Chapter 28 Esag
ESAG
The doorbell rang while Esag was sitting on the couch with Tula, her feet in his lap, and his fingers massaging her arches.
"Are you expecting anyone?" he asked.
Tula shook her head. "No. But it might be one of the harem ladies." She chuckled. "We really need to come up with a different group name for them. Maybe the library club?"
He set her feet aside. "While you ponder that, I'll see who it is and what they want."
When he opened the door, he found Tony standing on the doorstep with a woman Esag vaguely recognized—a redhead with curly hair and bright green eyes and a friendly smile.
"Tony." Esag kept his voice neutral, though his hackles rose instinctively. "This is a surprise."
Tony, on the other hand, didn't look surprised at all to see Esag opening the door to Tula's house.
Evidently the village rumor machine had done its job, and he knew that Esag was spending a lot of time with Tula.
He hadn't officially moved in yet, but he was about to suggest that when he felt the time was right.
"Hey, Esag." Tony's smile was a little too bright, a little too forced. "This is my friend Shira, and she's a librarian. Is Tula home? I thought she would love to have a chat with Shira about book restoration."
Tony was dressed in a button-down shirt that looked new, and his hair was actually styled rather than its usual haphazard mess. Shira wore a casual outfit that showed off her curves, and she had her arm looped through Tony's with easy familiarity.
Interesting.
"Come in," Esag said, stepping aside. "Tula is right here."
He motioned to the living room, where Tula was already sitting up and craning her neck to look at the unexpected guests.
"Hello, Tony," She sounded surprised. "What brings you here tonight?"
"I wanted you to meet someone." Tony gestured to the woman beside him with what was clearly intended to be a casual flourish but came across as somewhat rehearsed. "This is Shira. Shira, this is Tula."
The female smiled brightly. "I've seen you and Esag around the village and at the party, but it's so nice to finally be able to talk to you. You both have led such long and fascinating lives."
Tula laughed. "Long, that's for sure, but I don't know about fascinating. I often felt like I was living under a rock." She gestured toward the armchairs across from the couch. "Please, sit down. Can I get you anything? Tea? Water?"
"We're fine," Tony said quickly, settling into one of the chairs with Shira beside him. He took her hand, their fingers intertwining in a display that seemed deliberate rather than natural.
Esag returned to his spot on the couch beside Tula, studying their visitors with growing suspicion. There was something performative about Tony's behavior.
"Shira works at one of the biggest libraries in the city, and when I told her about your book restoration work in the harem library, she said that she can help you with some insider information about the way libraries restore books."
Shira nodded. "Tony mentioned that you and the other ladies spent time restoring damaged books in the harem library. That's specialized work, a forgotten art that not many engage in these days."
"We learned out of necessity," Tula said. "The library flooded, and we couldn't bear to see all those old texts destroyed. Some of them were irreplaceable." She sighed. "That's the only thing I miss about that place. If I could magically transport that library to the village, I would."
Shira leaned forward, her enthusiasm seeming genuine.
"Libraries are always looking for people with restoration experience.
Most send their damaged materials out to specialized facilities, but if we had someone on staff who could handle preservation work.
.." She trailed off, letting the implication hang in the air.
Tula's eyes widened. "Are you saying there might be a job opportunity at your library?"
Shira laughed. "It's not my library, but I'm good friends with the head librarian, and I can arrange for an interview. You'd need proper documentation first, though." Shira glanced at Tony. "Tony said that he didn't get his yet, so I assume none of the others who were rescued have gotten them."
Tula frowned. "I didn't even know that I was supposed to get anything." She looked at Esag. "Do you have documentation?"
He nodded. "The clan takes care of that. You should be getting yours in about a week."
Esag's gaze drifted back to Tony, who was watching Tula with an intensity that belied his casual posture, gauging her reaction to his new companion.
Aha. So that was what this was about.
Tony hadn't come here to help Tula find a job.
He'd come to show off his new girlfriend, hoping to provoke some kind of jealous response.
It was petty and transparent and exactly the kind of thing Esag might have done himself five thousand years ago, when he'd been young and foolish and still learning how to navigate romantic relationships.
He felt a surge of sympathy for Tony, but it was mixed with irritation. The man was clearly hurting, clearly struggling to move on from Tula, and this awkward display was his way of proving, perhaps to himself as much as anyone, that he was doing just fine.
Except he wasn't fooling anyone.
"That would be amazing," Tula said. "I've been trying to figure out what I could do here. The book restoration was one of the few things I actually enjoyed in the harem. I'd love to continue it."
"The other ladies might be interested too," Esag added. "They are all looking for something to do."
Shira lifted her hands. "I don't know if I can get jobs for all of them, but I can call the head librarians of other libraries."
