I stared at him, not knowing what he expected me to say. He smiled at me again and got up. "Would you like some juice, Morgan?"
"Uh, sure."
He walked over to a mini-fridge, much like the mini-fridge I'd had at my old apartment. He took out two Snapples and handed me one. I thanked him and unwrapped the protective plastic at the top, taking a sip of the delicious diet raspberry iced tea. It was my favorite.
Still smiling, he took my drink from me and held it in his hands, closing his eyes. After a few seconds, a transparent mist surrounded the bottle. He offered it back to me, and I took it, questions in my eyes and mind. I took another sip, so shocked that I almost dropped it.
He had turned it into wine.
He laughed at my reaction. "Sorry, Morgan. I definitely don't encourage my patients to drink. In fact, here you go," he said, and waved his hands over my bottle.
I sniffed at, then drank from the bottle. It was back to Snapple's delicious raspberry iced tea.
"You…you're… Wait. What are you?"
He laughed with a kind of ease I'd never seen from him before. "Dionysis, the god of wine, at your service," he said, standing up and bowing formally to me. He sat back down and smiled at me.
I made a scoffing noise in the back of my throat. "You're a Slate?"
"Harmless Slate," he corrected, taking a sip. From his breath, I guessed that he was probably drinking some of his own creation. "I just like to do my job and enjoy being alive on this planet. Not all of us want to be in power again," he added. "In fact, I don't know of any who do, but I know that's what the Worthy and Melted say about us."
That whole thing was just a rumor? Did most Slates really just want to be left alone?
I had to tell Ree about this. I didn't think I ever considered this possibility, and I wanted to bounce this idea off him. "How many other Slates do you know of?" Amazed, I took another sip of my juice.
"Quite a few," he said. "I've met many throughout the years. Once a Slate Unveils, others are pulled in by their energy, so there tends to be flocks of them gathered in cities."
"And how did you know you could reveal yourself to me?" I asked, pretty sure of what he was going to say next.
"You have this essence, this unexplainable energy about you that shows you're involved with the Generation. And I don't want to know how you're involved, not unless you choose to tell me," he added, seeing my mouth open to speak. "You'll see. You'll begin to sense others, but you won't be able to distinguish what kind of being they are, so be careful."
I nodded, starting to get the hang of all this finally, my brain comparing notes of all the people of the God Generation that I'd encountered so far.
"Thanks," I told a smiling Dr. Hearse. "I'll be careful."
"Good." He waved his hand quickly over his wine.
"Time to sober up?" I asked with a grin, eyeing what was probably now juice.
"Yeah," he said forlornly. "Not to worry, though. I throw quite the party with the best wine that nobody can buy anywhere. Imagine that, huh?"
I chuckled a bit, remembering what Erica had said about him: Dr. Hirsch is a nice guy. And fun to party with. I'd wondered what she saw in him, but in thinking about it, I imagined supernatural wine was probably quite the aphrodisiac. Besides, in his more natural element, he seemed a lot more confident and easygoing.
I almost asked Dr. Hearse if he'd known Erica was Melted, but I held back. I didn't want to get in to it now, and as long as she wasn't following any of us around, what she did was none of my business.
Less than an hour later, we emerged from his office, talking lightly amongst ourselves. Dess was in the waiting room, looking bored as hell—apparently she'd been so bored that she'd taken a bus here so we could ride home together.
I smiled to myself, remembering how Dr. Hearse felt about her, but as I turned toward him to ask if he remembered her, it was plain to see that he'd already noticed her, his eyes getting bigger by the second. "Well, hello there, Miss Rios," he said, extending his hand to her.
She stood up and took it. "You recognize me," she accused. "You probably knew who I was the last time we met, didn't you?"
Dr. Hearse laughed easily. "I love wine, as well as good food. Your family is a respected food manufacturer, restaurant owner, and line of critics. Would you like to have some of my own special wine?"
Dess looked like she wanted to barf. "That sounds pretty creepy, so I'm going to have to say no. Thanks, though. I appreciate the insanity."
