Page 41 of All Hallows Trick

“It’s over,” Misery said hoarsely, pulling me closer until my cheek rested on his chest, lips finding the top of my head. “It’s over.”

My shaking hands ended up pressed to his stomach, his warmth seeping into my body like the slow drip of medicine into my veins, and by the time my stomach stopped twisting, a strange, hollow numbness set in.

“I killed her,” I said, my voice empty.

“Good,” Miz replied fiercely. “She deserved it.” His lips pressed to my head again, firmer this time.

“I killed a ghost,” I tried again, failing to articulate the thoughts that spread hollow cold throughout me. “But I didn’t just kill her, like the others killed the spirits. Imutilatedher. I’m evil.”

Rough fingers dug into my chin and lifted my face until I had no choice but to look directly into blazing, wrathful gold eyes. “You’re a fucking miracle, Cat. We could have lost you, and losing you would have killed me, and Death, and Tor. Madde, too, probably. But you fought, and you survived, and you didn’t stop until you got the justice you deserve. Never apologise for killing an evil person like Poppy. The damage she caused, even as a ghost… by wiping the stain of her from this realm, you spared her victims any future suffering. And you prevented her from inflicting this pain on anyone else.”

I swallowed hard, his words stabbing my eyes, cutting off my breath until I felt sobs crawl closer. “I didn’t mean to dothat.I wanted to hurt her, but…” I tried to look at the mangled mess of her ghost but Miz kept my eyes on his. I realised there was movement around us, feet scuffing the ground. Cleaning up the mess.

“Never feel shame,” Miz insisted, “for doing whatever it takes to survive. Never.”

I bit the inside of my lip and looked away, my eyes stinging. I knew Poppy was a horrible person, and that she’d hurt so many and didn’t regret it for a minute, but murder stained me every time, deep down where no one could see. I startled when Miz’s lips pressed to mine, even though my chin was covered in blood and gore, even though I must have looked horrific.

“I love every single part of you,” he said quietly, ferociously. “Every single part.”

“Even this one?” I asked in a small voice.

He kissed me again, deeper, rougher. “Especially this one,” he promised huskily. “Come on, my universe, we need to get out of here.”

“Virgil,” I began, lifting my head in a rush. “Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. He did most of the fighting and managed to come out mostly unscathed.”

“Mostly,” I repeated, scrambling to my feet and baulking at the carcasses strewn across the courtyard, guts and blood and organs flung in some twisted Jackson Pollock artwork. Near the gates, a bundle of new spirits bobbed, less corporeal than the ones I was used to seeing.

“New ghosts,” Madde explained, limping down the steps towards us, a sharp, intense look on his face as he scanned me, seeing the blood all over me. Blood matted his red hair to his own head, a smear of it on his cheek and jaw that only enhanced his appeal. “From the creatures we killed. Is any of this blood yours?”

I tested my body, wondering if I’d even be able to feel pain through the creeping numb. But I didn't have any stiffness, and other than the cramp of sickness in my gut, there was no pain. “No,” I answered finally.

“That’s my lioness,” Madde breathed, a flash of pride in his electric eyes. “It was a thing of beauty watching you take down the mad scientist.”

I glanced away, another roil in my stomach. It didn’t improve when I looked over the courtyard full of bodies again. There were only five ghosts and six creatures dead, but the amount of gore could have accounted for twenty corpses. It was a level of butchery I wasn’t used to seeing, and nausea roiled up my throat, but we weresafe.The rest of the subjects were gone, chased off or fled when Poppy was…when I slaughtered her.

I shied from the truth but I had to face it. I slaughtered her.

“They’re all gone, right?” I asked Miz in a hollow voice. “We’re safe?”

“We’re safe,” he promised, reaching for me again, and trying to disguise the wince that tightened his features. He froze, nostrils flaring.

“Misery?” I whispered, catching his hands and squeezing hard. “This isn’t just exertion. Tell me the truth.”

His pale jaw clenched, stubbornness chasing through his eyes.

“Please,” I begged.

He rolled his eyes skyward and groaned. “I’ve been getting flashes of pain.”

It was hard to breathe, a lump in my throat making it impossible to swallow. “Since the night you were scratched?”

“Since before,” he admitted, averting his eyes. Madde winced and stepped away, giving us a moment. “I didn’t want any of you to worry so I didn’t say anything. And youcan’ttell Death, he’s in a bad enough state as it is.”

I knew Death was weak, and he’d overexerted himself by calling the spirits to defend us, but there was something about the way Miz said it. “How bad a state?” I asked, my voice louder.

“I’m fine,” a warm, gruff voice cut in, and relief strangled me when I lifted my head and saw Death walking out of the doors to the castle, no blood on him, no visible injuries. My body was already moving by the time my brain had caught up to the fact he wasn’t in a coma or passed out on the sofa inside. He was walking. Speaking.

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