Sylus woke up with a start. Sitting rigidly upright on the bed, his nostrils flared, eyes widened, and his ears perked up at the sound of something scraping outside. He knew the sound well: Bone on stone. More specifically hollow bone on stone.
“Food.” He growled. His stomach lurched and for once he agreed with its sentiment.
Finally, something you will eat.
Throwing the covers off, he slipped through the window as a ball of ink, slamming into the ground on his feet just in time to see a Watcher drag its gangly back talons into the darkness beyond the pavement.
With the deftness of a thousand hunts, tentacles lashed out, hauling his fellow spawn of the Void into the light. It screeched and cawed and struggled with all its might. But it was no use. Once in their grasp, nothing escaped the Devourer’s hunger. There was nowhere left for it to go but down. And down it went.
In one swift motion, the Watcher as gone, Sylus’ tentacles were free, and he finally had a full stomach. With his meal’s protests muffled by his dense v’rilk, Sylus rubbed his belly, a smile on his lips. He truly lived for the hunt. The consuming. It reinforced the monster he’d become. Strengthened the alien flesh he now possessed as if it were his own. It helped drive a wedge between himself and his longing to be mortal again. A wedge he relished in the worst ways.
He stood beside the beat up blue truck, the screams not of is own making still coming from within him. It really was a nice vehicle. He licked his lips and wondered if he could get it working again. Maybe with some help. He already knew who he could call.
No matter how hard he tried to focus on something more useful or practical or anything but his squirming gut, there was not ignoring it. It felt incredible both physically and mentally. Control, absolute domination, destruction. The re-purposing of something’s entire existence to serve him and him alone. He quietly contemplated the speed at which he’d reduce his prey to v’rilk.
Sooner would be better. We are in dire need.
“Mmm… But it feels so-“
The back door to the diner creaked open. Sylus quickly silenced his prey, forcing a tuft of feathers back out from his lips. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve before turning to find someone vaguely familiar standing behind him.
His name is Jeron. You gave him your name so I see fit to remind you of his. You were planning on eating him.
Ah, right. Well, thanks for the reminder, but I‘m already full.
“I can fix that.” He did his best to stifle a belch.
“Fix? What?”
Sylus pointed over his shoulder to the truck.
“O-oh.” Jeron laughed. “It’s totalled.”
Something unfamiliar slithered down Sylus’ internal dorsal tendril. A shudder?
“No it isn’t. I can fix it.” Sylus both desperately wanted to lie back down, but at the same time, he also desperately wanted to keep talking to Jeron.
“You a mechanic?”
Sylus shrugged. “I can put stuff back together and beat out a few dents, but, more importantly, I know a guy.”
“Know a guy?” Jeron scoffed.
“Yeah. I do. Specifically a parts guy.”
Jeron gave a nervous laugh. Sylus clutched his stomach as he felt the bottom of his gut drop out. He did a quick check of his systems. Everything was fine, all things considered. His physical stomach was busy doing what it did best. So what was it? What happened?
His laugh… It’s… Soft… Gentle even...
That’s what happened. He was charmed. Smitten, even. A 37-year-old man crushing on another man. This was ridiculous. He was much too old, much too tired, and much too hungry for butterflies to be dwelling in his stomach.
Oh no…
I told you to leave I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE!
I just wanted to fuck around!
And now you are finding out! Father help us, Sylus…
“So, uh, what was that thing?” Jeron continued.
“Dinner.” Sylus patted his belly. He almost starting digging his fingers in, but he dropped his hand to his side instead. “But I suppose you want an animal type, don’t you? Some way to classify it?”
I need to lay down.
That’s usually what we do after we eat.
Think someone like him would ever lay with someone like me?Ignore that. I know the answer and I don’t need a lecture. That was a private thought for the Dark Space.
I… will try to dismiss it.
“I, uh, yeah. Sure.” Jeron replied.
Sylus cleared his throat and organized his chaotic thoughts. “It was a Watcher. A creature of the Void. Trapped in shadows until such a time as it can open a portal from the other side. In the event that this occurs, our world will be plunged into darkness.”
“H-how did it get here?”
“They’re sent through pinpricks too small for creatures like me, but it’s for creatures like me they toil away their existences.” He looked out over the ledge, silently hoping to find more awaiting the sweet embrace of his hungering maw. “They can overwhelm easily.”
“I-is that what was happening last night? Were you…” Jeron stammered in the most innocent way.
Sylus couldn’t stop the tiny smirk that shot across his lips. He was quick to stow it before turning back to his host.
“Running from them? I poked too deeply into a den.” You do that a lot. “Ate one too many.” Yet another understatement. “They didn’t take kindly to a serpent raiding their nest, so they attacked. I ran. Usually I can outrun them, but alas,” he motioned to the truck, “happenstance, it seems, brought me here.”
“So you,” Jeron paused, “ruffled some feathers?”
It took every fiber of Sylus’ being to stifle the laugh welling within him. He forced himself to maintain his composure, but he wasn’t sure he was selling his disinterest all that well. His “heart” was doing something it had never done before.
Get whatever this is under control, Sylus. It is becoming ridiculous.
“In my line of work, it behooves me to cut off the head as soon as it’s identified. Without a Vigilant, nasty beasts wrapped in chains, they’re aimless, but eventually a new one will show up.” He shook his head at the thought of being chased by the chained beasts. He’d never eaten one before, but he knew fairly well he never wanted to. “Regardless of their social structures, they’re an ill omen for the fate of this world. Everything they see is seen by another.”
“The Vigilant?”
A fleeting pang of approval shot from Qaitax’s side of the Dark Space.
What?
Nothing.
That wasn’t nothing.
I can assure you, it was nothing.
“No,” Sylus continued, “their Lord who controls them from behind the veil.” Don’t think I’ll let that go.
I wish you would.
“Their… Lord?” Jeron asked, a hint of fear in his voice.
Sylus nodded. “There are others like me. Other Lords. Stronger and more powerful than I.”
“I-I don’t,” Jeron pinched his nose. “I really don’t understand.”
And there it goes.
What?
Never you mind.
“You don’t have to.” Sylus continued seamlessly as he looked over the cliff again, desperately hoping for something to distract him from the growing awkwardness in the air. “I don’t belong here. And as long as I am here, more of them will show up, terrorizing your town.” He turned back to Jeron. “I’ll stay until I get your truck fixed up, but after that,” he motioned to the darkness. “That’s where I belong.”
“You’re still injured!” Jeron burst out.
“Not for long.” Sylus patted his belly. “This’ll do nicely to get me up and running again.”
With that, he vanished in an inky splash. Unseen by mortal eyes, he made his way back through the bedroom window. Retaking his humanoid form, he collapsed face first onto the mattress and groaned into the pillow.
Sylus…
“Look,” Sylus snapped, “if you’re not going to explain whatever that was back there, we have nothing to say about the current situation.”
Silence.
“That’s what I thought.” He rolled onto his back.
I am pleased that you ate.
“Thanks.” Sylus ran a hand over his stomach. To the naked eye it was impossible to tell he’d eaten, but that was for the best. He enjoyed keeping his meals to himself. All that mattered was that he could feel it. It was the strongest, most intense feeling he’d ever had until Jeron made him smile.
Balling into a puddle of ink, he slid out the bedroom window and rounded the building. Materializing outside the front door, he craned his neck up to find a flickering neon sign.
“‘Miles’ Family Diner’.” He read aloud as he clutched his vest over his aching stomach. “Doesn’t sound much like a family.”
And that is none of your concern, Sylus Synclaire! You cleaned up our mess and escaped. We can leave now.
“Not yet.”
Tugging on the door, he found it locked. Slithering a tentacle between the locks, he popped it open and stepped into the cheery sound of a jingling chime.
What are you DOING?!
Sylus took in his surrounds. The dining area was long and narrow. The external wall was lined by red-leather booths and windows while the inside had a long chrome-edged counter that bent around a register and drink dispenser. Along it were chrome stools with the same red leather on their seats. The ceiling was chrome with domed lights and the floor was black and white checkered. Something about it brought a smile to Sylus’ lips.
I really do not like this, Sylus…
“Welcome to Miles’ Family Diner,” the stranger emerged from a pair of chrome doors behind the counter, “How can I-” He froze mid step and mid sentence.
“Hello!” Sylus cheered as he gave a small wave.
“W-what are you doing here? How?”
For some reason, Sylus decided to swagger up to the counter and rest his massive arms on it. He wasn’t quite sure what he was doing or why.
“Well, I assume this is a place where food is served. I happen to be hungry-” A serious understatment. “so it figures that makes this the perfect place to be at this very moment.”
Sylus’ gaze unwittingly drifted downward landing on a six-armed crystalline cross that hung around the stranger’s neck.
I-it can’t be…
What am I looking at?It’s just a Sondrehcross…
Pay it no mind. I’ll explain later. This mortal must be destroyed.
Excuse me?
Kill it, Sylus. That is an order.
And I don’t take orders from you. Especially without an explanation.
