Epilogue
Mei
Puppy launches at Kit, and the two go rolling across the lawn, chased by Becky’s dog, Song, and their black cat, Pitch. I can’t see, but in my mind, I can occasionally get flashes of Kit’s magic.
Becky moves to stand beside me and nudges me.
She’s wearing a dress that makes the softest rustle.
It’s really pretty, but it also alerts me to when she’s approaching.
I think she did it deliberately, which is very kind of her.
I don’t jump at her proximity or try to attack her.
Instead, that scent that is uniquely hers is familiar and welcome.
When she takes my arm, I hold onto hers.
We’re friends now and learning how to be family.
Stix is talking with Leaf about the merits of toilets vs shitting in the woods. So far, both of them are leaning towards shitting in the woods.
I listen to them with my mouth open for a long minute before I shake it off and decide I don’t want to hear. If they want to go out and practice, by all means, they can do it alone.
Diablos arrives with his normal dramatic flair of smoke and the stench of sulfur. Hartley says hello and goes straight to Wilder and Frost. My Sirens don’t trust Wilder or Frost yet, not entirely, but I think they will one day, and Hartley hasn’t quite decided to give my Sirens another go yet.
“I brought some new friends!” Diablos booms. “Please say hello to Pack-”
“Raz’s cock is huge.”
Diablos stops talking, staring at the shadows that are writhing. “You are not funny, Azriel.”
Annileo, Sorrow, Isla, Asterius, Wraith, and Raz step out of the shadows. I can feel them, all that potent intensity. They are cautious, but Isla sees Becky and lets out a little scream. The two embrace happily, then Isla turns to me and hugs me hard.
“So glad to see you again. Anni said you were okay, but I’m glad to see you made it and got them back!” she says to me.
“Go play, Raz, but remember what I told you. If you are good tonight, you get Isla’s ass. But if you fuck up, Asterius gets yours.”
Isla chokes, whipping around to glare at Sorrow. “Are you right?”
“I’m half left, too,” he says gleefully.
“I swear, some days I contemplate murder for at least nine hours,” Isla mutters.
Becky grips my wrist. “He’ll break him in half.”
“It would be hilarious to watch,” I say in amusement. “Alas, I don’t have eyes.”
“You’re not watching anyone but us,” Canto growls from right behind me. I lean back into him.
“Right, barbecue. How do we do it?” Diablos claps his hands.
Hartley sighs. “Becky, Isla, want to give me a hand? If we want to eat, Di is not allowed near the food.”
“We’ll go hunt the meat!” Leaf says helpfully.
“You can’t hunt anything, you’re too loud,” Raz snarls and snaps his wings out, deliberately shoving his feathers into Asterius’ mouth by the sounds of choking and laughter.
Leaf growls at the angel, who growls back. There’s a moment of pause and peace. Then the two collide and start rolling around on the ground.
“Sigh. Are you sure you want to keep him?” Ronit mutters.
I slap him on his very hard chest. “Yes.”
“Fine.”
“No need to hunt things,” Hartley shouts. “We went to the supermarket.”
“Ugh, boring,” Leaf whines.
“Ooh, look, a meal,” Raz says, and I listen as he approaches Kit. The flashes of green in my mind show him gathering his power.
Raz leaps, and Kit explodes with tentacles. The angel back wings, but Kit meows, and an army of mini-Kit’s come racing out of the house.
Some of them breathe fire.
“Ex-fucking-plain,” Ronit snaps. “Kit, did you bring your offspring here?”
The female Earth cat meows and the little family gathers together.
“I’m a grandpa!” Leaf says and sits down on the ground to coo at the babies.
“My future army,” Diablos says happily.
“They are not your army!” Becky snaps.
The meat never does get cooked, we order pizza later and eat and drink late into the night. At the end of the evening, we go our separate ways.
We go home.
Except our home is wherever we want.
I strip off my clothes as I wade into the ocean. The water is warm and laps at my skin.
“Where are we going tonight?” Lirin asks and pinches my ass.
I snort a laugh when Reed slaps him hard enough to have him yelping. I dive into the waves, shifting my shape. With a powerful flick of my tail, I take off, my shiver on my tail.
It doesn’t matter where we go. As long as we are together.
***
I crouch on the rocky shore of the island. We’re somewhere north, where the trees are dense and the air is cool. There are a lot of islands here, and apparently there is a pod of black and white whales called Orcas singing as they glide around the cove.
“Tell me everything!” I say bouncing up and down and leaning into Brio.
“The male has a fin that stands six feet high; he’s powerful and in his prime,” Brio murmurs.
