They all go pale from her threat that she delivers more expertly than any I've heard before. But that doesn't stop Baelfire from speaking through the bond.
Holy fuck, Mayflower. You look just like…
The resemblance…Everett starts to agree before trailing off in equal terrified fascination.
Silas has whipped around to face the other way again, holding perfectly still like he thinks that will help him avoid his mother-in-law's attention. Meanwhile, Crypt's jaw is clenched tightly as he glowers back at Syntyche. His markings are lighting up again, but he ignores it completely.
Don't go, darling,he whispers inside my head.I can't follow you there. Don't do this to me again.
My chest pangs even more. Leaving them alone in this plane of existence for even a moment will hurt, but…
I need to see her one more time. I swear on my beating heart that I'll be back.
He studies me for a moment before looking down at some of the bloodstains left behind despite Silas’s quick work. Finally, he murmurs through the bond again.Give Lillian my thanks.
And mine,Everett adds.She did more for me than she ever needed to.
She deserves all our gratitude,Silas agrees, still not looking at my mother.
Baelfire squeezes my hand for comfort.Give Lillian a big hug for me, get your goodbye with her, and then get back here before we lose our fucking minds again. Please.
I nod and pull away from my quintet to face Syntyche. “Take me to the vestibule.”
She moves gracefully, twisting her scythe as a hollow whistling sound fills the air. Softly glowing holy magic runes follow the path of her scythe as it swings in an arc, tearing through the fabric of this plane so that now I have a view into…nothing.
Pure white emptiness.
I analyze it, unsure what I'm looking at. When I glance over my shoulder to see how my quintet is reacting to this, I realize they’re all in the exact positions they were a moment ago. They’re not even breathing as time holds perfectly still.
“Once you return, I will release them from this suspension in time,” Syntyche says, apparently done waiting for me as she steps into the vestibule of the Beyond. “As mortals, they cannot glimpse into the fringes of the Beyond without being irreversibly drawn to it. Come.”
Ignoring whatever the hell my heart is doing, I step through the rip between planes of existence. As soon as I step into the empty white void, I feel…light. The crushing weight of Lillian’s death lifts from my shoulders and chest as I walk after my mother.
I look around, noting how scentless and silent it is here. It’s perfectly temperate as we walk across a white sand-like substance through all the nothingness.
“Is this what the Beyond looks like?”
“No. The vestibule allows spirits to review their past helps and harms done to others so they may better understand my brother’s final verdict of their afterlife.” She stops and motions at more nothingness with her scythe, glancing down at me with her pure black irises. “Your caretaker has been re-experiencing some of her most noble moments. Now she waits for you. I have a favor to discuss with my brother before I return.”
She walks away without another word, leaving me to venture tentatively into what looks like more empty whiteness. But as I step forward, my surroundings change and transform.
Almost within the blink of an eye, I’m standing in my old hovel in the Nether again. It’s where I spent so many lonely days and stayed up most nights listening to ghosts weep, whisper, and wail outside.
Sitting on the floor beside a makeshift fireplace is Lillian, carefully sketching out a chessboard with a piece of charcoal. She’s so focused that she hasn’t seen me yet, but emotions clog my throat so fast that I can’t stop the small sound I make.
Gods, it’s so nice to see her like this again. Alive and in one piece, she glances up and smiles brightly, both shocked and elated.
“Maven!” She stands and moves toward me, brushing charcoal off her hands before she stops in front of me. As always, she doesn’t go for the hug without me initiating it.
And I do.
Of course, I do.
I don’t care that my nerves clench when her arms wrap around me so tightly. I don’t fucking care about anything except for the fact that I get to hug Lillian one more time.
“I’m sorry,” I choke. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
Sorry that she died in fear. Sorry that I was the cause of it. Sorry for all the shit I've put her through.
