I grab his arm and pull him away from it. I mean… I know I already tried killing him with a bike, but I’d prefer not to have to explain to Imani what happened to him. “Something’s not right here. Just… calm down and let’s wait it out. I have a feeling Imani and the others know more than they’re letting on. Look at the way people are walking past without even noticing this. It’s like no one can see what’s happening here.”
Torin eyes the people hurrying off to work before he evidently grows bored of them and turns his attention back to the building.
I watch while the vines inch across the door Torin was just trying to get through. He appears rather impatient as he paces in front of the building before looking at me.
“You said that anyone you touch, you acquire their magic,” he says before he takes my hand. “What about me?”
Not for the first time, I find it surprising that I feel nothing from him. Initially, I thought perhaps he didn’t have “magic” inthe way others around me do. Since he’s a god, maybe his power isn’t exactlymagicbut something else, something I can’t obtain.
But he seems oddly discouraged when I shake my head.
“Whatisyour magic?” I ask but before he can answer, a car pulls up, followed by several others.
Imani hops out and rushes over to us. “Do you know how long we’ve been searching for this?”
“I can’t believe no one has called it in,” Vinny states as he joins us, appearing rather confused.
“Look around you; no one is even noticing this. They’re staring now because you’ve all pulled up looking like you’re from the mafia,” I say, gesturing at their nondescript black vehicles.
“So can they not see what we’re seeing?” Imani asks.
Vinny shrugs. “I drove by this place just an hour ago and it wasn’t like this. Or I didn’t realize it was like this… I can’t quite tell.”
“What are we waiting for, let’s head in,” Torin says, but Imani slides in front of him.
“Tell him we need to secure the area, create a barrier around it, and then test what’s happening before we go inside.”
I tell Torin this but he just looks perplexed by the whole thing. “So we just… stand here and donothing?”
“We do whatever Queen Imani demands.”
He stares at me, blatantly unimpressed. “I see. Let me try speaking to her.”
“You know English now?”
“I read some of your books. As a god, it is important to quickly learn the language of new cultures to spread my outreach.”
Torin turns to the woman. “Hello.”
She looks surprised. “Hello. I am Imani.”
He might be able to mimic words he’s read… but how could he know how they’re pronounced? Or what they mean? I guess he is a god, after all.
“I am Torin, please use me gently. Riley was very rough and dirty with me.”
My head whips around. “What kind of books did you read?”
“The ones with the pictures. LOTS of sex.Lots. I didn’t know your culture was so sex heavy. I decided that I’d apply that same wording to the fact that you tried to kill me on one of your death mounts.”
Imani, who is still recovering fromthat,barely gets a chance to say anything before a man named Jackie walks up with a box of donuts.
“You guys want some donuts?”
Torin, who is still dreaming about pizza, perks up. “Oh god yes, fill me up, Daddy.”
I clamp a hand over his mouth.
“What did you teach him?” Imani hisses like any part of this is my fault.
