I took a deep breath and found a calm point to focus on. “I’m surprised she stood up for me. That’s…nice. I’ll have to call her and say thanks.”
Rose said, “Did she tell him anything about me?”
Mom nodded. “She did, but he doesn’t consider you a danger. He thinks David is leading you astray. She decided to let it go. Pick your battles, you know?”
“David does indeed, Mrs. Fraser.” A boy who looked about fifteen sat down at the table next to me. He looked perfectly normal, except for a livid rope burn around his neck. It ran under his jaw and raised a bunch of ugly associations in my mind. He placed his hands on the table, palms down, and said, “Let’s all be nice and civil, shall we? It would be a shame to damage this lovely building.”
I nodded. “Thain. Did you kill this boy yourself?” Inside, I focused on Rose, urging her to hide her nature and try to pass as Human. From the look she gave me, I was pretty sure she understood.
Thain looked offended. “Of course not. Without form, I cannot harm the living. This boy killed himself just as I found myself in need of a new body. He’s been an adequate host, and soon I will be able to reconstitute my own body. After that, he can rest in peace.”
I unclenched my jaw and kept my voice low. “You’re ruining my appetite. What do you want, dead man?”
He spread his hands and smiled. “You wound me. I’m here to help you.” He gestured toward Mom and added, “And by that I mean you, Mrs. Fraser. Even in this state, I can heal you. All I ask for is David’s word he will not oppose me until the war begins.”
Mom’s fingers tightened on her cane. “Go to Hell.”
Thain held his hand up. “Allow me to explain. Your son has somehow acquired a level of magical ability unprecedented for this world. He survived judgment by Ma’at, the feather of truth. It revealed him to be a true and upright soul, the kind of man who can seize glory during the times to come. He could lead your world’s resistance, and I would be honored to be tested by him. Allow me to heal you, and you will live to see your son become the world’s savior.”
Rose’s lips pulled back into a snarl, and I could see her nails starting to transform into talons. “Why should we wait? The smart thing to do would be to destroy you now.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Thain shook his head. “Certain destruction is boring. Why do you think I’ve allowed David to live? Besides—” He gestured toward sounds of kids playing in the park across the street. “—do you really want to start something while we’re surrounded by innocents? Please, think of the children.”
The waitress brought our food and set a glass of water in front of Thain without really looking at him. Thain watched her walk away and sighed. “Speaking of reasons not to rush the end of this world…”
“Why us?” Mom leaned forward and tapped her finger on the table. “Why this world? Why don’t you find a world that’s already lifeless and conquer it?”
“This world invited me here, Mrs. Fraser. The preoccupation with zombies in popular culture, the energy put into dreaming of a global war against armies of the undead—they drew me here like a beacon. All the people out there who are suffering and failing under the dominant social structure crave a new world. One where the rules are simple, more understandable. No banks, no government, no little robots spying on you from the sky. I’m fulfilling that wish.”
I stood up. “No deal, Thain. Get out of here.”
Thain looked at Mom. “Last chance to change your mind, Mrs. Fraser. I urge you, think about what beautiful children your son and his lady friend will have. Choose life.”
Mom took my hand. “I’d rather die.”
Thain stood up. “Oh, you shall. So soon, in fact, I regret the need to hasten it. You cost me physical form, David. Observe and learn the price of your foolishness.”
Swirls of wind whipped through the trees and flowers surrounding the patio, and all around us the trees and flowers collapsed into acrid black grit. The grass, the trees in the park and along the creek, every plant we could see for blocks around us, all dissolved into the same grit.
Birds, squirrels, and a host of other small animals fell from the sky or ran out of their hiding places, screeching in agony as they, too, were consumed. The water in the creek turned into noxious, green-black sludge, and the fish flopped around in it until they vanished as well.
In the middle of it all, Thain stood there, jaw clenched, staring at us through a dead child’s eyes. Black splotches spread across his face and arms, spilling out black grit until the lesions ate him away, leaving nothing but black sand mixing into black sand.
Mom looked pale, holding her chest and trying to clear sand from her oxygen line. I picked her up and carried her to the parking lot. Rose grabbed our stuff and followed, looking around for any incoming trouble.
When we got to her car, Mom thumped me on the shoulder. “You can put me down now. I am not an invalid.” Despite her protests, she was sweating and her breaths were labored.