"Dr. Hearse is Dionysis, the god of wine," I explained as he chuckled merrily.
"Ah," she replied in a that-makes-sense tone. "Lachesis, one of the Three Fates," she said, thrusting her thumb toward her chest.
The doc's smile grew. "Ah, yes, of course. It's an honor, goddess." He bowed low to her.
"C'mon, Morgue, let's go," she said, grabbing my arm and nearly running for the door. She probably couldn't stand to be around him, god or no god. "If you tell anyone who I am, I'm gonna kick your ass," she called over her shoulder at him.
I looked at Dr. Hearse before I went out the door. He smiled at me and laughed. "That girl is a delight," he said, shaking his head and sighing. "A pure, spunky delight."
* * *
"Seattle is beautiful in the fall," Ree remarked. I was inclined to agree.
We were in his Lamb, on the freeway from just having dropped off Dess at SeaTac airport. Their mom's birthday was coming up. Ree had refused to leave my side, so he encouraged his sister to attend the party to represent the both of them. Dess hadn't really needed that much convincing—she was probably bored, lonely, or both. That also gave us the house to ourselves for the entire weekend, and that was a huge bonus.
"Let's go downtown," I suggested. "I need a caramel macchiato."
"You don't drink coffee," he argued.
"I do, actually. A lot. I just haven't in a couple weeks. Maybe I'd be in a better mood if I got back into my old routine."
He laughed and I gave him directions to the original Starbucks. He found a parking space not too far away from where I had parked on that fateful day when we officially met. Grinning a little to myself, I remembered how, not too long after we'd pulled up in that parking space a week ago, we were pulling right back out, our hormones blocking out every other possible feeling and thought as we stumbled over our own feet to get the hell out of dodge and into the privacy of my apartment.
My clothes couldn't come off fast enough, and my fingers had almost been shaking with overwhelming passion.
Blinking, I snapped back to reality and looked over at Ree. He had parked the car and was looking at me curiously, a small smile on his face. I tossed these memories out of my head for now and tried to look very innocent as I smiled back.
"You're thinking about the last time we were in this area, aren't you?" His eyebrows were raised and his eyes kept moving from my eyes to my lips.
I scoffed a little and pretended to be totally absorbed by the people walking along the street in front of the car. I scoffed some more and tried to act calm and cool, but what came out were loud bursts of chuckle that sounded like, "Hah. Hah. Huh."
I looked over at Ree, who continued to watch me with amusement. "Uh, no," I denied, accidentally spitting out the side of my mouth. "I don't sit around thinking about stuff like that, you know."
Not breaking his gaze, he moved forward intently, his mouth dangerously close to mine. "I do. Every moment. And it's driving me crazy," he admitted in a low voice right before diving in to steal a kiss…or five.
Just one kiss pulled me into his mind room, and as our lips moved, I saw two different worlds, like I had during our blowout with Adim. I saw both the real world around me and Ree's mind room at once, as if in a haunting dream.
At least, I saw a small part of his mind room. I could feel like there was a seemingly-endless volume of shelves behind me, but I was focusing on one shelf in particular and that's all I saw at that moment—a beautiful, ornate shelf that looked almost Victorian i
n style. An enormous painting of me was hoisted above it on the wall, and it caught my eye, for more reasons than one. Besides the extravagance of it, this painting wasn't derived from real life. I never posed for such a picture or painting, and honestly I couldn't even tell what age I was in this painting, whether it was my current age, 10 years in the future, or 10 years in the past. I looked almost ageless.
"A penny for your thoughts."
I'd inadvertently stopped kissing Ree while entranced by my own painting.
I described what I saw to Ree, who smiled fondly. "That's just one painting out of many," he explained. "If you ever go back in there, take some time to look around. I'm pretty sure you don't have just one shelf."
"You know what? I think I'll wait to do that," I said, planting one more kiss on his mouth and then pulling away, grabbing my purse. "I don't feel comfortable nosing around in there."
