Dead King's Sword (Old Draft)

14. Freeze Frame

Erin

***

Zeren and I stood outside the half-buried base. I thought of the bodies I had spent the night tucking into the earth. I wondered if Zeren could tell that the soil had been disturbed. That I had been lying to her. I could smell the faint odour of decay escaping the earth's pores and hoped if Zeren noticed it, she would ignore it as the stink of the desert or the unwashed bodies of the ex-prisoners surrounding us. Instead of accusing me of lying, she stood by my side, lips downturned and raised her hand in front of my face, blocking the sunlight from hitting my eyes.

I smiled, reached up and pressed our palms together; the sun's golden rays flittered through the spaces between our digits, temporarily blinding me as I slid my fingers along the sides of hers, getting to know the sensation of her skin grazing mine. Fingers interlocked, I lowered our hands, so they sat between us, an anchor.

Ex-prisoners collected around us, bringing gifts for Zeren and thanking her for saving them, mistaking her for Virah. A strange smile settled on Zeren's face; regret made her eyes water. She squeezed my hand slightly but gave up on correcting the prisoners' mistakes. She tucked the gifts—teeth, hair, and stones into a small bag we had found and wore it on her back. She gave them a quick blessing, playing the role of their goddess, and bowed gracefully.

Watching the side of Zeren's face, I saw a slight resemblance to Virah. Her chiselled jawline complimented a lean visage; no feature was overly starved to appear sunken and hallow or overfed to seem plump and off-putting, but all were a perfect in-between. Her small nose sat beneath her pretty eyes. Her lips were dual-toned and kissable. Soft. Her ears were small but quick to jerk with emotion.

Her breath tickled my ear as she whispered, "Let's go now."

I waved goodbye to our new friends and led Zeren away from the crowd.

Our sandals left their imprints on the sand. Zeren's hand felt warm in mine; her presence spread over me; its invisible layers brushed my skin. The sun's position was near nine o'clock; it was time to leave. I placed my airboard on the ground and stepped onto it. Zeren got on behind me, putting one leg between mine while hugging my waist. "You better fly properly," she murmured.

"I had no other intention. I can't risk harming you after finding out you were made in the image of a goddess. That would give me what... a thousand years of bad luck?"

She chuckled. "You're never going to let me forget this. Are you?"

"I have never dated a demigod before; let me enjoy this feeling for a little while longer."

"You have never dated anyone before." She breathed on the back of my neck, sending goosebumps across my skin.

"Neither have you." I drew an invisibility rune on the back of one of Zeren's hands, and she vanished. Then I drew one on myself. I poured mana into the holes beneath my heels, and the board started to rise, much to the awe of the spectators.

***

Before heading to the hotel to recuperate, we stopped by a restaurant in Lakos to refuel after using a lot of mana. The walls were painted complimentary shades of orange and blue. We sat at a table draped in a white cloth, flipping through our menus. Zeren ditched her sandal, and I felt her naked toe and the dirt covering it brush my shin, playing with the fine hairs that waited there.

"Seriously?"

She smiled.

I found it hard to be upset at that smile, so I rubbed her leg with my dirty foot in return, and before I knew it, we were at war, attacking and defending in the dark, fingers gripping the table as our feet wrestled beneath. A waiter snuck up on us and cleared his throat. His white shirt was tucked into a pair of black trousers; a few blemishes covered his brown skin. Thick gel hardened his short curls and gave him a neat appearance.

"My name's Joff, and I'll be your server for today. What can I get for you?" he asked.

I ordered first, "I'll get the raw cow's blood and intestines."

Zeren wrinkled her nose. "I'll get one bowl of efo riro, a plate of ripe plantains, no... four plates of plantains." Joff raised his left brow as he scribbled down her order but nodded politely. Zeren continued, "Three servings of jollof rice. A whole chicken, fried and cut up." She paused, thinking for a moment, then finished, "That should be good enough to start."

"Are you expecting company, Miss?" Joff asked.

"Nope. It's all for me."

Joff nodded. "Alright. We have a big eater with us today.... I'll bring you your meals when they are ready."

An upbeat love song played from the speakers, and I remembered that Zeren and I had never had the chance to dance with each other at a school function.

Zeren watched a man take his lady onto the dance floor and hump her ample-sized bottom to a rhythmic beat. Zeren bit her lower lip in discomfort. Her eyes were still red tinged from exhaustion, and she would need a few more hours of sleep before she could help anyone.

"Hey." I covered her hand with mine, and her focus returned to me. "It's impolite to look away from someone you're dating."

"Is this a date?"

"Isn't it?"

She laughed. "If you want to be."

"Then it's a date."

"Good."

"Good."

"Fine."

"Fine."

The waiter brought our meals. For me, cold cow blood soup and intestines which was said to have a range of medicinal properties, including sharpening focus. Zeren's efo riro turned out to be a bowl of vegetable soup. Yellow plantains, sliced and fried in oil, sat on their plates. Zeren devoured them, not pausing to talk.

It didn't take long for the oil to coat her lips. I found myself wishing I could share her food with her but settled for the next best option. I took sips of cold soup. The blood didn't have any trace of mana, but it was palatable. The raw intestines tasted like salted octopus, but it was uncooked, so it wouldn't hurt my stomach later.

I went over our plan, "So, after we eat, we'll head to the hotel, and you can sleep for a few hours or so. Since you lost your passport, I'll visit the portal station while you rest and see if you qualify for a visitor's pass."

"Wouldn't it be better if we went together?"

"Then do you want to go tonight or tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow. I feel like I'll have to sleep for another twelve hours to shake my grogginess." Zeren smiled. "Is it weird that I'm starting to get used to seeing blood and smelling it? It doesn't bother me like it used to."

"If you spend enough time around something, you start to get used to it. This is why you should never fall in love with a vampire."

"Unfortunately, I fell for you pretty hard, didn't I?"

"I'm pretty sure I fell for you harder."

We stared at each other; a powerful current filled the air around us as we waited for the other person to blink. Whoever surrendered first would, by default, love the other less.

***