Dead Lines

Epilogue

"You sure?" He brushed his fingers over the side of my face, making my life lines go crazy. "You look worn out."

"I got married today. I'm fine." I leaned forward and kissed him, only intending for it to be a quick peck on the lips. Instead I lingered, experienced it, and for some reason remembered the first kiss we shared at the Agora. The way I felt. My mind was jumbled from all the information they'd thrown at me but that kiss, it slowed the world then sped it back up.

I couldn't get lost in that memory right now, even as it threatened to pull me in and hold me so I could experience it again. "I'm fine," I whispered against his lips once more.

He knew I was lying. He knew it was getting harder to shove the visions back in their boxes. But he let me have the lie and kissed me again. This one different from the one we just shared. Desperation tinged the edges of passion. Like he knew time slipped away faster and faster each day and he needed to savor the here and now.

Like when I came out of the ground after being gone for days.

It was morning. I remembered the cool dirt on my face when I broke ground. The sun just started coming over the horizon and Cecil—he had to dig me the rest of the way out. He thought I wasn't alive, that the Gods' churned me up, returned my body to him. He had every right to think that. I'd died three or four times while coming up and I wasn't breathing when he got to me. There was crying, a lot of screaming.

When I took a deep breath and opened my eyes, the crying and screaming changed. From sadness to relief. No one else was there, just Cecil. He'd stayed, remained vigilant. Waiting. At every point in our lives, one of us waited for the other.

"Cecil."

I whispered it then, I said it now.

The wolves were scratching at the door. Figuratively, not literally. Andrzej had control of the actual wolves, took command and did well at it. No, the wolves I spoke of existed on the other side of this world, peering in. Watching. Waiting. They celebrated alongside this party, existed in the back, behind the high table where Cecil and I sat.

In the dark where no one could see.

The Gods retreated after the battle, when the humans woke up from their ignorance and discovered the Elite's true purpose.

That Gods and Goddesses were real.

The human's reaction—violence. Towns were burned, Elite were persecuted. We were slowly being driven from modern day society. A clear line was drawn in the sand and it was unsettling. If the humans saw an Elite coming down the street, they crossed to the other side. There was talk of making safe havens, having the Elite voluntarily retreat, draw back and away from human society. Some Elite wanted to abandon them completely. Let them deal with the monsters and demons that crawled out of the deep that day. Make the humans realize they needed us for their species could survive.

For now, though, we remained. We protected. We hoped the tide of opinion would once again favor us. But it didn't look good.

I turned more towards Cecil, moved closer, and rested my head once more on his shoulder. This time looking back.

The Gods danced too. I knew them all now. By face, by history, by current views. No need to consult a handbook or ask Cecil for information anymore. I knew.

From the outskirts of the crowd came a waving hand.

Kells.

He pushed through the party and stood, smiling. I smiled back and gave a small wave so no one would notice. He raised his glass before taking a sip. Cheers. I missed him.