Page 57 of Till Death

“Is everyone here?”

A chorus of affirmatives answered and the knot in my chest loosened.

I’d like to say the odd silence was a blessing, but it felt so much worse. My eyes snapped open to find everyone standing behind me and Eli with his arms outstretched behind them. Shepherding us all forward.

“Are we…still in Fairport?” Tamara asked. “It really isn’t familiar to me.”

The harshness of her voice cut like a knife through the silence and shattered it once and for all.

“We are,” Eli answered quickly.

Except it didn’t look like the city I loved. It looked like a former shell of itself. All the old buildings had crumbled or split in two, leaving foundations behind and few other recognizable landmarks. Most of the trees along the streets had been ripped out of the ground and either lay strewn across the pavement or tossed into the wrecked houses like toothpicks by a giant.

But there were no Halflings around, and for that I felt eternally grateful.

“We’re about half a mile away from Divine Magic.” Eli must be tuned into his angelic GPS system. One of the perks I missed out on during my own Ascension. “Let’s hurry. We should be able to make it without any trouble.”

Hurrywas the only setting we operated on these days.

“Kay, do you think you can walk on your own?” I asked.

She nodded and once again she’d adopted the same fierce and determined expression. “I’ll be fine. Just a little worn out. You know, I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to handle a demon body. Looks like I’ve got more power than I thought.”

“It’s all about confidence,” I replied.

I really was proud of her. I’d missed out on the moment when she discovered her necromancy powers and because I hadn’t seen it, it didn’t feel as real to me as it should.

After everything she’d been through, I wanted her safe. I wanted her protected.

And yeah, Eli was right. I guess on some level I did want to coddle her.

We began to walk and as soon as the harbor came into view, the world righted itself. My own internal compass finally clicked into place and I had to stop for a full minute to stare open mouthed.

I’d missed aloton my trip downstairs. Several of the buildings had been completely decimated during the fighting while others were simply…misplaced. Across the street from their original foundation. Others shouldn’t be there at all.

All this destruction. All this mess, and how long would it take to clean? Would it ever get clean? Were there enough city officials left alive to approve funds for infrastructure? It must be the crossover from the afterlife, I decided. The geography there had merged with our own and now—

“Breathe.” Eli placed a hand on the small of my back. The slightest pressure to ground me. “It’s not as bad as you think.”

“Or maybe it’s worse than I think.”

“It’s not going back to normal anytime soon, I can tell you that,” he replied.

No, I didn’t think it would.

“Once we take care of the immediate problem, then we can begin to rebuild. I know how much this place means to you.” He kept his tone soothing, low. “We will help with the cleanup, but it’s not something for us to worry over now.”

“I’m not sure if later will ever come,” I said.

I slowed my steps to keep pace with Cole. Catching sight of us in the last remaining bit of mirrored glass in a store window, I stopped. My reflection stared back at me, wide-eyed, gaunt, and sallow. My hair stood out at odd angles looking like a tangled rat or bird’s nest. Cole looked worse. So much worse than he had before. We drifted forward aimlessly and a crazed part of my mind likened us to a woman walking her dog.

Walking her crippled werewolf, more than likely.

I swallowed a round of crazed laughter. Not knowing what the others would think of me if I aired the comparison, because we actually did know several werewolves and Cole had introduced me to them. Eli would more than likely give me a leash for Cole and direct me to the nearest vet clinic for euthanasia.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kay looking at me strangely. She didn’t say a word though, which probably helped more than anything.

Without any further hesitation we pushed on, Cole sticking close to my side with an occasional grunt or growl.

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