Page 120 of Immortal Sun

“What is everyone’s future? Yours included?” He walks out of the cave whispering, “Death.”

I swear the water rises toward him as he waves his hands and loses his impressive uniform. Then he’s standing next to the cliff by the rocks, and he grabs his Subway like it’s no big deal, staring up at the moon.

After an indeterminate time, he drops to his knees with his arms outstretched. An odd form of worship? Or something else he’s doing.

It’s not until about an hour of him on his knees that I hear him start to cry, though I can’t understand the language he’s using; he’s talking too fast.

What I do understand, over and over, is the phrase, “The end.”

CHAPTER 29

CYRUS

“We often regret saying too much and seldom regret saying too little.”– The Saga of Hrafnkel Freysgothi, ch.7.

Daggon is on his knees worshiping the skies.

He never was one for worship of anything other than himself, so I’m confused when I get to the beach to teach Cleo a lesson.

Icicles are formed around Daggon’s kneeling form.

Tears of ice.

Why is he crying?

I walk over to him, my black silk robe blowing in the wind, my hair loose around my shoulders, touching and teasing my body as if to remind me that Cleo’s hands could be there if I would let them.

After all, sex is sex. I don’t need her love, or my heart. It’s primal, basic in every form.

I clench my fists and keep walking through the sand, gritting my teeth.

It would feel so good, wouldn’t it?

What is it like?

I shake my head.

“Brother…” I put my hand on his shoulder. “What is it?”

His eyes are blood red, tears of water turned to ice slide down his cheeks as he stares at me like we’re strangers. He grips my shoulder with one hand. “I never thought it would come.”

“What?” I ask.

“Peace.” He nods and looks up at me with eyes blazing. “I think it will be peaceful, don’t you?”

“What?”

“My death.” His voice sounds wrong, sad, pathetic, weak. “I can finally rejoin our family in the sea, I can eat and drink with them. I can go back.” He points to the sea and starts to sing. “Down into its depths I fly, where heroes go to die.”

“No!” I pull him to his feet. “Who told you this? Apep? Inti?”

He doesn’t fight me; he just shakes his head again and again and keeps singing.

“Daggon!” I slap him across the face. “Snap out of it!”

He starts laughing and then turns to me and grabs my face with both hands. “You don’t know yet, but you’ll see, it’s going to be over with and you’ll suffer the most. What an ending. I think I’ll just go stand by the water now, maybe let it drown me since I know what I know.”

“What did you do?”

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