We turn back to the party and watch it for a bit longer. The craving to join in that hit us before but was forgotten returns, more forceful.
"Can we resist the nymphs magic?"
I look at Salis who is still looking at me but with not as much longing as before. There's an ease in his posture now, aside from the twitches of his body and feet.
"No... not even a god can resist their work," he holds out his hand. "Shall we?"
I place my tankard in the box of used ones and take his hand. The same feeling as before stops my heart for a moment. Death and a spark.
He leads me back into the crowd but we stay to the edges. He drags us to a spot between three fires. The gigantic one in the middle and three corner bonfires. It's possibly the hottest place to be.
He draws me close to him and lets my hands go. His arm glides around my waist, his arm is so long his hand rests on my bare stomach. My muscles twitch under his fingers. The skin is sensitive to his touch and I have to bit my lip to stop myself from squirming. I hate being ticklish. Some people can turn it off but I can't. It's annoying.
I rest my hands on his chest and his other hand reaches under my hair to cradle my neck. His arm presses into my side moving me to the side and then his fingers press down to move me back. Bit by bit he sways me from side to side manipulating my hips into swaying and my body into curving. As he builds up a pace, I lean back into his arm letting him support me. I don't know what this dance style is but it's soft, sensual like the gentle hissing of a snake.
We sway with the music for a while and then he bends his knees and drags me down with him. My skirt bunches up on his thigh as he lowers me. The fabric is pushed up when he pulls me nearer until we're pressed into each other, the only barriers our clothes and hands. This close I can see the way his shirt clings to his skin from the heat and sweat. I can smell the heavy taste-it-on-your-tongue sweetness of decay and the musk of something dark and spicy. An old smell. And he smells like smoke and pine. The scents of the park. It's a wild, natural combination with no hint of the common perfumes and colognes that other men wear.
Beneath my palm I can feel his breast bone thumping hard from his heart. It's slow, slower than a humans, I think. If I lean in a little more and turn my ear towards his chest, I can almost hear it. Or that might be my imagination.
He leans towards me quickly and I'm forced to arch over his arm to stop myself from head butting his collar bones.
The tip of his nose murmurs slowly over my exposed neck, down my chest and to the low cloth of my shirt as he bends over me. I can feel each hot huff of air as it leaves his nostrils. His breaths tickles and scorches my skin as he moves back up. But slowly, as slowly as he can. And he slides his hand up my spine, supporting me as he brings us back up.
When we're upright I'm even closer to him and straddling his thigh. He manipulates my body again moving me from left to right. His hand falls lower, to my hip and his fingers graze the skin over the shard of my pelvic bone.
My hip twitches beneath his touch and I accidentally rub myself against his leg. I gasp and my eyes widen at the shock that spears through me. I've never felt that before. I flick my eyes up to his and find only darkness. The golden flecks and streaks in his eyes are have been banished to the outer edges, fleeing his enlarged pupil. He watches me as he presses his arm into my back and rubs me against him again. Biting my lip, I can feel my cheeks warming even more. In my stomach there's an uncomfortable writhing and tightening. Heat rises in my body until it reaches my chest and smoulders there waiting.
Is this the influence of the nymphs or is it us?
His forehead droops to mine and I'm tangled in his eyes helpless to look away. He gazes at me with an inescapable fierceness and heat. The intensity in his eyes is softened by the focus he has on me, as though he's trying to take a picture or paint a portrait in his memory.
I gaze back but I don't focus on memorising his image. I etch the feeling of him into my skin. Carve the way he moves into my muscles. With my hands I trace his body committing the shape of him to memory. I feel all of the valleys and hills of his muscles and bones. The jagged bumps and hollow dips of scars. I feel the weathered nature of his skin, hidden under a smoothness, the flawlessness of immortality. I'll remember this far better than the way the fire light flickers over his face.
In return he shades my body with his fingertips, they fill me in lighter than air. He moves down my back, under the hem of my blouse and back up again, running his fingers into the current of my spine. I shudder under his touch and arch into him. His lips soften and curve upwards a tiny amount.
