Four and a Half Shades of Fantasy

by W.J. May

  Chapter 5

  Mythology

  I swear I’m going under. I’m in the middle of this dark abyss, trying to fight my way to the surface. What if I’m thrashing in the wrong direction, going down instead of up? I can’t hold my breath much longer. My body feels ready to explode, begging to find release -- to find freedom. It couldn’t get any darker, but everything is now pitch black. I stop struggling and allow myself to sink, in defeat.

  Erebus flinched, then shuddered as he came to. His eyes fluttered open. He squinted at a bright, red light shining directly at him. Taking slow, deep breaths, he focused on slowing his heart rate and draining the anxiety which racked his core. He hated the transition from his shadow back into human form. It always left him confused and disorientated.

  He stood, leaning against the inside of a phone booth. A Kentucky Fried Chicken sign in neon red and white bounced off the booth’s glass. He glared back at it as he pushed the bi-fold door open, stepping out into the brisk, fresh air.

  Without checking the sky, he knew it was moments past sunset. The shadows of the evening had just come out. His next thought was of Aurora. She brought a smile to his lips, and all the heaviness that filled his chest lifted. It was Sunday night; maybe he’d call her.

  Coffee first. Holding his breath to avoid the stench of the Colonel’s Fried Chicken, he started walking north. Erebus looked around, trying to assess his location. A small café sign across the street caught his attention.

  Pulling his collar up against the cool wind, he strolled into the café, grabbing a newspaper from an empty booth. After ordering coffee and cappuccino, he sat down to read the paper. The forecast called for rain later that evening and sunrise would be at 6:09 tomorrow morning. Thank goodness autumn had arrived. It made the days shorter and nights longer.

  He tossed the paper aside and reached inside his jacket for his phone. Setting it on the table, he waited before checking it. First he drained his coffee, then flipped the cell open. Strangely disappointed, there were no new messages.

  Sitting straighter, he scrolled through his contacts to find Aurora’s number. His slender finger hovered over the keys as he thought about what he’d text her. He’d never cared about what others thought or how his actions would make them respond. Now, for the first time, it all seemed very important.

  A – what r u doing 2nite?

  His thumb drummed against the booth table trying to come up with something to do. A second later, he snatched the phone off the table before the first vibration had finished. Heart hammering, he scanned her reply.

  Hi :) in the library, mythology research paper. Boring. What r u doing? Shoot. He wanted to see her this evening. His fingers flew over the keys. Having coffee, hoped u mite join me.

  Her reply came seconds later.

  I wish! Come find me N bring COFFEE! Latte, prettttty please?

  He replied: What floor? C U in 15.

  He ordered a latte to go and grabbed a cab to Cornell’s library. He checked his phone when he stood in front of the building.

  3rd floor. Far right.

  Erebus slipped through the old wooden door that led from the staircase into the main part of the library’s third floor. He gazed around. There were only a few people studying. It seemed reverently quiet – peaceful. He wondered why he didn’t come here more often.

  The brightly-lit sanctuary gave the impression of daytime. Well, what he’d seen on television about daytime. The only giveaway here was the night-darkened windows. Erebus headed toward the right, rounding a corner and walking towards a study area with long desks and rows of chairs.

  His body found Aurora before his eyes did. He could feel the internal heat and the fluttering of his heart. His stride quickened as he walked towards her, as if being pulled by invisible strings.

  Aurora sat bent over a book, at a large, double-sided oak desk. Wavy hair fell forward, covering her face and obscuring his approach.

  Silently stepping towards her, he paused. Eyes closing involuntarily, he inhaled deeply through his nostrils. He could smell a new scent on her, like a bit of the ocean, sand, and something else.

  He set the latte down. Then resting both hands on the desk, he reached in to get closer to the glorious new smell. His nose brushed against her hair, and his eyes involuntarily closed again.

  Aurora brought her head up, her cheek brushing against his nose.

  “You smell like sunshine.” There was awe in his voice. Eyes still closed, he tried to capture the scent in his mind. He wished he could hold the scent forever.

  She laughed. “Sunshine? I think you mean suntan lotion. Tori and I spent the day by the water, trying to catch a few lingering rays.”

  “Mmmm. I like it.” He sat down across from her at the oak table. A brass antique table lamp cut off the full view of her. Pushing back on his chair, he lifted the front two legs off the floor. He crossed his arms over his chest and grinned at her. She made him feel alive.

  “What?” She glanced up from the enormous textbook. “Nothing. You look very…studious.”

  “Hey! You’re not allowed to come here and make fun of me. If you start calling me mature, I’m going to have to do some serious butt-kicking.” She covered her mouth. He could see the wrinkles near her eyes and knew she was smiling.

  Holding his hands up in mock surrender, he let the chair drop with a light thud. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table so he could have a better look at the textbook she studied. The pages had some type of list – a bold word, followed by regular print.