Trust me.
I would, if you explained yourself.
We do not have time!
Then I’m not eating anyone.
Sylus was quick to snap his gaze back up to meet the stranger’s.
“I-” the stranger cleared his throat. “Sure. Take a seat wherever. I’ll… I’ll bring a menu over.”
Sylus smiled as the stranger returned to the kitchen.
I do not like how you are behaving.
It’s just a bit of fun, Qaitax.
Playing with your meal? Or just playing?
I’m not eating him.
Your guts say otherwise.
Well my guts have been wrong before. They’ll be wrong again, too. I don’t just run on instinct. You know that.
It’d be so much easier if you did.
And yet you were the one who wanted me to stop eating in the cave.
That was an unnecessarily dangerous endeavor! Look where it got us! This is very different. A town of mortals can’t fight back.One alone certainly stands no chance. We could just eat him and be on our way. You settle whatever’s bothering you and we get a meal out of it.
Sylus gave Qaitax’s words some thought. He was desperately hungry and surrounded by prey. Prey he craved with every fiber of his being. He could feel each and every person in that little town. Their breaths, their pulses, their every movement. The craving was unbearable. He felt it all like it was already a part of him. He licked his lips and bit his tongue. This was why he stayed away from populated areas. This was why he lived alone in caves like the monster he was.
Overwhelming shame pushed the desire to consume away.
You know what happens when I eat people.
Then allow me.
No.
Qaitax grumbled in the background as Sylus made his way over to the furthest booth to the back wall.
His mind wandered to the stranger. He wondered how his body looked beneath those ill-fitting clothes. How he’d feel between his lips. How he’d taste- He cut the thoughts off before they mixed too deeply with the screaming pit of his stomach sending everything straight to hell.
For once I encourage your indulgence.
“You can shut the fuck up, thank you.”
The stranger returned with a smile on his face. He placed a menu down on the table. Sylus met his gesture with a smile, but the stranger only stood there, lingering, staring at the menu he had to have seen a million times before.
“May I request a glass of water?” His stomach lurched at the close proximity of potential prey.
“O-of course.” The stranger shook his head before going behind the counter.
He returned moments later with a very full glass of water. He tried to turn around as quickly as he’d arrived, but Sylus was quick to stop him.
“What do you recommend?”
“Hm?” The stranger turned back to him.
“Every small-town family eatery has a signature dish. What’s yours?”
“Oh,” he stammered a bit, “i-its the ham. But like,” he glanced over his shoulder to a clock hanging above the kitchen doors, “it’s 5am.” He turned back to Sylus.
“Too early, then?” Sylus smiled.
He felt something strange in the stranger. His pulse was quickening, his breath hitching.
“I, uh, no. N-not if you want…” He was stammering a lot.
“Would it be much of an inconvenience if I did?”
“N-no, but it’d be from the fridge. From yesterday. Not fresh.”
“That’s quite alright.” Sylus held the menu up for the stranger to take.
“Side?”
“Side?” Sylus replied.
“Starch, salad, pasta?”
“Oh, none of that. Just the ham, please.”
The stranger was sweating, but it wasn’t fear he was exuding. It was… curiosity? Interest?
If he is so interested, perhaps he would enjoy a tour of our insides.
Fuck you.
It would be educational for all involved.
I said fuck you.
The stranger cleared his throat. “Right. Good. Okay.” He took the menu. “I’ll go get that ready. Anything else I can get for you?”
“More water.” Sylus motioned to his glass. “Please.”
“Right.” The stranger replied as he picked up the empty glass.
Sylus watched him walk away in silence lamenting the ill-fitting nature of the stranger’s pants.
It would be easy to find out.
Sylus shook his thoughts away once more. This wasn’t like him. Sure he was a being with a long history of sexual encounters, for better or worse, mostly worse, almost always worse, but he never found himself looking at someone like he did the stranger. It was something between craving and desire. His hunger often mixed with lust, but somehow this was different. The ache in his core was separate from the one in his gut. He was looking at someone he desperately wanted to consume in every way. His gaze, his voice, his strength, his sorrows…
“Why am I like this…” He murmured.
He looked up to catch the stranger returning with a pitcher of water in addition to his filled glass. Clearly he was good looking AND smart. Until he reached the table and just stood there holding the water as if he’d forgotten what he was doing with it. Sylus’ smile shifted only slightly.
“I am SO sorry!” He hurriedly put everything down before practically running back to the kitchen.
The man knew what he was. He knew he was a monster. A tentacle adorned monstrosity bleeding violet blood and yet…
Sylus imagined being a normal human being for a brief moment. He’d talk to the stranger, maybe get to know him, see if there was anything there. He’d indulge that hunger to see where it went. But not like this. Not when it mixed too closely with destruction. He was meant for no one and nobody. His eyes burned.
You should have left when we could. Why are you doing this? It’s ridiculous! Your facade is costing us precious v’rilk we can’t afford to be losing. All for what? To impress some random mortal? Who, might I add, hit us with their vehicle?
Sylus leaned his arms on the table and rested his face in his hands. He let excess v’rilk in his face drain away thinking it’d go unnoticed.
“He’s beautiful.” He murmured.
Oh for Father’s sake. All mortals are the same.
“He’s kind.”
Out of fear or desire for something. You know mortals as well as I do.
“It hurts.” Sylus muttered.
Are you lamenting your mortality again?
“Something like that.”
Irrational, but I would expect nothing less. You know how to engage in transactional coitus. Just do that and get it over with.
“No, I don’t think I will.”
Why? Human life and intimacy is cheap.
“I should have left…”
I know. I told you to.
The kitchen doors swung open. Sylus snapped upright and quickly restored his features.
The stranger set his plate down before crouching beside the table.
What the hell…
“What are you doing?” The stranger whispered.
“Hm?” Sylus forced a nervous chuckle.
“I hit you with my truck! You should be resting.”
Sylus’ mind was racing out of control. It was very much like him to confuse kindness for interest. The stranger was just kind to a dangerous fault. He’d be an even worse monster if he took advantage of that.
“Oh I’m fine!” Sylus forced a laugh.
“You aren’t, though. Eat, then go back to bed. I could’ve brought you something if you wanted.”
“I don’t much like taking advantage of people like that.” Sylus’ code for he would never ask for help no matter how much he needed it.
You are one breath away from doing something you will sorely regret.
“It’s not-” the stranger sighed, “I almost killed you.”
“But you didn’t.” Sylus smirked. “Takes more than a run-in with a 497 Yamamura K1000 to kill the mighty Sylus Synclaire.”
SYLUS! WHAT IN THE LIVING SPHERES HAVE YOU DONE?!
It’s fine.
YOU JUST GAVE A MORTAL YOUR NAME!
It’s fine, really.
I-I cannot with you right now.
It’s not like I gave him YOUR name.
You gave him half custody of our soul! Why do you keep doing this?!
Shame returned. I-I’m just…
The stranger raised a brow. “Sylus Synclaire?”
Sylus nodded. “For better or worse, that’s me.”
…so lonely…
I am here.
I-I know…
“And how did you know what kind of truck I have?”
“Photographic recognition of most vehicle models pre-501.”
Why did I say that? It’s just a stupid fixation. I’m so fucking creepy.
“That’s oddly specific.”
“It’s a hobby.” Sylus replied dismissively hoping to stem the embarrassment he’d surely caused.
The stranger stood up. “Eat.” He chuckled.
“You have my name, what about yours?” Sylus was desperate to maintain the conversation. He hadn’t spoken to another human in months by now, much less one that seemed to actually care about what he had to say.
He doesn’t. They never do. You know they only want something when they pretend to.
Please just let me have this.
“I think you heard my father screaming at me earlier.”
Sylus shook his head. “That’s what he calls you. What do you call yourself?”
“What do I…?” The stranger paused for a moment in thought. “Jeron. Just Jeron.”
“Just Jeron it is.” Sylus chimed before turning his attention to his heaping plate of ham slices.
The stranger returned to the kitchen.
Sylus forced himself to focus on a single hunger as he dug into his meal.
“Sondreh, that’s so fucking good.”
Though he said nothing, Qaitax’s disapproval weighed heavily on the back of his mind.
Sylus moaned every so slightly as he inhaled his food. He tried desperately to take the time to savor it, but nothing ever lasted in his maw. Before he knew it, he’d cleaned his plate.
“Shame.” He murmured. “We’ll have to come back someday.”
Come BACK?!
“Someday.”
Jeron returned to take his plate.
“Next time,” Sylus cooed, “I’ll take the whole ham.”
“Next time?” Jeron laughed.
“Yes.” Sylus looked him dead in the eyes. “Next time.”
There will BE NO NEXT TIME!
“Alright. Fine. Next time. But don’t think I haven’t noticed you’re barely holding yourself together this time.”
Wasting all that v’rilk and not even doing a good job with it. What am I going to do with you, Sylus?
“That bad, huh?” Sylus’ energy was quickly sapped. His body reminded him how bad of a shape he was truly in. Regardless, he forced a smile.