I opened the passenger door and set her in the seat. “You sit there. We’re going to the hospital. Rose can follow us there.”
Mom looked over my shoulder. “Rose, can you do anything with him?”
Rose leaned over my shoulder and said, “Gypsy, relax. Let David drive.” At least, I think that’s what it was—she said it in Draconic.
Mom sagged back in the seat and I fastened her seatbelt. I closed the door and told Rose, “Community Hospital is right up Broadway. Meet us at the ER.” She nodded and hopped into our Land Rover.
The emergency room was plenty busy, but a little shameless use of the imperative form got Mom through triage and in to be seen in record time. She was in and out of consciousness and seemed to have lost vitality during the drive. The doctor initially refused to do anything, citing Mom’s
Do Not Resuscitate
bracelet. I convinced him he could at least make her comfortable. Soon enough, Mom was breathing easier and her condition improved enough that she insisted on moving to a private room.
Rose called Audrey and my dad, and then slipped off into the bathroom. She emerged only seconds later with her mother. Arwydd set a mirror-surfaced crystal sphere on the side table before turning to Mom and doing her own exam.
Mom woke up with Arwydd leaning over her and managed a wave. “How nice. An angel. Do you see her too, David?”
“I’m no angel,” Arwydd said. “I’m Rose’s mother. She asked me to come and help you. Do you understand?”
Mom nodded. “What happened to me?”
“You were exposed to some form of life-energy siphon. Someone absorbed a large amount of life energy from the environment around you. As weak as you are, the loss of energy was nearly fatal.” Arwydd stroked her head. “I can’t replace the energy you lost. It has to be replenished naturally. I’m sorry, but without healing, I do not think you will survive the night. I can heal you if you wish it, but it must be soon.”
Mom shook her head. “No. Thank you, but it’s my time. Where is David?”
I sat down on the bed. “I’m here, Mom.”
“Get your camera out. I want you to record this.” Once I was ready, she said, “I’m making this recording as an amendment to my will. In the event of my passing, I wish to be cremated immediately. It is my wish for my ashes to be scattered in random locations in the mountains. Nederland. Trail Ridge road. Places like that. Will you do that for me, David?”
I nodded. “I will, Mom.”
“Good. That’s all. Thank you, son.” She waited until I put the phone away and added, “David, if that man manages to get my body somehow, it won’t be me. Destroy him however you can.”
“That’s the plan.”
“Good boy.” She looked past me, focusing on Arwydd and really seeing her for the first time. “You’re Rose’s mother? How did you get here?”
I said, “Rose travelled back to her home world and got her. Rose isn’t Human, Mom. Remember what you saw at Sharon’s funeral? Rose did that. What you saw was her world.”
“It was beautiful.”
“I know.” I pulled out my camera and flipped to the pictures I’d taken at Stonewall. “I had a short visit there.”
Mom looked at a few of the pictures, stopping at one of Karav and Altia in the arena, holding their weapons. “That must be an Elf,” she whispered. She looked at Rose and asked, “Is that what you are? An Elf?”
Rose took her hand. “No, Gypsy. I’m a Dragoness. I’m one thousand forty-two years old. By our standards, I just turned twenty-one.”
“Thousand years… At least my son isn’t chasing jail bait.” Mom coughed, holding her chest. When the spasm stopped, she asked, “Is that wizard we met from the same world?”
“No,” I said. “We don’t know where he’s from. We think he’s trying to build an undead army he can use to invade his home world. We don’t know how to stop him yet, but we’re working on it.”
Mom patted my hand. “Good. Take him out.”
I heard Audrey’s voice through the door and stood up. “Company’s coming. I don’t think Dad and Audrey are ready for the truth.”
Mom straightened her robe. “I don’t know that I was, but I’m glad you shared it with me.”
Audrey and Dad came in, rushing to Mom’s side and throwing questions around without waiting for answers. While they talked to Mom, I found a corner where I could talk to Arwydd.
“Is there a way to keep Thain from taking over her body before…
arrangements
can be made?” Even asking the question was a punch in the gut.
Arwydd glanced at Mom. “After a fashion. The reflection stone prevents scrying attempts, but it must stay with her to be effective. If he discovers her, I cannot shield her from possession.”
