Eureka still heard her scream in her mind. Shed leapt from the branch to the ground. Shed knelt beside him on skinned knees. First, shed tried to pry his eyelids open, because Brookss smile was mostly in his eyes and she needed to see it. Shed said his name.
When he didnt stir or answer, she prayed.
Hail Mary, full of grace
She said it over and over, till the words were tangled and held no meaning. Then she remembered something shed seen on TV. She pressed her mouth against his
Brookss arms encircled her and he kissed her, long and deep. His gleeful eyes popped open. Gotcha.
She slapped him.
Why did you do that? She wiped her lips on the back of her hand, studied the shine their kiss made below her knuckles.
Brooks rubbed his cheek. So youd know I wasnt mad at you.
Maybe now Im mad at you.
Maybe youre not. He grinned.
In those days, it was impossible to stay mad at Brooks. Hed limped back to the tree, and as hed ascended its branches, hed sung new, worse lyrics to the song:
If you shove somebody enough, youll tumble wherever they go
Thats how I got to Memphis, thats how I got to Memphis.
They never talked about the kiss again.
Now, on the foreign forest floor, Eureka buried her face in his chest. His body seemed at peace. She wondered whether Atlas had finally gone away and left behind the body of her best friend.
She raised her head and studied the galaxy of freckles on Brookss cheeks. She brushed hair from his eyes. She felt the scar of his wound. His skin was warm. Were his lips?
She kissed him lightly, hoping like a little girl to revive him, hoping like a little girl to pretend.
She might keep her lips against his forever, penance for having been stupid enough to leave with Atlas, stupid enough to drag Brookss body here, stupid enough to abandon everyone else she loved.
He stirred.
Brooks? She gulped and said, Atlas?
His eyes were closed. He didnt seem to be consciousbut she had felt something shift. She studied him. His chest was still, his eyelids motionless.
There it was again.
Eurekas fingers vibrated where they touched his shoulders. A gale swept over Brooks. A warm, buzzy feeling spread to her arms, the back of her neck. She pulled her hands from Brookss shoulders as an incandescence rose from his chest and hovered above his body.
Whose essence was thisBrookss or Atlass? Both of them had shared the body, like the ghost sharing Ovid. Eureka couldnt see the essence so much as she could sense it. She passed a trembling hand through it.
Cold.
Footsteps sounded on dewy grass. A boy about her age stoodover her. Shed never seen him before, yet he was familiar.
Of courseshe had seen him depicted in the illustrations of The Book of Love.
Atlas wasnt handsome, but there was something alluring about him. His smile was assured. He wore brilliant, finely tailored clothing in shapes and pieces Eureka didnt have words to describe. They glittered gold and red, as if made of rubies. His reddish-brown hair was curly and wild. His fair skin was lightly freckled, and his eyes were soft copperbut haunted, vacant. They looked past her, into a distance only they could see.
She stood up and matched his height. Hed been with her for so long, but this was the first moment theyd met.
Atlas.
He didnt even look at her.
The incandescence above Brookss body swirled toward the boy, and she knew it had not been her best friends soul. It was Atlas, discarding Brookss body in order to reclaim his own. But where was Brookss soul? Atlas closed his eyes and absorbed the incandescence into his chest.
After a moment, when he opened his eyes, they had changed into a deep, penetrating brown, like the center of a redwood treefar different from the irises hed had before. Eureka knew she was standing before the most powerful person she had ever met.
She knelt beside Brooks again. His chest was no longer warm. What would happen if she wept now? Could her tears reflood Atlantis and send all of them back underwater? What would happen to the wasted dead?
Atlas tilted his head. Save your tears.
His voice was rich and deep and strangely accented. Eureka understood himand she understood he wasnt speaking English. He knelt over Brooks, too.
I didnt know he was handsome. I can never tell if the inside matches the outside. You know what I mean.
Dont talk about Brooks, she said. She wasnt speaking English, either. Intuition for the distant language must flow through her Tearline. The Atlantean tongue rolled fluidly from her, with the tiniest breath of translation in her mind.
I dont believe weve properly met. My name is
I know who you are.
And I know who you are, but introductions arent simply polite, they are law in my country, my world. He took her hand and helped her rise. You must be my friend, Eureka. Only I am allowed enemies.
Well never be friends. You murdered the best one I had.
Atlass lips turned downward as he glanced briefly at Brooks. Do you know why I did it?
