Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 147649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Pell holds up the bag.
Tomas takes a deep breath and on the exhale, he sends out a little stream of dragon’s fire, which doesn’t look like fire at all, but liquid. Like water, almost, but red and orange, like it came from a lake in Hell.
The chainmail glows bright yellow in an instant, and then… it just explodes into dust, which slowly falls to the ground and disappears.
We stare at it for a few moments, then look up at each other, knowing what comes next.
“Are we ready?” Tomas asks.
“We didn’t write our poem yet.”
“Yeah, we need to do that,” Pell says. “And we don’t want to fuck it up, so a little one-stanza poem won’t be enough. We should each come up with one stanza. Then we use the same spell for all of us.”
“Combined magic,” Tomas says. “Great idea.”
“We’ll need to walk through at the same time then,” I say.
“Yeah.” Pell nods.
Then we go silent. Blowing out air, and sighing, and even pacing a little.
Because this is really happening.
We’re going to spell ourselves into death.
We’re going to end it.
“We’re certain this is the only way?” Tomas asks.
I look at Pell, almost pleading with him to come up with an excuse, any excuse, for why we don’t need to do this.
But he nods. “Like Eros said, our end is certain. All we’re doing is choosing how we get there. It’s either this or go to war with the gods. Because they want our magic, you guys. And I don’t want to fight anymore.”
Tomas and I silently agree.
Pell says, “Pie starts the spell, I’ll go second, and then Tomas, you can finish it off. Agreed?”
Again, we nod in silence.
“OK. I’m ready.” I say.
Pell nods. “I’ve got mine too.”
“Trust me,” Tomas says, “I’ll send us out with a bang.”
Pell and I both chuckle. Then he comes over to me, kisses me. Touches my face. Strokes my hair and my cheek. Kisses me again.
But he doesn’t say anything because we’ve said all that.
We don’t need to say it.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE – PELL
“The end is here, and we are set,
Take us home, remove the threat.
Mistakes erased, forgive our sins,
Let us love, and grow, and win.
One path for each to block the trail,
No more magic doors to veil.
No rings, no crowns, no authority,
A place of peace and forest trees.
Goodbye, my mates. I wish you well,
Grateful to be free from hell.
If we never meet again,
Know that we are always friends.”
There’s a moment when I think we’re not gonna go through with it. It’s a hopeful moment.
But it’s not real. Because the next thing I know, I’m crossing my threshold…
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR - PIE
There is a weird noise in my head. But I can’t quite make out what it is because my head is pounding. Like someone hit me with a bat kind of pounding. That’s not even an exaggeration. The pain is awful.
The noise becomes a mumble. Like sound underwater.
I listen to it, sleepily, as I try to just… drift.
Then something smacks me and the mumble becomes a voice.
“… dare you! The sacrilege! Who do you think you are?”
I try to open my eyes, but they are not cooperating. Then I get smacked again, and this time, it stings. “Oww!”
“Wake up! Get up! You do not belong here!”
“Tell me something I don’t know, lady.”
Whack, whack, whack.
I get slapped three more times. Despite my protest, my eyes fly open just in time to see a towering nun aiming a yardstick at me. I cover my face, roll over on the wet stones, and then scramble to my feet “What the hell!”
“Don’t you cuss at me, you little Babylonian whore!”
“Wow.” She takes another swing with the stick and I skirt around her and take off running.
She yells after me, but I just keep going, my heavy combat boots thunking on the pavement as I make my way over to the chapel parking lot where I left my Jeep last night.
Ah, last night. It’s all coming back to me. The Halloween party, the Jell-O shots… oh, God. I can still taste those. I don’t remember passing out, but… I’m easy. I go with it. At least I didn’t wake up in some strange dude’s bed.
Always a bright side.
The air is crisp and fall-y. And the wind is blowing red and gold leaves everywhere. Maybe Pennsylvania is not the best place to live in the world, but you gotta love it in the fall. It’s all very postcard.
When I get to the Jeep, I snag the parking ticket off the windshield, get in, stuff the ticket in the glovebox, and then grab a bottle of aspirin. I fish through my trash bags in the back seat until I come up with an unopened water bottle, pop those aspirins, and then guzzle the whole thing and let out a breath.
“Well.” I start the Jeep. “What will today bring?”