“Why did you come down here?”
Sylus shrugged. He didn’t really have the words for his actions. He had feelings and compulsions. He didn’t have thoughts or meaningful ideas. That’s just not who he was.
“Sylus, why?”
He took a deep breath and tried to put something he was feeling into words.
“I heard everything.” He quickly realized how much he was probably embarrassing his host by drawing attention to his personal strife. “Thought you could use a break.” Jeron remained silent. Sylus cleared his throat knowing damn well he’d made a mess of things as was customary. “This was all I could think to do.” He smiled though his gaze wandered. He did it because he always wished someone would distract him from all the yelling in his life. He hated that he could so easily empathize with this man. A grown adult being abused by people he should be able to trust.
“I almost killed you and you’re worried about my father being an asshole to me?”
Without a thought, Sylus croaked: “Yes.”
Jeron quietly stared at him. What was going through his mind? What was he thinking? Did he think Sylus was weak? Was he considering how to take advantage of him?
They always do.
Sylus swallowed hard as he began plotting his escape.
This was a mistake.
You knew that from the start, but still you dug.
“Sylus I-” Jeron stammered.
Sylus forced a yawn and stretched his arms over his head. It was time to play it all off as cool as possible. The tension in the air was getting unbearable.
“Well,” he groaned, “now that the charade is over with, I may as well admit I feel terrible.”
“You didn’t have to-“
“No.” He didn’t. There was very little a tentacle monster had to do. “But I wanted to.” Comfort someone the way I wish I could have been comforted.
That is not how this works, Sylus. You cannot run your reserves dry “helping” people who will never help you in return. I know you want to make friends, to build back that family thing you crave so badly, but that is not what we are here to do. That is not our purpose.
“Why?” Jeron’s voice shook ever so slightly.
How much comfort could a monster like him offer anyone? He wasn’t exactly a comforting form or personality. He was designed to be imposing and unapproachable and yet here he was doing the approaching when he should have damn well known his place was in the shadows. No, he knew that. He knew that very well and still he chose to make a mess of things. Still he chose to meddle with mortals. To pretend he still was one.
Sylus shrugged again as he slid out of the booth. Shame and agonizing loneliness buried beneath his sudden dismissive demeanor.
“I just wanted to.” He smiled softly and genuinely. His body ached horribly, but his soul felt mildly better even if it was wallowing in self-loathing. “Now how much do I owe you?”
Jeron shook his head. “Just go rest.”
“I told you I don’t much like taking advantage of people.”
“How about I start a tab?”
Sylus chuckled. “If you insist, but keep it honest, yeah?”
“I do insist and I’ll be sure to keep it honest. Pops wouldn’t let me do otherwise.”
“Good.” Sylus breathed as he headed back out the door.
The moment he was out of sight, he dropped into a puddle of ink and slithered back up the building and through the window he’d exited before.
Sylus…
“He said to get some rest.”
We can do that back at the cave. Why are we still here? Why are you lingering?
“I-” he sat down on the bed. “I don’t know.”
Please consider the needs of the unit and not just yourself.
“Qaitax, I always put the unit first and you know that. Why else would I isolate us like I do? Why else would I follow your instructions every damn day?” Resentment rattled in his every word. “You don’t have to worry about losing part of yourself. You don’t have to think about the part of your fucking soul you threw away to be what? A half-assed fake god?”
You are a Voidlord, Sylus.
“What does that even mean?! That we can bully mortals? I was a mortal! I was bullied!” He laid back on the bed. “I was fucking murdered, Qatiax.”
I… I know.
“They killed me.”
As they killed me as well. I suppose it takes more than one death to give up on hope.
Sylus threw an arm over his face. “And I’d kill them all in return if there weren’t diamonds hidden in the rough. If good people weren’t buried beneath the dross.”
All mortals are the same, Sylus.
“What about me, then?”
You are dif-
“Don’t say that, because I’m not. Either all morals are vile, or some of them are worth saving and protecting.”
Qaitax fell silent.
“That’s what I thought.” Sylus’ voice shook and his eyes burned. A familiar feeling he hated with every fiber of his being. “Not that I deserved saving.” He croaked.
Silent sleep came for his tired tendrils. As he drifted off, one last thought crossed his weary mind.
AKA: Roadkill, Of Monsters and Men, and half of Spilt Milk
I have reason to believe we are overindulging.
“Can we not do this right now?”
I have reason to believe we may be over-encumbered.
“You have reason to believe… Just let me eat or we’ll both starve.”
There is eating and then there is what you are doing.
“Are we or are we not the Devourer?”
A tentacle tapped his shoulder.
“Oh for the love of-” He spun around to find a very angry, very big, and very pointy bird-like monstrosity standing in the mouth of the cave. Hunched forward, tattered feathered wings arched up over its back, one massive yellow eye staring at him from atop a sideways beak. A Vigilant. A spicier variant of his current prey.
“That’s not gonna go down easy…” He muttered.
It will not go down at all! I forbid you from-
The Vigilant let out an thought-piercing shriek.
Covering his ears, he let loose a flurry of tentacles, shoving it out the opening.
I told you so, Sylus.
“Now’s not the time!” He cried out as he flung himself out of the cavern.
The Vigilant was hot on his heels as he dove in and out of the mortal realm. Weaving between the Void and reality, he barely managed to evade gnashing beaks and grasping talons.
An entire nest, Sylus! We are in no condition-
“Now is NOT the time, Qaitax!”
The cover of night wasn’t enough. They thrived in darkness. It gave them permission to prowl mortal worlds if only in short bursts. He, on the other hand, was bound to this reality. He could never escape it entirely yet still he slipped effortlessly between the veil.
Rotund was a good word to describe Sylus Synclaire. A large man in every definition of the word dressed as if he had somewhere far more high class to be than a den of spawns. Aided by tentacles protruding from his back and the lack of mortal anatomy hindering his movements, he was far more agile than one would expect him to be. A mortal piloting an eldritch flesh prison with all the finesse of a bulldozer. A difficult target to catch. All while supposedly covertly watching the Void’s movement, but instead actively ruffling feathers and arousing untold amounts of suspicion from powers greater than himself. An unwise tactic, some might say. Pragmatic, he’d reply.
The Vigilant snapped its jaws shut just shy of a tentacle.
At this rate we will not even have v’rilk left for general upkeep!
“I thought you wanted me to stop eating?!”
You ate more than enough! We are too slow! We are burning away our own supply!
Caught up in the escape, he failed to take in any more of his surroundings than what was directly snapping at him him. There was no left or right, there was only the flock above and behind. Unfortunately, as they say, you should always look both ways before crossing a road.
CAREFUL SYLUS!
“I’m trying! Sondreh help me I’m-“
A blunt force slammed into his side. Eyes bulging from their sockets, his breath was knocked completely from his artificial lungs.
“Q-Qai-tax?”
SYLUS!
Slumping down to the ground he realized what had hit him. A truck. An old blue pick-up. A Yamamura-70. Sturdy vehicle. Old, but in good shape. He’d done a number on it, but it had definitely done a number on him in return.
“Fuck me.” He gasped before the world faded to black.
“Very well then.” Qaitax groaned as he shoved himself up off the ground. “I will handle this.”
They had precious little time to save themselves. As the headlights of the truck flickered, the flock grew closer and closer.
Qaitax threw his massive arm down on the hood, hauling himself up. He intended to stand, but could do nothing more than lean over the truck.
“He’s just staring at us.” Qaitax mumbled. Regardless of his inability to feel pain, their strength was fading. Injuries incurred from the collision were adding undue stress to their already strained reserves. “He’s just… S-tar-ing…”
With that, the last of their energy was gone. As the body shut down, they knew they were at the mercy of the truck’s driver.
You know, if you had not gorged yourself like a-
Shut the absolute FUCK up! Sylus bit back from their unconscious realm.
As you wish.
Where the hell are we?
In the back of the truck that hit us.
Fear spiked through his tendrils. Hit us?! What the hell happened?!
In our escape of the nest, we were struck crossing a road. We are now inside the vehicle that struck us.
W-what? Why? How?
Our v’rilk was so low and our injuries so great that there was little I could do in the moment.
Sylus sighed. Wonder what they want with us…
I cannot say. I believe I have the strength to-
No. I’ll do it. I got us into this mess.
Sylus sat up stiffly, the roof of the truck barely above his head.
Sylus…
I’ve got this.
He leaned forward and opened the door. Sliding out, he was quick to find his feet.
“See?” He said aloud. “We’re fine. I just need to… To… Catch… My breath…”
Your need to breathe is a hinderance. Allow me control and I will-
“I-I’m-” He turned to find someone standing just outside the building the truck was parked in front of.
That is our assailant! Sylus, take him now and we may have the v’rilk to recover.
I’m not doing that. I just want to leave.
He turned to the man and took a single step forward before the body shut down on them once more.
Curse you, Sylus.
Wouldn’t be the first time.
