiety.
“Sorry. I just didn’t want you flirting with a criminal.” I shrug and keep walking like I didn’t just drop a bomb.
She jogs to keep up with me and grabs my elbow. “Criminal?”
“Now look who’s touching.” I grin down at her irritated expression along with the hand that’s still touching me.
She drops her hand. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I liked it.”
“That borderlines on sexual harassment,” she points out. “Remember you are my boss.” She frowns as if she suddenly remembers that I’ve touched her many times today. It’s normal, they’re so used to it, it doesn’t feel foreign and then they suddenly wonder why they were okay with it.
“No, that’s just the truth. People are usually afraid to touch me. It’s been a while.” I keep walking but glance over my shoulder.
Her expression is uncertain; she’s wondering if she made the right choice in coming here, I can see it in her eyes. I wonder if the only reason she isn’t panicking or questioning a lot of things she’s seen so far is because of the proximity to her missing brother. Something I knew about before she even arrived, and something I refuse to help her with in order to get her to stay. The more she searches and finds dead ends, the easier it will be for her to ignore all of the chaos swirling around her. Acceptance is key.
I sigh, walk back to her and offer my elbow. “Just kidding, ask anyone, I’ve hit half the town.”
“Really?”
“No.” I bark out a laugh. “But I can promise you, that I would never touch you, really touch you, without permission.”