Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23
B arnabus was sitting in his office when there was a knock on the door. “Come in,” he called.
The door opened and the pack shaman came in, closing the door behind him.
“Well, did it work?” Barnabus demanded.
“It did, up to a point. Philip woke up and the friends were excited to see him up and about. They were showing him around the grounds when the god Ares saw him.”
Barnabus growled. “He saw straight through it,” he summarised.
The shaman nodded. “Philip and his wife are both now dead, so that avenue is now closed to us.”
“That was only one way. There are others we can try. Tell me, Shaman, do you know of any dream walkers?”
Han was standing with Hades and Frederick, talking and eating.
“When was the last time you took time off?” Frederick asked Han.
“I don’t really take time off. I know I have legions of Reapers who help, but I always like to help special cases cross over.”
“Is it true that you only help those that have non-violent deaths?”
Han shook his head. “No, I help anyone no matter how they die. It’s written somewhere that my sister was the one to deal with violent deaths, but we both help anyone.”
“I’m going to have to ignore all my ancient myth stories.”
Hades and Han both burst out laughing.
“Not all the stories are wrong,” Dask said, coming over to join them. “Just about ninety percent. Hello, Han. Congratulations, Frederick, Uncle, on your mating.”
“Thanks. This is so weird, having gods as family members. I keep wanting to fanboy over everyone I meet,” Frederick confided.
“Well, if you want to fanboy over me, help yourself,” Zeus said, suddenly appearing by them.
“Like you need more encouragement,” Hades rolled his eyes.
“It’s true, I don’t, but everyone here treats me as a normal person. It would be nice to be fawned over occasionally,” Zeus replied.
“Oh, you poor King of the Gods, you,” Ares mocked, walking over with Jason by his side.
“Hold on, I’ve got this,” Jason said, a hand going to his chest. “Oh my god, it’s Zeus, King of the Gods, this is such an honour. Oh wow, you’ve made my day, my year.”
Everyone laughed.
“Did I get the tone right?” Jason asked, laughing.
Ares pulled Jason close and kissed the side of his head.
“Very close,” Hades confirmed, grinning.
“Yeah, yeah, make fun of me,” Zeus grumped out.
“Poor Daddy,” Dask said, laughing and patting his arm.
“I’m off to find my grandchildren, at least they’ll be nice to me,” Zeus said, walking off, everyone still laughing at him.
Puff, Mateo, and Atticus walked over to their group.
“Congratulations, Frederick, Lord Hades,” Puff said roughly.
Hades looked at him in concern. “Your throat's no better?”
“It’s getting better slowly,” Puff managed to tell him. He looked at Han. “Hi, I’m Puff, this is Mateo and Atticus.”
Han smiled at them. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Puff and Bob, Kings of the dragons and mythical creatures and your Guardian and Grounding Force. I’m Han.”
“Can I ask you a weird question?” Puff asked him, his words gravelly and weak.
Han suddenly looked uncertain, weird questions were never good. They were usually about someone dying and bringing them back to life, but he replied, “You can.”
“Do you really stalk the land?” Puff asked, grinning.
Han burst out laughing. Of all the questions he thought would be asked, that wasn’t it. “I can honestly say, I’ve never stalked anywhere.” He paused for a moment. “Does no one really care that I’m Death?”
“Not even a little,” Mateo replied. “You’ll find here we take people as we find them. It doesn’t matter if you’re a god, shifter, king, or death. Here you can be yourself without worrying.”
“I can see that. I’ve never been somewhere so accepting before.”
“I’m not sure there is anywhere like this pack. This pack is special,” Hades said.
“So I see.” Han nodded. “I might need to keep dropping in, if no one minds.”
“You’re family, drop in whenever you want,” Puff said.
“I’m not really family,” Han pointed out.
“You are now.” Frederick grinned. “We’ve just claimed you.”
The wake went on long into the night and it was the early hours of the morning when everyone went to bed and Han went home, a happy glow inside of him.
Barnabus went in search of the Shaman and found him sitting in his circle with a woman, both had their eyes closed. Candles surrounded the stone circle, giving it a soft glow in the night sky. He paced as he waited for them to finish. Finally, after a few minutes, they did.
“Well, did it work?” Barnabus demanded.
The lady nodded. “It did.”
“Good, now let the games begin,” he said gleefully, rubbing his hands together.