Page 6 of The Dark Labyrinth

By the time the carols were done, Zo was out of tears and hollowed out. Constantine took a clean handkerchief from his pocket and wiped Zo's cheeks like he was a child. Zo let him. He didn't have any fight left in him.

"Come,amico. We need wine," Constantine said, rising to his feet. They paused briefly for Constantine to light candles for his long-dead children, and then they returned to the square.

Florian'swas packed, and neither of them wanted the noise. They found a quieter cafe and a spot at the bar on the Campo Santo Stefano and ordered two large glasses of red wine.

"You know, I love this city. I'm glad we are all talking again so I can come back to it," Constantine commented, looking about the looming buildings of the square and the groups of people huddled together to talk and smoke.

"You were always welcome, either way. Alexis was gone more often than not," Zo replied. He had a large mouthful of wine and the hollowed out feeling inside of him heated. "Try not to start another fight, and you can come back whenever you want. When are you leaving anyway?"

Constantine tilted his head. "You trying to get rid of me already, Zo?"

"No, but I know you. You always leave eventually. Better to be prepared for it," Zo replied flippantly like he wasn't knifing himself in the guts for fun.

"I'm enjoying my time here, and I have no intention of leaving any time soon." Constantine drained his wine. "I'm not leaving you to spiral and sulk on your own, Zo, so stop trying to make me. You forget I knowyouas well."

Zo breathed heavily through his nose and tried to push down his annoyance. "You're the worst."

"Yes, I'm a complete monster. How dare I care about one of my dearest friends when they are going through a time of grief," Constantine said drolly.

"I'm fine." Zo drained his wine and refused to look at him.

Constantine reached out and lifted his chin. "Lie to yourself, but not to me."

"I'll get over it. I always do." Zo moved back. He couldn't handle what that soft touch on his face did to him. He was emotional enough. It made him want to throw himself off the nearest bridge. "We need to go. It's almost dinner time."

The Accademia bridge had fewer people on it on the way back, and when Zo stopped to stare at the water, Constantine didn't object.

"Why aren't you writing?" he asked because he was like a dog with a bone when he wanted to be.

"I feel blocked. The crying helped, but I'm just...empty," Zo admitted. Writing was always something they could find a middle ground on. Constantine was almost as prolific as he was, and they had always shared their struggles with it. "Maybe I need to go and spend some time screaming in the desert."

Constantine grinned. "Would that help? Because I still have a place in Siwa."

"Were you hunting the oracles like Alexander?" Zo scoffed.

"The oracles are still there if you know where to look. You should know that. Aelia was one for long enough. Why? Do you need an oracle?" Constantine replied. His expression clouded with worry. "Dear god, you aren't suicidal, are you?"

Zo shook his head. "No. I'm tired, but not at that point. Everything feels like a kind of death. Like we have finished a very long cycle that ended with Thevetat. I can't imagine what happens next. We are all off-kilter and grieving for Nereus."

"The grief will always be there, but change might be a good thing. We all could do with some new beginnings." Constantine's grin turned into a smirk. "And happy endings."

Zo failed to smother his laughter. "You made that dirty on purpose."

"Made you smile, didn't it?" Constantine said with a shrug. "I stand by my statement. We have all been stagnant for too long. Our Doctor Bryne has stirred us all up out of our lethargy. There's bound to be growing pains, my dear. We just need to get through it together."

"If I could get through this mental block that's keeping me from writing, I think everything else would fall into place," Zo sighed and stared out at the dark canal.

"Does that mean you haven't written me anything for Christmas?" Constantine asked, nudging him with his shoulder.

Zo had written lots of things for Constantine over the centuries that he had yet to give him. The feud with Alexis had prevented him from sharing the bulk of it, but he had still written it.

"I didn't say that. It just won't have been written in the past few months," he said. "Do you want prose or poetry?"

"Surprise me. I love all of your writing. You know that."

Zo's heart fluttered in a way that only compliments from Constantine could make it. Damn him. He was going to make Zo pick up the pen again just to get a dose of that feeling. Hehad never been susceptible to praise from anyone else, and that annoyed him.

"Have you been working on anything?" Zo asked as they began walking again. "Apart from all the time you are spending in the gym."

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