Ugh…Th-this isn’t the cave…
Sylus groggily sat up in an unfamiliar place. A bed he barely fit on surrounded by two blank walls and two doors. One door was beside the head of his bed, the other directly across the room.
Have we been here before?
Not that I am aware of.
Sylus groaned as he gripped the side of his head.
We do not have the resources to fully mend ourselves at the moment.
“Shame.” He muttered. “What happened though?”
There was an accident. We must leave.
An accident?
Before Qaitax could answer, they heard footsteps coming from the door beside the bed. Someone was there. Grumbling to himself, he managed to find his feet. Lugging himself toward the door, he heard running water and silent cursing. Cocking a brow, he opened it.
His heart leapt into his throat. He tried swallowing it back down, but there it remained lodged as his gaze met the most beautiful face he’d ever seen. Dark in complexion and soft in features. Strength curbed by gentleness filled his curious gaze. It took an unreasonable amount of effort for Sylus to keep his sudden feelings to himself.
What is going on with you, Sylus? These feelings are… unusual.
N-nothing. I’m fine. It’s fine. Everything is-
“Hi?” The man asked as if testing the waters with the behemoth looming in the doorway before him.
Him! Kill him, Sylus!
“Hello.” Sylus replied, fighting back Qaitax’s rising rage.
“H-how are you?” The stranger stammered.
“Feels like I’ve been hit by a truck.”
The man laughed nervously. “Well, you kind of were.”
“Was I now?” Sylus closed his eyes and immediately scanned his memories. It wasn’t there. Getting hit by a truck was nowhere to be found. “I can’t remember.”
Is that why I feel like shit?
Yes. He hit us with his vehicle. Now enough of this. Devour him!
A familiar sinking feeling crossed Sylus’ mind.
“D-do you know who you are?”
DO NOT GIVE HIM OUR NAMES!
Calm down.
The man looked at them expectantly.
Sylus opened his eyes. “Oh, of course I do.”
Sylus, we need to get out of here. Eat him or do not, but we cannot stay. We have no idea who this is or what they want and we are in no place to defend ourselves.
Qaitax’s agitation rose to the surface as Sylus spoke. “Where am I?”
“Y-you’re safe. In a small coastal town, Ortzuna, in the upstairs apartment of a family diner.”
“Safe?” Sylus’ gaze locked onto the stranger’s. He was trying desperately to see past the devastatingly handsome facade. There had to be something under there. Some ill intent. Mortals were never kind to him even before he became the monstrosity he was now. There was no way this guy was being kind out of the goodness of his heart. He wanted something. Just like they all did. Qaitax’s advice to devour him started feeling like the best course of action. He almost relished the idea of being the last person to look into those soft eyes. “But are you?”
“I-I think so.” He nodded as he reached for a towel in the sink.
That wasn’t the response he was expecting. Caught off guard, he suddenly became aware of how dry and crunchy his remaining v’rilk had become. He cringed.
“Water?”
“Y-yes,” the man replied, “it’s a sink. Water comes out of it.”
Sylus shook his head. “I know that.” He ground the heel of his palm into his right eye. He was hungry, confused, and, unfortunately, mildly aroused. Something about the subtle defiance from this stranger was delicious to behold.
Eat him!
“I shouldn’t be here.”
The stranger reached up into the cabinet above the sink. He retrieved a rinsing cup and filled it with water.
“Here.” He offered it to Sylus.
Sylus’ mind raced. What the hell is going on? What game is he playing at?!
Eat him or leave! Do not indulge this facade of kindness. You know what it leads to.
Before he could reject the kind gesture, he reached out and took it. “Thank you.” He croaked.
SYLUS!
I-I don’t know what’s going on…
A spell! A curse! He could be an archon in disguise!
An archon? Here? Now? That feels very unlikely.
But also convenient. If we were not so crippled I could check. Wait… Sylus don’t!
Sylus tossed the cup of water back. For as little as it was, the mild chill was refreshing to his desiccating innards.
“Had a feeling that wouldn’t be enough.” The stranger rubbed the back of his neck before turning the faucet on. “Help yourself. I have to get dressed.” He exited the bathroom through a door directly across from their own.
Sylus we cannot trust-
Qaitax, we’re rougher than sand right now. Let me just take a sip.
As he made his way to the sink and cupped his hand beneath the stream of water, a loud, bellowing call rang out.
“JERON AUGUSTINE MILES! WHERE THE HELL IS MY MILK?!”
Sylus froze out of instinct. Something in him both recoiled and suddenly understood the stranger’s kindness.
He has no ulterior motive.
How can you possibly know that?!
I just know.
“JERON!” The same angry man’s voice bellowed.
“I, uh, sorry about that.” The stranger’s voice came from the other room.
Sylus stiffly turned his head just in time to watch him dart from the room.
Once he was gone, Sylus could hear the distinct sound of bickering from downstairs. Water still trickled through his fingers. Shaking his head, he took a few quick handfuls before wiping his mouth on his sleeve.
“We have to clean up.”
What?
“The bed. We made a mess. We have to clean it.”
Sylus?!
Sylus hurried back into the room he woke up in. Holding out his hand, he summoned a ball of inky liquid.
We do NOT have the strength for such a frivolous act!
He released the ball of ink over the bloodied bed. It washed over the surface before slicking off like oil and puddling at Sylus’ feet, reabsorbing into his body.
He did his best to ignore Qaitax’s protests as he made his way back into the bathroom. This time his focus was on the mirror.
What a mess…
We have more important things to worry about than your appearance!
I need to clean up.
Sylus!
So he did. Soap and water for his hands and face. A quick slick of his hand corrected his wild hair and he ran his fingers through his beard. Still, it wasn’t right.
Please, this is ridiculous, Sylus. Why are you bothering?
Closing his eyes, he forced an inordinate amount of v’rilk into his face to flesh it out and hide the bruising.
What if we needed that tentacle?!You can’t just steal v’rilk from wherever you want!
We have at least a hundred. I’ll grow it back later.
What has come over you, Sylus?
More yelling came from below.
I don’t know.
Well fix it! I do not like whatever these feelings are.
“I’m not sure I do, either.” He sighed.
He groaned in pain as his stomach growled. The hunger was coming back in full force.
You are actively weakening us. Leave. Now.
“We just need to eat and you heard the man, ” he gritted out between clenched teeth, “we’re above a diner. Diners serve food.”
Mortal food! Useless to us! Unless you eat the mortals themselves, of course.
“Which I won’t be doing.” He snarled as he did everything he could to still the agony welling within.
Sylus…
“We need to eat Qaitax.” He snapped.
Not like this, we do not!
“Good food is good for the soul, yeah?” He forced a halfhearted smile.
Author’s Note: I was juggling how to execute this until the answer finally came to me. Do something entirely unique or follow acrostic poem the book offers? Which one which one…
Sylus and I laid side by side in bed. His eyes were closed, but I knew he wasn’t asleep.
“A poem.” I studied the page before me.
“Hm?” Sylus mumbled beside me.
“Wanna write a poem?”
“Like, on the spot?”
“Like this.” I showed him the tiny book.
“Oh, alright. That shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“You start.”
“But this was your idea!”
“And I’m no wordsmith. Aren’t you a writer or something?”
“Ha,” he scoffed, “perhaps in another lifetime.”
“Start it for me.” I nudged him gently. “Please?”
“Ugh.” He took the book from me and reached for a pen on the bedside. “I Like you very much.”
“That doesn’t count!”
“Yes it does!”
I tore the book and pen from him.
“Obviously you’re the one for me.” I put it back in front of his face.
Grumbling, he took it back. “Verily, I do fancy thy posterior.”
I snatched it back. “This isn’t very poetic.” I chuckled.
“It’s the structure that matters more than rhyming or whatever.”
I kicked him under the covers.
“Every day I wake up to you beside me is another day in heaven.”
“Sondreh help me, you’re taking this much too seriously.”
“And you’re not taking it seriously at all!”
He snatched it back and studied the page for a moment. Putting his finger to the paper, a violet light filled the air. Without a word, he handed it back to me. Next to the R on the page was a phrase in swirling Qalian. A single circular symbol that read:
“Reality shifts, yet you remain.”
I smiled.
“So do you.”
Author’s Closing Note: Short, sweet, and a liiiiiitle fourth wall breaking 🤣
Author’s Note: This is a cute idea since Jeron has only read two books in his life: Sion’Dri’s Code (a religious text) and a pulp vampire novel left by his mother who used to read all kinds of tales to him when he was a child. Every other book she owned was destroyed by his father after her passing. Sylus was a casual writer and would likely have been Dalafaem, mortal with void magic, had Qaitax not intervened. I think they’d both like this idea. Time to see how it pans out…
I laid in bed staring up at the blank white ceiling. Once upon a time a rainbow tapestry draped above, but as with everything she ever made or owned, it was destroyed along with her. All her light died when she did. My father made sure of that.
I was feeling particularly morose as my mind chose to force all those painful memories forward.
