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I tighten my arm around him, squeezing him close. He gazes softly into my eyes.
“Listen, I…” He closes his eyes like he’s concentrating. Then, he smiles at me and presses his lips to mine. Whatever is on his mind, he keeps to himself. I don’t pursue it. It’s not important. All that matters is that he’s with me. He’s mine.
17
TYLER
“Do you love him?” an unfamiliar voice asks from the shadows of my dream.
I’m in my apartment. There’s a bag of leftover McDonald's still sitting on the kitchen table where I left it. Next to it is the copy of the new Zelda game I was going to give to Jeff as a surprise. It’s dark and still, and the microwave clock is stuck at midnight.
“Of course I love him,” I say.
So why couldn’t I tell Kalistratos?
“Oh, you poor bastard,” the voice says. “You’re a fool, I hope you know that. Not that I blame you. It feels good to feel special.”
I can just barely make out a figure standing in the darkness, long hair rippling as though they’re floatingunderwater.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say.
“Listen, it’s feeling a little crowded with you here, so I’m going to send you back to where you belong. Nothing personal, Tyler, but pregnancy is not a good look for you. You shouldn’t be in Circeana.”
“Who are you?” I demand.
“The first,” he says, and a plume of flames erupts from the shadows, surrounding me as I turn to shield my baby.
I’m awake with a gasp. I sit up and see that Kalistratos is also awake and alert. The room is dark; it’s still night. He jumps from the bed and grabs his knife bandolier from the table.
“Something’s here,” he says.
I quickly tie my sling to my belt and tuck the phoenix/chicken figurine into my tunic against my chest. We hurry outside just as Airos comes out from his room holding his staff.
“Alyx,” Kalistratos whispers. “You there?”
“Here,” he says, and I look up and see his green eyes in the shadow of a tree branch. “Tread carefully. Whatever it is, it’s already entered the library.”
It’s quiet, just the sound of crickets and the rustle of leaves in the breeze. No one else is awake except for us.
“We go over the wall,” Kalistratos says. “Make a quick getaway from the roof.”
Alyx jumps down from the tree, and the four of us sneak across the courtyard to the stairs.
Suddenly, something wet and heavy smacks against my back like a big ball of mud. I shout in surprise as I’m tugged away from the others. Kalistratos spins around and sends a knife flying past me, straight into the face of a monstrous toadman. Its tongue slurps back into its mouth as it collapses onto its back, eyes crossed staring up at the knife’s handle, and I fall onto its bloated stomach. Kalistratos dashes over and hauls me up to my feet.
“I’m okay,” I say.
A guttural croak vibrates from the roof. Another one of the hunter toads is there, crawling across the tile. Airos swings his staff and sends a barrage of stones exploding against the roof like cannonballs. The toad leaps away and lands on the ground and blocks our path. We run for the nearest door, but it explodes open and Melanion flies out, tackled by another toad. He lands on his back and manages to buck his attacker off with his staff. He rises to his feet. Both toads begin to advance on him, drawing blades out from their clothes.
“Go!” he shouts.
One of the toads breaks away and comes after us, and we dash up the stairs as it smashes against the wall behind us in pursuit.
We’re on the roof. Kalistratos grabs my hand and helps me over the railing.
“I’ll lower you down first,” he says.
I’m about to go when the toad explodes out of the stairwell and snatches me with its tongue. Airos slices through the air with his hand and an arc of gold flames follows his fingertips, and the end of the tongue drops to the ground in a smoldering pile. Alyx dashes and leaps at the toad’s face, and to my horror, the toad opens its massive mouth and swallows him whole.