  “What’re you trying to read? A dictionary?”

  “No. Well, kind of.” A breathy laugh escaping her lips. “The paper is for that elective ancient mythology class I’m taking. This book has mythological names and their meanings listed in alphabetical order, plus country of origin.”

  “Name meanings?” In all his years, he’d never given that a thought.

  “Yes. Here, give me a name, and I’ll see if the name ever represented a god.”

  He paused as he tried to think of a name. Something simple. “Does it have Janus?” He lifted his eyebrows and shrugged.

  Aurora gave him one of those “you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me” looks but flipped to the “J” section, her hand running down the page as she searched. “Yup. It says here Janus is from Roman Mythology – The god of beginnings. One of the principal Roman gods, the custodian of the universe. The first hour of the day, the first day of the month, the first month of the year (which bears his name) were sacred to him. His chief function was guardian deity of gates and doors.” She grinned. “Do you know him?”

  Definitely. “Maybe.”

  “Try another name.” She thumbed page corners as she waited. “How about, Ueuecoyotl? It’s spelled U-E-U-E-C-O-Y-O-T-L.” “You know someone by that name?” She flipped to the U’s.

  “It’s Coty’s full name, actually. He’s got a South American or Native American background, I think.”

  Aurora’s finger ran down the page. “Holy smokes, it’s here! It’s from Aztec Mythology. In English, it represents the old, old coyote. He’s the god of fun, laughter, and sex. Or whatever else makes life merrier.”

  Erebus laughed; it couldn’t be closer to the truth.

  “Give me another one. You’re good at original names.”

  “What about Erebus?” He said it quickly, slurring the word into two syllables instead of three. “It’s spelled E-R-E-B-U-S” His heart thundered in his ears. He was sure Aurora could hear it from across the table. What if she made the connection to his name? Erebus – Aaron Buss.

  “Let’s see.” She looked down as she flipped to the “E” section. “Hmm… here it is. It’s under Erelus with Erebus beside it. Looks like Erelus is Roman and Erebus is Greek. He was the son of a primordial god, Kaos, and represented the personification of darkness and shadow, which filled in all the corners and crannies of the world.” She looked up for a moment, “Poor guy. It sounds a bit depressing. Give me a girl’s name. I’m gonna u
se these name to write my paper. This is great!”

  Erebus tried to swallow, but his throat felt dry. He wished he’d never asked about his stupid name. At least she hadn’t made the connection. He stared at her. “Oh yeah. Girl’s name right?”

  Aurora’s thumb tapped against the parchment paper. She blinked rapidly and pretended to smile innocently.

  He racked his brain and could only think of one. “Nanganana.”

  Aurora brought her chin up, along with her eyebrows. She raised a hand showing him her palm. “I’m not going to ask. I’ll just see if it’s here.” She flipped to the “N” section. “You’ve either got some strange friends or took this class. I think you’ve got some faddish for freaky names.” She glanced down and traced a find down the page. “Let’s see…Yup, it’s part of the Oceanic Mythology. She was the goddess of Deadly Punishment. Seems if you die a bachelor, there’s no hope. She’ll wait by the coast for your soul to arrive and then bash it against the rocks.”

  “Ouch.” Definitely fit Nanny’s description.

  “Alright. Time to stop the fun research. I need to make a quick trip to the ladies’ room.

  When I return, I’d better get some work done.” She winked at him as she slid her chair back and headed towards the restrooms.

  Erebus watched her walk away, enjoying the slight swing of her hips and muscled derriere. Once out of sight, he reached forward and pulled the textbook towards him, quickly turning to the beginning of the lists. He sucked in his breath and held it when he found her name.

  Aurora – Roman Mythology (or Eos in Greek Mythology). Goddess of dawn.

  Erebus slammed the book shut, not wanting to read any more. Dazed, he pushed the book back to Aurora’s side of the table. What were the chances his name represented shadows and darkness and her name symbolized dawn? Was it destiny or were the gods just playing – mocking him and having a laugh?

  Aurora returned a few moments later. As she sat down, Erebus stood.

  “I really should go and let you get your paper done.” Part of him didn’t want to leave, but his head needed the night air to clear it.

  “You don’t have to go.” Aurora looked surprised.

  He stared in wonder at the goddess before him. She had, by far, the sexiest facial expression he’d ever seen. When she looked at him like that, he didn’t think he’d ever be able to say no to her.

  “I can stay.” Forever, if you’d like.

  “It’ll take me less than an hour to get my first draft done. I can finalize the paper in the morning.” Her face lit up when he sat back down.

  Content, he watched her work for the next two hours. They chatted about Cornell’s campus, what she liked about her courses, and the classes she hated. When she began putting her notebook and pens into her backpack, she turned the questions on him.

  “How long have you lived in Ithaca?”

  Erebus blinked. He rarely thought about time in months or years. “About five years, I think.”

