by Quil Carter
This money, seventy-five thousand dollars, would be enough to buy Julian a small house on a piece of land. I was going to put it under a fake name… and give it to him as a present. I would feel immensely safer when he was out of that skyscraper, and farther away from Alegria.
And that way, even if Nero did fold, they would break open that skyscraper to find no one there.
“Elish?”
I froze, and because Silas couldn’t see me, I closed my eyes. I opened them and turned around, and saw Silas in the middle of walking towards me.
Or gliding rather, the king had a walk to him that suggested he was weightless. He was always silent when he walked, not a breath out of place or a careless movement. “We’re going out for dinner tomorrow, lovely boy,” Silas said with a small smile. He stopped in front of me and raised his hand. He touched that hand to my cheek, then slowly stroked it down my shoulder length blond hair.
Inside I was puzzled by this. Did he mean alone? With the two of us? Silas and I never really spent time alone together unless it had something to do with work. This was out-of-character for him, and like an internal alarm had been triggered, my body froze up, my brain seemingly channeling all of its power into not showing the shock on my face.
“Okay,” I said to him. There was a countdown going on in my head. I had to get away from this situation soon or else I was going to start losing my cool. He did this on purpose, didn’t he? “I look forward to it.”
Silas smiled but it was no real smile. It was laced with falsities, tainted with a darker, horrifying truth that his mask would not let me see. One that he knew would have me running in the opposite direction. No, that was no ordinary smile; I was familiar with this one. It was one that I saw right before the silver blade burst from the cloak to lay multiple stab wounds into my chest, usually before my brain even knew what was going on.
I just stood there like an idiot as he stroked back my hair in a falsely loving way. Then, as if to remind me he could do anything he wanted to me, he kissed my lips lightly, followed by a long breath of him inhaling my scent.
But that inhale turned into a sigh. And I witnessed, with much confusion, Silas pull away from me, his paralyzing smile gone, replaced with one of sadness… of longing.
“I want to fix us, love,” he whispered.
I stared, dumbly, I stared. Silas saw my expression and light laughter tumbled from his lips like Christmas bells. “I miss you,” he said, his voice still hushed. His hand slipped to my neck then down my forearm. It was now bandaged, Liam came the morning after the incident and dressed it for me. “I miss you a lot, my golden boy.”
And with that, he turned around. I flashed a confused look to Ellis, who annoyingly seemed happy with this exchange, and after stammering a goodbye I retreated to my bedroom.
What the hell was that? As if I was being stalked by Silas’s disconcerting words, I stepped down the stairs to the second floor faster than usual and crossed the living room towards my bedroom.
I opened the door. “Tomorrow is not going to be a good day,” I sighed to Finn as I walked in. “Silas says…” My words faded from my lips as I glanced around my bedroom.
Finn wasn’t here.
That was strange. I was a bit early today but he was always waiting for me in my bedroom, usually with my tea already made and cooling beside my desk.
I turned around and checked his bedroom, the room he had barely touched since asking if he could sleep in my bed with me. The room was also empty, as was the spare bedroom and the bedroom we’d made up when it was our turn to take care of Ceph and the twins.
Everything was empty…
Even though it was the last thing I wanted to do, I walked back upstairs and found Ellis telling Silas about her day. Silas had Ceph on the floor and was feeding the almost six-month-old child Cheetos.
“Master…” I said. “Do you know where Finn is?”
Silas glanced up at me. “Is he not hiding in your bedroom? I never see him on the other floors unless I call for him.” He put a Cheeto down in front of Ceph, but far enough so the chubby auburn-haired baby, couldn’t reach.
“No, he’s not,” I said. I looked around the apartment and saw Kirrel cleaning the kitchen. “Kirrel? Have you seen him…” The unease, which had started as a faint cold trickle, was starting to become a stream. This wasn’t like Finn at all… as Silas said, Finn rarely left the second floor. Hell, he rarely left my bedroom unless he needed to clean.
