Chapter 22 #3
“Yes, you are.” Seymour laughed as he quickly wiped his eyes. “I think that’s what’s so scary now. Bein’ happy again and bein’ absolutely terrified I might lose it.”
“You will not lose us,” Sariel said firmly. “We are very strong.”
“Very strong.” Day raised her paw to flex her little arm. “See?”
Seymour grinned. “Yup, I sure do.”
“Aries, Cancer, and Leo all work very well together.” Sariel’s halo glowed brighter. “The passion and energy of Aries and Leo, both fire signs, is balanced out well by the calming approach of Cancer, a water sign.”
“God, I love when you talk all zodiac to me, Daddy,” Seymour teased.
Sariel blushed and ducked his head.
“Do you know your Japanese zodiac sign?” Day asked eagerly. “We call it Juunishi, and it is assigned by year! I am tatsu!” She flexed her paws and growled. “The dragon!”
“That sounds ’bout right.” Seymour chuckled and stroked the top of Day’s head. “I ain’t got the foggiest idea. Maybe we can look it up in Sariel’s book.”
“I am afraid my book is very narrow and restricted to the study of western astrology.” Sariel pouted.
“Oh! I would still very much like to see it!” Day pointed at the shelf. “Is that it?” She was already on her feet and running before either of them could answer, purring excitedly as she scaled the bookshelf to retrieve the book.
“Be careful!” Sariel cautioned.
“I will not drop your book!”
“More worried ’bout your lil’ noggin than the book, kitty girl.” Seymour rolled his eyes affectionately.
“I will be fine.” Day jumped down with a delighted meow, carrying the thick book with her to rejoin them on the couch. She wiggled between them and then opened the book across her lap. “Oh! There are so many pages.”
“Lots of pictures too.” Seymour tapped one that showed the constellation of Aries. “See this one? That’s mine. Aries. A big ol’ ram.”
“I do not understand.” Day stared. “How is that a ram?”
“See? This is his horns, then there’s his feet—”
“Hooves.” Sariel frowned. “Rams have hooves.”
“Hooves. Whatever.”
“I do not see it.” Day shook her head. “I see a line.”
“Okay, yes, it does look like a line, but it’s totally supposed to be a ram.”
“Whoever picked these stars was very silly.” Day pawed through more pages. “And what is this one supposed to be?”
“Aquarius. He’s the water boy. See? I knew that one.”
Day turned the book sideways. “I still do not understand.”
“Okay, look.” Seymour gently righted the book. “Here’s the water, then here we got his shoulders, his arm, his knee—”
Knee…
Aquarian Knee.
“Hey, hey. The map. Where’s that map?” Seymour stared at Sariel. “The one from the restaurant?”
Sariel stared back. “The one where we erroneously tried to deduce a possible location for the mostri ribelli upon?”
“Yeah!”
“I suppose it is back at the restaurant—”
“Fuck!”
“Oh, oh! I kept it.” Day grinned, pulling it from her kimono. It was carefully rolled up like an ancient scroll and not some cheap fast food placemat, and she reverently unfurled it, spreading it across the book.
“Holy shit.” Seymour choked out a laugh. “The locations—”
“They are stars.” Sariel gasped. “I cannot believe I did not see this.”
“Well, it ain’t like it’s the whole thing, right?” Seymour gestured between the map and the constellation in the book. “Our map ain’t got his watery fish whatever this part is supposed to be, but it’s sure as hell got a knee!”
“You are referring to the rumor Shiloh shared with us?”
“Yeah! He said somethin’ about the Aquarian Knee. Look, this spot marked on our map would be his knee. This was that bakery, Kneadful Things or whatever, that we went to and didn’t find dick.”
“But that is not his knee. That is Delta Aquarii.”
“Huh?”
“Delta Aquarii is called Skat. It means shin. This would be the shin of Aquarius.”