Like a musician caressing his instrument, he draws sensitives lines down my back. Stroking back and forth along my ribs and shoulder blades, hiking over the lumps of my vertebrae. Then he sweeps his hand forwards, around my waist. He ghosts his hands up my ribs, his thumbs gliding over the bumps of my bones. At last, he re-curves his arm around my back and settles a palm on my cheek. He strokes my cheekbone with a thumb and closes his eyes. He sighs and then leans down and rests his lips on my forehead. His nose presses into my hair and I feel him breath in deeply and his body loosen against me.
After a while he moves back and opens his eyes. He searches my eyes for something as I stare dumbly at him. I'm gone. Lost in feeling this thing between us.
And then he blinks and goes back to leading us in this dance again as though nothing has happened.
I don't know how long we sway together like this. Pressed into each other, caged in each other's eyes. But if feels like eternity. Sometimes when the music changes or drops he bends me back again and we linger there, swinging like the long limp leaves of flower stems in a gentle breeze.
At some point I droop against him and my eyes close. I'm exhausted from the night, so drained physically and emotionally. It's been chaotic.
"I can walk you home if you would like."
"Mmm I do like." I mumble into his collar. He chuckles and gently removes my head from him with a hand. He supports me as he straightens us and my skirt falls down again, the fabric slapping my thighs. Using his arm around me he turns me into his side and gently walks us away from the party.
Under the trees again it is freezing compared to the clearing. I have no idea what time it is but it must be late into the night, maybe early morning. I close my eyes and allow Salis to guide me out of the trees and park. I think doze off because I don't remember it.
On the road there are barely any cars and all the lights from the buildings are out. There are no other noises around us and I think no Shadows around.
"Where do you live, I can call my driver to take us there."
Where do I live? Where do I live. Come on Shelly wake up. I shake my head and try to think through my tired fog.
"In Queens on- oh no... no I forgot I can't go home tonight."
"You can't?"
"No... well my neighbours didn't want me to work tonight because of the Dark Gods being in the city. I promised them I would come straight home. But then I bumped into Zenya on the subway and begged her to take me to a party despite knowing about your kind being here. So, I forgot about my promise to my neighbours until I was on my way to the party and so I lied and said I was staying at my office to work late... so I can't go home." I explain it all in a babble.
He frowns.
"You lied to your neighbours?"
"I didn't want them to worry. I don't get to see Zenya much and this party was the only way I was going to... but she ditched me when we arrived and I haven't seen her since."
I sign typical Zenya. I dig around in my bag to find my phone. When I pull it out, I try to turn it on but just my luck it's dead. Great.
"Well, you can stay at my home tonight if you want to, I have more than enough room."
I look at him and open and close my mouth like a cod fish. Uh.
"You can't sleep in an office... besides isn't this what friends do, have um sleepovers?"
Aw. The awkward way he said that. It was adorable. Gaia now you're describing him as adorable. When will you start thinking sensibly?
"Okay lead the way then."
I accept because he's right. I can't sleep in an office and the security have probably locked the building doors anyway. Besides I don't have any other offers and I'm starving.
He smiles and takes my hand again. We walk down the long avenue towards upper Manhattan. I try to read the street signs as we pass but they're all cast in darkness and too far away.
We walk in silence looking at the buildings we pass. I haven't been this far north on the island before. The Solarium is in the lower half near to the eastern edge of the park. My other job is in Brooklyn, a few subway stops away from my apartment. It makes me wonder what does a god do all day? Watch people, control the weather, or eat and drink wine? Do they have to carry out their duties or can they lounge around and leave them up to their nymphs?
"What do you do all day? Do you have a job?"
I turn to look at him to see him frowning at the sky. I cast my eyes upwards to see what has captured his attention but I can't see anything out of the ordinary. Looking back down I stumble into him to avoid colliding with a sign post. He catches me and smiles.
"Sorry I'm supposed to be guiding you, I'm not doing a very good job am I?"
He re-places the strap of my bag for me when I regain my balance and gives his attention to me.
"Yes, I work... not an ordinary mortal job... I carry people into their deaths- I should say I used to work, there is no death anymore... now I just maintain order in my realm and keep the other gods in line..." he sounds regretful that he no longer can carry out his duties and fulfil his purpose.
"Salis god of death, the underworld, and the babysitter of gods." I announce with as much mock gravity as I can. I frown at him in mock seriousness but I can't help it I have to smile.
