Dreamer's Redemption

Chapter Nineteen

            The horizon began to lighten as Dominae and her friends walked. Dominae kept casting glances back toward the village. Sara joked that Dominae spent so much time looking back that it was a wonder they moved forward at all.

"I'm worried about them," Dominae said.

"Yeah," Sara agreed, "but lookin' over your shoulder won't help, will it? I mean... they won't get here any faster that way. You need distractin'."

"Got any ideas?" Dominae asked.

"How about that kid of yours?" Sara asked. To Dominae's raised brow, she said, "You got any names in mind yet?"

"Not really," Dominae confessed. "It doesn't seem real to me, most of the time."

"Ah," Sara said with a nod. "Are you sure you want it to be real?"

"What do you mean?" Dominae asked.

"Well, you aren't thinkin' much about the practical side of having a kid, are you? Names, the baby's sex, what you'll do for daycare while you go to school..."

"School?" Dominae asked.

"Yeah," Sara said, smirking. "You know. Big building with lots of boring old people, talking about things we hardly care about?"

"I know what school is, Sara," said Dominae. "But they don't have it here."

"Well, not here, no. But back home..." Sara paused. "You are going home, aren't you?"

"I haven't decided yet," Dominae admitted.

"Decided?" Sara echoed. "What's to decide, Domi? We don't belong here. We belong in California."

"Not sure I'd say that out loud," Eddie said lightly.

"Hush you," said Sara, though she flashed a grin at Eddie as she said it. "We both know it ain't Texas, but the Californians seem to like it well enough. It's not such a bad place, once you get past it being outside of the Lone Star State."

"Can't imagine ever getting past that," Eddie said. "But I'll take your word for it."

Sara chuckled and shook her head. "Damned kids," she said good humouredly. "Dominae, you need to think about what you want to do. That baby needs to be born in our world, where it has a chance at bein' healthy. And you have a chance at stayin' a kid a bit longer. You know?"

Dominae sighed. "Yeah," she said shortly. "But not now, huh, Sara? I've got too many other things on my mind right now."

Sara nodded. "Fine," she said, "but you'll have to think about it sometime, Dominae. There's no getting away from something like this. It won't just go away if you ignore it."

"I know," Dominae said. "I've got it, Sara. You don't need to preach to me, all right?"

Sara held up her hands in surrender. "All right, Domi." She grinned at her friend. "I'll drop it. For now."

###

Fern made her way as casually as she could to the inn where she had met Cacia and Minion on the previous occasion. She'd left the demon himself in the alleyway outside. Fern smiled and nodded at the people who came past, but didn't speak to anyone until she saw the wench her brother had been engaged to marry. She flagged the other girl down. "Beran," said Fern, when the wench had come to her at the table. "I'd like to speak to you, if you don't mind."