"But you're welcome to see anything I have in there," he protested.
God, he was gorgeous. "Thank you, Ree, for trusting me with anything in your mind. But I stand by what I said. If I ever go back inside your mind room, I'll let you know first."
He just pulled the keys out of the ignition and winked.
While I waited for my macchiato, I noticed how women everywhere watched Ree like psychotic fans. One girl actually tripped and stumbled as she walked past him because she was so busy checking him out. And while I knew he was hot and a celebrity of sorts, I didn't think he was well-known to the point that women would gawk at him while he walked down the street.
Ugh. I certainly wished I had Fire Claws.
We walked across the street to Pike's Market without really discussing it. We had a good time checking out all the stalls of food, art, and clothes.
"Morgan?" Ree said as he followed me to a t-shirt booth.
"Are you against wearing a pink shirt?" I asked, holding one up to his chest. "If you're confident in your manliness, I don't think it'd be a problem. And, if it had the right cut, it'd look great on you." Realizing the shirt I held had a picture of a bouquet of flowers on it, I laughed and put it back.
"Morgan," he said again, barely looking at the shirt.
I looked up and saw that serious expression on his face. "What?" I asked, my nerves getting the best of me. That look always worried me, because it meant he had something undesirable to say to me.
He led me by the hand to an empty place near the wall, next to a huge window that overlooked the harbor. "I know how you feel about being kept out of the loop, and how you feel about knowing important things that could affect us both." He paused and waited for my reaction.
I nodded quickly. "Yes, I…I always want to know what's happening, especially things that could affect our relationship."
He took a deep breath and said, "It is true that since the day we met, I am no longer officially your LGA. It is also true that I'm fading because of my own sin, which is a totally separate issue. But there's something else you should know."
"What?" I asked him quickly, not wanting to wait one second longer.
"Unless I find another charge, someone else to guide, my angel powers really will be gone. I'll be worse off than a choop."
"What?" I repeated, though this time it was due to outrage. "You mean you're not going to be an angel for much longer? Even if we prevent you from fading? What kind of stupid rule is that?"
"The whole thing about me fading would be completely pointless if I don't find someone else to guide. Imagine it this way. My soul is a chalkboard, and as an angel, all the words written on it are white. When I began to fade because of my sin of wrath, all the words on my chalkboard are beginning to turn red instead of white, but this color change hasn't been completed yet. Now, if I don't find another charge, this is all null and void, and everything on my chalkboard will be wiped clean—not to say I'll die or be brain-dead, but I won't have any special powers. I'll be as ordinary as ordinary can be."
"That doesn't really sound like a bad thing, Ree. You wouldn't be in danger and the Melted won't be at war with you."
"True, but remember that my sister is still a Slate, and you're still a Human Helper. You guys are still involved, which makes me involved, only I won't be able to help or protect either of you."
I contemplated these things for a few minutes, pulling my forehead away and facing Ree, who looked perfect and beautiful standing there in blue jeans and a black Adidas t-shirt. I looked in his eyes, eyes I loved and could see forever in. I thought about all he had done for me: Coming down to Earth to find and be with me, and now, giving up his powers.
For me.
"So…how would you get another charge? I mean, how does that whole thing work?"
He looked out onto the harbor as he answered. "For LGAs, it has to be a member of the opposite sex. There's a quick ceremony they perform if they wish to guide them, which I'll discuss with you later—it's not really important right now. Depending on who her current guide is, I may be granted the honor to become their LGA, or my request may be denied—by either the charge herself or by her current angel, whether it be an LGA or just a regular Guardian Angel. It sounds complicated, but it's not," he assured me, smiling. "Anyway, right now, I'm what's known as a freed LGA, which is an LGA that has met his original charge and is no longer connected to her. Something in my aura changes, something most people wouldn't be able to really identify, but they'd be pulled to me. Women," he added, almost apologetically.
Realization hit me as I recalled the way the women at Starbucks reacted to him. "That's why all those women are watching you so closely."
"Eh, that's one of the reasons," he joked, apparently pleased with himself.