“Do you think they will let us say hello?”
Some of the animals and ocean life avoid us because of what we are. But some are curious. Dolphins, whales, and some sharks. It’s been a wonderful adventure.
“Let’s find out, shall we?”
We walk into the ocean, and Brio and Lirin start singing. Their voices twine around each other. I sometimes wonder if the others miss it, but they assure me they are happier without the ability to sing.
I wade further into the water and swim out to them. The females come up and circle us curiously. We play with them for a long time before we part.
Ronit laces his fingers with mine.
“Are you happy, Alpha?”
“More than I could say.”
“We’ve explored Earth, where else did you want to go?”
***
I step into Nightmare with the Sirens, and the monsters run. It’s almost offensive. They never ran like that when I lived here.
“This is Nightmare?” Canto asks.
“Yes. This is home. Let me show you around.”
“Let’s go hunting first,” Leaf growls. “I want to see if anything is stupid enough to think it can challenge me.”
Ronit clicks his tongue, while Lirin laughs and Reed snorts. They stand beside me, watching everyone run.
“Are you sure it’s worth it?” Reed asks.
I let an evil grin split my lips. Horns tear up from my scalp, and I shift my shape, becoming the Healer.
“It is. Trust me. You want to try and hunt in Nightmare at least once.”
My reputation has preceded me, even here. They all found out I killed Deux and saved my mates. The rumours have spread far and wide.
I have a new name now.
They call me Death.
“Okay, let’s go hunting,” Lirin says and lifts my hand to his lips, where he can kiss my knuckles. “Show us your home, my love.”
***
Hell is not what they expected. It smells nice. No one is screaming. Canto mutters under his breath, and I have to struggle to ignore his comments long enough to greet the demon who is welcoming us.
“Welcome, Death’s Daughter, we have been waiting for you to return to us,” a demon says. “Return home.”
Brio puts an arm around my back and urges me forward. We walk through the demons gathered, who are whispering.
“Death, Healer, Sirens, Leviathan.”
It’s like a chant, but one of awe.
They like us. They fear us.
But more importantly, they welcome us.
Still, it’s not home.
They take me to my sire’s castle and give it to me. I have a castle. In Hell. It’s beautiful. We spend a month exploring every inch of it.
“What do you think?” Lirin asks one night when I’m getting restless.
“I think this is a nice holiday home.”
Leaf lifts my hand and presses a kiss to my palm. “Where is your heart, Strega?”
I bite my bottom lip and hesitate before I tell him.
***
The Black Death Oceans and the hundred foot waves call to me. I know they shouldn’t, but they do. I listen to them across the worlds and finally open the door there.
I have tried to resist them. I have fought hard not to want to go back. But that world, that space between the worlds. It’s ours.
It’s always going to be ours.
Ronit walks into the room and stays quiet as he approaches. He stands shoulder to shoulder with me, staring into the cresting waves and inky black depths. I can picture it in my head and hear it, but I want to go there. I need to.
“What are you doing, Strega?”
I shrug, not wanting to tell him the truth.
“Why there?” he asks softly.
I hesitate for a long moment. “It feels like-”
“Home?” we both say at the same time.
He pulls me into his arms and kisses my forehead.
“Okay, let’s see if it fits. Let’s see if we can find somewhere that feels safe.”
The others come, drawn by the call of the waves. I can feel the excitement tremble through the bonds.
We dive in and fall into those waves, disappearing under the surface.
Everywhere can be my home, but this place is ours.
For always.
***
I open a door that’s been calling me. Dark, thick magic rises in my blood, and I know there are things looking at me. This world feels darker and more dangerous, but it calls to me like home, too.
Things that shouldn’t exist hide in the shadows of this world.
“Where does that go?” Lirin asks, and I can feel the part of me that is in him rise to the danger.
“I’m not sure.”
“We really shouldn’t,” Brio says but ruins it by laughing. “Who am I kidding? Let’s go.”
“Hmmm, looks fun,” Leaf says and strokes my back in a sultry invitation.
Canto puts a finger under my chin and tilts my head up to kiss me hard. “Let’s go, then.”
Reed strokes four fingers up my arm. “Shall we play, Strega?”
I turn my head to Ronit.
“Alpha,” I murmur.
His pleasure unfurls through the bond, liquid and sensual. “Okay, my omega, let’s go explore this new world.”
My blood tingles as I step towards the whispers.
Somewhere new for us to play, how fortuitous.
And my monster…well, he starts to sing my song, in dark warning to those who see us coming that I should be feared because I’m never alone, and we are hunting.