Kirrel shook his head, there was concern written all over his face. “No, I had him taking care of Artemis and Apollo earlier but that was afternoon. Perhaps he’s visiting, Mr. Sacario?”
Outlandish… he was scared of Sacario. My best friend was too straightforward and uncensored for Finn and Finn became uncomfortable when Sacario joked around with him. He’d never see Sacario voluntarily.
“I’m going out to look for him…” I began walking towards the double doors but before I even got two steps, Silas spoke.
“He’s probably just in the kitchens or something. You keep your boys on such a tight leash.”
A rush of cold electricity shot through my body but I stifled it. I didn’t want to look too deeply in the fact that he said boys not boy. Silas didn’t know about Julian. I wasn’t being followed by him. I would’ve known, or Julian would’ve known.
Silas glanced up at me, but then below him Ceph, now on his stomach, lifted himself up and began crawling towards the Cheetos. “Good boy!” Silas crowed. He picked up Ceph by his shoulders and raised him up into the air. “Look at you, you’re mobile!”
Ceph squealed and smiled, and when Ellis and Kirrel both started cheering the boy laughed and began waving his arms. It was a perfect distraction, so I ducked out of the door and sprinted to the elevator. Before Silas noticed, I was inside with the doors closing. I would go to the lobby first and ask if Finn had left the skyscraper. That was the most intelligent form of action. Then make sure he wasn’t in the kitchens or some place else. Alegria had everything from a movie theater to a weight room, all of which were allowed to be used by sengils and any other resident of the royal skyscraper.
But just as my mind was circling the panic drain, the elevator doors opened to the lobby and none other than Finn was standing in front of them. He had a bag in his hand and his eyes were on the ground. There was a calmed expression on his face.
Until he looked up.
Finn gasped, and sprung up into the air like a cat who’d just noticed the dog in front of him. “Master Elish!” he cried, and his heart lurched with such a force it probably left an imprint on his ribcage.
“Where were you?” I demanded, my fear for his safety swiftly turning to rage now that I knew he was okay.
Finn clutched the paper bag with his hands, his body shifting its weight as he squirmed around flustered. “I’m sorry, Master. I was going to the pharmacy for more Xanax…” He took in a deep breath and shrunk down at my gaze. Perhaps he could physically feel the pain from the daggers I was shooting at his face. “Which… I believe I may need now.”
“Get into the elevator,” I growled. I stepped back and roughly pushed the button for my floor.
Finn cowered and slunk into the elevator, his posture submissive. “I… didn’t know you would be back early,” he said after the doors had shut, leaving just the two of us in this small confined space. Finn’s heart was echoing in my ear now. He was terrified, and for good reason, I had a right mind to backhand that damn boy for causing me to worry for his safety.
And it looked like he was expecting the same thing to happen.
“So I have to now monitor when I’ll be coming home then?”
“No… no,” Finn said. He became the size of a dime under my intense glare, but I had too much on my mind to hold a grudge. It was obvious from his body language that he wasn’t planning on doing it again. So I wouldn’t prolong the torture. “You can make my tea when you get back to my room. I’ll be leaving tonight to visit Julian so I’m going to try and sl
eep for a few hours after dinner.”
Finn nodded. “Yes, Master.” He sighed and clutched the bag harder, then twisted it between his fingers. “Be careful. Be mindful of the people around you.”
I sighed when I saw his eyes fill. “I’m not afraid of some diseased greywasters, Finn. I’ve walked to Julian’s many times now. And many other times I walked to the laboratory in the middle of the night. I’m not some spoiled prince who needs an escort when he leaves his home. Nor am I helpless.”
“You’ll… bring a knife at least?” He sniffed and rubbed his nose.
The elevator lurched as it landed and the doors opened to the second floor. “I always have one on me. That’s just good sense.”
“What about a gun?”
I rolled my eyes to the ceiling and walked to my bedroom, the boy’s feet pattering behind me, the bag he was holding crinkling as he wrung it.