He was just a vessel to you, she said, a way to get what you wanted.
And what do I want? Atlas stared into her eyes and waited.
When he didnt stir or answer, she prayed.
Hail Mary, full of grace
She said it over and over, till the words were tangled and held no meaning. Then she remembered something shed seen on TV. She pressed her mouth against his
Brookss arms encircled her and he kissed her, long and deep. His gleeful eyes popped open. Gotcha.
She slapped him.
Why did you do that? She wiped her lips on the back of her hand, studied the shine their kiss made below her knuckles.
Brooks rubbed his cheek. So youd know I wasnt mad at you.
Maybe now Im mad at you.
Maybe youre not. He grinned.
In those days, it was impossible to stay mad at Brooks. Hed limped back to the tree, and as hed ascended its branches, hed sung new, worse lyrics to the song:
If you shove somebody enough, youll tumble wherever they go
Thats how I got to Memphis, thats how I got to Memphis.
They never talked about the kiss again.
Now, on the foreign forest floor, Eureka buried her face in his chest. His body seemed at peace. She wondered whether Atlas had finally gone away and left behind the body of her best friend.
She raised her head and studied the galaxy of freckles on Brookss cheeks. She brushed hair from his eyes. She felt the scar of his wound. His skin was warm. Were his lips?
She kissed him lightly, hoping like a little girl to revive him, hoping like a little girl to pretend.
She might keep her lips against his forever, penance for having been stupid enough to leave with Atlas, stupid enough to drag Brookss body here, stupid enough to abandon everyone else she loved.
He stirred.
Brooks? She gulped and said, Atlas?
His eyes were closed. He didnt seem to be consciousbut she had felt something shift. She studied him. His chest was still, his eyelids motionless.
There it was again.
Eurekas fingers vibrated where they touched his shoulders. A gale swept over Brooks. A warm, buzzy feeling spread to her arms, the back of her neck. She pulled her hands from Brookss shoulders as an incandescence rose from his chest and hovered above his body.
Whose essence was thisBrookss or Atlass? Both of them had shared the body, like the ghost sharing Ovid. Eureka couldnt see the essence so much as she could sense it. She passed a trembling hand through it.
Cold.
Footsteps sounded on dewy grass. A boy about her age stoodover her. Shed never seen him before, yet he was familiar.
Of courseshe had seen him depicted in the illustrations of The Book of Love.
Atlas wasnt handsome, but there was something alluring about him. His smile was assured. He wore brilliant, finely tailored clothing in shapes and pieces Eureka didnt have words to describe. They glittered gold and red, as if made of rubies. His reddish-brown hair was curly and wild. His fair skin was lightly freckled, and his eyes were soft copperbut haunted, vacant. They looked past her, into a distance only they could see.
She stood up and matched his height. Hed been with her for so long, but this was the first moment theyd met.
Atlas.
He didnt even look at her.
The incandescence above Brookss body swirled toward the boy, and she knew it had not been her best friends soul. It was Atlas, discarding Brookss body in order to reclaim his own. But where was Brookss soul? Atlas closed his eyes and absorbed the incandescence into his chest.
After a moment, when he opened his eyes, they had changed into a deep, penetrating brown, like the center of a redwood treefar different from the irises hed had before. Eureka knew she was standing before the most powerful person she had ever met.
She knelt beside Brooks again. His chest was no longer warm. What would happen if she wept now? Could her tears reflood Atlantis and send all of them back underwater? What would happen to the wasted dead?
Atlas tilted his head. Save your tears.
His voice was rich and deep and strangely accented. Eureka understood himand she understood he wasnt speaking English. He knelt over Brooks, too.
I didnt know he was handsome. I can never tell if the inside matches the outside. You know what I mean.
Dont talk about Brooks, she said. She wasnt speaking English, either. Intuition for the distant language must flow through her Tearline. The Atlantean tongue rolled fluidly from her, with the tiniest breath of translation in her mind.
I dont believe weve properly met. My name is
I know who you are.
And I know who you are, but introductions arent simply polite, they are law in my country, my world. He took her hand and helped her rise. You must be my friend, Eureka. Only I am allowed enemies.
Well never be friends. You murdered the best one I had.
Atlass lips turned downward as he glanced briefly at Brooks. Do you know why I did it?
He was just a vessel to you, she said, a way to get what you wanted.
And what do I want? Atlas stared into her eyes and waited.