I rolled my eyes and joined Ree in looking out the window, appreciating the beautiful blue of the water. "So why don't you find a new charge? You'd have your full power back, and maybe it would inspire you enough so you'd stop fading."
He looked over at me. "Guiding someone is a very personal and intimate thing," he said gently. "I'm closer to you than I am to anyone else in my life. I've seen your triumphs and your tragedies. If I guided someone new, I'd be affected by their lives constantly and I'd be inside their head all the time. That's too close of a bond to share with anyone but you."
"What about Dess or someone else in your family? Wait, can you even become an LGA for someone you already know?"
"I really don't want to be that close to anyone in my family. I love them all, but it's too close, and it's too much of an invasion of their privacy, especially since I know them so well. In response to your other question, after an LGA has been freed, we no longer have to abide by that rule where we are not allowed to meet our charge. So I'd be free to try to become an LGA for someone I know, if I wanted to.
"I have to say, however, that I think I understand the reasoning behind that rule. It's hard to be objective if you know your charge. And to guide someone I've known since I was born?" He shook his head, his eyes glimmering in the sunlight. "I just can't do it. I won't do it."
I took a deep breath. "So you're going to fade and lose your powers…all because of me."
"I'd do it again," he said immediately, taking both my hands in his and holding them to his heart. "I love you, Morgan Constantina. Remember, you're the beautiful, wise, ever-illuminating spirit."
My eyes immediately watered as I remembered him saying that to me two weeks ago when he wore the Friend disguise. I also remembered that I had wished someone real could have said that.
Well, someone real just did.
"I don't think it's right," I commented, shaking my head.
"It's not your decision to make," he said kindly, still looking into my eyes. "I've worked very hard to get here, you know. So if you do respect me, then please respect my decision to sacrifice for you."
My tears began to spill out of my eyes, and I raised my arms to circle around his neck, pulling Ree into a tender hug. I held him like that for a while, thinking of nothing except us, and the beauty of what we had together.
Ch
apter 22
"Wow, Dess. That's insane! You shouldn't have. But thank you. I love it!"
I held up the small painting. It was a Maurice Esteve original. I couldn't believe it. I really didn't want to know how much this small piece of art set her back.
"No prob, Bob," she replied, accepting my thank-you hug. "I'm not an art person, so I asked a couple people."
"This is amazing," I said, still gushing over my prize.
"So, Mom wasn't upset that I wasn't there?" Ree questioned.
She rolled her eyes at her brother. "Oh, you know Mom. Always looking for her little cherub. I told her you were busy in Washington with your new girlfriend."
That certainly pried my attention away from the Maurice Esteve. "Oh, god! You told Mrs. Rios about me? The Mrs. Rios?" I felt like I was going to hyperventilate again. From what I knew about her, she was a kind yet formidable woman. Ree and I have discussed my meeting her someday, and I gathered that although she would love to meet and know me, she might also view me as the person who took her baby away from her.
Dess glanced at me briefly, amused, but otherwise didn't respond. "She wants to meet her," she told Ree. "Which brings me to my next point of order." She looked at him, silent words undoubtedly echoing in her head.
Ree seemed to magically grasp her thoughts. "You mean Mom-"
"Yuppers. And I gotta say, I have mixed feelings about it."
"Shall we ask-"
"Of course, you freak. Do it now."
I tried to ignore them, fingering the abstract painting absentmindedly.
Ree turned to face me, taking my painting away and gently placing it on top of the living room table. Dess, grinning, took the luggage she'd come home with and went to her room to unpack, leaving us alone.
Ree squatted on the floor in front of where I sat on the couch. "We need to talk. Are you ready for the ultimate challenge?" His eyes gleamed with excitement.
Oh, my god.
He's going to ask me to marry him.
Just as I started internally arguing with myself as to whether my mother would attend our wedding and whether spring or summer would be a more appropriate time to hold the ceremony, I realized Ree was waiting for my answer.
Surreal Ecstasy Page 24