Dinner was thankfully uneventful, or as uneventful as dinner could be in the Dekker family. Ceph was the center of attention being now able to crawl, even though he was only doing it when bribed with junk food. Either way, the child was taking the heat off of me, and I was able to eat without harassment and retreat back down to my bedroom to sleep for a couple hours until my evening with Julian. Even though I didn’t need as much sleep as I used to, I would rather be awake during the hours that everyone else in the house was asleep. It was more peaceful that way and I could get my work done without a disturbance.
I woke at two in the morning, Finn next to me snoring lightly and the cat curled up at the foot of the bed. I quietly got changed and slipped out into the dark living room and towards the doors leading to the outside hallway.
The entire house was asleep, it didn’t even sound like the children were awake. I was able to make it down to the second floor, descending the last flight of stairs and slipped stealthily out of the ground floor exit. I took in a deep breath of the cold night air, and stuck to the shadows as I crept off of the property and towards the road.
Sneaking out in the middle of the night, like a prince climbing over the palace walls to act like a commoner. That’s who I felt like right now as my shoes hit the hard sidewalk.
I glanced behind me, just to make sure I wasn’t being followed. If I angled my hands right, I could block out the street lamps which would usually burn away at my night vision like a lighter being held to the center of a piece of paper.
I saw nothing, it was quiet, so I turned around, put my hoody over my head, and sprinted towards Julian’s skyscraper, my heart jolting and pitter-pattering in anticipation of seeing him. I’d missed my boyfriend, he was my way of decompressing, of letting out some anger so I wouldn’t lash out at Silas. Julian helped me relax, and I helped him in any way I can.
Like stealing seventy-five thousand dollars? I smirked at myself. I’d even picked out a house for him that was currently for sale.
Then, out of nowhere, something hit me on the head. I spun around, my hand holding the area of my ear where the object had hit, but saw nothing.
I did hear a plink however. My eyes travelled down and I saw a little acorn bounce down the sidewalk before landing beside a gutter.
And I heard a familiar snicker. A familiar snicker that was hiding behind one of the many trees that lined the sides of the sidewalk.
“Aren’t chimeras supposed to be quick?” Julian’s dark silhouette stepped out from behind the tree. He was dressed up tonight in a red crew neck and blue jeans, and shining dress shoes, but what I noticed the most about him was how he seemed to shine when he stepped into the frosted blue glow of the street light.
I smiled, but as discreetly as I could, I glanced in all directions to see if I was being followed. But Julian knew me enough by now, and he chuckled at me. “I know you won’t allow yourself to be followed,” he said. Then he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my lips. “You look like a little hood rat though wearing that hoody. However…” He kissed me again. “I think you look quite sexy.”
Even with our lips locked I was still looking around, until I eventually broke the kiss. “What are you doing out?” I hissed.
Julian snorted incredulously. He took my hand and began to lead me away from the apartment. “You’re unrecognizable, we won’t get close enough for someone to see your eyes and your hair is covered. I’m tired of being cooped up in that apartment with you. I want to go for a walk.”
Anxiety spiked my blood. “I… I don’t know if that’s the best idea…” Out in the open? Just the thought… the fear of being spotted had my feet dragging. “We should go back to the apartment…”
Julian gave me a beaming smile that filled my heart full of fire crackers. Then he laughed at my expression, grabbed my face with his hands and kissed me.
That kiss lit the fuse, and as those fire crackers exploded inside of my chest. I was his, he could take me wherever he wanted.
We both sprinted across the road, the two-lane street empty with the streetlights in the distance stuck on green. The two of us hopped up onto the sidewalk, then Julian led me down an adjacent street towards Sunshine Park.
“We used to play in that park all the time as children,” I said to him as we walked past it, hand-in-hand. Then I pointed to a monstrosity of a children’s playground. “They put that in special for us. Silas started working on it when we moved to Skyland.” Everything one would expect in a playground was there, except designed for the children of The King Who Ended the World. The tallest slide was three-storeys tall, and beside it was one that looped around like a corkscrew. Garrett always threw up when he slid down that one after lunch. There were swing sets, including one with a plastic plank instead of a swing so two people could operate it together to make it go higher; then a climbing wall, also three-storeys with permanent foam underneath that got replaced once a year, and a roundabout, a giant pirate ship, a tugboat with a real tugboat bell, there was everything there.