With a single thought, I could summon Sylus to my side, but he was always there. Always helping me cope with her loss twenty years after the fact. It wore me down so I could only imagine how much it must have exhausted him.
I turned my head on my pillow to look at the simple desk beside me. On it sat three plushies (a rainbow crochet cat swaddled in a blue blanket, a happy little purple squid, and a grinning brown bat) and a book.
Clad in a cover marked as Sion’Dri’s Code was “_”, the only book of hers I was able to save from my father’s rampage. I’d read it a thousand times. Could practically retell it word for word from heart.
I heard Sylus shuffling around in the kitchen down stairs. Reheating a ham, most likely. I closed my eyes and debated whether I should put the effort in to joining him or not.
I hated this feeling more than anything. I’d rather get torn up in a fight than lay here trapped in a spiral to the past. Sylus could at least heal my wounds. He couldn’t fix the crack in my heart, though he did manage to fill most of the emptiness just by existing.
Still she haunted me. Those white, empty eyes… The way her head…
My bedroom door swung open just as the worst memory of my life began to fully surface. “Makin’ a ham.” He always knew when I needed him most. “I saw leftover carbonara from last night. Want me to heat it back up?”
“Hey, Sy.” I croaked.
“Hey, Jer. You want that carbonara or?”
I forced a smile through dried tears. “Yeah but I can’t even get myself out of bed.”
He stepped into the room and lifted me effortlessly into his arms. The fire of his core kept him perpetually warm. I snuggled up against him as he carried me downstairs.
He placed me in a booth that was already filled with blankets. He wrapped me up to keep me warm against the chill of the Void coming in through the broken window. We’d fix it someday.
He kissed me on the top of my head before returning to the kitchen.
The brisk briny air was oddly refreshing. Even the sharp tang of the Mist was welcome compared to the stagnancy of my bedroom.
I looked out the window to the destroyed town around us. Ruins of homes scattered about. Some foundations remained, some shrapnel of walls, but not much else. It was like a bomb had gone off and wiped my beloved Orzuna off the map.
“Here we are.” Sylus murmured as he placed a plate of piping hot carbonara in front of me.
He slid into the booth across from me as his tentacles lowered a reheated ham onto the table.
“Eat.” He mumbled. “I find it helps with bouts of melancholy.” He picked up a carving knife and fork and got to work on his own meal. A meal he could have easily just bolted down, but instead he took the time to do it like anyone else.
I sighed as I slid an arm out from under my blankets. He was probably right, but eating took a level of effort I wasn’t even sure I had. I lifted the fork as if it weighed a thousand tons.
“You know,” He mumbled through a mouthful of food, “I’ve been thinking.”
I cleared my throat. “A-about?”
“Getting back into things I used to do as a mortal human.”
“Like?”
“So,” he swallowed and placed his utensils down on his plate, “I had an idea and this might be silly, but I used to read a lot to escape, well, life. When I could, of course, but I believe you understand that sentiment.”
I tilted my head to the side. “I only have the one book, Sy.”
“Yes, well.” He cleared his throat as he reached into his pocket of the Void: The Darkspace. “I found this.” He twisted his torso as he stuck his other hand through the tiny rift in reality. “Qaitax stop. I told you I’d remove it so let me!” He grunted before finally pulling a tattered box overflowing with books. “Thank you.” He sighed. “I found this. Or, rather, more specifically, Daniel found it outside his school library. I guess they were rotating stock? I don’t know how that works. ANYWAY! I dug through it and found several books with dupes!”
“A-and?”
“Well, maybe, if you’re interested, we could, I don’t know, read them together?”
I cocked a brow.
“Like the same book at the same time?”
“So… our little book club?”
He nodded with a grin.
“Just you and me?”
“And this massive box of books!” He groaned as he put it on the floor beside the table. “Plenty to choose from!”
A genuine smile finally crossed my lips. “Were you reading my mind?”
“Not at all. You know we don’t do that. I just made a bit of an educated guess as to what you might enjoy. Something I believe any partner should be able to do.”
My smile grew as I slid my hand across the table and caressed his massive fingers.
“Thank you, Sy.” I sighed. “Thank you.”
“So? Book club?”
“Yes. Book club.”
“Your choice and if there isn’t a dupe I’ll find one.”
After spending all day laying around feeling nothing, I finally found my appetite.
Author’s Note: “Flirt with dessert”. This is the perfect prompt for my foodie boys. I was thinking about something ridiculous but I saw afternoon tea and I instantly knew where this had to go 😏
“You know what I’ve only done once but miss a considerable amount?” Sylus sat across the table from me, leaning on his hand, staring out the window.
I tilted the screen on my laptop down to meet his gaze. “What’s that?”
“Tea.”
I raised a brow. “Tea? You have a cup every night before bed.”
“No no. Afternoon Tea.”
“What?” I replied flatly.
“Never done it? Tea and lots of little sandwiches and scones and clotted cream…” I watched his starry eyes wander off into the distance. “It’s so good.” He murmured.
“So good it has the Devourer mouthwatering?”
He chuckled. “It’s an experience, that’s for sure.”
“Alright then.” I closed my lap top. “Let’s do Afternoon Tea.”
Sylus craned his neck around to look at the clock hanging over the kitchen door.
“4 o’clock. That’s well within Tea Time.”
“There’s a specific time?”
“Of course there is! 3:30-5pm is Afternoon Tea. 5-7 is High Tea. High Tea is dinner-ish. Afternoon Tea is lil sammiches.” He pinched his fingers together.
“And you’d rather little ‘sammiches’ over an actual meal?”
“Have you had cucumbers and cream cheese? What about tapenade on pumpernickel?”
“You said you’ve only done this once?”
He nodded. “I turned a lot of it into car snacks for Dan and I. Easy little things to carry around. Not always the highest quality but a nice change of pace from PB&J seven days a week.”
I smiled.
“It’s always better when it’s made by people who know what they’re doing, though. Along side some scones and clotted cream.”
“Clotted cream doesn’t exactly sound… good.”
“Forgive the name, but its delicious. Spread across a cranberry scone?” He gave a chef’s kiss.
“Alright alright.” I slid out of the booth. “Let’s go. Just remember, I’m not a huge tea person.”
“Understood, but if you treat it as a, well, treat you don’t have to pit it against coffee. There’s sweet dessert-y teas out there!”
I offered him my hand. “Then take me to Afternoon Tea, big guy.”
His tentacles shimmered and danced as he jumped to his feet. Taking my hand he kissed it softly before whisking us away for tea.
Emerging on a cement sidewalk, we were met with a one-story brick building with an extravagant carvings holding large windows in place. Vines wove and flowers bloomed in wood. I looked down at the dim marks that trailed up my arm to beneath the eyepatch I wore over my Voidal eye. I understood why Sylus liked this place.
The weaving floral motif followed us inside. The podium upon which sat menus was made of towering, twisting wooden vines. Climbing reliefs pressed out from the white surfaces of the walls. Hints of gold flecks shimmered in the warm light of the entrance.
“Hello and welcome to the Rosebloom Teahouse!” A woman dressed in blank pants and vest over a white frilly shirt appeared behind the podium. “Do you have a reservation?”
“We do not.” Sylus replied. “Do you have any availability?”
“Hm.” She opened a gold-leafed book that sat upon the podium. “It seems we have one, however there is a charge for-“
Sylus raised a massive hand. “Understood. We’ll take the table.”
“Very well then.” She collected the menus and led us deeper inside the artificial garden.
As we made our way down the hall, I noticed different rooms had different themes.
One was filled with brilliant sunlight with arcing windows like a greenhouse. Green vegetation seemed to grow with wild, reckless abandon. Alabaster tables and chairs filled what little open space there was.
Another was dark and filled with more sensual blooms. Shimmering in artificial sunlight, beads of water caught my eye as they speckled black roses and winding vines. Onyx seating was filled with people in evening attire. Bioluminescence glowed in the dim light. It was almost claustrophobic without any visible windows, but for some reason it called to me.
The room we arrived in was plain in comparison to either of the others from before. Two tall windows greeted us reminding me of the towering windows of home. Trees tastefully lined the room, branches reaching inward. A single, plain iron table was available for us to sit at.
Before we even reached the table, I struggled to envision Sylus fitting into these pitifully small chairs. Heck, I was worried I wouldn’t even fit.
“Here you are.” The maitre d’ placed the menus on the table. “Your server Grace will be with you shortly.”
We smiled and nodded and hoped she’d leave before we made fools of ourselves trying to sit down. Luckily, she was quick to be on her way.
Sylus and I looked down at the tiny chairs.
“I’m going to break that.” He muttered.
“Can’t you regulate your weight?”
“Certainly, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’d take four of those to hold my ass up.”
I snorted as I reached for the back of my chair.
“I was a lot smaller last time I was here.”
Heat filled my cheeks.
“You okay, big guy?”
He shrugged. “This was my idea.” He pulled out the chair and swung his leg over it. “I’ll just, uh,” he sat down, “figure it out.”
“The chairs in the dark room looked nicer.” I mused aloud.
