Sammy bounced out of the kitchen again. Dre used the time to clean the cloth and hang it over the tap on the sink. Sammy rushed back in, now with a coat with a white and dark blue herringbone pattern dangling from his left arm.
“I’m so excited, Dre! Just to warn you, I’ve read up on all the trivia about Rome, and I so want to see the Colosseum.” Sammy paused when he stood right in front of Dre, his two-colored eyes glinting happily. “Thank you for taking me, Dre.”
Dre put his arm around Sammy’s slim waist. He wasn’t entirely sure where they stood regarding their relationship but he liked touching Sammy, and Sammy seemed to be on board if the embrace when he’d arrived had been any indication. Still, Dre decided to not rush things. His lips grazed Sammy’s hair in a brief, chaste kiss.
“Thank you for agreeing to go with me.” He leaned back a bit to look at Sammy. “And just for the record, I read up on Rome as well. We can have a little match about who knows more.”
“Geez, competitive much? I like it. Challenge accepted.”
They grinned at each other like madmen.
“So, what did you plan for tonight? Or is that a secret?”
Dre pulled Sammy closer again, enjoying how well the young man fit against his side. “No. We’ll start at this little restaurant I know. After we have dinner, we’ll take a stroll through the historic parts of Rome, get some gelato for dessert and see what tickles our interest. Are you a church kind of guy?”
Sammy shook his head. “No, not really. I mean, I do appreciate the art and everything, but what fascinates me most are the antic parts—the Colosseum, the Catacombs, the Forum Romanum.”
“Splendid. A man after my own heart. This is going to be great. Now hold on.”
Dre loved how tightly Sammy clung to him while he let one of his claws slide out to cut space and time. Traveling like this was second nature to him, but seeing how Sammy reacted to the tug when the seam opened, followed by being sucked into the darkness of nothing then being spit out at the destination, was highly entertaining. One day soon he would take Sammy hopping around the world.
“Wow, this is so surreal.” Sammy looked around the small blind alley where they had reappeared. “It’s nothing like traveling with the Tardis or like Stargate. It’s much quicker and with less light effects. Why’s there no sound? And are we really in Rome?”
Dre snickered. “No, it’s nothing likeDr. WhoorStargate, but then again, we’re not using wormholes and I don’t have a multifunction screwdriver. But I think it would be possible to add some light effects, if you want to. It’s all magic, after all. And yes, we’re really in Rome. To be precise, we’re in a little alleyway off Via Panisperna on Monti, which is just above the Roman Forum. We’re going to have dinner here.”
Dre held out his arm and Sammy took it without hesitation. The sun was about to set and the air was still pleasantly warm. They went out of the alleyway and around the corner of the brick building with the fading paint to the forefront, where a small blackboard sign announced that the restaurant was open. Dre held the door for Sammy as they entered the narrow hall with framed posters of old films hanging on the walls. Sammy tugged on Dre’s shirt.
“Look, Dre!La Dolce Vita!” He pointed to one of the posters with Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Eckberg. “Oh, and it’s signed!” Sammy stared at the poster with wide eyes. Dre smiled and let him look his fill before he gently tugged him toward the door that would lead them into the restaurant. It wasn’t big—only eleven tables and a small bar in one of the corners. Cobblestones made the floor, as if the room were outside on a piazza, and the ceiling was vaulted, hinting at the age of the building. The restaurant was empty because Italians tended to eat rather late in the evening. At the other side of the room, a door leading to the kitchen opened. Dre smiled when he saw Zenobia, the current matriarch and owner of the restaurant, make her way toward them. He’d known her since the day she was born, and seeing her now, over seventy years later, was always bittersweet for Dre. The woman whose hair had once been as black as a raven’s wing stretched out her hands to touch both Dre and Sammy.
“Dresalantion! How nice of you to come by. And you brought a guest?” Zenobia looked at Sammy. Dre had no doubt she already knew who his date was, but he played along.
“Zenobia, this is Sammy, my date. Sammy, this is Zenobia, the owner of this place and an old friend of mine.”
Sammy took Zenobia’s hand tentatively. His eyes went wide with shock when the old woman reached up, grabbed his nape and lowered his head to her meager height of barely five foot one. Her lips came close to Sammy’s ear and Dre felt a surge of irrational jealousy. With his demon hearing—which wasn’t as good as shifter or vampire hearing, but still way better than that of humans—he picked up what Zenobia whispered.
“Do not despair,mio piccolo passero, because hearts can be healed.”
She pressed a kiss to Sammy’s cheek, threw Dre a mischievous glance and took both their hands. “Follow me,piccioncini. I have the perfect table for you.”
Zenobia led them to a small table for two in a corner that was partly obscured by one of the columns that held the ceiling. After Dre had seated Sammy, Zenobia clapped her hands. “Food will come.” With that, she turned around, her black skirt billowing around her with a sound like a thousand bats taking flight. She was gone before either of them could utter a word. Sammy cleared his throat.
“I guess there’s no menu?”
Dre shook his head. “No, never. The restaurant has no name, either. But the food is delicious.”
Sammy smiled. If Zenobia’s cryptic words had in any way flustered him, he didn’t show it. “So, on a scale from one to ten, how paranormal is she?”
Dre chuckled, delighted by Sammy’s wit. “What gave her away?”
“She knows your name.” Sammy lifted his thumb. “She knew who I was. No, don’t try to deny it. I know the signs.” He lifted his index finger. “You heard what she said to me.” His middle finger came up. “And lastly, she gives this crazy vibe I have come to associate with non-human beings.” Four fingers waggled in front of Dre and he had to suppress the urge to grab Sammy’s hand and kiss them, one after the other.
“Wow, I forgot I’m with an expert.” Dre laughed. “You’re right, of course. Zenobia comes from a long line of priestesses. She’s human, but one with some very special talents.”
“A witch?” Sammy looked suspicious. Since he was used to the company of witches, Dre could understand his reaction. Witches weren’t always good news. They could be downright nasty if they wanted to, so he hastened to reassure Sammy.
“No, although it’s similar. She’s a high priestess to the mother goddess, who goes by many names—Gaia, Hecate, Morrigan, Danu, Isis. The list is long, as you know. Zenobia and her family have served the goddess in an unbroken line since before the first pyramids were built.”
Dre couldn’t help it. He loved how Sammy hung on his every word.
