Xlina sat with a thump, folding the present box in her lap and shaking her head. Her life seemed so empty. Despite it all, she had to carry on. She had to shoulder the burden. Oxivius opened the driver’s side door and sat next to her, stopping for a moment to adjust his mirrors. He reached to the rearview mirror, and his hand sent his fuzzy dice spinning in disarray.
“Are you going to be okay?” he asked, adjusting the rearview mirror and placing his hands on the steering wheel.
“I’ll be fine,” Xlina answered solemnly.
“Look, I just want you to know,” Oxivius continued, “it’s going to be okay.”
“Is it?” Xlina shot back defensively. “What’s okay, Ox? Amber is dead. The demons continue to play their games, and all we have done is buy me time to wallow in my grief until the next whatever comes to kill everything I love.”
“Is that what’s bothering you?” Oxivius replied, gripping the wheel firmly.
“Can we just go?” Xlina huffed, sinking into her seat and slumping down.
“You loved her too,” Oxivius replied openly.
“Of course,” Xlina retorted with a snap.
“More than a friend,” Oxivius clarified.
“I don’t know,” Xlina relented, placing her forehead against the passenger window. “I’ve never...you know.”
“And?” Oxivius pressed on.
“And she came to me,” Xlina explained. “When she tried to explain how she felt, the demon ruined it. She left, and we never really talked about it again.”
“And you loved her back,” Oxivius continued.
“I don’t know,” Xlina groaned frustrated. “I don’t know how I felt. I just... would have liked to have found out.”
“I understand,” Oxivius replied. “Magic, like I said, solves nothing.”
“I wasn’t exactly looking for relationships, Ox,” Xlina replied, her breath fogging the window.
“Funny how things normally turn up,” Oxivius answered. “Lost my glasses for three weeks, looked everywhere... it was all I could think about. What do you know, but the moment I stopped looking, they turned up, right as rain.”
“Really,” Xlina remarked sarcastically.
“Truly,” Oxivius replied. “That’s the secret, love. It’s not about finding what you’re searching for... it’s about valuing what you find.”
“I’ve lost what I found, Ox,” Xlina lamented sadly. “I’ve lost it, and there is no going back.”
“Perhaps,” Oxivius argued with a nod of his head. “Perhaps what you found is just a lesson to treasure the time you’re given with the ones you have while you have it. To live in the now and stop worrying about the mark and what might be.”
“Even if it means misery?” Xlina asked sincerely. “Even if I doom those around me?”
“It’s our choice to make,” Oxivius replied candidly. “You don’t have as much say over our lives as you think.”
“It was Amber’s choice, Ox,” Xlina replied. “And now her soul is in Ertigan’s clutches... don’t you get it? They took everything from me. The demons have it all. There is nothing left that’s within my control.”
“They took Amber from us,” Oxivius remarked, turning the key as the engine flared to life.
“They have her soul,” Xlina lamented. “It’s down there burning.”
“Then by god we take it back,” Oxivius stated firmly as the world faded away, the magic of the hearse moving between worlds around them. “Buckle up, love; we’re going to hell.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Reed Logan Westgate was born in Sanford, Maine and attended college in Dover, New Hampshire where he studied Accounting and Finance. He currently works for a non-profit social service agency in the finance department. He married his dream girl whom he met in grade school. They have a loving family with two beautiful daughters. In his spare time, he enjoys tabletop gaming, roleplaying games, and fishing.
The Infernal Games Page 42