  “What’d you study?”

  “Study? Oh, I didn’t come here for school. I just liked the town and the scenery.” It was the truth. He’d been running from New York and woke up one night here in Ithaca. University towns were always the easiest – he appeared to be close to the same age. Plus, students kept strange hours that didn’t make his seem weird.

  Aurora nodded but didn’t look like she understood.

  “I-I’d been living in New York and had had enough of being in the city. Ithaca seemed like a nice place for a fresh start.”

  “Did something happen?”

  Erebus couldn’t mistake the concern in her eyes. He rubbed his temple. He hated talking about the past. It was hard enough to talk to Coty, and he knew what had happened. Now Erebus was trying to explain this to Aurora – a girl he really liked but hardly knew? “Let’s just say it was trouble, a relationship gone badly.” Nanny was the trouble. She was also a Shadow. She no longer deserved the time in his thoughts.

  “Shall I assume it was the girl’s fault?” Aurora broke through his reverie.

  He blinked, surprised at how easy she could read him. “You could say that. I misunderstood her intentions. Plus, like I said, I’d had enough of the city. I wanted to see the seasons through nature’s eye.”

  “Wow. You’re a nature guy? Do you come from a colony of nudists?”

  “Pardon?” Erebus stared at Aurora, wondering if she was crazy. He saw the corners of her mouth twitch a few times. “You’re taking the micky out of me, aren’t you?”

  “The what?” She started giggling. “I’m only teasing. Where are you from then, not New York?”

  Erebus stood. “Let’s get out of here and go for a walk. You’re eventually going to need to get some sleep if you’ve got classes tomorrow and that paper to write.”

  Aurora got up, resting her hands on her hips. “You didn’t answer my question.” She’s definitely going to make a good lawyer. “I’m originally from England.” “It must have been when you were young. I don’t hear an accent.”

  “Yeah, I left a long time ago.” He wasn’t going to let this conversation go any further. “I hate to do this to you, but I really need to get going. I’ve got work to do.”

  “What do you do? Are you a professor? Maybe a midnight assassin? eBay shop-aholic?” “No. Though I tried, but couldn’t find midnight assassin posted in the classified ads.” He

  gave a brief smile and glanced towards the exit. Rolling his shoulders, his body ached to get out of the building. He impatiently waited for her to slip her jacket on and grab her backpack. Silent, he walked with her down the staircase and out of the library, purposely keeping a safe distance away. Nanny wasn’t even here and she was ruining his evening.

  Once outside in the open night air, he felt he could relax again but was unable to look at her. He concentrated on the ground. There were a million things he wanted to say but had no idea how to say them. He barely knew her and yet felt like he’d been waiting for her since he’d been formed. He didn’t know how to be with her but didn’t think he could breathe without her.

  “I’m sorry if I said something to upset you.” Aurora’s voice broke through his thoughts.

  His upper body rose and fell as he sighed. He reached for her hand and kissed each finger gently. “It was nothing you said. I’m the one who’s sorry. I just don’t like thinking about the past. They’re my demons, not yours.”

  “Shall we focus on the future then? Like maybe a movie on Friday night?”

  He could tell she was making a valiant effort to sound cheerful. He wondered if she felt the same strings pulling them together as he did. “I’d like that.”

  “Me, too. Do you want me to pick you up at your place? I’ve got a car.”

  Sure, think you can meet me at one of the local pay phones? Just after sunset? Say around seven-ish? “How about we meet at Starbucks on University? The one just before you enter campus. I’ve got a meeting there at seven which shouldn’t take too long.”

  “Okay. Around seven-thirty, then?”

  “Sure.” Hopefully Janus will have been there and gone by then.

  Aurora stood on her toes and kissed him lightly on the lips. He could still smell the sunlight on her skin and taste her on his lips after she’d whispered good night and walked away.

  A few raindrops began to fall. Turning, he headed in the opposite direction, already deep in thought. He knew what he wanted to do and he didn’t care. Four nights – basically forty-eight

  hours of his time to try and get a place sorted. If he wanted this to even remotely work, he was going to have to start living like humans did.

  Scratching his head, he tried to remember how much cash he’d buried in the park by Falls Creek. He’d been stuffing money in that old trunk for years, never bothering to count or spend it. It wasn’t like he had been saving it for a rainy day. He just didn’t know what to do with it.

  Giving it away would have put him in the limelight or drawn suspicion from the Council; neit
her of which he wanted.

  He paused mid-stride, wondering what Janus would say if he knew what he was planning.

  That was something he didn’t want to contemplate. Friday would be here soon enough.

  Dashing into a corner store, he bought a local paper. He was determined to thumb through the classifieds, make some phone calls tonight, and start going through rental apartments tomorrow evening.

  Four nights to prepare on breaking almost every rule and law set by the Shadows. And not get caught.