Chapter 9
Nine
Zamir
The view from the cliff's edge was mesmerizing.
It wasn't quite as expansive as the view from Nolan's back, but it was no less beautiful.
City lights twinkled in the distance, but the valley beneath the cliff was dark, though I'd seen a few animals amble past. Two deer, a bear, and even a big cat of some kind.
The night was the right side of chill, with a cool breeze blowing past every once in a while, carrying with it the scent of pine, grass, and various furry critters.
Nolan pulled out a bottle of red wine and two wine glasses, catching my attention, and I took the glasses as he poured ample wine into both.
"I made it, so it has a bit of a kick to it," he said, and I smiled as I took a sip.
"Oh, it's delicious."
"Thank you."
"How exactly do you make them? The drinks I had that night were strong," I said, making him chuckle.
"Mostly, I add my fire to the drinks. I discovered it by accident once when someone requested a flaming cocktail, and I used my dragon fire because we were swarmed, and the guy asking was a supe.
This was back when I was working at a bar in New York, years before I moved here.
The supe came back a few minutes later asking for another drink, and I gave him a normal one and he practically spat it back.
After arguing for five minutes about whether or not the drink was exactly the same, I realized my fire had done something to it.
So I made another drink with my fire, and, well, he loved it. "
I shook my head, chuckling as I imagined the scene. I could very well see an annoyed Nolan insisting it was the same drink, only to be proven wrong.
"I'm glad you figured it out. It's nice to be able to get drunk sometimes," I said as I thought about how I'd gotten hammered that night. I'd been moping about my lack of a mate, and ironically, it'd led me straight to him.
"It is," Nolan agreed as he sipped his wine, and Dots meowed in agreement. "You can let him out now."
"What if he runs off into the woods?" I asked, wary about the thick trees at our back. He could get lost in there, or some bigger animal could grab him.
"He won't. And if he does, I'll find him," Nolan assured me, and I sighed. With great hesitation, I unstrapped Dots and placed him on my lap.
He stood there for a moment, his eyes steady as his nose moved, sniffing this way and that. Once he'd scented everything he possibly could without moving an inch, he curled up in my lap, rested his chin on my thigh, and went to sleep.
"See?" Nolan said with a soft chuckle, and I shook my head.
"Fucking adorable," I mumbled, and Nolan smiled as he pulled out an insulated container. The scent of cheese and herbs filled the air as he opened it, revealing creamy pasta that made my mouth water.
Next, he removed two ceramic plates and steel forks from the basket, and split the pasta between both before handing one to me.
"Did you make this? It smells delicious," I said as I gathered some up on my fork, and Nolan nodded.
The taste of herbs burst onto my tongue, the cheese softening some of their sharpness, and I resisted the urge to moan. Jacinta would kill me if I said this in front of them, but Nolan might have been the best cook I'd ever met.
Jacinta prided themselves over their culinary skills, and more often than not, they cooked the food we ate at the Sanctuary, their eight tentacles moving in sync with their two human-esque hands as they did the work of four people all on their own.
They could be snarky sometimes, and it'd taken them a while to accept the recent human additions, but all in all, they were a wonderful person and chef.
As we ate, I asked Nolan about history. Where had he been when the first modern Olympic tournament had been held in Greece? Did he ever meet Einstein? What about Hitler? Which was his favorite historical event to witness?
He answered all my questions with aplomb, his lips curved with amusement, his answers varied and fascinating: He'd been in the audience; No, but he did meet Einstein's wife, who was much smarter, in his opinion; Yes, and he almost ripped that mustache off his face before a friend reminded him he couldn't meddle in human affairs.
He still would've if the man wasn't so closely watched; Gutenberg's invention and modification of the printing press that led to books and knowledge becoming more widely available than ever before.
I found his answers fascinating, not because of the content, but because of what it said about him. It hadn't taken me long to figure out Nolan was a good man, and this was more proof of that.
I was nowhere near done with my questions, though, and as we finished our pasta and switched to the slices of chocolate cake that he'd also made, I asked a more personal question.
"What do you like doing for fun?"
Nolan's eyes flicked to Dots, who still dozed in my lap, and he smiled.
"Playing with my fur children." Why did it make me smile every time he called his pets his 'fur children?
' "I also read, crochet, knit. I tried woodworking and pottery, but those weren't for me.
I like my hobbies to be stationary, I suppose. "
"Old man," I teased, making him laugh.
"What about you?"
I shrugged, then told him about my music collection, about helping at the farms. I loved picking berries or apples. The air was thick with the scent of ripe fruit, the sun was warm on your skin, and you got to snack as you worked.
"I also adore cats," I said, glancing down at Dots. "I'm cat-sitting for my friends, in fact, and I've realized cuddling with a cat is the best way to sleep."
"I concur," Nolan said with a smile, then tilted his head to the side. "Cat-sitting? Does this have something to do with the door getting locked the other day?"
I nodded, then jumped into an explanation of the issues that had been cropping up all over the Sanctuary over the last few months.
Nolan listened intently as he finished his cake, and I had to remind myself to keep talking more than once as I watched him lick the chocolate frosting off his spoon.
The twinkle in his eyes made me suspect he was doing it on purpose, but I pushed through, determined not to let him sidetrack me.
Nolan
"It sounds like the pocket dimension has become unbalanced," I said when Zamir was done with his explanation, and his brows furrowed in confusion.
"Unbalanced how?"
"Did your sorcerer tell you what powers the Sanctuary?"