"How many are there in Los Angeles?" Tula asked.
"A lot." Shira launched into a long explanation about how the library system worked.
Tula asked questions, Shira replied, but Tony grew progressively quieter as the discussion shifted away from him.
He looked uncomfortable now, his earlier bravado fading. His eyes kept darting to Tula, to her belly, to the way she leaned her head against Esag's shoulder, to the easy intimacy between them.
Each glance seemed to cost him.
Esag understood that pain, not through personal experience but through Wonder's. Seeing the one you loved with another was a particular form of torture.
"There's actually another reason I came by," Tony said suddenly, interrupting a discussion about archival-quality adhesives.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"I'm going to attempt the transition." He said it quickly, like ripping off a bandage. "I've decided to go for it."
Tula grinned. "That's wonderful. Have you found an inducer?" She lifted her head and looked at Esag expectantly.
If she thought he would volunteer to be Tony's inducer, she was going to be disappointed. He couldn't promise eternal friendship to someone who was going to be a thorn in his side for a very long time.
"I asked Yamanu, and he agreed to do it." Tony's posture relaxed as if the admission had released some of the tension he'd been carrying. "He said it would be an honor."
Esag was relieved. "Yamanu is an excellent choice. You can't do much better than to secure eternal friendship with a celebrated head Guardian. Yamanu has legendary status in the clan."
"That's what Kaia said." Tony's smile was more natural now, less forced.
"The ceremony is scheduled for Saturday night.
Eleven-thirty, at the gym. Apparently, it's tradition.
Something about the symbolism of midnight transitions—new day, new life, that kind of thing.
" Tony shrugged. "I didn't ask too many questions. I was just trying not to panic."
"Are you really that nervous?" Shira asked, squeezing his hand.
"Terrified," Tony admitted. "I've never been in a real fight in my life. The closest I've come to physical confrontation was a shoving match in middle school, and I lost that pretty badly to the bully who wanted my lunch money."
Esag chuckled despite himself. "You are only supposed to last a couple of minutes. The hardest thing you will need to accomplish is challenging Yamanu enough to trigger his aggression."
"How am I supposed to challenge a head Guardian? I keep picturing myself getting thrown around like a rag doll."
Shira laughed. "That's indeed a problem, but there are interesting solutions that you might want to look into. Roni, our master hacker, used slam poetry to aggravate Kian enough to produce venom."
"Unbelievable." Tula shook her head. "I've never heard of anyone using such methods."
"I'm not going to insult Yamanu to get him to bite me," Tony said.
"I'm going to do my best to challenge him the traditional way.
" His eyes met Tula's, and something passed between them—an acknowledgment of shared experience, perhaps, or simply the strange intimacy of two people who knew each other well and had created a life together even if they weren't meant to share one.
"I'd like you to be there," he added and then turned to Esag. "Both of you are invited."
"Of course, we'll be there," Tula said. "I wouldn't miss it."
"I appreciate it." Tony inclined his head.
Shira watched the exchange with a thoughtful expression. She was clearly aware of the history between Tony and Tula, and she seemed to be handling it with remarkable grace.
Esag decided that he liked her. Anyone who could navigate this kind of minefield with such composure deserved respect.
"So, what happens during the ceremony?" Tula asked. "I've been to quite a few of them back in the day, but the inductees were thirteen-year-old boys. It's probably very different for adult males."
"Kian presides over the ceremonies," Shira said. "He recites the ceremonial words about the eternal bond between inducer and inductee, but he modifies it to fit the circumstances. I bet it was much more exciting back when you were a girl in Sumer."
"It was very festive, with music and dancers and food." Tula's expression grew nostalgic. "The boys were so nervous beforehand, trying to act brave, and then afterwards, once they were back on their feet, they strutted around like they had conquered the world."
Esag nodded. "I remember. But the pride was feigned. After getting humiliated in the sparring match with an older, already transitioned boy, the need to prove myself was overwhelming."
Shira glanced at her phone. "We should probably get going. It's getting late."
They all rose, and after the ritual of departure was over, Tony and Shira departed. Esag closed the door and turned to find Tula watching him with an unreadable expression.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing." She walked into his arms, pressing her cheek against his chest. "You did magnificently. I was worried you would act all territorial, thumping your chest and all that."
"I have no reason to be territorial." He kissed the top of her head. "You're mine, and I'm not afraid of anyone stealing you away because I know you won't let anyone steal you. That's all that matters."
"He brought Shira over to make me jealous, you know."
"I thought he brought her over for the same reason that I strutted like a peacock after my induction ceremony. I did it so as not to feel humiliated."
"Makes sense." She pulled back a little. "I hope the transition works for Tony. For our son's sake. I want his father to be around for much longer than one human lifespan."