“And it’s probably reserved for months.”
“Maybe we should book it for another time, then?”
“Jeron, I am very uncomfortable, but my discomfort pales in comparison to my desire for tea and tiny sandwiches.”
Laughing, I finally sat down in my chair. It was horrifically uncomfortable.
“I can assure you, these seats are perfectly fine for normal humans.”
“Of which neither of us are.” I shifted my weight to redistribute the discomfort.
“Good afternoon, I’m Grace and I’ll be taking care of you today.” A woman around our age appeared beside the table. Fiery red hair framed a pale, freckled face. She wore the same attire as the maitre d’. “Can I start you off with anything?”
Sylus popped open the menu and skimmed it before I even picked mine up.
“Can we have the Tea for Two?”
“Absolutely. Are the designated sandwiches okay or would you like to make substitutions? You’re allowed two.”
“I think they look fine. Jeron?”
I scrambled through the menu trying to find what he was talking about. Folding his backwards, Sylus handed me his menu. Six sandwiches, four pieces each, and tea for two with our choice of brew.
“I, uh, turkey and cranberry?” I looked up to Grace.
“Fresh turkey and cranberry sauce made every morning.”
I looked back at the menu. I had no idea what anything else was.
“Th-that sounds good.”
“And for your tea?”
“I’ll take the dark bergamot.” Sylus replied without missing a beat.
“And for you?” I felt Grace’s sharp green eyes on me.
“I, uh, I have no idea…” There were so many options and none of them made any sense to me.
“What’re you in the mood for, love? Sweet? Savory? A little bitter?”
“Let’s go with sweet…” I replied slowly.
“Do you trust my taste?”
“I-” I looked up to find him gazing at me, his elbows resting on the table and his chin in his hands. “I do. Yes.”
“Blackberry Sage. And can we get some honey for the table?”
“Of course. I’ll be back in a few minutes with everything.”
“Thank you.” We spoke in unison.
It wasn’t long before a three-tiered tray of sandwiches showed up accompanied by a large kettle. A cup was set before each of us containing a bag of our chosen tea.
“Enjoy!” Grace smiled. “Let me know if you need anything!”
“Thank you.” We replied once more in unison.
I turned to Sylus. “So how does this work?”
“Pour the hot water over the tea and let it steep in the cup. About three minutes should do. In the meantime, have some sandwiches. They’re small, but they pack a lot of flavor.”
I filled my cup with the steaming water and watched as it turned a bright golden color. When Sylus did the same, his was far darker, almost black. Like coffee.
I bit my lip as I looked down at my cup. I trusted him to make a decision for me so I had to at least give it a try.
As my drink steeped I took a cucumber sandwich. How good could it be? Cucumber? Cream cheese? Bread? Surely he was overselling it.
He was not. It tasted so crisp and fresh I couldn’t help but reach for another.
When I saw Sylus take a sip of his cup, I figured it was time I tried my own. I sniffed it and couldn’t for the life of me tell if I liked the smell or not. So I took a sip.
I caught myself humming into the cup it was so good. Lowering it, I found Sylus leaning on his hands and smiling at me.
“Okay, it’s good,” I placed it back on it’s saucer, “but it is not a coffee replacement.”
“I never expected it to be.” He picked up and nibbled a pumpernickel sandwich.
The way he could be so gentle and delicate always filled me with inexplicable joy. I knew him as a warrior, a blood-stained, battle-hardened, eldritch weapon. But I also knew him as a simple man who loved his tea and little sandwiches. Both sides made my heart sing, but together they made up the missing half of my soul.
We talked of little things and avoided the bigger issues in life. We sipped our tea and ate our finger sandwiches. We smiled. We laughed. He hummed while he ate. I listened as Eternity reached out to me, threatening to drag me away from the moment.
Once all was said done, we had managed to get through Afternoon Tea without breaking any furniture.
Author’s Note: I apologize for the somewhat sudden ending. Sometimes if I keep going things get too long and out of control. There was more I wanted to do, so I have a feeling this’ll either get a rewrite in the future or find its way into a future book. I really do love the concept of romantic meals.
Also, it appears Clyde’s getting a bit shy! I’ll see if I can get his big ol’ peepers in the next post!
Even in shambles, Ortzuna found a way to celebrate the end of the year and the beginning of the cold dark of winter. And winter was truly dark on Ancora.
The Kierhail fell around the chapel allowing Sylus and I to enter. In the absence of my father, we knew we could trust the new wielder of the key to not reduce us to screaming piles of voidal flesh.
“Oh look how much you’ve grown, dearie!” A grinning Adelaide Crenshaw shuffled over to me, white hair a bedraggled mess, and a crystal cross hanging from her neck.
“It’s only been a few months, Adelaide!” I laughed.
“And you look a bit worse for ware, young man.” She shook her head at Sylus who dignified her with a halfhearted shrug.
“Thanks for letting us in.” I continued. “I know it can’t be easy to let yourselves be so vulnerable in light of-“
“None of that, now, dearie.” Adelaide interrupted. “Fate does as fate wills. Mason knew that.”
A somber silence settled between us. The crystals embedded in the chapel glistened in the dim candle light that flickered inside. Ma’s gifts, the sources of the kierhail’s power.
“But if it wasn’t for him being a stupid bastard, you never would’ve shown up, would you?” She jabbed Sylus in the belly, knocking the air from him.
“It’s Soldheiria, Adelaide.” I really didn’t want to think about my father right now. “You know what that means.” It meant the last light of our solar cycle would fall on Ancora. It’d be another several months before we saw it again, Void willing.
“I do, but have you seen the town lately?” She leaned around us to look out the door. “Ortzuna is done for.” She sighed. “Had I known it would happen so soon I would have gathered some more sentimental things.”
“Like?” Sylus piped up.
“Oh, just things. Nothing necessary for survival.”
“But what kind of things?” Sylus had latched on to the conversation.
“Well, my medic kit, for one. Old and outdated, but it meant a lot to me. Went through the war from start to finish. I somehow feel bad for it being washed away with the tide. Ever feel like an inanimate object deserves the same respect as a person?”
Sylus and I both nodded.
“Then you understand.”
“Anything else?”
“Off the top of this old head? Arty’s gutpipe. I don’t think a person alive can make that thing sound any better than a screaming hoard of cats, but Arty could and Lord do I miss him.”
“Anything else?”
She narrowed her gaze on Sylus. “Why do you ask, young man?”
Sylus graced her with another dismissive shrug.
“No.” She replied slowly. “Nothing else comes to mind.”
With a nod, Sylus vanished into a drop of ink.
“Oh where’s he gone?!” Adelaide cried out.
“To get your stuff, I’d assume.”
“Oh it’s long at the bottom of the ocean by now.”
“Good thing Qaitax is a good swimmer.”
“You think that creature would indulge your boy’s act of kindness?”
“I know he would.”
Adelaide sighed. “Best of luck to both of them, but I think it’s a needle in a haystack situation. Anyway, come, dearie, we’re digging out all the old Soldheiria decorations your mother hoarded. Figured we’d at least do something on the inside.”
I laughed. “She really did have a hard time parting with things.”
Adelaide lead me down a set of stairs I hadn’t trod since I was a child. The basement had always felt like a mystical place far from sight and hardly thought about. In reality, it was a pool table with a small seating area around an ancient television with several closets along the sides.
The townspeople were pulling out boxes upon boxes of Soldheiria related bits and baubles. Ornaments, pine cones, tinsel, lights, pine tree stems… They fumbled and dug through everything as if trying to piece any of it together.
“Looks like they could use a hand.” Adelaide turned to me. “Do you happen to recall how your mother did things?”
“Oh god, Adelaide, it’s been decades.”
“Well, do you?”
I sighed. “Of course I do.”
She pressed a piece of festive fabric against my chest. It was Ma’s old bandana.
“Then get to work.” She commanded before wandering away.
Shaking my head, I removed my own plain brown bandana allowing my dreads to fall around my face. Gathering them back up, I tied the red and green cloth behind my head.
“You all need a hand?” I smiled.
Everyone turned to me. The looks ranged from confused to appalled to horrified. Whatever wind I had in my sails was gone. How could I forget how much I’d changed? How could I forget that my curse was born plainly upon my face? No, it wasn’t a curse, it was a gift. A gift of life and strength. I only called it a curse when anything even slightly negative came of it. Still, a glowing weave of floral tendrils etching the scarring around my eye made it very clear I wasn’t entirely human anymore.
All of them, even the less upset of them, turned their backs on me and resumed rummaging through the boxes albeit quieter and more delicately.
Face on fire, I turned and made my way back upstairs. The mystique of the basement now fully banished from my mind.
“That was fast, dearie.” I found Adelaide standing watch by the chapel doors.
“Eh, they had it under control.” I slipped the bandana off my head, jammed it in my pocket, and replaced it with my own.
“They really didn’t.” She turned to me. “It’s the eye, though, isn’t it?”
I nodded.
“Well I for one like that you’re still alive and kicking around with the rest of us so a little eldritch magic can be overlooked.”
