Epilogue

Epilogue 3.11

---Em---

     Comma give up her treasured compass doohickey? Unlikely. We'll be lucky if this doesn't break out into another brawl. I sigh; I'm going to have to intervene, aren't I?

     The sun still hangs overhead, its rays soaked up by the tips of the bone trees, which provide ample shade. The same warmth radiates at the bases of the trees at night when it gets cold, making these woods a perfect spot to camp out.

     "Well?" Melody drums her fingers on her lap impatiently, leaning forwards.

     The thick soup of fog that usually ripples along the ground has cleared out by this time of day. The smell of strix meat still lingers in the air, and I start to salivate again. But I'll have to endure—who knows when we'll find another food source?

     "No deal," says Comma. Like we didn't see that one coming.

     Crawford groans, and out of the corners of my eyes I catch Jun shaking his head. I have half a mind to tell them off for their silent protests—the other half got tired of this crap and took a nap.

     It's Edgar, of all people, who decides to open up his big fat mouth. "What's the big deal, anyway?" he asks, tracing his fingers in the dirt. "Our main objective is getting to this Ganeden place, no? And to get there, we need a guide." He glares at Rex.

     The demon shrugs it off. "Got you lot here, didn't I? How about a little bloody gratitude?" Rex would sooner suck all the cerebral fluid out of our brains than spend another day travelling with us. If he hasn't told us where exactly we can rip through to paradise, then he probably doesn't know.

     Edgar nods at Colby. "Mophead can get us there." Colby's left eyebrow twitches. "But only if Crazy Eyes can erase the seal on his magic. Which she won't, unless Slice Happy here gives up this so-called phorophyx."

     "I'll show you slice-happy," Comma mutters under her breath.

     "Am I missing something?" Edgar stares at her in disbelief.

     Comma narrows her eyes. "You will be."

     Okay, time to intervene. "Look, maybe you should just give it to her. It's not like we've..." Got any use for it. That's what I was going to say. But that'd be awfully hypocritical of me, wouldn't it?

     After all, it's not just Selina that Comma's hoping to track down, I remind myself. There's that group of hers—the one that'd probably reject half of us on account of how picky they are when it comes to fresh blood. Bottom line, they were her friends. Giving up the phorophyx means giving up on ever seeing them again.

     Aren't we here because of me? Because I couldn't let go? How could I ask her to? Something warm stirs up in my gut, and my hands tremble slightly. I stare at Colby and it really starts to sink in; he's here. In front of me. I found him. And Olivia's just around the corner. A figurative corner populated by literal hell, most likely, but a corner nonetheless.

     "Last chance," says Melody. "You want those runes removed, hand over the phorophyx."

     Comma grits her teeth. "Over my dead body."

     Melody shrugs, reaching for the hilt of her beam sword. "Sure. Seeing as that was the original plan, anyway."

     Edgar jumps up, his hands igniting with purple flames.