49. Chapter Forty-Nine #5
He saw Gracie climbing down from a tree.
She hopped down into Morgan’s open arms and Doug found the strength to heave himself up to his feet.
His family was okay. That was all that mattered.
He’d worry about the green girl with the dead parrot later…
and was that his truck upside down and smashed up? How the hell…?
Cody
Morgan helped Gracie down from the tree and then she was at Cody’s side, helping him stand. He felt exhausted right down to his bones. Back in Velasarin, he’d be popping a healing potion right about now.
He helped Nyrah up and she leaned against him, hugging him tightly and crying. She hadn’t spent as much time with Knife as he had, but she still seemed to get along with him well enough to miss him now. She clearly felt his absence and understood the sacrifice he had made.
They all looked down at the mangled body of Temica.
Her once-beautiful face was covered in black veins and thick, black ichor was still slowly oozing from her eyes.
With a sickening squelching noise, her whole head began to cave in.
Her body was next, turning into a disgusting black sludge that was already seeping away, into the wet ground.
The blackness had even seeped into the knife that was embedded in her.
The weapon began to dissolve, along with her body.
Nyrah whimpered and looked away, burying her head in Cody’s chest. Morgan took a step closer, taking his hand in hers.
The rain had stopped and the grey clouds were dissipating, showing a sunny blue sky just beyond.
Birds began to sing, frogs began to croak, and he heard a moo in the distance.
Cody looked around, feeling like the world was finally returning to normal.
But then his eyes landed on Yana, who was in her natural green-skinned appearance.
She walked over, breathing heavily. She was covered in scratches and blood and was holding a dead albino parrot.
So, maybe things weren’t completely normal.
“What did I miss?” she asked, looking at the others. “Is it done? Is she dead?”
“She looks pretty dead to me,” Morgan said.
“Me, too,” Gracie said.
Doug lumbered over, looking over the scene. And his truck. He said nothing as he bent down and picked up Gracie.
“Daddy!” she cried, hugging him tightly around his neck. “I’m so sorry about your truck. I thought it was a good idea at the time.”
“It was,” Morgan reassured her.
A burst of white light exploded across the scene.
They all flinched, shielding their eyes, and Nyrah squeezed Cody even tighter.
It took a few moments for his eyes to readjust. He braced himself, expecting to see Temica had returned to terrorize them again.
But instead, there was a man. He was wearing black leather pants that were so tight they looked like they were painted on, but he was barefoot and shirtless.
His bronze skin glistened in the sunshine, as if someone had oiled him up for a photoshoot, drawing extra attention to his absurdly well-defined muscles.
He was like one of the male models Cody had seen on the covers of Morgan’s romance novels.
Curly black hair framed his handsome face, and he had a pair of curved, black horns, like ram horns, on his forehead.
The man looked surprised, but smiled uncertainly and waved. Despite having what appeared to be the horns of a demon, he had friendly-looking dark brown eyes.
“Um…hi?” he said.
“Who are you?” Gracie asked.
“I’m uh…” The man looked at Cody, their eyes meeting. “Pretty sure my name is Edouardo now?”
Cody held his gaze for one second. Two. But there was no denying that the voice matched.
“Holy fuck…” Cody grinned. And then laughed. And then cried a little. And then started laughing again.
“Oh, wow…” Nyrah’s mouth hung open in surprise. “Is it really him?”
Edouardo took a few steps forward, looking up into the blue sky and blinking.
He reached out a hand and touched the bark of the tree.
He curled and uncurled his toes, seeming to be relishing the feeling of the damp grass under his feet.
Cody gently pulled free from Nyrah, and Morgan stepped in to support her.
The man closed the last few steps between himself and Cody, and they met in a mighty bro hug, arms thumping each other’s backs.
Cody took a step back, holding the man out at arms-length and looking him over. “Is it actually you? What the fuck just happened? I thought you…I thought you said….”
Edouardo smiled as tears lined his eyes. “I always assumed murdering my host would mean I would die, too. Guess I was wrong. Pretty cool, eh?” But his face clouded over. “Kinda’ wish I tried that a century ago.”
“Nah, don’t say that.” Cody grinned and slapped him on the shoulder. “Then you never would have met me!”
Edouardo laughed. “Yeah, that’s true.”
Doug finally spoke up: “I have no fucking clue what is happening. I think I need to take Gracie to the babysitter’s, and then us adults need to sit down and have a big chat.”
“Daddy, no!” Gracie said. “I don’t want you to leave me!”
Doug sighed and rubbed her back, but he was staring daggers at Cody.
“Yeah…” Cody looked around: at half-naked Edouardo, formerly his sentient knife that lived inside his brain.
Green-skinned and bloodied Yana, who was still grasping her trophy kill.
Morgan, who had her own fair share of scratches and bruises, her red hair a mess.
Cat-eared and fluffy-tailed Nyrah, who was being held up by Morgan, looking like she was about to pass out, blood still dripping from her nose and with one wing bent.
And Doug’s truck, which was upside down and smashed on the ground.
And the dark, bubbling puddle underneath it; the remains of Temica.
Cody looked over at Doug. “Yeah, I think we have a few things to explain.”