Page 32 of Dark Shaman: Love Found (The Children Of The Gods #99)

TIM

T im was attempting to fold a t-shirt with all the skill of a drunk octopus when Andrew walked into his hospital room.

"You look like you're wrestling with that shirt and losing." Andrew closed the door behind him.

"These arms feel like they don't even belong to me," Tim complained. "They are too long." He held up the shirt that he'd somehow managed to twist into a pretzel.

"You'll get used to your new body. Eventually." Andrew's grin suggested he was enjoying Tim's struggles. "So, it's a big day for you. You're finally getting out of here."

Tim gave up on the shirt and tossed it onto the bed. "Hildegard says I'm stable enough for outpatient care, which I think is code for 'the clinic needs the bed and you're not dying anymore.'" He grimaced. "Or maybe she's just sick of my company and needs a break. God knows she deserves it. "

She wasn't acting like she couldn't stand him anymore, but no one had ever tolerated him for that long without getting tired of his remarks and his twisted sense of humor starting to grate on them.

"What about the ceremony?" Andrew asked.

Tim looked up from contemplating the logistics of socks. "What ceremony?"

"The successful transition ceremony that confirms you are indeed an immortal now. Didn't anyone tell you?"

"No." Tim gave up on the socks and sat back on the bed. He was already winded just from trying to dress himself. "Is it some kind of immortal hazing ritual? Because I'm barely able to keep myself vertical. I can't do trust falls or keg stands or whatever you people do."

Andrew laughed. "It's nothing like that. Your family and friends are invited to witness as the doctor makes a small cut on your hand, and when it heals instantly, it's official confirmation of your immortality."

Tim frowned. "That's the big ceremony?"

"It started as just a confirmation of immortality, but it has slowly morphed into a ceremony. You don't have to do it. There is no doubt that you've transitioned. It's more appropriate for people who don't change much during their transition and need the proof."

"Tim can do without it," Hildegard said from the doorway, carrying a paper bag with his pain medication .

His fangs hadn't started growing yet, but his throat was starting to itch because the venom glands were starting to form. She warned him that the pain would start soon. His canines would fall out, his gums would swell, and it would last weeks.

Fun times.

Not that he was complaining. He was immortal now, and although the increased strength and speed hadn't kicked in yet because he was an emaciated skeleton, his eyesight was incredible, and so was his hearing.

He no longer needed glasses for reading.

He was also taller and much thinner, but the tradeoff was a bald head with an itchy fuzz where his hair used to be and scrawny arms that made Roni look macho in comparison.

"I know he doesn't need it," Andrew said. "But it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and it would be a shame to miss it."

Hildegard let out a long-suffering breath. "I don't know about that. The whole thing seems barbaric to me. But if Tim wants it, then why not. I'll tell Bridget to expect guests."

As she turned to leave, Tim wanted to call after her and tell her that he didn't want the ceremony because it would be pathetic to have just two or three people to witness it, but something stopped him.

He'd thought no one would come to his induction ceremony, and he'd been proven wrong. There had been a nice crowd of people he didn't know but appreciated for coming.

"I'll make the calls." Andrew followed Hildegard out, leaving Tim alone, but not for long .

Tim was still fighting with the damn socks when Andrew returned.

"Magnus is coming," Andrew said. "Thomas said he'll be here, and I just got a call from Esag that he has heard you are getting discharged, and he wants to congratulate you. That's big since he barely leaves his workshop."

"Esag?" Tim raised a brow. "Who the hell is Esag?"

Andrew looked uncomfortable for a moment, his fingers brushing through his enviably thick hair. "You drew a portrait for him."

"I don't remember drawing a portrait for anyone named Esag."

"Yeah, about that..." Andrew rubbed the back of his neck. "We made you forget who you worked with. Just a little smudging of your memories so you wouldn't wonder about oddities you might notice. It's crucial for the clan's security to keep our identities hidden."

Tim gaped at his so-called friend and coworker. "What can be stranger than seeing a guy who I work with and have known for years suddenly grow two inches taller and lose two decades of age?"

"Not everyone is as good as I am at pretending to be human. We need to be careful, Tim. Now that you are one of us, you will understand why it needed to be done every time you worked for us.

Tim stared at him. "How many times did you mess with my head? "

"Every time. We didn't erase your memories of the portraits you created. You know which ones you sketched for us. Your bank account got fat thanks to what we paid you."

