[Yo, Jake, it's my turn. Hand me the mic, homie. Lets agree we never said that, man. Woo! Yeah! Continuing!]
As you might imagine, everyone of us but Jake and Zachariah were frozen. They talked like old friends and after a bit, Zachariah snapped and we all unfroze and time started again.
"Bloody hell!" Sadie shouted, catching her breath, "What was that magic?"
Zachariah tilted his head, his mask still creepily hiding his face, "The magic of the moon god. Time flows like sand, and I am able to sift through and stop it at will. Anyhow, I have heard of your predicament. Kamehea has recently made several attempts at trying to persuade other magicians in Vatican City to join his side. I denied and have holed up in here for now. An attempt at working against him with a team would be useful, and I'm all ears. Plus, Rythiam and Zoey are friends. And I rally behind the Pharaoh."
Carter cleared his throat and said, "Your help would be much appreciated. If you were to aid us in bringing down the Kehera Tribe for good, I could, ah, persuade the authorities to let you continue magic under the House of Life freely."
Zachariah bowed, "You have my thanks. I agree to helping you and your friends. Do we have a point as to where there is a stronghold?"
"The 21st Nome," Jake said instantly and when we all stared he said, "Brooklyn's Nome is world renowned. And under Ma'at. Nobody would suspect us building a small army there. The initiates could help as well."
Walt nodded, "I second this."
Zachariah nodded, "Then let's go. We cannot portal, however I have different modes of transport."
Wordlessly, he led us down to the square and through the door. People parted for the young cardinal as he led the way. Near a small, empty parking lot, he stopped in a parking spaced labeled in heiroglyphs. It said something along the lines of 'Reserved, bitch' and was printed on a metal sign. Zachariah whistled a hymn that sounded very holy and a car shimmered and appeared. I don't think any of us didn't either gasp or whistle. It was a sleek, moon colored Lamborghini with four doors. My first thought was, 'We're not gonna fit,' and my second thought was 'From here to Brooklyn by car?'
But when Sadie opened the doors and poked her head in she wolf-whistled loudly and climbed in. The interior was white and modern and had room like a limo. Zachariah drove with Carter as shotgun. We sat in the back as the engine purred to life like a sleeping cat. He pulled out of the parking lot and aimed the car straight at the obelisk.
"Um, Zach?" Rythiam nervously said, "What are you-"
The car went from zero to eighty in two seconds. Nobody noticed us as we barreled towards the obelisk. Many of us yelled or screamed and I gripped on to Jake. I closed my eyes as we were feet from the thing when there was a jumping feeling and the car slammed to a halt. I opened my eyes.
"No way," I muttered at the giant sandstone building.
"From Vatican to Brooklyn in under 20 seconds," Zachariah laughed as he got out of the car and stretched, "However, I will require a large amount of rest now." And with that, he slumped over unconscious. We dragged him in the nome and Carter quickly explained to the initiates. I was so tired that I made it to my room and fell face first onto the bed. Jake followed me in and fell right next to me the same way.
"Christina?" He asked, his voice muffled.
"Yeah?" My voice sounded the same muffled.
"Do you wanna run away?" He sighed and turned his head to look at me. I met his eyes with a puzzling gaze.
"Do I want to go as far away from everyone as possible? Kind of," I sighed as well, "Just to never have to do anything again."
Jake reached one arm out and draped it over my back. He pulled me towards him until we laid face-to-face with each other as he said, "It'd be heaven. Me and you, out there, holding our own, saving people."
I nodded and closed my eyes and tried to imagine that. But I couldn't. I kept imagining my friends with us. It wouldn't be the same without them. Ever.
Jake laid on his back and picked me up then draped my body over his so that I laid on top of him. Our breaths mixed as I buried my face in his shirt and he stroked my hair. It was peace. It was quiet. I liked it like that.
"I would follow you to hell, you know that?" Jake chuckled softly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, "Me and you are a pair. Stronger together."
I nodded and scooted up so I could kiss him on the lips gently. He closed his eyes before picking me up and wrapping my legs around his waist. He pulled back the bed covers and laid me down in them, joining me as well. We gently connected our lips and cuddled close together. It took me a moment to realize that this was running away. This was my escape. I could lose all my memory but still remember Jake's touch. Because I was imperfect. So was Jake. And only each other could make us perfect.
When I woke up the next morning, Jake wasn't there. I sat up groggily and looked around. On the bedstand was a note from him that said 'Making breakfast downstairs. Take your time.' And, for extra measure, he'd drawn a teensy tiny heart just beside it. I chuckled before getting on some new clothes and braiding my hair then running down the steps. I don't know why I just had a sudden burst if happiness and I jogged down the hall and slid down the banister to the great hall. People were out on the terrace and immediately my eyes spotted Jake sitting next to a boy with dark black hair and pale skin. Jake smiled at me and pulled a chair out next to him and I went outside and sat next to him. Instantly, his arm went around my shoulders and I laughed before putting pancakes and bacon on my plate.
The pale boy next to me smiled when I poured syrup on my pancakes before he said, "They never let me use syrup in the church."
Jake laughed before saying to me, "Tina, this is Zachariah."
I was shocked, "You seem a lot different with the robes on. I didn't even recognize you."
He laughed as he took a bite of pork roll. It was true: Zach [Zachariah shortened, it's easier] had on blue denim jeans and a gray and blue striped shirt. His hair was slicked down and he looked a bit like a regular school kid. Not a priest or whatever.
"Now," Jake mused as he took a bite of my pancake after finishing his own. I smirked at him before eating some as well, "I think today would be a good day to find Rachel and Lia. It'd build up are team more."
Zach's face went whiter and he froze. "R-Rachel is on the list?"
Jake nodded before he noticed his fear and he said quickly, "Dude, I thought you'd gotten over that crush! She could kick your ass!"
Zach frowned, "Hey, man, she's my type. She's strong and...blond, and....bold," He stared off with a happy sigh. Jake and I met glances and he shrugged.
"Besides," Jake went on awkwardly, "Lia would be good to have here. She's good with weapons."
Zach murmured, "Mmhmm, yeah, alright," before staring off in memory of this Rachel girl with a happy expression. Jake cleared his throat and Zach snapped out of it.
"Right!" He said fast, "Yeah, I'll, uh, go grab the others and get ready for seeing Rachel-I mean getting Rachel and Lia. Yeah, yeah." And he stumbled off, banging into the glass door on the way inside. Jake and I finished eating our breakfast before I went back to my room to get ready. Once there, I pulled out something special. It was Zio's outfit; a bit small on my body but still beautiful. I wore a sweatshirt to cover it up but to still wear it then I grabbed Sobek's staff and my tomahawk and wand before heading downstairs. On the terrace, all my friends seemed to have gotten over Zachariah's looks and he was already putting his cardinal mask back on under his hood. Carter, Jake, and Walt were looking at the papers and nodding. Finally, they said to Sadie "South Bend, Indiana" and she got to work on the portal. Jake came over to me and wrapped his arms around my neck before burying his face in my hair.
"I like Zio's outfit on you," he murmured and I blushed. I was going to thank him but the portal opened up before I could and Zachariah instantly dived through. I shrugged and let Jake guide me through.
