I raised my hand and caressed his cheek. I admired his strong jawline, the light blue and amber of his eyes, and the fullness of his lips.
He was whole again. I had done something so terrible, but in that moment, I could not regret it.
“I...” he started to say, but I quieted him with my lips.
NECROMANCERS DON’T GET HAPPY ENDINGS
I slept off and on for two days. I ate and went to the washroom as needed, but then I went right back to bed.
Salem continued to work to make extra cash for our move, while Cheetoh took the initiative to paint over the basement and start packing. We’d each have to pack our own rooms and eventually the kitchen, but she’d given us a good head start.
I sat on the couch in a unicorn onesie, boxes surrounding me, and sipped hot chocolate. The TV wasn’t on, because I wanted to sit in silence and take a long look at everything. This house had been my home and was the longest I’d ever stayed in one place.
I would miss the river. I would miss the HopScotch, and I would miss Gobo—though there were ways I could still visit him, just not as often.
My hot chocolate was delicious—and necessary. Since the night we shut down the pocket dimension and accidentally created a gashadokuro, I felt like I couldn’t get warm. I’d slept under piles of blankets, soaked in the tub, and guzzled hot beverages, and I still couldn’t get warm enough.
As the days passed, a small amount of warmth had returned, but it was slow. I suspected it had more to do with the spell I had cast than from being out in the cold.
I had never done anything like that in my life. I hadn’t even known I could do it. Whatever the spell was, it had drained me to the point of losing consciousness. I wondered if I was lucky to be alive...and I wondered if I deserved to be alive.
The cup in my hand suddenly reminded me of Soma’s bovine mask and I put it down. I pulled a blanket over and covered myself with it.
“Too cold? Give. I warm it,” Cheetoh said, coming into the living room. She indicated the hot chocolate.
She was carrying a stack of boxes and put them down by the back wall.
“No. It’s fine,” I replied, looking down.
Cheetoh came over and sat beside me. She sighed. “I don’t want to leave either, but you are right. We must.”
“I’m sorry, say that again.” I smiled at her.
Cheetoh squinted her eyes in a glare and then pretended to pick something off of her black leggings. “Your mother is getting car?”
“Yeah, but I told her not to kill anyone to get it.” I was joking, but also serious.
Cheetoh nodded and then sat back, putting her arms behind her head. “I will like to see the country.”
She had a point. We were going across Canada. We were going to drive through the mountains, through the Great Plains, and eventually we’d see the Great Lakes and the big city. It was pretty exciting, if I stopped hating myself long enough to think about it.
Raven was curled up on the floor in front of us, though I doubted she was asleep or even needed it. I felt like she was waiting for us to go to Toronto somehow. I could feel it, even if she didn’t know it or couldn’t express it herself. Whatever was happening, we were being drawn to Toronto.
The door opened just as I reached for my hot chocolate again and began picturing our new lives in the big city.
Salem walked in and brushed the snow out of his blond hair. After hanging up his jacket, he moved to the living room and smiled at both of us. “How is the packing coming?”
Cheetoh stretched and stood up. “Cecile is useless. I have been doing everything.”
I grinned from the couch and then pretended to cough. “I’ve been so unwell. I’ll need several more days of rest at least.”
Salem threw his hat at me to shut me up.
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll get off the couch when I’m finished with my hot chocolate. GAWD.”
Salem gave me one more smile before heading into the hallway, and Cheetoh stepped into the kitchen. I would get up and be productive shortly, I just needed a little more time to say goodbye to the living room.
Salem closed the trunk after Cheetoh stuffed her pillow between the last two boxes. The mummy stepped back and possessively held on to her overnight bag—and understandably so, because the SUV my mother had bought was packed to the brim.
Any chances of finding something inside our Tetrised belongings were slim to none. Visibility through the rearview mirror was nonexistent and chances of a car accident were high. It was going to be an interesting car ride.
Raven danced around and wagged her tail, eager for the ride. Since the night of the gashadokoru, she had made herself visible to Salem and Cheetoh regularly. Perhaps because they had seen to it that the rifter was returned to her kind. I still didn’t understand how Ishita had captured a rifter or how she’d gotten that demon blood, but I was hoping to find out when I got to Toronto.
