The Rapture

ELEVEN

DUMUZI

I ran through the underbrush, putting as much distance between Pearl and I as possible.

The sky above churned, threatening to rain hellfire on the sooty, parched landscape like an ill omen. The trees on the hillside instinctively closed their leaves to protect themselves from the acid rain. Every form of life was deathly silent and anticipatory.

Drops landed on my face and body, stinging, but I was indifferent to the discomfort.

My body burned, but not from the rain, need and dread settling deep within my bones. Perspiration beaded my forehead and back. I no doubt frightened Pearl in my haste to leave and offended her to an intense degree. There would be no way to explain my situation. There would be no way for her to fully grasp how grave things became.

The urge to stop and turn back was powerful. The desire to get closer to her was even more powerful; the poor woman had not an inkling of the intensity. If she knew what she was to me, would she understand the gravity of it?

My breathing was labored; I was overheating. I slipped my shirt off my body, casting it aside, keeping my momentum as I approached Ikkuk, a place where my kind settled ages ago. This was not our home planet, but a base closer to Earth.

Ikkuk stood tall in stark contrast to the flashes of lightning veining the sky. We birthed it from this planet's most precious metals and fine rock; a towering testament to our ingenuity. A faint glow leaked from the windows. The council was present, so was Shadrach, and I needed to speak with him immediately.

I maintained my stride as I tore the rest of my clothes from my body. I needed to bathe in the microbiotic pool that would filter my blood from this nonsense so I could think clearly. My arm still tingled from Pearl's touch, her scent on me, making my pulse leap. Do you want to be friends, then?

My reply echoed across the lands. "Hah!"

If she only knew I wished, and needed, to be so much more. I loathed it, having no control, and being at the mercy of her. Now and then, her face and chest would turn a dusty pink from increased capillary blood flow to those regions. A blush. Did it mean anything if it occurred frequently?

Was she experiencing the same pull that I was? Most likely, considering the odd flickers of her dreams I received from Osa recently. Images in which I am positioned on top of her, touching her...

I cursed. There must be a way to reverse this. This cannot be happening this soon.

I burst through the doors ofIkkuk, meeting the presence of Shadrach, Emmoth, and Ogrik. The entrance to Ikkuk usually took me aback with its beauty; the lovely gold architecture, the depictions of our life-giving, and the battles forever carved on the high ceilings. A throne sat against the farthest wall, vacant for the time being.

A gold-painted portrait of my direct ancestor, Enki, hung above the seat as a tapestry. In his hands were the words of an ancient language presented to Earth as a blessing in the Garden of Paradise, Dilmun. His wife sewed the heaven's stars into a strip of cloth as humans gathered at her feet in worship. This was one of thirty-six scenes.

I halted a foot in front of my brethren.

"Dumuzi, you are nude," Shadrach noted, gesturing to me. His long, flowing cape ghosted over the gleaming silver tiles. "I heard about the council's request for you to stay by her side. Is there something the matter? I do not believe she ordered you away, did she?"

Ogrik beside him frowned, his curling hair kept neat in a clasp at the nape of his neck, his dark skin painted in liquid gold patterns. He took a step away from me, as did Shadrach.