Exile Empire, Exile The Second

Chapter 15 - Kairos

"I don't know what you kids have planned now," Missy said, standing in front of the diner. Everything about her was performative, and it grated on my nerves. Even the way she was now, with her hips cocked and one hand holding her purse, with the other hand holding an unlit cigarette between her fingers. "I'm gonna hit a club and release some of this pent up tension. I suggest you two do the same. You could cut the sexual attraction between you two with a knife."

"I don't think we're going to any clubs, just stop," I replied. I bristled at her suggestion. I'd hoped my glyph would've eased off some of the strain between Sorin and me, but if Missy still saw it, maybe it hadn't.

"I didn't mean the clubs, I meant the sex," she leered. "Just get it out of the way, it's hanging over you like the Sword of Solomon, poised and ready to strike at any moment."

"She said stop, witch," Sorin said, his tone suggesting danger. She flicked her eyes up to his face, widened them and took a step back.

"You're getting closer," she said, turning her gaze back to me. "Watch this one when the wolf comes, you won't be able to stop him unless you use that little cunt of yours."

"Stop being dramatic and go find somebody to fuck. We'll meet here in the morning and you can tell us what the Society thinks about everything that's happening," I replied.

"And whether we decide to trust them," Sorin growled. His presence was more menacing at the moment, but I chalked it up to his overall dislike of wood witches in general, and Missy in particular.

"You'll have no choice, big guy," Missy said with a wink. "Good luck, you two. Have fun pretending you aren't thinking about fucking. I'll be off getting deeply dicked, until then."

She mockingly nodded and tipped an imaginary hat in our direction before turning to saunter down the street, her hips swinging and her hair falling down her back. Partway up the block, she stopped in front of a group of young guys, started talking to them, and dramatically leaned over to let one of them light her cigarette.

I had enough of Missy though. She was the kind of person who you could only handle in small doses. I took a breath and turned in the opposite direction, Sorin following by my side.

"Do you ever get tired of this?" I asked. "Or is it new to you?"

"What?" he asked, walking in step with me.

"Being my faithful shadow. How long before you get sick of it and leave for a better gig?" I asked, bracing for his response. He'd get sick of it. That was the kicker. He didn't know it now, but I did. He'd play at being the nice guy for a while until he grew bored with being a sidekick. He had to, that's how life worked.

"I'm not your shadow, I'm your partner," he replied, and kept walking in time with me.

"We're not partners," I protested. He frustrated me with his single-minded determination. He frustrated me more because I liked it; if I was being honest at that point in time. "We're tangentially linked through the flimsiest of circumstance."

He let out a scoffing laugh and asked, "Are you always like this, Kairos Empire?"

"Like what?"

"So aggressive when you like somebody?"

"Who says I like you?"

"In my village, growing up, when a girl in school liked a boy, she'd behave very badly to him. I believe you have something similar here, most cultures do. In our case, the girl would do things like push him down on the playground or throw his workbook in the garbage. This is how you give yourself away."

"I haven't pushed you down," I snorted. He was being ridiculous. That's what I told myself.

"No, but you've pushed me away," he replied, giving me a sidelong glance. "And that's the same thing."