Everleigh

Rhian and Andrei asked me to do this.

I said no. But they sicced Abby Blaze on me, so.

This is a story about pain, death, and destruction.

And a treasure hunt.

It was morning, and I was in the fetal position below deck. Rain pelted the roof of the cabin like a never-ending volley of murder-arrows. Above, Matteus Rizik—also known as The Sexy Beast— manned the water.

Rhydian and Evelyn slept.

The seasickness churned my gut like butter. I missed butter.

The agony of it all. Dying again, but I felt so alive.

Hours upon hours I wallowed. And then—

She smelled of honey and lemon. I didn't know why.

There was nary a honey nor a lemon aboard.

I missed lemons.

"Can I get you anything, lass?" Evelyn asked.

"Rub my back while I die."

"Of course I will, love."

Evelyn was saccharine sweet.

I no longer had to worry about dental disease.

"Everleigh, you're not dying," Rhydian said.

"It feels like I'm dying. And dying is the worst part of dying."

"All right," Rhydian answered. "Go on and die, then."

Wallow, wallow, and wallow—

"Rhydian, surely there's a solution for this?" Evelyn asked.

"I don't reckon so, if Sebastian Vonsinfonie suffered the humiliation of it."

The torment of it all. The only solution to dying is to die, and I could not.

Sebastian used to rub my back.

The murder-arrows rained righteously upon us. TSB, with his shirt wind-blown and wide open. His skinny, pasty, chest glistening in the moonlight.

I was sure of it.

It was noon when we arrived in Stracha.

Time to face yet another enemy.

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But the blistering ball of light was no match for me. I called upon the ancient powers of my father and covered the sun with clouds. TSB smiled at me. I didn't smile back.

The attraction was undeniable.

Stracha, the land of endless rolling hills and wild horses. I hadn't been home in thirty-four years. Stracha, the great betrayer.

Hours upon hours we walked.

Evelyn Green's house was white with a lemon tree in front.

She had no neighbours as far as my superior eyes could see.

The lovers' steps quickened as we approached. When from the door, a new, fresh-faced mortal appeared. I said nothing as the family of three embraced.

Evelyn and Rhydian entered the white house to engage in coitus.

Only the spritely stranger remained. "I'm Shane," she said.

"I'm Ever," I answered.

"Ever? Well, that's a pretty name, isn't it?" Her hair was like spun gold. Her smile held the warmth of a thousand enemy suns. The Angry Lass had a Happy Sister.

A twist. A turn.

TSB offered his hand. A true gentleman.

"I'm Riz," he said.

I watched their flesh collide in social service. I wondered what it would be like for his and my flesh to collide in pure passion. The Happy Sister wondered, too.

Mortal feelings are loud.

"Why don't the both of you come inside and have a bite to eat? If you're waiting for my dad, reckon they'll be at it a while."

"Yeah, we'd love that," TSB said.

And I love you.

We entered the white house. It smelled of freshly baked bread.

I missed bread.

"It's strange to think this is Rhian's house," TSB said. "Or, I mean, it could have been."

"Wait, you two know my sister?" Shane asked. "What's she like?"

TSB ran a pale hand through his wild, luscious locks. "Uhh—"

The injustice of it all. It should have been my hand.

"She's special," TSB settled with.

The Happy Sister found his answer unsatisfactory.

She served us bread anyway.

"Well," TSB continued, "the first time we met she socked me in the stomach with a sack of melons."

In perfect conditions, melons equals lemons.

The Happy Sister laughed. "So, she's our father."

"Yeah, basically. Decision's still out on who's prettier, though."

I'd never known my mortal parents. They were probably dead by then.

Shane eyed my untouched bread. "Aren't you hungry, Ever?"

"She's a vegetarian," TSB said.

My hero. The way his sharp, angular jaw contracted and expanded while he chewed.

It would be rude to nibble.

"Aye, but you're obviously a Celestian, so aren't you a vegetarian as well? And there's no meat in bread."

"I can't eat," I said.

"Are you sick, love? You do look a touch peaked after all that travelling. Would you like to have a nap in a cozy bed?"

"I look how I did when I died. I can't help it."

TSB put an arm around my shoulder.

The tension of it all.

"She's kidding, obviously," he said. "We—"

Shane interrupted. "You're one of the Anima, then! I've never met one—no, that sounded awful. What I mean to say is—"

"I know what you mean to say."

Mortal thoughts were loud.

I played a scale only she could hear. A burst of reassurance.

The Happy Sister smiled again.

TSB still hadn't moved his arm.

Hours upon hours we waited.

It was dark when we returned to the embark. Stracha, the great betrayer. I would see Her again some day. The seasickness churned my gut like butter.

"Rub my back while I die."

Rhydian did.

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