I chuckled. “The kierhail is eldritch magic, Adelaide.”
“Don’t I know it.” She murmured.
“Happy Soldheiria, Adelaide.” I breathed.
“Happy Soldheiria, Jeron.”
A splash of ink hit the ground and Sylus reappeared just outside the chapel soaking wet and shivering.
“I-I d-don’t like the o-ocean.” He spoke through chattering teeth.
“Then why did you go diving in it?!” I laughed.
He held out his hands. In one was a tin box and the other was a very waterlogged gutpipe.
“You didn’t…” Adelaide caught herself between a scream and a sob.
She took a few steps forward and Sylus closed the distance.
“Here.” He placed the items in her hands. “Happy Soldheiria.”
“You celebrate?” She sniffed.
“N-not personally, n-no. I don’t celebrate religious holidays for, w-well,” he motioned to the writhing tentacles protruding from his back, “r-reasons, b-but you and Jeron do, so I suppose I-I d-do for the t-time being.”
I shoved him lightly. The cold wet of his clothes sent shivers down my spine.
“You’re so cold, Sy.”
“Y-yes I very much am.”
Adelaide clutched her belongings to her chest. “This is all I have left of all those times we had together. Even the memories come and go.”
“Go inside, Mrs. Crenshaw.” Sylus beamed. “Put the shield back up and stay safe.”
“But what about Soldheiria? I invited you both and-“
“We don’t belong here anymore, Adelaide.” I interrupted. “I don’t belong here anymore. I-I’m sorry.” I let loose a breath I’d been holding for what felt like an eternity.
“That’s not true, dearie! This is your home! You grew up here!” She motioned to the diner down the street. “Your home is right there!” I followed her gesture.
“Home is more than a building, Adelaide.” I mumbled.
“Ah,” her energy dissipated, “this is very true.”
“But do you think anyone would mind if Sylus and I set up shop here? We tend to come and go from the Diner.”
“Dearie, I wouldn’t worry about what others think at this point. Every one of us can see the truth of what’s going on and whether they like it or not, they’d be fools to turn down the help of a Voidlord and an Archon.”
I smiled . “Do you need any food or water or necessities?”
“Honestly?” She piped up again. “We could all really use some new underwear. I don’t think anyone would care about the brand. Just some panties for the guys and gals.”
I turned to Sylus.
“Yes?”
“Can you go grab some underwear of various cuts and sizes?”
He glared at me.
“If you could, Sy?”
He threw his hands in the air and groaned before setting off once more in a drop of ink.
“Thank you, dearie.” Adelaide gave me a shallow bow. “Your mother has us well stocked in everything else for the time being, but underwear just wasn’t on the list, I suppose. Though I believe she believed we’d have more planning behind moving in here than the sudden arrival of a Voidlord. Or maybe she just didn’t expect the entire town to get washed away on T-Day.”
“T-Day?”
“Tentacle or Tether Day. It’s what one particular lad on the radio calls it. For some reason people call him crazy.”
“He can see it?”
“I figure a giant tentacle tide locking us to the moon would be a pretty obvious sight.”
“Only certain people can see it. Most everyone else just sees reality as if nothing has changed.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice.” She looked up to a sky full of writhing tendrils. “Oh if only I could see the sun shine one last time.” She trailed off. “You have until Spring to fix this mess!” She barked as she pulled the holiday bandana out of my pocket. “Put it back on. She’d want you to wear it.”
With a pained sigh, I put it back on.
“There! Much better.” Adelaide patted me on the back. “You remind me so much of her.”
“I wish I was more like her.”
Strings rang out as random notes sang from the guitar on my back. I looked down to find Adelaide plucking on them.
“Don’t live in her shadow, Jeron. You’ve already escaped one prison, don’t fall prey to another.”
“Y-yeah… You’re… You’re right…”
“I know damn well I am!”
“H-here.” A random voice came from behind us.
I turned to find one of my old neighbors holding a rats nest of lights. He shoved them into my arms. “Put them up along the steeple.”
Adelaide glared at him.
“Please.” He added before bowing and darting off.
“They’re trying, dearie.” She sighed. “I thought they’d be more understanding after everything your ma did for us. Was never a secret she wasn’t human and yet they can’t wrap their heads around the same for you. I’ll never understand it.”
A soft smile crossed my lips. “Let me just get these up there real quick.”
I slung the lights over one shoulder and brought my guitar around from from the other side. I played a few notes and a path of stepping stones of dark, inky bubbles formed before me leading up to the steeple.
This was my magic. My mother’s guitar my conduit, Sylus’ core my power source. My strength born from those I loved the most.
I sat up in the steeple by myself trying to undo the mess of lights. The dim bubble light I worked by was suddenly obscured. I looked up to find a box of brand new similar lights. I smiled as I took them.
“Thanks, Sy.”
Without a word, I felt him leave again.
Though the connection we had was powerful, it was also dangerous soul magic that bound are very beings. In the heat of battle we could practically become one, but that was the danger in it. Our souls vied for control in our unified goals which is why we made it a point not to casually read each other’s thoughts. The mind was a private, sacred place, but sometimes, he’d hear me struggling and respond in kind.
Once I managed to get the lights up, I made my way back down to the pavement. Sylus appeared beside me.
“Darkspace is full of underwear. Please tell me where you would like me to deposit it all before Qaitax has a fit and turns it all to ash.”
I snorted. “Adalaide?” I called into the chapel.
“Oh is the underwear here?!” She came shuffling back outside. She stepped out into the street past Sylus and turned to look up at the roof. “They look lovely, dearie. Thank you.” And then she turned to Sylus. “You can just unload them all in the chapel. Everyone can sort through them for themselves. Oh, did you happen to grab any kids’?”
“Yeah and some diapers actually. Wasn’t sure what the demographic was.”
“Well I’m not sure we need those at the moment, but diapers sure can come in handy at times.” She motioned for us to go inside.
Cringing, Sylus thrust his tentacles into his Darkspace and began flinging packages of underwear into the pulpit. At the end, there were several technicolored piles.
“Organized by size.” He explained.
“Oh you’re such a wonderful young man.” Adelaide tugged on his arm. “Thank you. Truly, this is a Soldheiria miracle!”
I laughed. “Is there anything else we can do for you?”
“We?” Sylus balked.
“Is there anything else Sylus can do for you?” I patted his belly.
“No, no.” She smiled. “This is already far more than enough.” She turned to us. “You’ll check back, won’t you?”
“Hm?”
“You’re heading out, aren’t you?”
“Ah, yeah…” I rubbed the back of my neck. “We need to get going.”
“I just want to stop by to see Dan real quick. You can hang here if you want.” Sylus nudged me gently.
“And I’d like to go with you to see Dan.”
“Are you sure?”
I turned to him. “Very. I think we’ve Soldheiria-ed enough for my side of the family. Let’s go see yours.”
He smiled.
“Be safe, you two.” Adelaide said. “I’d like to see you both back here someday. In one piece, preferably.”
“We’ll do our best, Adelaide.”
“Keep each other safe. He may be big but he’s soft and you may be quick, but you’re just learning to fly. Take care of each other.”
I nodded. “We will. Of course we will.”
“Good.” There was a slight waver in her voice. “Now,” she cleared her throat, “get going so I can put the shield back up and everyone can come forage for fresh underwear.”
Sylus and I smiled as we stepped outside. We watched as Adelaide returned her pendant to the pedestal in the pulpit, raising the kierhail once more.
“Alright.” I breathed as I offered Sylus my hand. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
With a soft smile, he took my hand and obliged, whisking me away through the void and across the continent to another place of adversity. Someplace far from the familiarities of home.
We appeared outside a brownstone house just outside a bustling city. For a long moment, we lingered across the street staring at the building. I knew how much these encounters stressed Sylus out, but it was still his idea to be here. I took his hand. Unlike his usual warmth, I was met with bone-chilling ice.
“You’re way too cold, big guy.” I wrapped my arms around him. The dampness was gone, but there was no mistaking how frosty he was.
“Th-the ocean’s cold.” He replied.
I could feel some kind of sickness swirling inside of him. Exhaustion, the cold, and his anxiety about the house before us melted into a deep cringe on his brow.
“I-I can’t see Daniel like this. D-Dorry’ll already look for any reason to turn me away and I’m sure she’d see me shaking like a l-leaf.”
“A change of clothes, then?”
He sighed. “For the best. Maybe we can come back tomorrow and-“
“We’re in the city, Sylus. Surely you know a place you can get something quick and I don’t mean Finn’s.”
“Finn’s closed for the holidays anyway.” He forced a laugh. “He takes his time off very seriously.”
“As he should. Let’s just start walking and see what we find. It’s still early enough in the day.” I suggested.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re right.”
I released him from my embrace and took his hand again.
It didn’t take long for something to catch his eye. We were maybe two blocks in when he stopped in his tracks staring at a window display across the street: a Santa suit and a reindeer onesie.
