Page 10 of The Death God
When Gregory stared at him, Thanatos grimaced, but there was both panic and calculation in his gaze. “Want to know about your death or did you come here for a blowjob?”
“Jesus Christ.” Gregory moved toward him, and to his horror, Thanatos gracefully dropped to his knees. He was short and lithe, his mop of dark hair in need of a trim.
“Stop it.” He’d meant to sound firm, but it came out hoarse and a little hesitant, as if maybe he didn’t want Thanatos to stop at all. He did, of course. There was no lust in the air. Thanatos didn’t want to blow him.
He headed for the door. “Stop it.” His voice was firmer now, and he closed the door behind him. Seconds after, the sounds of the latches and chains being moved into place again reached him.
Fuck, he needed a drink.
* * * *
Thanatos unlocked the door to his room and stepped out into the corridor. It was late, or early, depending on how you saw it. No one should be up, including him, but he’d remembered his sourdough.
He’d watched the instruction video again to distract himself from the Gregory-disaster—had he come to Thanatos room for a blowjob or not?—and he had to feed it.
Walking slowly through the corridor, he entered the dark kitchen. When he reached for the jar on top of the refrigerator, he only managed to push it in farther. With a huff of annoyance, he went up on tiptoe to try to reach it, but no luck.
A chair scraped, and Thanatos whirled around, a scream working its way up his throat as the darkness moved.
“Jesus, I’m not gonna eat you.” Gregory smelled of alcohol and swayed a little as he reached for the jar. “Here you go, sweetness. Do your thing.” He put the jar in Thanatos’ hands, moved back toward the kitchen table, and sat on the chair again. There was only one chair. The long table had benches on each side, but Gregory had grabbed a chair one day, and it had remained in the kitchen.
“Want a drink?”
Thanatos couldn’t read his expression in the dark. “I don’t think that’s wise. I’ve never had alcohol.”
Gregory made a sound at the back of his throat. “One drink won’t hurt you.” The chair scraped again, then the room grew silent. “I’m gonna get a glass, no need to freak out.”
Warmth spread on Thanatos’ cheeks. It was nice of him to give a warning, but it made Thanatos feel silly.
“And turn on the lights.”
Thanatos went to flick the light switch, then he placed the jar on the counter and went to fetch the flour in the pantry. As he did, Gregory opened a bottle from the refrigerator. It hissed, making him guess it was a carbonated drink.
Ignoring Gregory as best he could, he added one cup of flour and half a cup of water to the jar and stirred. There might be a few bubbles. Maybe. He moved the rubber band he had on the jar, so it aligned with the surface of the starter. Since Gregory had moved out of his way, he placed the lid on top of the jar, and put it back on the refrigerator.
When he turned around, Gregory was watching him. “Gin and tonic.” He held out a tall glass. Thanatos noticed he didn’t have a glass for himself, and his suspicions of Gregory drinking directly from the bottle were confirmed a second later when he took a swig.
Thanatos carefully sipped the drink and was surprised at the zesty flavor. Had to be whatever Gregory had taken from the refrigerator. He took another sip and nodded. There were a lot of new tastes outside the house of horrors.
“Sit.”
Thanatos obeyed the order but sat as far away from Gregory as he believed was socially acceptable. Gregory watched him in a way that made Thanatos feel like a bug under a microscope.
“This flinching thing…” He let it hang in the air, and Thanatos waited. He waited and waited and waited, and the longer he waited, the more annoyed Gregory looked. He leaned away to create more distance, and Gregory showed fangs.
Thanatos jumped to his feet and hurried out of the kitchen.
“Thanatos! For fuck’s sake. Come back here.”
He didn’t. He sprinted toward his room. Gregory could catch him in the blink of an eye if he wanted to. Vampires were crazy fast, super strong, and they had sharp teeth. Thanatos had feared the people who booked him for private sessions in the house of horrors, but he suspected they were nothing compared to a vampire.
If a person was rich or important enough, the warden used to approve them to be alone with the seer in a locked room. The official reason was so no one but the paying customer would hear the prophecy given. The reality was they didn’t want an audience when they abused said seer. And the warden made it clear to everyone they were to do whatever the customer wanted them to do.
Thanatos had gotten his door open when quick footsteps closed in on him. His heart jumped to his throat, and he hurried inside to be able to close the door before Gregory reached him despite knowing it was a losing battle.
A hand smacked against the door panel, then Gregory swished past him into the room.
Thanatos didn’t close the door, too stunned to follow through with the motion. When a hand reached over his shoulder and pushed it closed, he whimpered.
