Kingsbane

Epilogue

-3 years later-

  "Grayson!"
    Gray looked up from the daisies he was cutting and slipped his scissors into his apron pocket as his sister came through the door. "S.King is having a book signing this evening!"
    "Who?"
    "You know, the author of The Consort series? The guy who went from rags to riches in little under a year? He was on Ellen the other day." She pushed aside the bouquet he was piecing and laid a hardback book on the counter.
    "Kingsbane." He read the cover dryly and gave her a look. "Is this one of your porno books?"
    "It's a romance novel." She sniffed, "And I only read it for the plot. I skip the smutty parts."
    "Baloney. If mom found out you were reading that stuff you'd never hear the end of it." He teased, "Anyway, don't you need to be at work?"
    "I'm on lunch. What time do you get off?"
    "Five, same as always." By the way she grinned up at him, he already knew what she wanted. "Why?"
    "The signing starts at six and I don't get off until eight. Will you go get my book signed, please? The book store is just around the corner."
    "You want me to go to a porno book signing, stand for hours, in a line full of horny, middle-aged women?"
    "Yes."
    "Can't you just order a signed copy or something?" He sighed, trying to ignore the ridiculous puppy eyes she was giving him.
    "This one's a same-sex romance. There will probably be lots of single guys there too." She pushed the book a little closer to him.
    "Oh. My. God. You are such a pervert." He groaned. "You seriously read that crap?"
    "I was curious! And it's really good. The main character is a lot like you."
    "That makes it even weirder."
    "Just do it." She sighed. "Please, please, pleaaassse."
    "Why do you hate me?" He grumbled, snatching the book up and hiding it on the shelf below him. "You owe me."
    "I'll take you out for Thai when I get off." She swore, "Thank you so much! I'm so excited. Make sure he spells my name right, okay?"
    "Yeah, yeah, now get out of here before Sue comes out here and heckles me for slacking off."
    "Yeah right. Sue'd sooner jump your bones than give her precious GrayGray a scolding."
    "Get out of here you little perv." He muttered, shooing her away and returning to his flowers. "You're such a pain in the ass."
    "You love me." She laughed, quickly taking her leave before he could change his mind.
    When she'd gone, he snipped a few more stems before his infernal curiosity got the better of him. Glancing around to make sure Sue was still tucked safely in her office, he pulled the book from it's hiding place and turned his attention to the blurb on the back.

With doctor's unable to save him, Mason was slowly dying, and in an effort to save his family useless worry, he'd resigned himself to do so alone. With a begrudging acceptance, he awaited his fate. That was until he met Silva, an alluring stranger who presented him with an even more alluring offer.

    "Gag." He mumbled, turning to the first chapter anyway. His eyes darted back and forth over the sentences, every syllable pulling his further and further into S. King's smutty fantasy world. A blush bloomed across his cheeks as he stumbled upon his first graphic love scene.
    "Those daisy's are wilting." Sue whispered over his shoulder. He jumped and slammed the book shut, heart racing.
    "Sorry." He mumbled, trying to hide the book's erotic front cover with a hand towel. Sue plucked it from the counter and he could have died.
    "Is this S. King's newest publication? I've been meaning to pick this up. I had no idea you were into this stuff, Grayson."
    "I'm not. It's my sister's. I've got to get it signed for her after work." He explained, hurriedly placing the flowers in their vase.
    "You're going to the signing? Oh my god-" She ran into the office and returned a moment later, book in hand. "Here. Take mine too. I didn't think I'd be able to get it done since I've got so much paper work."
    "Your kidding."
    "No. I'll pay you for the rest of your shift if you go now. The lines probably already to the sidewalk."
    He took her book and read the title. Honorlost. "Is this a series?"
    "There's one before this called Cursecast, this is the second part-" She tapped her book, and then nodded to the on in the counter. "That's the third. There's supposed to be a fourth coming in a year or so."
    "It's crazy people can make so much money writing stupid shit like this." He sighed. "But if you're paying me to go, I'll go."
    "Good! Make sure he spells my name right."
    "Yeah, yeah."
    Woman were so fucking weird. That was what he was thinking as he hung his apron on the hook by the door and began his trudge toward the bookstore. He tried his best to his the title of the books beneath his arm, but after hearing a crowd of girls giggle as he walked past, he knew it wasn't working. After which he tried to shut the embarrassment out with other thoughts.
    As usual, his mind wandered back to the time he'd lost. The dark seven months in his past that not even hypnotism had brought to light. He felt like a huge chunk of something very significant had been stolen away from him, and no one knew why. Sarah had suggested aliens, his father drugs, and his mother God, and he honestly couldn't come up with anything at all. Nothing explained it.
    It frustrated and confounded him, but at least he wasn't still cancer-ridden. He'd missed his twenty-fourth birthday, his sister's graduation, and the family Christmas, but he wasn't dead, and that certainly was a plus. Easily worth seven months of emptiness. But it still bothered him, immensely. It plagued him every night, something he wanted to remember, but absolutely couldn't.
    "Is this uh- the line for the book signing?" He questioned, coming upon a great number of women standing in a queue.
    "Yes." She answered, turning back around. He watched her try to discreetly nudge her friend, obviously amused by his presence.
    "I'm here for my sister." He clarified. "She has work."
    "That's nice of you."
    Yeah. They clearly didn't believe him. Was he really going to stand here for hours? Yes. Sarah would kill him and his paycheck would be lacking if he didn't. Well, fuck it. He opened Kingsbane.
    Once in the realm of fiction, time passed much quicker, and the line too, progressed at a much more pleasant rate. He could see why Sarah was reminded of him. He was so similar to the main character that it was creepy. Still, it entertained him, and, though he'd never, ever, admit it, he felt a little jealous of Mason for finding such a charming, sensual, loving partner. Something that didn't seem to happen in the real world.
    No wonder people were so hung up on this junk.
    By the eighth chapter he was emotional involved, and by the end, he was totally wrapped up. So entrapped was he, that he had not realized how near the front of the line he'd become, until the author's assistant called out to him.
    He looked up and was instantly lost in a pair of striking green eyes. The, man, whom he would have assumed was this S. King fellow, had he been able to think at all, brushed a bit of pale hair from his face and held out his large hand for Sarah and Sue's books. Grayson was certain he had never been more awestruck by anyone in all his life.
    He nearly dropped the books as the man's fingers made contact with his own. S. King chuckled. "It's great to meet you, Grayson."
      "I haven't... "  He checked to be sure he hadn't forgotten to remove his name tag. "How did you know my name?"
      "Well," The author gave him a brilliant smile. "Do you believe in fairytales?"