4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Is that a smile?

This greenhouse was sweet. Definitely in the top ten of things I’d seen in my journeys. Every plant was alive and flourishing. Pots floated in the air, wandering around the greenhouse on their own, like magic… though knowing drakcol, it was “science” or some shit.

Flowers ranged from the usual reds and pinks, but I spotted flowers that started out as blue in the center and turned violent yellow on the jagged edges. There were ferns with spotted leaves or stripes or both, coming in neon colors to purple so dark that it was almost black. One plant was a deep blue and glittered like it was alive with stars and had blood-red blooms that shimmered in the light.

Everything was new and interesting.

Near the back was a fern-type plant, but its leaves curled and unfurled on their own, like they were beckoning me. I leaned closer and spotted delicate white flowers near the base. I brushed a finger over one light green branch.

“Careful,” Zoltilvoxfyn said. “It will grab you and its leaves are sharp.”

I laughed. “I’m dead. It can’t touch me. Stop worrying.”

“I forgot. My apologies.”

Zoltilvoxfyn was lovely, but he was rather staid. His voice was wonderfully deep, but it lacked inflection. He needed some lightening up. But hey, that was a snap judgment. Though, honestly, he could be as boring as paint drying and it wouldn’t matter. He was the one person I’d ever met who saw or heard me.

“I would like to help you,” he said.

“With what?” I didn’t need anything, unless he was volunteering to take me back to Earth. That would be nice of him, though part of me felt bad I was even contemplating leaving Seth.

“Find peace.”

“Oh.” He saw souls. It was probably his job or something to see me to the Great Beyond or whatever he believed in. I wasn’t necessarily opposed to passing on. I mean, I was tired, like hecka tired, but at the same time, I wasn’t upset about sticking around. There was a lot to see in this world.

“I’m good,” I told him, turning back to the numerous plants.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m fine,” I reiterated in case the Drakconese words I used weren’t correct. I never knew. I would think some word would mean one thing, but then someone would say it in a different context than I was used to and confuse me. I didn’t have a teacher; I’d figured this out as I went along. “I don’t need any help, but thanks for offering. It’s sweet of you. Really sweet. Or nice? Does sweet mean the same thing as nice? I’ve never been sure, and now, I can ask.”

He ignored my rambling. “You don’t desire to pass on?”

“Nope. I’m happy here for now. I mean, why not? There’s stuff to see and places to explore. I have nothing but time.”

His mouth fell open, showing off his scaled black tongue and sharp canines. “That’s not right.”

I shrugged. “Don’t care and not my problem.”

Not bothering to wait for him to respond, I stepped through the glass. Zoltilvoxfyn rushed to follow me, his every movement graceful. It wasn’t fair. When I was alive, I’d been clumsy as hell. I had died by tripping over nothing and rolling down a staircase.

Whistling, I took off into the jungle garden. Part of me didn’t like leaving Zoltilvoxfyn behind, because it was nice to have someone to talk to, but I didn’t want to listen to him lecture me about moving on. I already knew that. Maybe after I knew Seth was alright and I’d explored this world, I would pass on. What was a few more years in the face of eternity? Nothing. Literally nothing.

“Caleb,” he called from behind me, plants rustling as he chased me. “Come back.”

I paused because I heard the desperation in his voice. “I’m not going anywhere, just looking around.”

He came closer, smoothing his black clothes that clung to his muscular form. The sleeveless tunic with the high collar showed off his muscular arms, and the tight trousers hugged his thick thighs. Once again, not fair. He had no right being this attractive when I could do nothing about it.

“You need to move on.”

My head fell back as I groaned. “Zoltilvoxfyn, I’ll move on when I want to. Right now, I’m going to explore.”

“Maybe we should talk to Seth.”

My smile grew. “He’s still here? In the palace, I mean. Kalvoxrencol hasn’t stolen him off?”

“Yes. He’s here.”

I skipped toward him. “I would like that. He won’t be able to hear me, though.”

“I will convey your words.”

“Really? That’s so sweet… or is it nice? You never did answer that question, which isn’t really fair. It’s not like I can ask anyone else, so you should answer. Though you don’t have to. I don’t want to force you into doing something. If you get what I’m saying. Nevermind. It doesn’t really matter. Thank you, Zoltilvoxfyn. I’ve been wanting to talk to Seth for forever.”

Zoltilvoxfyn gestured to the bark path that I didn’t need to stay on—it wasn’t like I was hurting the plants. Whatever. I hopped beside him to make him happy and followed along. My gaze kept gravitating to him like he was a magnet. He was tall, over a foot taller than me, which wasn’t hard because I was ridiculously short.

Being a short guy growing up had been unpleasant, to put it mildly. My older brothers and cousins (not to mention countless bullies) had teased me mercilessly about it, but eventually, I’d gotten over it. I couldn’t change the fact that I was shorter than average. Hell, I was shorter than most women. It was what it was.

Besides, when I came out, I’d quickly realized there was a benefit to being small. Some guys really liked twinks.

When we reached the edge of the forest, Zoltilvoxfyn stopped and removed a glowing blue stone—a touchstone—out of his pocket. “I best make sure they're available.”

“Good idea. I don’t want to walk in on them having sex. Been there, done that. It was awkward, to say the least, even though they didn’t see me. Still, there was a lot of skin and scales and moaning. So much moaning. I did not enjoy that. I wish I could burn it from my brain, you know?”

The slightest smile curled at the corner of his lips.

Hold on just one second, he had a sense of humor. It must be buried. Of course, he didn’t know me from Adam, not that he knew an Adam being drakcol, which might be part of the problem. Unfortunately for him, he would get to know me, and I was a talker. Silence was about to become a thing of the past. I had years worth of built-up words, and he was going to get them all.

“Kalvoxrencol,” he said. After a moment, he continued, “Pest, I need to speak with your Seth.”

Zoltilvoxfyn stopped talking, and I didn’t hear anything, not that I’d expected to. I’d seen other people using touchstones on the Admiral Ven, and I never heard the other side of the conversation.

“It’s important,” he said. “I didn’t want to interrupt anything, though.”

“They were fucking, weren’t they?” I asked. “I bet they were. They do it a lot. Like all the time.” Rabbits fucked less than they did.

He choked in what sounded like an aborted laugh, but he got control of it too fast for me to know with any certainty. “I’ll be there shortly.” Zoltilvoxfyn tucked the touchstone back into his pocket. “This way.”

He gestured to the wide, arched doorway, and I bounded inside.