"You know your titles don't sound as terrifying as I thought they would... makes me think that you're really a cuddly puppy masquerading as a powerful being."
His eyebrows lift a fraction in mild amusement.
"You dare to mock a god, mortal?"
I laugh at him. I put my hands on my hips and puff out my chest in faux machismo.
"Yes, I dare, if not I then who?"
The chuckles that escape him are soft and low. His laugh is like the trickle of syrup as if falls from a spoon and the gentle sight of earth falling through my fingers.
I made a god laugh. I wonder how many humans can say that.
But all too quickly his smile fades and he becomes serious again. He looks down at the ground.
"It's hard not having a purpose and a place in the world anymore... I thought I would enjoy the chance to relax and take a leave from my duties... but now I don't know who I am without my work."
"I think that many Shadows feel the same way."
His eyes dart to mine and we stop walking. He contemplates me for a while and I swallow. I probably shouldn't have said that.
"You're right... I'm not alone in my feelings of displacement... but the Shadows chose to lose their purpose. I did not."
Chose to lose their purpose? Everything good about their lives was ripped from them. All of their dreams and hopes for the future gone. What is the point of following your dreams when you have eternity do whatever you want? Life lost its unpredictability and so lost its urgency and everything that made it special. We weren't meant to live forever. Life is temporary for a reason. The lack of time we have makes it precious. It makes getting up in the morning worth it because any day could be your last. And the Dark Gods took that from us, them, the Shadows. They didn't choose this.
I bite my tongue and don't say what I'm thinking. I don't want to argue with him when we're only just starting out. Instead, I take a deep breath.
"We'll talk about this another time... this conversation is too heavy for such a great night."
He nods, once.
"As you wish... what would you like to talk about?"
Um. Getting to know your topics.
"Okay, I'm going to quickly shoot questions at you and you have to answer as fast as possible. Is that okay?"
His head tilts to the side and he thinks about it for a moment.
"Why don't we play the human game... what is it? A number of questions-"
"Twenty-one questions?"
He nods and then pulls me around a corner. I look at the street and see trees lined downed both sides of the pavement. On the road are some fancy cars. All of the houses are four storey town houses probably with private courtyards. It must be nice to have that much space to move around in. It must be nice to have some privacy. Hardly any lights shine from windows and I wonder what these people are doing. Shopping? Exercising? Pretending to sleep? I don't know what the non-depressed Shadows do. Obviously, they don't wallow at home, watch tv and smoke all day long.
"Yes, that one... we take it in turns to ask and answer the questions... it will give me the chance to get to know you as well." He smiles.
I shrug. Okay. Fair enough.
"Would you like to start?" He offers.
Because I'm a woman? I don't say that. It might be better if you hold back on the quips Shelly. Yeah, try not to be sarcastic. It's not your best trait.
"Um what's your favourite flower?"
"I thought you would ask that... casa Blanca lilies, they are a night-blooming flower or angel's trumpet... they remind me of my mother."
"Your mother-"
He places a finger over my lips.
"My turn Miss Fenton... if you could travel to any place in the universe or a different realm where would you go and why?"
"That's two questions-"
"Wrapped in one, your answer please," he removes his finger from my mouth and waits.
I let the sound of our footsteps fill the void between us as I think. Somewhere on Earth? I want to visit so many places here but none more than the others. Another planet? The silvery surface of the moon or the scorching magma ground of the sun. No. Another realm? How many realms are there? The gods' home dimension and the underworld. Gaia's lands, home to the great goddess herself and her faithful followers that she rescued from death. I don't know there are so many to choose from.
"I would love to visit Niara's meadows, see all of the flowers and plants and trees. But I already know that realm... I think I would follow in Persephone's footsteps... the underworld."
"And why?"
My chin tilts and I look down, biting my lip. I don't really know why. In the moment I had to choose and the underworld seemed the most intriguing.
"Its the realm I know the least of... there is information and tales about everywhere on Earth, the planets and the other gods' realms... but yours, yours is the least known..."
Is it like the Greek underworld with the Fields of Asphodels and the rivers? Or is it like the Egyptians and the balancing of scales. Maybe the Christian heaven, hell and purgatory with angels and demons looking over you. I wonder which culture was the closest to the truth? I wonder if Salis will ever tell me or if I'll have to wait until I die to find out.