"Yeah. When he first invited me, he said a part of my magic would go to the Sanctuary, to keep it running. It's how he's able to invite more people in."
"Exactly. You've had quite a few human newcomers recently, haven't you?"
Zamir blinked, then nodded. "It started with Touya. Then there's Bellamy, Dustin, Liam, and now Diego."
"Hmm. Five humans, who don't contribute—magically, I mean—to the dimension. It's throwing things off-balance, and your sorcerer isn't strong enough to make up for it, at least not in the long term."
"Is there any way we can help? We've asked the headmaster, but he won't say. He insists he can fix it himself."
I thought about it. The only way I could see was if the supe residents gave more of their magic to their 'headmaster' and the Sanctuary, but that must've occurred to the sorcerer too. If he hadn't mentioned it, it could be because it wasn't a viable option. Maybe the supes weren't strong enough.
I could help, I realized. If I lived in the Sanctuary, my magic would make up the difference. It would give me an outlet too, saving me from having to risk blowing up a volcano every month.
But I couldn't say it. I couldn't ask Zamir to move in with him on our first date. That would be too soon, even for supes. My dragon side was all in, but luckily, I had more sense than that.
"I'm not sure yet, but I'll tell you as soon as I figure something out."
"Thank you, but don't worry too much over it, okay? It's not your problem."
"It's your home, Zamir. Of course it's my problem," I said, and he bit his lower lip, then glanced away. Had I said something wrong? "Zamir?"
Dots hissed as Zamir leaned forward, dislodging him from his lap as he closed the distance between us.
I grabbed his hips to steady him as he pressed his lips to mine.
His fingers slid into my hair, his lips soft against mine, as his warm, sweet scent filled my lungs.
The kiss remained chaste. Neither of us pushed for more, content to enjoy the moment of connection.
When Zamir pulled back and sat on his heels, Dots gave his leg two quick smacks in reprimand, making us laugh. Zamir picked the cat up, holding him against his chest as he smiled at him. "I'm sorry, Dots. Did I disturb your nap?"
Dots meowed, and Zamir cooed at him, rocking him slowly like he was a baby. This time, I was the one who leaned in, and I covered Zamir's lips with mine as he glanced up, trapping Dots between us. His sharp claws found my skin with eerie precision, digging in as I continued kissing Zamir.
"Ow ow," I mumbled, going with him when Zamir tried to pull back, and we both glanced down at Dots.
"Oh shit. Here, let me..." Zamir mumbled as he carefully pulled Dots's nails out of my skin, and the wound disappeared almost instantly, leaving behind a single tiny drop of blood that I wiped away before it could soak into my white shirt.
"He likes you better, doesn't he?" I said with a sigh, and Zamir grinned down at the cat.
"Is that true, Dots? Do you like me better?"
Dots started to purr, and Zamir laughed, kissing the top of his head.
"You should take him home," I found myself saying, and Zamir's eyes flashed to mine.
"What?"
"I got him the day we met, you know. He hasn't been with me that long, and it's clear he likes you."
Zamir's lips moved wordlessly as he glanced from me to Dots. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure, Zamir. It's not like I won't see him again."
"Of course! You can come to the Sanctuary to visit him any time."
"Only him?" I teased, making him smile.
"Did you hear that, Dots? You're coming home with me!"
The joy on his face was more than worth it, and I would hand over all my fur children if it made him smile like that, though I suspected he'd be happy to leave the Murder Triplets with me.
We stayed there for a while longer, learning more about each other. I still had a lot of questions I wanted to ask Zamir, like why it'd been years since he'd had a proper meal, why he thought he was a monster, but those weren't first-date questions, so I held back.
"I think," Zamir said, then yawned, "I'm ready to head back home. Not that I want this date to end, but I'm afraid I'll fall asleep mid-sentence, and that would be worse."
Chuckling, I started packing up, and Zamir strapped Dots back to his chest. He smiled down at the cat, his expression soft, and I watched him as I folded up the blanket and stashed it into the basket.
"Do you want me to hold that?" Zamir asked, and I shook my head.
"I got it."
I shifted, and once Zamir was on my back, I stood up, and carefully grabbed the basket handle with my left 'hand' before taking off.
Zamir enjoyed the flight back just as much, and he was grinning when he slid off my back at the clearing. I shifted, then picked up the basket I'd dropped a few feet away so I wouldn't land on top of it.
On the drive back to his place, he fell asleep with Dots still strapped to his chest, and I smiled as I snuck glances at him.
I parked the car in front of the Sanctuary, then turned to him, and gently shook his shoulder. "Zamir, wake up."
"Mmmm," he mumbled, peering around the dark car before his eyes found mine. "Hey, Nolan."
I chuckled. "Hey, Zamir. We're at your place."
"Oh!" He glanced down at himself. "Can I really keep him?" I nodded, and he grinned. "Best date ever!"
Leaning forward, he smacked a kiss on my lips before getting out. Meeting my gaze through the window, he held his hand up by his ear in the universal 'Call me' sign, and I nodded.
Smiling, he turned around, and I waited until he went inside, then waited some more to make sure the door wasn't glitching again.
My phone buzzed, and I glanced at it, smiling when I saw the text from Zamir.
Zamir: I'm in. Don't worry.
Me: I'm glad. Night, Zamir.
Zamir: Night, Nolan. Dots says sweet dreams.
With a smile, I put my phone in the cupholder and drove home, already looking forward to seeing him again.