17. Vameer #3
“Seriously?” Grace whispers.
“Sí. If you have an apple, though…?”
She shakes her head slowly. “Sorry.”
Alex holds up a hand. “No real apples, but we got apple whiskey.”
He grabs a bottle off the back wall and hands it to me.
I unscrew the top and inhale.
Whiskey overwhelms the scent, but there’s a hint of apple.
It’s not my mate. Not the juicy ripeness she leaves in the air. But it’s reminiscent.
I lift the bottle to my lips and take a swallow. Then another.
The taste is artificial. But I still like it.
“Good.” I set the bottle next to the computer and reach into my pocket.
I slap four of my coins down on the counter, then turn my attention back to the article about air travel.
Reading, I take another swallow of the apple whiskey.
A few minutes pass of the humans whispering before Jack clears his throat. “Boss?”
“Yeah?” I keep my eyes on the computer as I take another drink.
“Two things.”
I glance at him. “Shoot.”
“One. I don’t know if you can get drunk… but I feel like I should mention that’s a high-proof whiskey you’re drinkin’.”
“I cannot get drunk off human alcohol.”
“Okay, I have three things.” Jack snorts. “The new number two, what can you get drunk off?”
I drag my tongue over my fang. “That is a secret I cannot share.”
Alex and Grace groan in disappointment.
“Lo siento.”
“Four things.” Alex chuckles. “How many languages do you know?”
“Pot vorbi multe limbi.”
Alex narrows his eyes at me. “Say that again?”
“I can speak many languages.”
“What language did ya say that in?” he asks.
“Romanian.”
He stares at me.
I lift my brows and use their native language. “An bhfuil ceist agat?”
Jack grins. “Yeah, I got another question. Are you fucking nuts?”
I smirk at my friend. “In what context?”
He shakes his head and taps the small pile of coins. “Do ya have any idea what these are worth?”
I shrug.
“The four of these… they’re worth more than we make in a year.”
I shrug again. “There is no shame in being poor.”
He blinks at me. “What? No. I mean, yeah. But… I’m trying to tell ya, this is a lot of money.”
“Okay.” I dip my chin.
“Boss.” Jack widens his eyes. “I don’t think ya get just how much these are worth now.”
I turn on my barrel and rest a hand on his shoulder. “Keep it, friend.”
His mouth pulls up into a smile. “You sure, friend?”
“Sí.” I drop my hand. “I am very rich.”
Jack barks out a laugh. “Well, we’re rich now too.”
At least, I was rich. And I trust my brother protected our wealth.
“Another round!” Alex shouts.
Grace points to a spot on the back wall. “Get the good stuff.”
Alex grabs a bottle off the top shelf and pours a trio of shots. “Ya want one?”
I shake my head and grab the bottle of apple whiskey.
They lift their shots.
“Sláinte.” I hold my bottle out.
“Sláinte,” they repeat in unison.
Glass clinks.
We all drink.
And I continue to read.
There’s a knock on the front door that Alex answers.
I hear him say something about a week of free beer if he doesn’t ask questions. Then he returns with a pair of gray shorts in his hands.
I set them on the bar beside the computer and read about fabrics on the internet.
The articles are endless. Medical advances. Politics. Plumbing. Electricity. Economics. I find the conversion of gold coins from 1910. I read about the current cost of living across the world. And I plan to leave another few coins on the bar top before I leave.
I read everything I can find about Alts. The human knowledge is incredibly limited, but they know enough. The peace has mostly held since The Trials, but if there’s anything I already understand, it’s war.
And it’s always on the horizon.
Outside, the sky starts to lighten.
My new friends are all sitting around a table behind me in the middle of the room.
Someone lights a match, and I close the lid of the laptop, then slowly turn to face them.
Alex is asleep in his chair while Grace and Jack lean toward each other, talking quietly, looking as drunk as I’m sure they are.
Jack lifts the cigarette toward his mouth, but I steal it with gravito.
Grace’s gasp wakes Alex.
My gravito brings the cigarette to my lips, and I pull in a lungful of the smoke.
I puff out a ring, making the humans smile.
Then, with the help of my gravito, I exhale a cloud that forms itself into a dragon and flies through the expanding circle.
“Awesome,” Grace whispers.
Alex rubs his eyes.
Jack sways on his seat. “Wait, are dragons real?”
I shrug. “Not that I’ve seen.”
“Shite.” He sounds so disappointed.
I stand. “It’s time for you to go to bed.”
They groan.
I hold my hands out. “Would you like a lift?”
Instead of waiting for a reply, I wrap my gravito around all three of them separately and lift them out of their chairs.
Grace dissolves into drunken giggles as Alex lifts his hands in the air with a drunken whoop.
Jack’s smile is soft as he leans back into the hold of my power. “Ya gonna be gone when we wake up, friend?”
I dip my chin. “Sí, but we will meet again.”
He holds out a fist.
I step forward and gently bump mine against his.
Then I let my gravito guide them up the stairs to the apartment above.