“Shin, knee, whatever!” Seymour tapped the map insistently. “This could be—”
“It is a binary star system. So, technically, there are two stars.”
“Okay, okay—”
“It is an important distinction and—”
“I’m gonna dis your tinction in a damn second if you don’t listen—”
“Hey!” Day yowled.
Sariel and Seymour both froze.
Day poked the map. “You think we may find more bad monsters here, yes? Perhaps even the brain we seek and stop the bad monsters from hurting everyone?”
“Yes,” Seymour said firmly.
Sariel nodded. “I agree it is plausible.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Day grinned wickedly as she slammed the book shut. “Come on! Off your butts! We have a city to save, and I am very, very hungry.”
“Fuck yeah!” Seymour scooped her up as he got to his feet. “Lemme just stop somewhere to get a damn golf club or a baseball bat or somethin’, and then we can—”
“Wait.” Sariel touched Seymour’s arm. “We must inform Mr. Heiss and the others. They should be the ones to handle this.”
“What?” Seymour scoffed. “You really think you’re gonna get any of ’em to pick up the phone? You can go ahead and try, but I am gonna head down there myself to make sure this gets fuckin’ done right.”
“I cannot go with you to protect you,” Sariel said sternly. “Do you understand that? Mr. Heiss has given me an order and I must obey.”
“I got Day with me!” Seymour argued. “You stay here and rest, try to get whoever on the horn to come on over and help us, but I have to do this. If I don’t get the brain so Mr. Heiss can do his stupid trade with the twins, you think he’s gonna let me go?”
Sariel faltered. “I… I do not know.”
“What if Lou or Q. or somebody else gets to it before I can? They might fuck up everything, maybe decide to hold the brain hostage for their own shit, and then Mr. Heiss will one hundred percent blame me.” Seymour smiled, and he hoped it was reassuring.
“The only way I have any chance in hell of gettin’ you free is by bein’ alive and not on an asshole demon’s bad side, okay? ”
“I believe you already are.”
Seymour touched Sariel’s face. “Then the only way to go is up.”
Sariel sighed. “You are very stubborn.”
“I know.”
“And foolish.” Sariel’s frown deepened. “I was told to keep you safe, and I cannot decide if that includes also keeping you safe from yourself. I should stop you. I should restrain you so that you cannot leave.”
“Kinky, but uh, no.” Seymour narrowed his eyes, and he tried to keep his temper in check. “Sariel, I’m going. I have to fuckin’ do this.”
“No! You don’t!” Sariel rose then, wings flapping, and he grabbed Seymour’s shoulders. “Please. Stay. With me. We will find some other way to gain the favor of Mr. Heiss, I promise, but please, you cannot go.”
“Hey, now!” Seymour shrugged him off. “I can’t go? What the fuck is that?”
“Seymour, please, I am telling you—”
“Oh, you’re telling me now? Wow, you sound just fuckin’ like him.”
Day gasped.
“Oh…” Sariel flinched, and his expression melted into sorrow. “I… I am sorry.”
Seymour’s heart cracked, and he swallowed hard against the bile surging into his mouth. He wished he could take those words back, but the damage was already done. He didn’t know how to get Sariel to understand why this was so important, that he needed to do this for them, for their future.
Because he wanted them to be together more than absolutely anything in the world.
Instead, he’d compared Sariel to his psychotic demonic owner.
Great.
“All will be well.” Day mewled softly, but she did her best to offer Sariel a comforting smile. “I will protect him no matter what. I promise.”
Sariel said nothing, only nodding.
“We’ll be back. Okay? We’re just gonna go in, see what we see, grab the brain, and get the hell out of there.
That’s it.” Seymour took a deep breath and bowed his head to press a firm kiss to Sariel’s lips.
The crack in his heart went deeper when Sariel barely returned the affection. “We’ll talk ’bout this shit later.”
If there was even going to be a later…
God, he really hoped there would be.
He really, really did.