I nodded. “We’ll just have to move forward as fast as we can, then.”
Audrey was praying next to the bed, while Dad sat holding Mom’s hand. I sat on the bed and waited for Audrey to finish. Mom was visibly weaker and her breathing was labored.
Dad looked up and asked, “What is it, son?”
I took a breath to steady myself. “Mom wants to change her arrangements. She wants to be cremated. She had me get a video of her making the request. I can play it if you want.”
Audrey shoved me away. “No. That can’t be true. Mom would never say that!”
I said, “She did, Audrey. You can watch it for yourself if you don’t believe me.”
“Mom! That’s--that’s horrible! You--” Audrey choked up. “Where will I come visit you if you do that?”
Dad ignored Audrey. “We discussed this already. We bought the joint plot.” He sighed and shook his head. “All of this was settled a year ago.”
“I’m sorry, Orlando, but I changed my mind. Last minute details. David has my instructions.” Mom tried to smile. “Audrey, I’ll always be there for you. Just listen for me. I love you.” She fell back on the bed, breathing hard. “Not long now,” she whispered.
Audrey stepped out of the room long enough to call for one of the doctors. Mom beckoned to Dad and held her hand out. Her wedding ring all but fell off her finger into his hand. He dropped the ring into his pocket and sat there, just holding her hand until the doctor arrived. Mom lay still while the doctor examined her, her breath slow and shallow. She answered his questions in a quiet whisper, eyes half-lidded. The doctor gave us a short speech on what
do not resuscitate
meant—as if we didn’t know all too well—and left us alone. Her heart monitor would call him back when the time came.
The hospital chaplain stopped in, asking if he could be of service. Mom shook her head. “I’m sorry, Father, but I’ve always believed in myself rather than God. I see no reason to trouble God to accomplish the things I can do for myself. God has a universe to run. I take care of my life while He takes care of gravity and such.”
Audrey said, “Well, I need someone to pray with.” She and the chaplain said a brief prayer at Mom’s bedside. Thankfully, he wasn’t preachy or heavy-handed, asking only for peace and strength for us.
Maybe it did some good. Mom sat up a bit and said good-bye to each of us, starting with Dad. She said a short prayer with Audrey, and asked me to carry out her last wishes as soon as possible. I said I would. Mom brought our hands together between hers and said, “Stay together—or I’ll haunt the shit out of you.” We laughed through the tears, and she fell asleep smiling.
She woke up once, staring at something we couldn’t see, and said, “Thank you, for my life.” Then she closed her eyes, and everything that made her a person slipped away. Her heart stopped a few minutes later.
The doctor returned to offer condolences and sign all the required forms. One of the morgue attendants was waiting outside, so Arwydd instructed him to make sure the scrying shield stayed with her until she was moved to the funeral home.
I wanted to collapse in a corner and cry as well, but I couldn’t give in yet. I could tell Rose was blocking me from feeling the loss, and for now I was thankful. I patted Dad on the shoulder and said, “There’s one more thing we have to take care of. Mom’s last request.”
Dad shook his head. “We agreed to be buried together, and that’s what’s going to happen. I’m not going to allow her to be cremated. That’s the end of it.”
Audrey moved to stand next to him. “I won’t allow it, either. Cremation is a pagan ritual and it’s wrong. You can’t have her.”
I held my phone up. “I have her on video making this request. I don’t want to do it either, but I agreed to carry out her requests. Her last words were asking us to stay together. Can we do this last thing for her as a family? Please?”
“We will hold her service as a family, as planned.” Dad put his hand on my shoulder and pulled me closer to him. “Your mother got her way a lot, but this isn’t one of those times. You’ve been overruled.” He looked down at Mom and tried to force a laugh. “If she haunts me, she haunts me.”
My hands clenched the bed’s safety rail. I looked Dad in the eyes, and he took a step back. I brushed a wisp of hair away from Mom’s face and said, “She won’t. Not if I can help it.”
Memento Mori
The only good part about being left out of the funeral planning was having time to prepare for war. I added two fixed-blade ceramic tactical knives to my arsenal, along with a hardened polymer
sgian dubh
. I mounted a six-shaft quiver on my bow and loaded it with cedar arrows sporting flaked-obsidian hunting points.