“OMG, What are these? Are they tattoos? I have vine tattoos? Holy butterbees, are these real boobs? I have knockers bigger than Rez! This is awesome. Wait, why are they so heavy? Oh, wait, I can’t lean that way, or else I’ll fall. How does one balance without a tail? Wait, where are my wings? You mean I can’t fly? How do I get up a tree? And why the hell am I so short? You guys are so tall! AHHHHHH! Emergency! Where’s MY S.I.N. BOX AND MY COFFEE! CODE RED! CODE MONI! Code—WHAT CODE IS NO COFFEE??” Moni screams right before she crashes out.
“Well, at least she still passes out,” JP notices.
Sure enough, I turn around and see Moni in Chester’s arms. She doesn't look like her normal self anymore. She’s about five feet nothing, light sepia skin, and long brunette hair. Green vine tattoos run up and down her appendages and across her collar bones, and she has four cute green ribbons in her hair. She wasn’t kidding about her breasts; she’s top-heavy and might need some help carrying those, but the look Chester is giving her, he doesn’t look like he will be complaining.
“Kitten, what did you do?” Knox’s worry jolts me from my observation to find his wide eyes staring at me.
“What do you mean?” I give him a puzzled look as I feel his confusion and fear through our link.
“I mean. I can feel the closest portal to use to reach Purgatory,” he confesses. He walks over to me and helps me stand up before lightly squeezing my shoulders. “Did you already give us our blessing without officially finishing the Gauntlet? Or are we sharing your powers?” His green eyes search mine as if I have the answers.
Fuck, I’m supposed to have the answers.
“I shouldn’t be able to feelthedoors until I finish the Gauntlet and get a blessing from the Fates, whichyouwould have to give me,” he explains as I feel my jaw plummet to the ground and his words hit home.
Did I automatically grant us the blessing to travel to Earth through the portals and doors?
The only things keeping me from having a full-blown panic attack are Knox’s shocked tone as he delivers his questions, and the calming vibes coming down our link. Although he’s trying his best, I feel a slight panic rush through me.
How the fuck did I do this?I’m like a toddler with a loaded pistol. I don’t know what I’m doing, and I shouldn’t be left unattended.
I need a more adulter adult.
“I—uh. I-I… I don’t know!” I throw my hands up, knocking his hands off my shoulders. “It’s not like I’ve got a fucking manual to this magic or a fairy godmother who’s hanging out on my shoulder.”
The sting of unshed tears wells up behind my eyes, and Knox pulls me into his chest, crushing me in a bear hug, while flooding our link with love.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset or blame you. I’m more worried for you. I’m scared that you’re going to hurt yourself because there’s no one here to help you learn,” he admits.
“Idon’tknow what I’m doing,” I confess, “but apparently Seren and Anwen thought with all of you, I would be okay.” I pull back and give him a watery smile.
“Well, we are pretty awesome.” Zeke comes up and puts his arm around us.
“Hey, you stole my line,” Ryker says, smirking.
“Guys, we should move, there’s alligators coming on shore,” Lynx throws out, and I start leading the group away from the water’s edge.
“So, since you seem to know where you’re going, Rez, mind telling us where we’re at?” Levi asks.
“In a moment,” I tell him as we walk around a cypress tree. Moving some Spanish moss out of the way, I smile. There, across the mismatched wooden planks, is a white peeling shack with a tin roof that belongs to Priestess Tanda.
“Home.” I smile in relief, even though the old shop looks abandoned.I’m home.
“Where’s home again?” Moni yawns.
“Earth. We’re back in New Orleans,” Lynx tells her before switching into his cat form.
“Well, does Earth have coffee? Because I need some before I Hulk out,” Moni asks, her tattoos flashing black.
“Well, that’s different,” Chester observes.
“And probably not a great sign,” JP mentions.
So now, instead of her bark, it’s her tattoos that are her mood ring? That’s kinda cool, but isn’t black a bad thing? And where in the hell do you find coffee in the fucking Louisiana bayou?
Epilogue
Cain