“Awww!” I squeezed his hand tighter. “Come on. Let’s go check it out.” I dragged him across the street.
We emerged some time later with Sylus muttering to himself: “Why make a Santa outfit if you’re not gonna make it for fat people?” He adjusted the antler headband he now wore on his head.
“Does seem kinda strange.” I tried to get the beard and mustache to sit properly on my face but it kept sliding down. “Too big for me and too small for you. What a world we live in. It is prety last minute though.”
“That it is.” He sighed as he tucked his new t-shirt into a pair of brown slacks. This was not the Sylus I knew. The man would never leave the house without a three piece suit and here he was in a t-shirt and jeans. Not just any t-shirt, but a graphic t-shirt that read “Sleigh, Queen, Sleigh”. I laughed every time I read it.
“Think this is okay?” He motioned to himself.
“Are you comfortable?”
He reached into a bag and retrieved a denim jacket. Shrugging it on and smoothing it out he gave it some thought before nodding.
“Then it’s perfect.”
“But he’s thirteen. It’s not like he’s a little kid anymore.”
“I think he’ll appreciate it.”
He sighed.
“Besides,” I laughed, “they didn’t exactly have any big-boned reindeer costumes either.”
He snorted and rolled his eyes.
We walked back holding hands until we reached that familiar brownstone. Unfortunately we now stood at the end of the cement walk with no street between us and the picketed front lawn.
Sylus swallowed hard before marching up the walkway. I stayed close behind. Taking a deeply pained breath, he knocked on the door.
Muttering whispers and clicking heels on wood came from the other side. Sylus’ stern face drooped into a frown.
The door opened. A frizzy auburn-haired woman in a red-sequin dress with a hard glare in her eyes stared at Sylus. Behind her was a smaller, tired-looking man in an ugly holiday sweater.
“What do you want?” She barked.
“I came to see Daniel, Dorry.”
“We’re busy and you know the rules about unannounced visits.”
I leaned around them to see a massive conifer tree decorated to the nines sitting in their living room.
“Hey, Jeron.” The man nodded to me from behind his wife.
“Hey, Rich.” I nodded in reply.
“In case you forgot,” Doreen continued, “we are a family and we celebrate the holidays as one.”
“For fucksake, Dorry, I’m your brother!”
“Just because you keep using that word doesn’t make it true.”
Sylus’ face flushed a deep shade of violet. He was about to stand down when I stepped up. “Please? It’ll only be for a few minutes and we’ll be on our way.”
“That’s not fair to the boy.” She snapped. “You can’t just come and go as you please.”
“You think I like-” Sylus shook his head. “He’s my son!” He snapped back. “Why do we have to do this every time, Dorry? Please just let me see my boy. We all know you’re his family, but he’ll always be my son. You understood that when you took him in.”
Doreen glared at him while Rich wandered away.
“Dad?!” Footsteps ran across the house.
Doreen closed her eyes in defeat.
“Dad!” Daniel cried out from behind her. “Happy Soldheiria, Dad!” He shoved past her and into Sylus’ arms.
“Happy Soldheiria, Daniel.”
“Daniel.” Her composure was falling apart. “Please come back inside.”
“Can we just have a minute, please, Dorry?”
Pain shot across her face, but she was quick to bury it behind a scowl. Turning back inside, she slammed the door shut behind her.
“You always undermine me!” She screamed.
“First of all, I’m making dinner. Second of all, that’s Dan’s dad not some random stranger. You’re all about family until he shows up. Relax. Please.” A measured reply came from Rich through an open window.
“They suck during the holidays.” Daniel muttered.
“That’s not nice, Dan. They’re doing their best and they’ve taken great care of you. Grant them some grace. Please.”
Daniel reached up and fixed Sylus’ antlers. “I was half expecting them to be repurposed tentacles or something.”
“Nah, just felt.”
The boy turned to me. “Happy Soldheiria, Jeron.”
“Happy Soldheiria, Daniel.”
“You bring me anything?” He motioned to the plastic bag in my hand.
“Daniel!” Sylus cried out.
“Well he’s Santa with a bag so I feel like that was a reasonable ask.”
I burst out laughing.
“Here.” Sylus crouched down and pulled on the cord around Daniel’s neck revealing a soul crystal in the shape of an iris from beneath his shirt. “Let me charge you up a bit.”
Daniel recoiled. “The voice told me what you have to do to charge it. It’s too much.”
“Oh Daniel,” Sylus beamed, “you’re my flesh and blood. Nothing is too much for you. Besides,” he motioned toward the direction the bickering was coming from, “you need to keep them as safe as they’ve kept you all this time.”
“What about you?”
“Dorry would kill me if I lingered around here. It’s up to you to keep your home safe. I’m sorry, I know its a lot for a child, but-“
“I’m not a child.”
“You’re thirteen!”
“And it’s in the name. I’m a teenager. Adult lite. I can handle it.” Daniel sighed before offering Sylus his crystal again. “Please don’t hurt yourself, Dad.”
Smiling, Sylus took the pendant in his hand. After a brief flash of violet light, he released it.
“Thanks, Dad.” Daniel threw his arms around his father’s neck.
“You’re very welcome, Kiddo.”
I crouched down and reached into the bag. Daniel caught my motions and looked at me expectantly. I offered him a round red ball with a slit in one side.
“He didn’t want to put it on.” I explained.
Grinning, Dan took it and slid it onto Sylus’ nose.
The smile Sylus had for his son was unlike any other. There was always so much love and pride in his eyes. With that big grin on his face, he took Daniel in his arms and stood up beside me.
“You’ll behave for them, won’t you?” Sylus breathed.
“I dunno.” Daniel turned to me. “Am I on the naughty or nice list?”
“Fresh slate for the year to come.” I answered.
“Then I guess I’ll try.”
“You can do better than that!” Sylus laughed.
“Dad, I like to think I’m a pretty good kid. No truancy, no drugs, no sex, some rock and roll, straight A’s, and I only dabble in the dark arts on weekends!”
Shaking his head, Sylus put him back down on the porch. “Oh lord you are my son.”
“Sure am!”
Sylus smile wavered.
“I’m okay, Dad.”
“Good.” He ruffled the boy’s hair. “Now get back inside and behave.”
“I always behave!”
“Then keep doing that.”
Daniel opened the door. Straddling the opening, he turned back to Sylus. “I-I know you visit a lot, in the shadows, but can you visit in person more?”
“You know how much that upsets Dorry.”
“I’m not a little kid anymore and I want my dad in my life. It’s not fair how she-“
“From what? From you? My father? Can’t be because you’re a tentacle monster because she knows about my magic and hasn’t tried to stop it.”
“It’s complicated, Daniel.”
The boy took a deep breath. “I-I know dad. But… maybe… since the world’s ending and all that, can we try to all be a family?”
“I won’t infringe on Dorry’s rights as your legal guardian, Dan.”
“I-I’ll talk to her.”
Sylus sighed. “You shouldn’t have to.”
“But I want to.” Daniel ducked back outside to hug his father again. “Happy Soldheiria, Dad”
“Happy Soldheiria, Daniel.” Sylus whispered through his hair.
With that, Daniel slipped back inside and shut the door gently behind him.
“I hope you guys can work it out someday.”
“As do I, but Doreen’s feelings are deeply complicated and it’s not my place to upset their balance. And yet…” He pulled the nose off his face and studied it in the palm of his hand. “What I wouldn’t give to freely see my son again.” He put the nose back on and turned to me. “That’s enough festiveness for one year, I should think. I’d like to get somewhere warm, if you don’t mind.”
“Lots of blankets back home.”
“Home…”
“Still getting used to the concept?”
“Still getting used to the idea of it being a solid place and not a state of wandering vagrancy.” He sighed. “But… yes. I would very much like to go home. Maybe have some hot cocoa.”
“That sounds nice, big guy.” I put my arms around him. “Shall I take us there?”
“No, allow me, your noble steed.” He turned and lifted me onto his back. Invisible tentacles wrapped gently around my body, securing me in place. “Let’s hope there are no spooky holiday memories waiting in the Darkspace.”
“I’ll just hold on really tight and everything will be alright.”
“Happy Soldheiria, Jeron.” He breathed. “I’m so lucky to have you in my life.”
“Happy Soldheiria, Sylus.” I whispered in his ear. “And I can’t imagine living another day without you in mine.”
Happy Soldheiria to all, and to all a good night!
Author’s Note: I’m so proud to present the above image commissioned from Rhett Cameron Morris on Facebook. They did an AMAZING job! I honestly never thought I’d see my boys as they are in my head and until now all “art” was AI rendered, but no more! Here they are in all their human glory! Rhett did such a stellar job translating my mess of input and references into something meaningful. I can’t overstate how utterly happy I am.
Happy holidays everyone! If you’ve read this far, consider liking this post and maybe leaving a comment or even sharing it if you’re truly daring. Maybe even subscribe if you’re a real trailblazer! Totally optional, but I’m finally in the business of trying to build some semblance of an audience so… think about it!
Eternity's Irys 