I sigh reluctantly, accepting that he’s probably right. Doesn’t make me feel any less shitty, but I suppose torture and death will do that to you.
Elon pulls back, holding my shoulders as he looks me over. “I can’t believe you’re actually here. When Marx called about the missing bodies, we thought the worst, but here you are.”
“What missing bodies? Lennox, who is this, and for the love of the Maiden, will someone please tell me what is going on?” Hillen demands, her hands cupping her cheeks and her eyes wide with wonder and unshed tears.
I give her a wide smile. “I’ll trade all my secrets for a Sloppy Joe,” I tell her, love and appreciation spilling out of my words.
She wipes her eyes, and quickly affection replaces bewilderment. “You got it, kid,” she agrees warmly, pulling me from Elon’s grasp into a strong bear hug before making her way toward the kitchen.
“Make mine an Untidy Joseph, please,” Elon calls after her, and the smile that takes over my face is beaming.
Man, it’s good to be back.
6
“Hold on, hold on, hold on! You need to go back to the part where you stole three bodies,” Tad exclaims, his features animated and his brown eyes sparkling with amusement.
A light breeze frolics in from the open sliding glass door, despite the sun being high up in the sky. I can practically smell fall on the playful wind, and I know the trees will start to change colors and drop leaves soon. The table is full of plates and bowls, their delicious contents all but devoured, and just when I thought I was home free and done with explaining how I woke up and got here, Tad has to go and call me out.
Rude.
I throw my head back in exasperation. Of course he’s not going to let me just skim past that part. I swallow down the last bite of my third Sloppy Joe, the dining table silent as everyone waits for me to relivethatmorally gray humiliation. I shoot a glare at Tad, but he’s not cowed in the slightest. In fact, I’m pretty sure he giggles before hiding it behind a large gulp of his lemonade.
“First of all, I didn’t steal them; they very clearly wanted to come with me,” I defend, and Elon barks out a laugh, which he quickly tries to hide in a series of coughs that are not fooling anyone. “Seriously!” I argue, the proclamation just a tinge whiny. “I woke up, and they just came with me. It was like trying to get pet hair off of black pants after you just painted your nails,” I explain. “Itoldthem to go back to their fridges, but they weren’t having it. So I figured what the hell, I’d use the accidental body snatching to my benefit. You totally would have done the same,” I accuse, looking over at Rogan, who I discover is fighting a losing battle with a grin.
I groan and roll my eyes.
Jerks.
“And then you hid them in the bushes and rode a ley line to get here?” Hillen asks, repeating that part of my story like she’s committing it all to memory.
“This better not go in the Osseous Chronicles,” I warn, and her eyes grow just a little too innocent.
“Wait? What are the Osseous Chronicles?” Elon asks, his tone eager and his eyes excited.
“Dude,” Tad starts as though that one word says it all. “It’s this Osseous family tradition where the relatives who grow up around the Osteomancer document their lives and any other important events for the future family members of the next Osteomancer,” Tad explains. “It’s a little like your grimoires and things that help pass down the magical information from one mancer to another. The Osseous Chronicles help pass down information that future non-magical relatives might find useful or, you know, super entertaining. You gotta keep the ego of these magic users in check sometimes,” he adds with a laugh, and Elon chuckles too like he isn’t a magic user himself.
I release an indignant huff. “No documenting anything involving me coming back from the dead; that’s just asking for trouble. And in case either of you forgot, I might not be able to die...like ever. Pretty sure that means I’m probably the last in our line, and therefore there’s no point passing down my embarrassing stories to anyone,” I snark, but the declaration has a sobering effect.
Everyone goes quiet, contemplating the gravity of what I just said.
Well, crap.I totally didn’t mean to shit all over that moment.
“How long do you think we have before the High Council knows?” Elon asks, flushing away all hope that this conversation will go back to the laughing and joking that was just going down.
I look over at him, his now serious stare fixed on Rogan.
Rogan sighs and wipes his mouth with the napkin before setting it next to his empty plate. “Honestly, I don’t know. Marx said there were people watching the morgue pretty closely up until a couple days ago. I think she called them off, figuring too much time had passed, but you know how she is.”
“Sneaky as fuck,” Elon mumbles, and Rogan nods his head in agreement.
My eyes snap to Hillen, fully expecting her to admonish them for their language, but she looks lost in thought, consternation heavy in her faraway stare.
“How would your mother even know that this was a possibility?” I ask, looking from one brother to the other as I gesture to my very undead self.
“I don’t think she did, but she covers all her bases.Just in caseis practically her middle name. Plus, she would have noticed that,” Elon states, gesturing to the mark on my inner wrist.
I look down at the red lacey circle with the swoopingKinside of it. I’ve gotten so used to Rogan’s vow being there that I don’t even notice it anymore, and I stare at it, wondering why this little mark would be such a big deal.
