Random Acts of Fantasy by Julia Kent

Author:Julia Kent [Kent, Julia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-04-14T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Trevor

The steps leading up to the main entrance of this palace—no, castle—were like something out of a Tolkien book. In fact, I felt like I was from the wrong race or species, even, ascending these stairs to stop before a door that was made for men much bigger than me.

This was a monument built for honor. Duty. Command. Not in the modern military sense, but in an ageless, ancient way, begging for a human authenticity that made me feel worthless and craven, as if I dared to equate myself with the people who had built this.

As if it were an affront to the universe that we were both called “men.”

I was a boy. An infant. A zygote.

A wasted sperm.

Joe felt it, too. Even Liam had a toned-down expression on his face, and his shoulders hunched a bit. We were cowed. Awed. Humbled. What right did we have to perform here?

Hell, to set foot on the floors of such a towering place?

Amy and Darla didn’t have the same reaction. There was a distinct gender line here when it came to our reactions. For once, we guys were more emotional. How’s that for fucking weird?

Darla walked right in like she owned the place. Thick marble stairs led us to a lobby that included skylights that stretched up to the heavens, stained glass sending patterns of colored light that were simultaneously random and meticulously planned, leaving me with an abstract idea that my mind was being manipulated on some deeply subconscious level, as if I were seeing and not seeing something subtle and significant all at once.

What was happening? What was this place?

Who ran this operation?

Liam walked up to me, his feet shuffling a bit, eyebrows furrowed. I wondered if he felt it, too, and he confirmed it when he opened his mouth.

“One hell of a gig. I feel like we’re on some movie set and we’re about to be thrown into Hogwarts.”

“Think bigger,” I muttered. “This isn’t about wands and good versus evil. Something’s really intriguing here.”

“The light is…different,” he added. “Soft and in my head, like my contacts need their prescription updated.” Liam had worn glasses since we were kids, switching to contacts in high school. He was blind as a bat without them, and couldn’t read anything farther than an inch in front of his face.

“You gonna be okay?” I asked. “Maybe the ocean air is fucking with your eyes.”

“It’s not the ocean air,” he said quietly. “I was fine on the dock.” He put his hand on my biceps. “And I think you see it, too.”

I did. He’d put his finger on it. Something visual changed everything, making the room warmer and friendlier, more open and more intimate at once. Darla’s face from afar was gorgeous. Just…gorgeous. Not that she wasn’t already hot and beautiful, but there was a shine to her, a fine-tuning of her features that made her more ethereal. Breathtaking. I felt bigger and lighter, happier and freer, all at once.

Was it this building? This place? Something in the air? Maybe we’d all accidentally swallowed some of Joe’s pills.

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