“You used to play here? I would’ve never expected this to be the park the royal children played in,” Julian said while laughing. I gave it one last glance and I let him pull me. “I didn’t really grow up with a place to play. It must’ve been nice.”
I gave him a funny look. “You didn’t? But… your house isn’t far from here. It’s open to the public. Silas wouldn’t be cruel enough to build this and only allow us to play on it. Especially now that we’re older.” The mental image of a row of thiens standing guard over the giant playground with automatic rifles, as a dozen children watched it longingly, made me chuckle.
Julian only snorted back, then he tugged on my hand and we were off sprinting again. This time he was leading me towards another busy street, one that ran adjacent to Sebastian Road. If we followed this road to the end we’d be at the foreshore with the ocean stretched out in front of us.
“Oh, I wasn’t raised in that house,” Julian replied through quick inhales of breath from his running. “But where I was, we could still see Alegria…” He slowed down and pointed to a break in between two buildings. The ocean was peeking through the gaps, usually grey or brown, but in the darkness the only way I could tell was by the silvery reflection of the moon that shone above us.
Our jogging slowed when we saw a group of people lingering underneath a neon red and green sign. It read Rocksalt, and from the looks of the burly bodyguards standing with crossed arms near the front, it was a nightclub.
“I’ve been there on occasion,” Julian commented as I pulled him along. I was walking towards the club but my eyes were on an alleyway I saw between the Rocksalt building and what appeared to be a doctor’s clinic. I wanted to get off of this street, too many people. “It’s a gay bar actually. I’ve been hit on more than a few times.”
“Oh really? Do I need to burn any faces?” I asked casually. Julian gave a mock gasp of surprise and poked me in the side.
“Julian?” a voice suddenly broke the night air. My boyfriend froze at this but he didn’t turn towards the person. However, I could see out of the corner of my eye a
black figure who had been a part of the Rocksalt group, waving towards us.
“Time to get away from this street…” Julian said hastily.
I agreed with this, and with Julian’s hand in mine and his heart thrashing with nervousness, we darted across the road and ran into another alley, one that would hopefully lead us to a quieter area.
Once we were safely in the alleyway, far enough from the bar patrons that they could no longer see or hear us, Julian breathed a sigh of relief. “That was close,” he said. Then he looked at me with love in his eyes. “I’m sure…” He paused and his brow furrowed. I wasn’t sure why until I felt a drop of water hit my nose. I looked up, and at the same time Julian did too, and to punish me for my curiosity, a drop of rain fell right into my right eye.
I rubbed it. “Wherever it is you’re leading me, we should get there soon before we get drenched.”
My boyfriend laughed, and wrapped his arms around my bicep. “I really wasn’t leading you anywhere. No where in particular anyway; I just love walking with you.” He squeezed my upper arm then and hung off of it.
I stared down at him. “Then why are we walking through this pit!” I exclaimed. “We can be at your house, warm and…” Another rain drop hit my face, followed by three more in the same second. “… not wet!”
I looked around the dark alleyway we were walking through, even more decrepit and filthy than the one I’d first met my lovely boyfriend in. It was lined with metal trash cans that had no lids, boxes that would soon melt from this rain, and underneath my feet was garbage so pounded down it looked as if someone had wallpapered the ground. Not to mention there were half-hearted attempts at graffiti all along the brick walls, most likely made by a renegade teenager who’d watched hood movies and decided he wanted to break a few rules.
Once they got older and went to a few Stadium matches, the rebel streak usually deteriorated, as did their spines.
Julian made a cooing noise and continued to hang off of me. “My poor prince is going to melt under the rain, isn’t he?” He brushed a hand through my hair, still dry underneath the hood, but as he smiled at me I gave him a gruff look in return.
