29 Hours to Eternity, page 3
A low rumble came from somewhere farther along the main terminal. A pilot in line next to Liam frowned and muttered, “What the hell was that?”
“Earthquake?” someone else suggested.
Liam barely had time to consider the event didn’t seem like an earthquake before explosions sounded, people began screaming, and breaking glass flying like shrapnel careened toward him. Liam turned in time to see a bright flash and he was thrown back against a row of chairs. Large shards of glass impaled him and he stared, fascinated, at the dark spot spreading out from his chest to meet another one inching up from his stomach. Liam tried to brush it away.
Sirens and shouting assaulted Liam from all directions, but it was all getting farther and farther away. Race’s face, the twinkle in his eyes and the blush on his cheeks, flashed through Liam’s mind.
Then everything went dark.
* * * *
9:05 A.M., December 24
One minute to eternity
Time was running short when Race arrived. He melted into the background and stood as close to Liam as he dared, sensing the movement of Liam’s chest as the man inhaled and exhaled.
When a rumble coursed through that part of LAX, people started talking, wondering if there’d been an earthquake. Race stepped in front of Liam before he walked toward the fireball created by an explosion.
He turned and watched with horror what humans sometimes did to one another. Race didn’t know why or how the bombs were brought to this place, and in the end it wouldn’t matter.
Fire and glass, bits of metal, and bone and flesh flew from some central, and from here unseen, location. Liam was thrown back against a row of chairs, landing so his back bent at an odd angle. Large shards of glass impaled his chest and abdomen, turning his white shirt dark red in seconds. His body jerked, and blood gurgled from his mouth.
Race closed his eyes, formed an image in his mind of Liam’s soul, and reached out his hand.
* * * *
9:06 A.M., December 24
Eternity
Liam couldn’t die; he couldn’t. However, the fact was that was exactly what was happening. It wasn’t fair. He wanted to cry, but his body didn’t seem to work very well. He flailed with one hand, grasping but finding nothing. Pain erupted and slithered away almost at once.
Without warning, someone’s strong hand grabbed him and yanked him to his feet, then away from the chairs. Liam gasped when he looked into Race’s face. As another explosion and flashes of bright light blasted through the concourse, Race pulled Liam to his chest, shielding Liam with his body and turning him away from the destruction.
Liam wasn’t sure how, but when he looked up, they’d moved away, farther down the main concourse, or maybe to another portion of the airport altogether, and by some weird happenstance, a TV was still broadcasting. The words Breaking News scrolled along the bottom of the screen.
“In one of the worst attacks on US soil, explosions rocked LAX. It is unknown at this time who is responsible or how the bombs were smuggled through security.” A woman recited the words. She appeared upset, maybe frightened.
Liam turned away from the television and put a few inches of space between him and Race. He turned back and gazed at himself sprawled across a row of chairs, lifeless.
“Am I dead?”
“Dead is a relative term,” Race said.
More flames blossomed and flowed through the area but separated and moved around them so neither Race nor he were touched. He couldn’t even feel the heat that must’ve been created by the blast. Liam had the idea it wouldn’t have mattered if the flames had brushed them.
“We should go now,” Race said softly. He held out his free hand, and the small sigillaria Race had given Liam were in his palm—safe, whole, and unharmed.
“How?” Liam said, but Race merely watched him as if waiting for Liam to put to words what he already knew to be true. “Race. Horace. Timekeeper. Horace Gaea.” Liam tilted his head, then turned so he could look Race in the eye. “Your holiday, Saturn?”
Race grinned. “I like Race much better. People look at me funny when I say my name is Saturn. But, yes, guilty as charged.”
“Y-you’re a god? But—”
Race shrugged. “Do you think gods can’t be lonely? Dating is hard, even for me. And I sort of invented a good time.” He stepped back and took Liam’s face in his hands. “I felt you, your soul, so I sought you out.” He nodded to where Liam’s body was. “I can undo this if that is your wish.”
“And if you don’t, what happens?”
“You’d be the consort of a god for as long as you desire,” Race said softly. “We can go anywhere, to any time. You would be able to witness things others could only imagine.”
“How long do I have, like this, with you?”
“Eternity,” Race said.
Liam looked down at the sigillaria in his hand and slowly closed his fingers around them. “The La Brea Tar Pits when the animals were alive?”
“An excellent first stop.”
Race rested his hands on Liam’s shoulders, and the death and destruction around them evaporated in a rainbow of tiny lights. The airport faded away. Cars and buildings were replaced by a pond, and beyond it, wetlands.
Liam slipped both arms around Race and hugged him, breathing in deeply. “The tar still stinks.”
Race laughed. “I can’t change everything.”
Mammoths pulled leaves from tall trees, and saber-toothed cats stalked their prey.
Liam couldn’t believe his good luck. He’d finally met a man who was a pagan, and the icing on the cake was that the man was a god, and love for all eternity wasn’t simply words.
Love for all eternity was Liam’s new reality.
“Is there, um, a physical part to this relationship?”
“Oh yes, and more,” Race murmured.
Warmth and a feeling of peace emanated from Race—Saturn—and wrapped Liam in a blanket of love, desire, and protection. “Happy Saturnalia. I love you.”
Race kissed Liam’s cheek. “I love you, too.”
Eternity would be the best of times. Liam was ready.
THE END
ABOUT ELIZABETH NOBLE
Elizabeth Noble started telling stories before she actually knew how to write, and her family was very happy when she learned to put words on a page. Those words turned into fan fiction that turned into a genuine love of M/M romance fiction. Being able to share her works with others is really a dream come true. She has a genuine love for a good mystery complete with murder and twisty plots as well as all things sci-fi, futuristic, and supernatural and a bit of an unnatural interest in a super-volcano in Wyoming.
Elizabeth has three grown children and is now happily owned by an adorable mixed breed canine princess, a spunky Welsh corgi and their sidekick, tabby cat. She lives in her native northeast Ohio, the perfect place for gardening, winter and summer sports (go Tribe and Cavs!). When she's not writing she's working as a veterinary nurse, so don't be surprised to see her men with a pet or three who are a very big part of their lives.
Elizabeth received several amateur writing awards. Since being published several of her novels have received honorable mentions in the Rainbow Awards. Her novel Jewel Cave was a runner up in the 2015 Rainbow awards in the Gay Mystery/Thriller category. Ringed Love was a winner in the Gay Fantasy Romance category of the 2016 Rainbow Awards.
For more information, visit elizabeth-noble.com.
ABOUT JMS BOOKS LLC
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Elizabeth Noble, 29 Hours to Eternity
