Page 113 of How To Take Down A Cult At The End Of The World
“My apologies, Jaakobah. My, um, my Lord. I didn’t- I mean, I never imagined I would ever meet an esteemed archdemon such as yourself. In fact, it’s been many years since I’ve kept the company of other demons. You are, you have always been an inspiration. I’m a big fan of your work.”
My mouth drops open. “My Lord?” I repeat.
“His work? What kind of work do you do?” Buffy asks Jaak.
“He is the Lord of Chaos and Strife. Bringer of War and Calamity. There is none like him in all the worlds. He is known through all the realms for his power.”
Buffy bites her lip and nods. “Oh.”
“That’s not who I am anymore. I am retired now. My will is my own once more and I have no wish to sow dissent and destruction. I will live my life in peace with Meadow and the ones she loves.”
“Wrath is retired too,” I tell Jaak. “But also not really. He helps us keep the peace when things need a little more firepower. We’re lucky to have him.”
Wrath smiles at me. “It is I who is lucky to be welcomed with you all. I would do anything to keep Buffy’s home safe.’
Jaak puts an arm around me and holds out his hand to Wrath. “Then I will as well. We will be brothers-in-arms in the quest for peace together.”
Wrath shakes his hand. “This is a day beyond all measure. There will be no safer place than our home.”
Our home.
All my life, my home was a place I wanted to be free of. Home was a prison full of secrets and hurt. Where I had to make myself smaller to survive but that’s not what ‘our home’ is. Not by a long shot.
I get teary-eyed thinking of what home will be like now with Jaak. I look around at everyone and laugh when I see Nina holding up a finger to Mort’s face, testing his vision. At least I hope that’s what she’s doing. Beside them, Elijah messes with Charlie’s cape while he shows Elijah how to shoot his bow. In front of us, Sunday sits on the hood of the car talking to Dina and Clyde. I don’t know what they’re talking about but whatever it is, Sunday is excited.
“How are we going to deal with her?” Buffy asks pointing at Eri.
I make a face. “Oh man, I forgot about her.” It’s true. I had. It’s not every day your husband comes back from the dead through magical means after you K.O.’d a god. “I honestly don't know. I thought I could kill her but I couldn’t.” I look over my shoulder at the crowd. The marching band is back in formation and starting to play and they’re on the move again. They head right for the officers and cult members.
I watch a trombone slide catch a deputy in the back while a bass drum takes down the sheriff. “Are all marching bands agents of chaos? I mean, look at them, they’re making those arrests as awkward as possible. You would think going the other way and not directly through them would be an option. Are marching bands evil?”
“Don’t they say the best way is to go through something not around it?” Buffy asks.
“I think that’s about life’s challenges, beloved,” Wrath explains.
“Y’know that makes a lot more sense with life lately.”
“Meadow! Help us! Stop them!” It’s my parents. They're in handcuffs and being dragged along by deputies towards the wagon. My mother pulls at her cuffs and tries to run to me but she’s dragged back. “You can’t let them take me away. We’re your parents! Meadow! You get over here this instant.”
Jaak growls and looks like he’s about to split my mother in two but I stop him. “I’m hungry. Aren’t you?”
He looks confused when I say that but Buffy doesn’t miss a beat. “I’m starved. I haven’t eaten all day, what with putting down that coup and running here. The next time I’m having breakfast, no matter what. I don’t care who set the Hall of Worship on fire. Let it burn.”
“They did what to the Hall of Worship?”
“It was just a little fire so don’t worry.” She waves her hand at me. “I say we concentrate on eating. Do you know any good places in town? I’m craving pancakes.”
“MEEEADDOOWW! Meadow! You turn around! Turn around right now!”
I don’t turn around. There’s no reason when everything I want is in front of me.
“As a matter of fact, I know the perfect place,” I say.
“For pancakes that a magic house made, they are excellent,” Elijah says as he pours syrup on his second short stack of the day. After we ignored my parents and left them to a fate that only they and the Bitter Root PD know about, we came back to the only place I wanted to be.
Sarande House.
Funny that I didn’t know it had a name until Eleanor told me.
