"Keep 'em closed," Operetta said, leading Cleo over the edge of the gondola. "No peeking!"
"Ugh. Why would I want to? No offense, Operetta, but the rats down here have terrible interior decor skills."
Operetta smirked, shaking her head, one arm looped through Cleo's. "I'll just write that off to you bein' excited. We're goin' around a corner here, darlin', so watch your feet."
Cleo put out her free hand for balance, touching the catacomb walls, and recoiled with a shriek. "What did I just touch?! Never mind - I don't want to know! Deuce Gorgon, this had better be worth it!"
"Oh, sugar." Operetta stopped and nudged her side. "You can open your eyes now."
"Thank Ra," Cleo said, sighing with exasperation.
They stood at the edge of a narrow tunnel overlooking a cavern, created by centuries of flowing water and silt. Slender streams wound down the rock face, gathering in a small pool at the cavern's edge. A layer of phosphorescent moss coated the lower half of the bowl-shaped room, glowing pale green. Overhead, dew-speckled spider's webs trembled in a gentle breeze off the river behind them.
Deuce rose from his seat, nervous, and gave Cleo a smile. In the center of the room, he had prepared a small wrought-iron table and two chairs, a decanter of amber-colored iced tea, and an assortment of covered dishes in silver serving trays, all of it lit by a six-flame candlelabra.
"Oh my Ra," Cleo said, and Operetta chuckled to herself.
"I'll just be goin' now. You two enjoy yourselves." She waved to Deuce, who gave her an appreciative nod, and walked back to the river's edge.
"Deuce.. how did you.. I mean, when.."
"I spent last night cooking," he said, walking up to meet her along the narrow, sloping walkway. He took her hand. "We'll start with the tabbouleh. The main dish is chicken shawarma with tzatziki sauce. There are roasted plums in yogurt, all of it fresh. Oh, and I made -"
Cleo turned, fixing him with an almost scornful smirk. "This is supposed to be a surprise, right? So stop telling me the details, and let me explore a little."
"Right. Sorry." He followed her down into the center of the room, watching as she took it all in, smiling to himself.
"This is Egyptian cloth," she said, folding the tablecloth between her fingers. "How did you get this?"
"Gil ordered it online for me."
"Deuce.. it's expensive."
"Yeah, well.." He lifted the lid from the tabbouleh, picking up a serving spoon, and scooped it out onto a small plate for her. "Let's not talk about that part of it, OK? It's worth it. That's all."
"You didn't buy these dishes," she said, accepting the plate.
He chuckled. "No. Mom let me borrow her serving set from Greece. They're a family scareloom. Try it, Cleo. I spent all night on this; I need some feedback."
She took small bites, gazing around the stone chamber. The tabbouleh tasted bright and refreshing, all mint, lemon, and crisp cucumber. She watched Deuce eat, knowing that, for him, this was about creating an experience for the two of them to share. "It's delicious," she said, and he smiled.
"Drinks," he said, starting up from his seat. "It's only iced tea with sugarcane. I was going to do mango juice, but, uh, Perseus got into the fruit.."
"Someday," she said, folding her hands in her lap, "I won't be the only one who gets to enjoy your cooking skills." She laughed. "You're blushing."
"Trick of the light." He held a glass out to her and poured another for himself. "So.. you'll be back once the murderer is found, right?"
She sighed, finishing off the tabbouleh. "I hope so. Daddy is talking about going back to Egypt for a while, though, so I really don't know."
Deuce took her plate, replacing it with a clean one. He lifted the lid on another dish, and the spicy-sweet odor of chicken shawarma wafted out. Cleo's stomach rumbled as she watched him heap the saucy food onto a plate. "Mom's been talking about us taking a trip to Athens, but I don't think she'll go through with it. She's worried that it would look suspicious. Like anyone's watching us, right? I mean, the kid was murdered, not turned to stone."
"I bet he would have preferred that."
He laughed, despite himself. "Right?"
She took a few more bites, chewing thoughtfully, before she said, "Deuce, you don't think.."
Deuce shook his head. "There are some strange kids at this school, OK, but I can't understand why anyone would want to go into normie-ville and kill off a random kid."
"I heard he had a girlfriend here."
He looked up at her. "Where'd you hear that? Sounds like Spectra's brand of 'news'."
"Not her. Come to think of it, she's been pretty quiet lately. Do you know she stopped updating the Ghostly Gossip?"
His eyes narrowed. "You've got to be kidding. That blog was her whole unlife."
Cleo shrugged. "Stress does different things to people. Good thing I'm immune to it. Anyways, no, I overheard the police officers discussing it yesterday during their interview sessions."
"So they think it was a revenge killing, or what?"
