Exhibition

by Danielle Zeta

  Distracted by the happy ending he’d orchestrated, Marcus didn’t notice his brother lounging in the seat across the aisle of the subway car until he began speaking in the low, disapproving tone Marcus knew only too well.

  “Still wasting your life, I see,” Brand said.

  Refusing to show his brother that, as always, his judgment cut him deeply, Marcus flashed him a cocky grin. “Still like to watch the show, I see,” he replied.

  Brand shook his head. “I can’t believe, after all these years, you still play with mortals.”

  “And I can’t believe, after all these years, you never play with anyone.”

  “Some of us seek wisdom in our old age,” Brand said.

  Annoyed his brother was trying to ruin his afterglow, Marcus turned his back on him and faced the train doors. He loved the subway, but he wouldn’t mind a little fresh air. Immediately. “Fuck off, Brand.”

  “Father wants to see you.”

  Marcus would not show his priggish pain-in-the-ass brother the anxiety that struck him with those words. It was always this way; every time Marcus had a little fun, he had to put up with a lecture from their father. “Thanks for the message, not that I needed it. You can go back to your slimy dirt now.”

  Brand shrugged off the insult about his odd obsession with the human arts and got to his feet, joining him at the door of the car as it rattled into the next station. “It’s called clay, Marcito,” he said calmly, “and Father is expecting you before sunrise.”

  A bell rang and the doors slid open. “Maybe I’m busy,” Marcus said, striding out onto the platform.

  Finally smiling, Brand followed him off the train, slapped him on the back. “You were a minute ago, but I think you’re done now.”

  Marcus caught his eye and grinned. The old stick had watched the whole thing. “She was lovely, wasn’t she?”

  His brother glanced away, looking thoughtful. “She was. Quite.”

  “I’m sure she’d love to meet you,” Marcus said.

  Brand stiffened. “You’d better hurry. Father won’t put up with this sort of behavior from you forever. No sense aggravating him further.”

  “He’s let me aggravate him for hundreds of years, Brand. You should try it sometime.” With another grin, Marcus waved and strode up the stairs to the world above.

  He thought about the shy woman on the train and smiled. She was worth a lecture or two.

  As his next playmate would be.