“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” the man in black stated.
Oh, more company! I turned around to look at him, smiling. Hellhound Corbin gave a little growl, and I gave him a light smack on the shoulder.
“He’s a friend!” I murmured. “He’s practically like a second dad or something.”
The man in black laughed, even though he shouldn’t have heard that. “Yes, I suppose I am something of a father to you.”
He walked over, nodding his head at both Hellhound Corbin and Crow.
“Why can’t they come with me?” I asked. “I like their company.”
The man in black hummed thoughtfully. “I’m not sure what the repercussions would be. I have to admit, you’ve surprised even me as of late. I would have said that bringing them with you was not possible, but after the woman and child, I’m not sure exactly what you’re capable of. Perhaps you could transport them there and safely back, or perhaps you could only give them passage there and not bring them back.”
Huh. “Yeah, I guess I never brought anyone back before.”
The man in black chuckled. “Oh, but you have, my old friend. You have. And that should not be within your capabilities. But then, you yourself should not have been withinmycapabilities.”
I looked at him, raising my eyebrows in question.
“I am not known for creation. My job is something of an opposite to that, although I have to confess to dabbling a bit as of late. Not that you are my creation, as it were. You are… an amalgamation.”
“Huh?” I said, because what the heck was he talking about?
The man in black chuckled again, and then he reached over to ruffle my hair. He didn’t even flinch when Crow fluffed her feathers out and Hellhound Corbin growled.
“I see you have found two worthy companions, and I hope they make what is to come a little bit easier.”
“Why? What’s to come?” I asked.
“Memories, Sebbie. Memories and knowledge. But for now, go and ferry your boat and find joy where you may. I hope that joy continues to stay with you no matter what happens.”
With those ominous words, the man in black was gone.
“You know,” I muttered, “I’m getting pretty darn sick of people being all cryptic and stuff.”
Crow cawed and Hellhound Corbin gave a little chuff.
I pointed my staff at them. “You two are no better,” I huffed. I started walking to my boat, muttering to myself. “Things to come, boxes not able to be closed, amalgamations, creepy not nice people... I’m not in a horror movie, for goodness sake. And really, if a box could be opened, then it has a lid, so surely you can close it again? Maybe it just needs a little duct tape, that’s all.”
I swore that Hellhound Corbin and Crow both made sounds of laughter behind me, but I ignored them until I got to my boat. I hopped on and turned to face them. Then, because I couldn’t very well leave mad, I blew them both kisses, called out, “See you later!” and pushed my staff into the water, steering the boat out into the river.
“Hey, guys!” I called out, turning to face my audience. “Welcome aboard! Anyone want some snacks? Or some punch?”
I could deal with all the other nonsense later. For now, I was going to enjoy hanging out with my passengers.
Chapter 21
Corbin
I mulledover the man in black’s cryptic statements for the next week, but I had no answers. He was obviously an afterlifer, and I had a very strong suspicion that he was Lucifer. His comments about neither of us strictly belonging to him and his statement about being the opposite of creation made me think that we were talking to the devil himself. That still didn’t explain how he had created anything, or how he’d made Sebbie what he was.
I thought I knew what Sebbie was, even if he didn’t know it about himself, but I wasn’t sure if that meant what I thought it meant. It was all, as Sebbie had said, cryptic. And if Crow had any ideas on what was going on, she wasn’t sharing.
The next week felt like we were in a weird kind of holding pattern. Sebbie got up and went to work each day, and I muddled around trying to distract myself by making jewelry or hunting hellbound souls. I drove him to work and brought him home, and then we fell into bed together each night. We spent his days off together, then we repeated the pattern when he had work again. We were back on another stretch of his days off, and we had come to my place to have lunch with the crew.
I enjoyed every minute of my time with Sebbie, and we did spend practically every minute together. We laughed, we cooked, and he tried out carving stones in my workshop. We hiked the property, went food shopping, and ran errands together. I had the pleasure of touching Sebbie each day, and I loved getting my mouth on his cock again. He had exuberantly returned the favor; he was passionate and joyous when he sucked on me, and I hadn’t lasted very long in his mouth.
We hadn’t spent a single night apart, and I wasn’t going to call attention to that fact. I was hoping to just subtly move in without him realizing it. So far, that plan seemed to be working fine. I just kept bringing more things to his house, and he didn’t seem to notice.