"Okay my turn again... what is your favourite food?"
He doesn't answer so I look at him. His eyes are far away, they look through me to somewhere else. Is he thinking of his realm, the souls wandering there for eternity? Some of them waiting for loved ones that will never arrive.
We stop walking again. I move closer to him and put my hand on his arm.
"Are you alright? Salis?"
He doesn't respond. I don't know if he even heard me. His body is tense, thrumming with his strange, wicked power. On his arm my fingertips begin to numb and I can't feel the fabric of his shirt. I look at my hand and see my skin shrivelling into a mouldy, dark grey colour. My mouth hangs open at the change. What the shit is this?
I can't look away from my hand or move it off his arm. I'm transfixed by the decay of my hand. The feeling of rot spreads up my arm and into my chest. All of the air is crushed out of my lungs and I gasp trying to take and breath. It's cold, the kind of cold that you can barely feel but you know if you stay in it for too long, you'll get frost bite. It's too cold for your mind to process properly.
And still, I don't move away from him. I stay rooted to the spot as I feel my heart slowing to the thump of the pendulum in a grandfather clock. My heart is beating in slow motion, at a deafening volume in my ears. I close my eyes ready to- I don't know.
I drift into a darkness in my mind. A peaceful, lightless place that's almost meditative. Or how I imagine meditating would be like. I can't shut my anxiety to be doing something off for long enough to properly meditate. And living in my neighbourhood isn't really helping. All of the noise is a distraction. I remember being able to meditate for a little while amongst the fields of wheat back west. But everything is easier when you're a child. Your mind isn't as advanced so it's easier to focus on one thing at a time without interruptions.
As I dissolve into the shadows of my mind, I start to see light. A bright orange - green glow seeps across the darkness of my eyes. It cocoons my head and sinks down into my body. The warm life of it floats down my neck, into my chest and I can breathe again. It feathers over my heart making it beat faster, one thump at and time. My heart pushes it into my blood and through the rest of my body. The glow forces feeling back into my hand and the softness of his shirt crashes into my nerve endings. It's jarring.
I open my eyes and have to blink like the flutter of a butterfly's wings to adjust to the darkness of the street again. Salis is still staring into eternity. I flick my eyes to my hand and see that it's normal, as though nothing has happened to it. I feel just as healthy and energised as I did this morning as though I haven't just danced for hours and hours and walked across half the city. What just happened to me? Was that him repairing what he had done, or was it me? My protection from Gaia for serving her well.
I can't believe it. I almost died and now- I don't know what's happened. It's like I sucked the energy from another person to help myself. It's like how it feels for a vampire to instantly heal themselves. I've seen it in the plants I grow but not this fast. They produce callus cells that smother the wound to protect it and help it to repair itself. It can lead to an over production of growth regulation chemicals like auxin which is what causes stems to produce bumps, leaves and to bend in weird shapes. It's fascinating to watch.
I'm still staring at my hand when he grabs it and squeezes hard, sending blood rushing back and causing a blockage. It becomes numb again as a he pulls me along.
"There are demons heading this way... my family are not far behind..."
He darts towards me and tugs me off my feet. I cling to his shirt as he starts sprinting down the street. He just manhandled me and now I'm being carried like an injured maid. I would object to this kind of treatment but I understand his urgency. I've never seen and demon, thank Gaia, but they are horrifying. Wherever they are screams follow. Terrifying, tortured shrieks that come from deep within.
The wind needles my eyes making them water like a sprinkling system. My eyes twitch like they have something irritating their surface. I want to see where we are going but it's too painful to keep my eyes open. I shut them and focus on keeping a tight grip of Salis.
We've just met but already a lot has happened. This night has been a cluster duck of happenings. So much. So much has happened. It's all too much. It's like I've been on a journey to the Lonely mountain, fought in the battle of the Five armies and then trekked back again. But this isn't as exciting as The Hobbit. It's far more real and scary. Hijo de vaca it's a mind fuck too.
I think we run for a couple of minutes before he jerks to a stop. His hand comes up and cradles my face to stop me from getting whiplash. I open my eyes and peer up at him. His face is blank and hard. His throat bobs. I glance over my shoulder and see them.
Seven of them in a row with a dozen or so Followers and nymphs behind them.
Dark Gods.