“Do not lie to me, Lucky.” Tatiana’s eyes are hard, and I know better than to mess with her when she means business.
I sigh and sit back down. “Okay, fine. It totally sucked. I was stupid and wasn’t paying attention. One of them touched me, and I went all Alice in Wonderland down the rabbit hole of horrors. It completely sucked ass, and I will take great pleasure in ripping every Altrumina in the area to shreds, if you’d be so kind as to point me in their direction…”
“What did you see?”
“Um, what?”
“You heard me.”
“I-I- don’t really…remember..,” I stammer.
“Lucky…” The warning in her quiet voice is unmistakable.
“Okay…okay…I saw them. Michael, Kayla, me—my good pals, the Amazèa. I got to relive that day all over again, as if I needed the reminder. Then I got to watch Bones do what he does best. Who needs Pay-per-view when you’ve got the Altrumina acid-trip porno channel? Then I ended up in the Wasteland…you know, the super fun place where demons get banished for eternity? That was a blast and a half. We should plan our next family trip there; the views are something else…”
“Is that all?”
“Yeah, well, as sad as I was for my little party to end, unfortunately, someone insisted on slaying my dear hosts. All good times must come to an end sometime, I suppose.” This time when I stand up, I head toward the door. This inquisition is over, whether she likes it or not.
Tatiana presses her lips together and nods. “I’m glad you are okay.”
I pause with my hand on the doorknob. “I wouldn’t go that far, but I’ll be a lot better once I waste some Altrumina…”
“The few who survived the night scattered far away. Your friend was quite menacing. I don’t think they’ll be back anytime soon—”
“Fine, whatever,” I say cutting her off. I’m so not in the mood to think of Kieron’s heroics right now. “Find me some others, then.”
“There are some Chax demons by the highway…”
“Boring.”
“Well, if you feel you are up for the challenge, there are some followers of Thammuz in a cave by Wellington Hot Springs. You will hear their song, which will carry for several miles. It sounds like a cluster of owls.”
“Perfect.”
“You cannot kill them with your hands or your Powers. You must slit their throats. Make sure you have your dagger.”
“Always,” I say, patting my boot.
“And, Lucky…”
“Yeah…?”
“I know you’re upset with Liora right now. If you do anything to harm her or her life in any way there will be severe consequences. Understood?”
I roll my eyes. Does she ever bother to tell Liora not to mess with me or harm my life? Noooooo…
“Tatiana, I wouldn’t dream of it.”
******
When I reach the River of Kings, I dismount Diablo and take a quick look around for Bones. I hate how we left things between us last night. I want to talk with him and make sure we’re still cool.
Or do I?
After all, I’m the one who said I needed some time and space to figure things out. But really, what is there to decide? I want him. I want him more than just as a friend or a companion. I want him to be mine…all mine. He may want me, but he also wants others. Many others. It’s who he is. This will never change.
And how awful this makes me feel will also never change unless I can go back to the way I was before…before the split and without Liora’s human emotions infecting my judgment.
Question is, can I live with that? Can I stay friends with Bones, even though seeing him go off to seduce Sapie women drives a knife through my heart? Can I continue to pretend forever that I’m fine with it? Can I live with the sadness I feel whenever I see the cocky smile he gets before heading out to make his conquests, or see his eyes aglow from his satisfying missions?
Can I ever forget the image of watching him make love to all those women?
If I was normal…if I was still a pure demion, I’d be better able to shut these unwanted emotions off. Maybe then I could deal with this situation with a clear head. But as things are now, I can’t. Since Liora went human, all my hard work toward mastering the fine art of apathy has gone right out the window.
And it really pisses me off.
And then there’s Kieron. Sure, I’ve met plenty of other demions before, but there’s something about him…I don’t know what it is. Sure he’s gorgeous…he’s a demion. That’s not it. Last night, after he helped me with the Altrumina…sitting there in the park beside him…I don’t know, it’s like I felt safe. Whole. Right….if only for a moment. Being with him felt easy. Good.