I had sent in my paperwork and was officially enrolled at the Toronto Academy of Magick and Alchemy. I was on my way to see if I was going to become a wizard or drag that academy into the depths of my mother’s hell dimension.
“Ready?” Salem asked me. He put his arm around me and I unexpectedly stiffened.
Stepping away, I said, “Let me just get one last look.”
It was freezing and the wind was like razor blades to my face, but I wanted to remember the house as best I could. I’d taken photos with my phone already, so this was likely procrastination, but I needed it.
I wanted to remember what it was like to wake up and see the river and mountains. I wanted to remember being a student and feeling normal for a little while—and I wanted I remember how I felt when I came home to Darren.
Darren who had gotten everyone to come together and make dinner. Darren who made us play and laugh, and Darren who came back from the veil, facing demons and goddesses.
Darren was here for me and I was saying goodbye.
I said goodbye to the silly belief that in another life we met in school and stayed together.
In this fantasy, I met his enormous family and I hated it. I tried to get out of weekend dinners and holidays, but eventually gave in and had a good time. We loved each other and had a family. I drove a van and our kids played soccer. Darren made me laugh and riled up the kids every night when he came home, and I scolded him, but really I loved it. I loved him.
I looked at the house at the end of the street, and I thought of what could have been and wiped a tear away.
I reluctantly turned away and said, “I’m ready. We just have two stops before we head for Toronto.”
As I opened the driver’s door, Cheetoh asked, “Where are we going?”
I sat down and waited for her to get in before I replied, “First, I’ve got a little surprise and then after...after we’re paying my mom a little visit.”
Salem climbed into the seat behind Cheetoh. He paused before shutting his door. “We’re going to visit your mother?”
Neither he nor Cheetoh looked pleased.
I turned the key in the ignition and said, “Yeah. I’ve got a bone to pick with her and she’s been avoiding me. She reaped our friends and we’re going to get them back.”
I adjusted the rearview mirror and smiled.
The car ride through town was quiet after my little announcement. Neither Cheetoh nor Salem wanted to visit my mother’s hell dimension, likely because they wondered whether they’d make it out again, but I’d make sure they did.
Cheetoh snorted as we pulled up to the HopScotch. “Of course. What, did you bring a cooler and thermoses to stock up?”
I raised my hand and then paused. After some thought, I replied, “You know, that would have been a great idea. So, no, but I am here for one last latte.”
After several excruciating moments where I barely managed to parallel park, we all finally climbed out of the vehicle.
I was grateful that neither of them joked at my expense, but maybe it was because they knew I would th
row their souls to the veil if they had.
Once out of the car, I adjusted my coat and then followed both of them into the café.
“Cheetoh!” Jaxa called out from across the diner. Her kids jumped up and waved at us.
Cheetoh turned to me, panic and confusion written all over her face. I waved back to Jaxa and then said, “I know it was hard, what you did, but I thought... I thought maybe if you had a proper goodbye, you’d have fewer regrets. I asked her to meet us here. I told her you wanted to see them one last time. I hope that was okay.”
Salem stared at me in shock and Cheetoh... Cheetoh looked like she was going to shred my smug face, but to my surprise, her features softened and tears threatened to fall. “Thank you,” she said, and then ran over to embrace Jaxa and the kids.
I watched, my heart expanding and breaking at the same time. I knew Cheetoh loved them and that later, when no one was watching, Cheetoh would mourn what she had with them, but at least this way she could leave feeling loved, instead of angry.
“This was a really nice thing. Come, let me buy you a latte,” Salem said. He offered his arm and I took it.
I smiled as I pretended to read the menu and listened to the kids’ laughter.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah WaterRaven is a pixie tamer and known to kill with a keyboard. When she’s not writing, she is often drawing or painting.
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THE NECROMANCER SERIES
Books in Series Order
I Fell in Love with a Necromancer
Death Made Me Do It
OTHER BOOKS
Detective Docherty and the Demon’s Tears (Book I)
Detective Docherty and the Vampire’s Mirror (Book II)
Detective Docherty and the Sorcerer’s Game (Book III)
Detective Docherty and the Dark Curse
(Book IV)
Visit SarahWaterRaven.com to learn more.
Death Made Me Do It Page 15