Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 147649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Maybe it’s true.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. These monsters think it is. Their expressions of mocking disbelief slowly change to unsettled understanding.
“That’s not fair!”
“This is bullshit.”
“We never agreed to this.”
They kinda sound like Pie the day I explained how her curse works. Which gives me an idea. “It’s a curse.” I use the voice again. “Saint Mark’s Sanctuary is cursed, you fools. And if you come in, you become part of that curse.”
Isla plants her hands on her hips. “No one told us about this.”
Pie snickers. “Well, no one gets a warning. Duh. If you had a warning, you’d get a choice. And who the hell in their right mind chooses a curse?”
Isla scowls at Pie. “It feels… sneaky.”
Pie just shrugs. “I don’t make the curse rules, Isla. And Pell doesn’t either. The gods control the curses. And neither of us were given a choice when we got stuck here, either. So suck it up. It’s not asking too much that you take your partying to the lake and leave the main grounds a peaceful place.”
There is a collective exhale from the crowd. Which is a good sign, because it means they’ve accepted what we just told them. They don’t like it, but they’ve accepted it.
“Go on.” I use the voice again. “Take your party to the lake.”
Both Batty and Eyebrows shoot me a look. They don’t like the voice. They find it insulting, I think. But it works. Quite well, actually. Because all the other monsters turn and start making their way down the hill towards the lake. And by the time they hit Pie’s cottage, they’re laughing, and joking, and squealing again.
Batty and Eyebrows are still here though. I rumble at them, “You have something to say to me?”
Batty points to me. “We’re not children.”
“I’m not treating you like children. I’m asking you to act like adults.”
They exchange a look with each other, have some internal conversation, then turn away and walk down the hill without further comment.
Pie lets out a breath. “Holy fuck. That was kind of intense.”
“Yeah.” I take her hand. “Come on. Let’s go to my tomb.” I lead Pie through the maze of tombs, noticing that there are a lot of crumbled ones now, thanks to my new power. And then I have a sudden moment of panic as I envision my own tomb crumbling like that. What would I do without my tomb? Before the monsters and nymphs came, I didn’t think much about it. I didn’t even think I liked it. It was just… where I went to be moody and sleep. But now, it’s my only privacy. There are way too many monsters at Saint Mark’s for my comfort level.
When we get to the tomb my eyes automatically scan up to the words that Pie wrote over the top in Sharpie. Her first real act of power that kinda started everything. The beginning of magic, and doors, and whole new worlds.
When I look back down at Pie, she’s smiling at me. Remembering that day, I think. But then, as we walk into the first entrance of the tomb, both of us look at the statue of me.
I never liked that thing. It doesn’t even look like me. I’m in some kind of Egyptian get-up. It’s all very… I dunno. Spooky. And it makes me think about the past.
I’ve been doing that a lot lately. Ever since I found the blacksmith shop and started remembering a few of the things I’ve done over the centuries, lost memories come quicker now. Just random little things about who I am will suddenly pop into my head. And I think maybe I’m afraid that one day, some random little memory about how I’m really an Egyptian god will pop up too.
I don’t like the looks of that guy on the throne in my portico. He looks like he’s up to something and whatever that something is, I don’t think I’ll agree with it.
Pie doesn’t like him either. At first, she was keenly interested in him. She would stand in front of the statue and just stare at it. But even she could tell that guy’s not really me.
I mean, he looks like me. Same face, same horns, same build. But his eyes are empty. Literally. There’s just plain stone there. In fact, my body is all just plain gray stone. Only the horns, which are made of black marble, and the clothes—the Egyptian skirt and armbands—are brightly colored. Cobalt blues, and red derived from insects, and gold, of course. Though not a lot of it. It’s just an embellishment for the jewelry that statue me is wearing.
We pass by quickly and go into the woods. Immediately, I am more relaxed. I like the humidity in here. I like the pressing leaves of giant trees and the low boughs that occasionally meander across the pathway. I even like the smell of it these days, something I hadn’t really noticed before Pie started sleeping in here with me.