Tim shook his head. "No wonder your boss was willing to pay my crazy fees. He was compensating me for the brain damage you were causing me. Not my talent."

"We didn't cause you any damage. He was willing to pay you because you are the best at what you do."

"Right. So, you scrambled my brains and didn't even compensate me for that."

"We didn't scramble anything," Andrew said defensively. "We just made things fuzzy. Muddled the memories a bit."

"Oh, well, that's completely different. You muddled my brain. I feel so much better."

"You are fine." Hildegard walked in. "Stop being so dramatic. You can't sustain brain damage from infrequent, light thralling."

"Hey," Tim protested. "Whose side are you on?"

"The side of reason. You are perfectly fine, and the ceremony is unnecessary. You're immortal. Case closed."

"It's not about necessity," Andrew insisted.

"It's about tradition. Community. Welcoming Tim officially into the clan.

Besides, it is done. I invited people over.

Magnus, Roni, Thomas, and even Esag are coming.

I called Kian, and he might make an appearance as well if he makes it back to the village in time.

Anandur and Brundar are with him, so they will come also. "

That was starting to feel like a party, and something eased in Tim's chest. He wasn't a pariah. People liked him, even a guy he couldn't remember.

"Actually, I'm looking forward to it," he announced.

Hildegard cast him a pointed look. "You've just spent five minutes complaining about it."

"That was before I fully understood what it meant." Tim stood on his socked feet. "I wish I had shoes." He glanced at Andrew's feet. "What size are you wearing?"

"Twelve."

"Yeah, that would be too big."

"We need to order you stuff," Hildegard said.

"It won't get here in time for the ceremony." He tried to straighten and square his shoulders. "It's an important rite of passage. An acknowledgment that I've crossed from one state of being to another. It requires shoes."

"No, it doesn't." Hildegard pointed at the bed. "Most Dormants are right there when Bridget conducts the test. You can hop in, I'll cover you with the blanket, and you will look just like all the other transitioned Dormants in the movie. Andrew will record your first fast healing event."

"One hour." Andrew walked toward the door. "Get some rest and try not to hyperventilate. A little cut on the palm of your hand is not a big deal, especially since it's going to heal fast." He smiled. "I wonder how fast, though. The faster it heals, the closer you are to the godly source. "

"I didn't know that." Tim suddenly felt anxious, not about the cut, but about the speed of his healing.

What if it took too long? Would people make fun of him?

He had a chance at a clean start, and he wanted to do it right. Hopefully, he hadn't made enemies here. He didn't remember being nasty to anyone, but it was possible that he had antagonized someone he couldn't remember because they had smudged his memories.

An hour later, Tim's hospital room was crowded with immortals.

Magnus even brought his lovely wife and son with him, Thomas brought a duffel bag for Tim to pack his things after the ceremony, and Roni held a bottle of whiskey and a tower of small paper cups to make a toast after the cut was done and all healed.

The guy named Esag gifted Tim with a small wooden figurine of him when he was still short and fat, saying that it would be a reminder of what was before.

He would wait until Tim was fully transitioned to carve the after figurine.

"This is more people than attended my college graduation," Tim muttered.

"You had a college graduation?" Roni asked. "I figured you'd just emerged from the womb with a bad attitude and a talent for drawing."

"I emerged with perfect manners. The bad attitude was carefully cultivated over the years."

Kian and his bodyguards arrived a moment before Bridget entered the room with a small medical tray, and everyone shifted positions to make room for her .

She stood next to Tim's bed and offered him one of her rare smiles. "Are you ready?"

He nodded. "Do your worst, doc." He offered her his hand, palm up.

Hildegard stood on his other side, and he was tempted to ask her to hold his other hand, but he couldn't act like such a chicken in front of all these manly men.

Bridget chuckled. "I intend to do my best, Tim." She turned to Andrew. "You can start recording."

"Yes, ma'am." He pulled out his phone and took position at the foot of the bed.

"Roni, get ready with the timer."

"On it, doc." Roni stood next to Andrew.

When Bridget lifted the tiny scalpel, Tim's fingers trembled slightly, not from fear, but from anticipation.

The doctor moved fast, the blade biting into his flesh with a sharp sting. Blood welled immediately, shockingly red against his pale skin.