"Oh, I don't know. I'm tired of talking about this. Where are those plums you promised?"
Deuce stood, checking the various remaining dishes, and taking up another clean plate. He scooped plums and yogurt onto the plate, passing it across the table. "There's baklava, too. Fresh honey from the hives out behind the hedge maze."
She shook her head, dabbing yogurt from the corner of her mouth. "This is amazing. You're amazing, Deuce. I can't even tell you how wonderful this is."
"Well, I figured we wouldn't have the chance to eat together again for a while." He sat, watching her eat for a moment, then said, "You'll still be able to call me and text and stuff, right?"
"Probably."
"Probably? That's.. not an answer, Cleo. Your dad's not going to take your phone away, is he?"
She shifted, rolling her eyes as she chewed. "He might. I don't know. You have to understand, Deuce, he's very upset by all of this."
"And that makes it OK for him to take away your phone?"
"Let's not spoil this with a fight, Deuce. Please?" She lifted a glass; the candlelight refracted on the liquid inside, scattering slivers of amber light across her face and the table. "This isn't how I want you to remember me."
He stiffened, scowling. "So you're not just leaving school, you're leaving me, too?"
"Oh, Deuce." She took a drink, set the glass down, put one hand over his on the tabletop. "If I can't leave home and I can't attend school, how am I supposed to see you?"
"I could come visit you." He grinned, winking at her behind his glasses. "You know, climb in a window, spend some time together after everyone else has gone to sleep.."
"Daddy doesn't sleep. You know that. And you'd be dismembered by the Anubians before you could get to my chamber."
One of his hands formed into a fist. "Cleo, he's cutting you off, he's trying to control you -"
"Yes, and he just might be saving my life by doing so. Isn't your mother doing the same thing?"
"No! Because it's crazy! It's obsessive and weird and super-controlling!" He shoved his chair back from the table. "You should tell him no. You can't do this to me, Cleo. You can't let him do this to you."
She shook her head slowly, not meeting his eyes. "You don't understand."
"What if the tomb becomes unsafe? What if there really is a threat, or he just thinks there is? Is he going to lock you up again?"
Cleo closed her eyes, and he knew he'd crossed the line. He let out a slow hissing breath, watching her eyelids tremble.
"Cleo.. hey, I'm sorry. Don't cry. I didn't mean -" He reached out for her, but she shoved him away, pushing back from the table.
She didn't wipe the tears from her eyes, and the ones that didn't fall onto the tabletop ran in long streaks down her face, carrying her eyeliner with them. "How dare you," she said, glaring at him. "I am trying to do the right thing here. Do you think I want to leave the school? Do you think I want to be locked inside there, with Nefera, and my father, and the memories of everything we had before? Do you even know what it's like for me, going home now? All he talks about is 'the trouble in Egypt' and how this is just the same.. and.. and you know how that ended!"
He nodded, silent, unable to speak.
"A thousand years," she said, trembling with the effort to keep from breaking down. She lowered her head. He stared at her, the strands of gold in her hair, the deep chestnut hues brought out by the candlelight. She let out a stifled sob, and her arms went tight around her body, hands grasping at the bandages that kept her intact.
Deuce got up, walking around the table, and knelt beside her. "Hey," he said, slipping one hand into hers. She lifted her face and he wiped tears from her eyes, smearing eyeliner and mascara across her cheekbone and his own hand. "That's not going to happen. OK?"
She shook her head, disbelieving, terrified. "What if it does?"
"You can tell him no. Cleo, trust me. You don't have to do what he says just because he's your dad. Especially if it hurts you."
Again she shook her head. "Easy for you to say."
She stood, taking a deep breath, and began to wipe her face clean with her napkin, pulling a compact from her bag. "I have to deliver a few personal goodbyes before I leave," she said, and he marvelled at how easily she withdrew back into her shielded demeanor, her expression one of neutral annoyance.
"Cleo," he said, wanting to summon back the raw honesty of seconds ago, but she was already gone, fixing her makeup in the mirror. "I wish you would believe me. I wish you would believe in yourself. You don't have to.."
"What choice do I have?"
He shook his head, at a loss, destroyed by her absolute blindness. "You always have a choice, Cleo."
The corner of her mouth quirked at him, mocking. She looked up at the sparkling webs across the ceiling. "How do I get out of here? I'm running short on time."
Deuce turned away, stacking their dirty plates. "There's a stairwell back towards the river. Just go up the way you came."
She hesitated, watching him, and he tried to ignore the magnetic pull her gaze had on him. Then she turned and walked back up the slope, headed for the river and the school grounds.
When he was sure she'd gone, Deuce slumped into one of the chairs, unveiling the handmade baklava, and helped himself to three of them as he loosened his collar.