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He pouted playfully and took off again. I turned to Zaide. “He’s like a child.”
“He doesn’t remember his childhood, and his trauma has left him with a thirst for pleasure.”
“Oh, yeah.” I watched Savida peering down an alleyway as though it were the most fascinating, interesting, mysterious place instead of a spot for shops to hide their rubbish bins.
“Do you think Margaret will be like that old man?” Zaide asked quietly.
I bit my lip, debating whether honesty was the best policy. Sighing, I said, “If she’s alive, she’d be older.”
“Oh.” He nodded with furrowed brows. “He looked very fragile.”
I knew what he was thinking. “I’ll do my best to find her, but I can’t promise how quick that will be.” He nodded again, and we continued to walk in silence. Breaking the ice and appeasing my curiosity, I said, “So, there could be supernatural people, like in the myths: vampires, shapeshifters, witches, gods.”
Zaide stared down at me. “I don’t know about the other beings you named—perhaps we have different names for them—but the gods are not myths.”
Arriving at the cathedral where they first appeared, I ushered them inside, and we sat at the back on a bench with them on either side of me.
“This is a sacred place,” Zaide whispered. I looked at him to see his eyes wide as he stared at the statues, the paintings, and the stain-glass windows.
“If you say so,” I muttered.
Savida turned to whisper to me, “Titans are very pious. Their gods created the life pool so generations could continue to be born after the fall. Zaide prays every day.”
I nodded silently but didn’t understand what he was going on about with “life pools.” I didn’t know what else to say or do other than let Zaide feel connected to a greater being, or purpose, in these old brick walls.
“What are they doing, Charlie?” Zaide pointed to a corner at the front.
“They’re lighting candles. They do it usually in memory of someone they’ve lost.”
Zaide nodded and then stood, walked to the candle tray, where tiny flames flickered, and took a candle from the box. He lit it as he had seen the people do, putting the wick against the flame of another candle, and placed it in the candle tray, the other candles flickering with the movement. He stared at it for a long moment.
“I wonder if my fire looks like flames,” Savida mused, oddly serious.
I gave him a concerned frown. “Well, if it’s inside you, I guess we’ll never know.”
But then I supposed if I didn’t know what a heart looked like, I would wonder if it looked like the symbol we draw.
Zaide rejoined us, and we stood to leave. As Savida raced ahead of us, I turned to him and asked, “Who did you light a candle for?”
“My family. My mother and father, my brother, and my three sisters.”
* * *
What felt like an eternity later,Zaide and I sat down at a cafe. Savida’s endless energy and enthusiasm had worn us out, and I needed a break from him. Savida, however, was determined to carry on. He left a dozen bags with us at the table and then darted off, buzzing to continue his search for human rubbish.
“You know, we have a saying here. ‘Shop until you drop.’ I never understood it until now. I didn’t think anyone could shop until they dropped, because if you were shit tired, surely you’d just go home and order online instead of fucking fainting like a startled goat. But I get it now. This is me fucking dropping,” I ranted as I squeezed ketchup onto my burger and chips with a satisfying squirt.
I handed Zaide the hot sauce since he had been complaining about food being bland. But I wasn’t going to tell him how much to add. I considered it an experiment of sorts.
“You will get used to this. Savida enjoys shopping,” Zaide told me as he sprinkled half a bottle on his burger.
I gave him a look in response to his comment. “Get used to it? I don’t think I’ll be showing him any more shopping centers on Earth. Fucking ever.”
I took a big bite of my burger and moaned at how good it tasted. Shopping with a demon was hungry work.
Zaide chuckled. “I doubt that will stop him.” He also took a bite of his food, and the slight widening of his eyes, which pulled the scar tight across his brow, told me he could taste the hot sauce. He swallowed and continued, “But I meant when we travel to other realms. Savida is just the same, so you will have to get used to it. That or join in.”
I stopped, my mouth open and my burger awaiting arrival to my face hole. I stared at the seemingly normal human across the table from me and asked, “I’m coming with you?” A tomato fell from my bun onto my plate with a splat, spraying ketchup up onto my hands. I was so focused on Zaide I didn’t even notice. “When I’ve found Margaret and you’ve done your sightseeing, I’m coming with you?”
