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The flap of the tent opened, and the beaded curtain hanging in front of it was parted, and in walked both Bael and Theodore. Theo was wearing his usual all black, a suit jacket over his bare chest covered in five or so long necklaces, black slacks, no shoes, and his fancy walking stick that he didn't actually need to help him walk. He wore his hat today too, and a pair of suspenders hung loose around his waist.
Fuck me...These men were ridiculously beautiful.
Bael though, wore another tailcoat, this time, a deep emerald green in color. Again, without a shirt on under it, and those lace-up black combat boots he liked to wear with his tight leather pants. He was dripping in necklaces, piercings and splattered in glitter. On anyone but him it would look insane. On him, insane seemed to work perfectly.
Bael was carrying a tray of teacups and a glass teapot, and as he strode through the room, so did a waft of tobacco smoke. Theo had a curved pipe in his mouth, and his hands were slung in his pockets as he leisurely made his way toward me.
I couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by the two of them. The way they commanded attention with their mere presence was overwhelming, yet enticing. I wanted to climb them and ride them into the non-existent sunset. Maybe I had a little problem with being attracted to things that I feared a little. It was a working theory, but I was starting to believe it.
"Good morning,Chéri," Bael said as he set the tray on the bedside table next to me. "I hope you slept well."
Theodore didn't say anything, but his intense gaze bore into mine as if trying to read every thought that crossed my mind.
"I did," I replied hesitantly before taking one of the teacups from the tray and sipping at its contents. It was Earl Grey with a hint of lavender and chocolate.
Bael sat down on one side of me while Theodore took up position on the other side. Lafayette jumped onto Bael's lap without hesitation. Bael snapped his fingers, and a cup of tea appeared in his hands, vanishing from the tray beside me.
"How do you even do that?" I asked, frowning at his hands.
Bael laughed at my question and leaned closer, his lips almost touching my ear. "Trade secret," he whispered before pulling away with a wink.
"Drink up,” Theodore said. “We have something important to do today, and I don't want to waste any time."
Bael rolled his eyes, but my interest was suddenly piqued. "I thought time didn't exist here? What’s the hurry?" As far as I knew, time ran differently in this realm. I was pretty sure it was still the same day back in the real world.
"For you it does,” he explained. “That's how it works. When a soul is in transition, time is put on pause back in the waking world. Until you choose to stay or go, time will remain stagnant, keeping your body from making the choice for you."
A chill of dread ran through me as I frantically searched both men's faces. "So if I make a decision—" I started hesitantly.
"Time will continue on its normal course and your body will eventually rot away.” Theo’s words weren’t harsh, but they were straight forward.
I shuddered at the thought of my corpse growing cold and decaying in my bed. It was hard to accept that this was real—that with my choice here, I would be unable to return to the way things had been before. This was a critical moment, and no matter what I chose, there would be no going back to blissful ignorance.
Bael's voice was insistent as he said, "Before you make up your mind, we have to take care of something first." With a snap of his fingers, our tea cups were gone, along withhim. A second later, he reappeared in front of me, standing tall on the side of the bed. He offered me his hand and said softly, "Come with us, blue girl. We're going on an adventure."
* * *
Minutes later,the three of us were in a boat, floating down the wide river surrounded by thick fog. Theodore was rowing us gently, though I imagined if they wanted to, they could probably propel this old wooden skiff using some kind of magic.
It wasn't cold out, despite the fog. The summer night was still warm and smelled like rain. Crickets chirped loudly from the banks of the swamp, and every time the leaves of the Cypress trees rustled, I imagined a massive gator following close behind us.
Bael had his fiddle out, and was playing a soft, lullaby-type song that had all of my limbs relaxing as we drifted slowly away from the carnival. I realized then that this was as far away from the Carnival of Bones that I'd been since waking up in the swamp, and I had a feeling the only reason I was able to get this far was because of Theodore.
Theodore seemed to sense my thoughts as he said, "We're almost there."
"Where exactly are we going?" I asked nervously.
"You'll see soon enough," he replied cryptically, and I grumbled under my breath.
As our boat began its approach towards land on one side of the riverbank, where thick bushes grew wildly around towering trees, creating a dense forest that enveloped everything else within its grasp, recognition started to dawn and hope bloomed inside of me.
He pulled the boat to a stop alongside a familiar old wooden dock. Bael hopped out and anchored it in place by tossing a rope over a standing post. Reaching out a helping hand, he guided me out of the boat. I fought to catch my bearings. Moments later, Theodore appeared next to Bael.
"You guys really need to teach me how to do that," I grumbled.
Bael smiled. "If you decide to stay, it'll be as easy as breathing."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Is that a death pun?"
