Page 33 of Immortal Sun

“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.”

She snorts. “Reassuring.”

My smile is cruel. She really has no idea what her future holds, but one thing I can guarantee—there will be a lot of touching.

Something dark swirls in my soul, I embrace it and inhale the sea air, tasting the particles on my tongue of all the many animals that live in the water along with the death and destruction that lingers just below the surface, if I close my eyes I know I’ll see the souls, begging to be set free from the depths of the underworld. Cleo is already looking around again as we walk, completely oblivious to my thoughts and that of those around her as people give us a wide berth and look at her like she’s meant to be worshipped. She doesn’t seem to notice it. She’s solely focused on her brother, as well as herself. Yes, this one is definitely different. Maybe I’ll try to keep her longer than usual. Though I know I can’t, it’s a nice little fantasy, selfishly taking something for no other reason then I find it fascinating, rather than giving it away for the betterment of myself and the world.

She’s quiet the rest of the way to the museum her brother had been working with giving me time to actually look at her. I can’t see her different eyes, but I can see her side profile. She doesn’t smile often from what I’ve seen but when she does, it feels like the sun is shining down on you. Her smile is wide and free when she decides to show it. Her eyes are big and expressive, her dark eyebrows are often in a pondering slant like she’s asking internal questions about everything she sees, and she’s taller than average, around five foot ten. Typical, for someone like her. Her eyes widen as she points. “Is that it?”

Her excitement is tangible.

“Yes, it is. The building was transformed from a Christian church into a pagan ritual house before finally converting to the Egyptian Mythology Museum, to this day historians believe up to three hundred bodies are buried in the catacombs, though the last person who ventured in there never came out, we’ve closed them off since.”

Cleo stops walking and looks at the ground beneath her. “Why would they bury them under the ritual house? I thought ancient Egyptians did burials or cremation, wasn’t it believed that once you wrote your name in The Book of the Life for your family line you were granted one spell to help escort you to the afterlife? If you don’t have a burial then you don’t get your name written down and you don’t reincarnate.”

I smile down at her; it’s always fascinating to hear stories about yourself. “Some situations called for certain burials yes, but I’m going to let you in on a little secret.” I crook my finger toward her.

We stop walking, she leans in.

I smile at her eagerness and whisper, “You never truly die.”

She jerks back and frowns, though her smile is still present, the confusion is written all over her face. People hate being reminded they’re temporary, which is hilarious since they truly aren’t, they’re just…recycled. “You sleep.” I add, “You sleep for a long time and maybe you sleep forever, maybe you’re chosen to do something you never did in your first life. Haven’t you ever wondered about certain birthmarks, memories being passed down of places you’ve seen but never visited? I’m not saying I believe all of it.” I do actually, because of who I am, but scaring her this early on does nothing for any of us, I already traumatized her enough with the vampires and fallen angel talk. “But I find it interesting that humanity is so worried about death that they forget to focus on the gift they’ve been given—life.”

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