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“Of course,” he answered easily, as though I should have figured that out already. Warmth spread in my chest at the thought that they wanted me to stay with them.
Don’t embarrass yourself by blushing, Charlie. This isn’t school. You haven’t just been asked on a date.
He looked up, seeing that I was dumbstruck, and lowered his burger to the plate before continuing seriously, “Daithi, Savida and I all agree that you fit with us. We enjoy your company, and we’d like you to come with us on our adventures. Whether we find Margaret or not. Whether she is alive or not. Regardless of the outcome of our search for my soul pair, I am glad to have met you and to call you my friend.”
In a typical, self-sabotaging way, my mouth blurted, “I wouldn’t be much use without human technology.”
I hadn’t entertained the thought of going with them. I didn’t think it was an option. But now that Zaide had suggested it, I was suddenly planning to sell my house and belongings and portal into the unknown, because what else was I going to do for the rest of my life now that I knew there was so much more than this world? Rot behind a computer? Be alone forever with nothing but a cat for company? Yeah … fuck no.
“You are our friend now. You don’t need a purpose to be with us,” Zaide assured me and polished off his burger. “And if we cannot find Margaret with your human technology, we will need to plan our journey around the human realm.”
I took a bite and chewed slowly, thinking. “Planning a journey like that could take a while.”
Zaide shrugged. “We will be happy to rest for a while. We have been traveling for many years.”
I tilted my head, curious. “Just traveling, or searching for something like you are now?”
“Isn’t everyone who travels searching for something?” He looked away from me.
“That’s a politician’s answer.”
He sighed. “My family.”
“The ones you lit the candle for?”
He nodded. “My siblings and I were all taken as slaves on the same day. I don’t know what became of them. We traveled back to Tartarus to see if my parents were still there, but they weren’t. I want to find them all and free them.”
Tartarus? Like Hell?
But I didn’t ask; it wasn’t important when I could see the pain in his eyes as he thought about his family. “That’s… I don’t know what that is. ‘Sad,’ ‘fucked-up,’ and ‘brave’ are the words that come to mind.”
“I will take them.” The side of his mouth quirked up. “Does it bother you that our travels will be in search of them?”
“No. They deserve to be free. I want to help you find them.”
“Then you agree you’ll be joining us?”
“I’ll need to think about it.” I was silent a moment before I shook my head, grinned, and stood up. “Right, I’m going to get the bill and go to the little boy’s room before we find our demon.”
When I returned from the toilet, I paid for the meal, and we left the restaurant in search of Savida. He said he’d stay in the shop until we came back to retrieve him. This shop, however, had three floors.
“I’m betting he’s in men’s clothing, staring at shirts and wondering how he’ll be able to squeeze his wings through cuts he puts in the back,” I declared. My find-it superpowers were kicking in.
Zaide laughed. “It is a good bet. Unfortunately, I have the knowledge and experience to bet that he is currently in the home department observing lamps.”
“You might win this one,” I lied. I knew exactly where Savida was. Zaide wouldn’t win this bet. “He was after a nightlight so he didn’t have to crawl into bed with your glowing arse.”
“It is not my arse that glows, but my scars.”
“Either way, it’s weird.”
“Only to you, dull human.”
“Dull? That’s harsh.”
As we dodged and weaved through the crowds of people in the men’s wear department, I noticed a flash of red hair.
“There he is. Men’s section. I fucking knew it!” I laughed and pointed in the direction I’d seen him. “Savida!” I called, and he turned to face us, a big grin on his face and his hands full of clothes.
