Daniel shrinks Ellie’s model and stuffs it in a pocket. He then dissolves into nothingness. Ellie follows quickly in his wake. Daniel, of course, never said where they were going.
CHAPTER 21
On first glance, Daniel’s living room is pretty much as they left it. The shades are open. The coffee table is now ever so slightly askew. Ahdi is gone, but now that she knows what Ahdi did to the walls, it blares in Ellie’s head. At least for now.
Daniel rushes to the sofa. Belt is lying face up, his eyes glazed. Daniel kneels by his side and gently taps his face.
“Hey, Belt.” Daniel’s voice is a soft rumble. “How ya doing, sailor?”
Belt blinks. He shakes his head and props himself up against a sofa arm with a push.
“Well, that was a trip.” Belt rolls his shoulders. “Not literally. I clearly am not going to understand this apartment well enough to get here except by Metro.”
What Ahdi did was subtle and tricky. All Belt needs is someone to explain it to him.
“Belt.” Daniel’s face grows somber. “Who did this to you?”
“Did what to me?” Belt looks oddly at Daniel. “I’m fine.”
“Tell me, slowly, what you can remember of what happened.” Daniel wraps his hands around Belt’s waist.
“Daniel, you’re doing that thing again where you’re incredibly sweet and yet somehow also incredibly annoying. We’ve talked about this.” Belt places his hands on Daniel’s shoulders. “I came to study the apartment like you texted and how Ahdi reconstructed the walls is clearly a little beyond me. You’ll have to explain to me what he did.”
“Daniel, he’s fine.” Ellie puts her hands on her waist. “It’s the same sort of woozy you get after a particularly stressful oral exam.”
“Really.” Daniel’s head turns toward Ellie, followed by the rest of his body. “How are you so sure?”
Daniel’s arms are still wrapped around Belt’s waist. As Daniel stands, he lifts Belt up with him. Surprisingly, Belt is unsurprised. Secure in Daniel’s grasp, he quickly wraps his legs around Daniel.
“The human body is a kind of machine.” Ellie’s voice catches. “When I look, it’s not like I can’t figure out whether something’s wrong. Too bad I don’t know how to fix a human body.”
Daniel and Belt both look at her sympathetically. Their collective gaze creates the space for Ellie to go on but only if she wants. It’s the opposite of pressure. Ellie, however, shakes her head. This is not the time to talk about her mom. Even if it were, she’s not sure it would be with them. She’d hoped it would be with Chris, but that ship has clearly sunk.
“So you’re fine?” Daniel, dubious, turns back to Belt.
“Yes.” Belt doesn’t even try to hide the exasperation in his voice. “I literally got lost in my thoughts. That’s all.”
Daniel’s gaze shifts between Belt and Ellie. He flattens his lips into a thin line before he outright frowns. Daniel’s body stiffens, and he heaves several deep breaths. For a moment, he is some supernatural being bound by the chains of the laws that allow his existence. In other words, he’s miffed at being wrong.
“OK.” Daniel’s voice is downright audible. “I’m sorry, Belt. I saw you dazed on the couch and catastrophized.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Belt sighs. “But you can set me down at any time.”
Daniel’s eyebrows leap up. It has finally occurred to him that he’s carrying his boyfriend.
“Oh, sorry.” Daniel sets Belt upright on the floor the way one might a soap bubble. “It’s not like you weigh anything.”
Daniel doesn’t need an excuse for himself, but it sounds like he’smaking one. Ellie and Belt share a look of mutual recognition. Daniel will endure any number of jabs from, say, the Chief Architect, but a casual comment from Ellie or Belt gets his back up.
“Daniel, it’s fine.” Belt is the epitome of warmth and calm. “You’re just being your inexplicably lovable self.”
“Belt.” Ellie notices a note on the coffee table. “Was anyone here when you got here?”
“No.” Belt keeps glaring warily at a spot next to the TV. “I assume Ahdi was here at some point, but he was gone by the time I showed up.”
Daniel walks across the room to where Belt is staring. He places a palm on the wall next to the TV.
Ellie picks up the note. It’s from Ahdi. His handwriting is exactly what she expected: precise, elegant, and like nothing she’d ever seen before. The form is so breathtaking that it feels like continents have drifted, reunited, and drifted again before she acclimates and can even see the text as words.
