Tartarus by Eric Andrews-Katz

Author:Eric Andrews-Katz [Andrews-Katz, Eric]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781626397477
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2016-11-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Adrian made the rounds along the back of the room. The guests were keeping him busy, and there hadn’t been a moment to stop in over an hour. The music was playing a simple piano version of Pachebel’s Canon in D, and the evening so far hadn’t been too bad.

Adrian stopped to look at one of Yvonne’s watercolors. It was well done, but she used too many bright colors to represent Seattle light. Only in a dream would downtown be so full of pastels.

Entering the gallery with another tray of drinks, Adrian scanned the crowd. He turned his head quickly to follow the retreating figure of a handsome man.

“Oh, bloody hell,” he whispered. “It’s Zack.”

He went in the opposite direction.

What kind of game was Zack playing? Gods, powers, and blinking lights, it was too much to comprehend.

He rebalanced the tray on his shoulder.

Adrian saw red light burning around the shoulders of a woman. “Excuse me.”

The woman blinked. A chill ran through his body, causing the glasses on his tray to rattle. The red light burned around this woman.

“Would you like a glass of champagne?”

“No, thank you,” the woman said, speaking with a French accent.

Adrian felt the hackles on his neck prickle and itch. He could feel himself growing defensively angry, not knowing why.

“Is everything all right?”

“Yeah,” Adrian snapped. “All good.”

The sound of a glass tinkling rippled through the crowd, bringing the conversation to a halt. Annelise stood in front of the dais, gently wrapping her hands around a glass flute. The other two artists stood behind her.

“Excuse me,” Annelise said. “Thank you for coming tonight. My name is Annelise Petrakis. Welcome to my gallery.”

As the crowd turned as one unit, Adrian took the opportunity to sneak around the French woman. With the crowd occupied, Adrian snuck out onto the porch; it would be a perfect time for a break. He caught Lily’s attention as he went. She subtly nodded with a smile.

Adrian saw Zack already on the porch and paused in the doorway. He debated on going back when Lily appeared behind him and pushed him through.

“Now for a break while she speaks,” Lily said.

“How long will she speak?” Zack asked.

“Depends. But we have time for another toke.”

She jabbed Adrian with her finger.

“Is everyone being a bitch tonight, or are they only being bitches to me?” Adrian asked. He dug the vaporizer from his pocket and flicked it on.

“I think it’s just you,” Lily teased.

“It’s not you,” Zack assured them both. “I can feel it, too. There’s something in the air.”

“Sometimes it’s like the hairs on your neck stand up,” Lily said. “And you just know that somehow, somewhere, something isn’t going to go well.”

A round of applause sounded from inside the gallery.

“And that would be our signal,” Lily said. “The work continues. Smile, song, and away we go.”

“They’ll be drinking for another hour or so,” Adrian said. “Take another tray and then you can sit out for a while. I’ll make the rounds inside.”

“Okay,” Zack softly answered. “I’ll do two more rounds and then hang out here.

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