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The eating part must have been the key to the electric display from earlier, because though there was a notable tremor, nothing else happened. Great news, considering the babies.
The babies!
Esther remained behind the throne, and probably would with me looking like the big, bad wolf from her bedtime stories. I had no clue if she had seen what I had done to the mean snake guy. She might only be one, but shit like that left marks.
“Time to go home, little wolf,” I whispered. She heard me, though, and she melted away until all that remained was little ol’ me, smooth and without agony, like I was putting on house slippers—naked, sure, but just human Zoë.
A long red scar tore down my right leg like a heated lightning strike, and while the pain wasn’t nearly as intense, it throbbed with my pulse. If this was my karma, I’d take it.
Scars make me one of the cool kids, right?
I waved a hand, conjured a shimmering bathrobe, and slipped it on. No sense in flashing everyone who’d missed the first show. It was odd—magick without ritual—but at the same time an odder sense of home arose, like this is how I was supposed to do it. A concession for losing Daniel? I pushed the thought away, not ready to deal with that yet.
A naga cleared his throat. “Ma’am, are you our new leader now?”
I shook my head. “No, not me. You might want to talk to Seth, er, Rasmaru. He’s in one of the outer caves. Are the kids safe?”
He nodded. “Yes, we kept them as clean as we could. We fed them, too, but it’s been a few hours.”
I tried to give a considerate smile, but who was I kidding? They’d just watched me kill the most powerful person they knew. Nothing I could do would be construed as harmless. “Go. Send help. I’ll take care of them until then.”
He and his compatriots nodded, bowed, and fled.
“Oh-ee?” the tiniest voice called from behind the throne.
I walked over and got on my hands and knees. “Yeah, Esther, it’s Auntie Zoë. Come on out, baby girl. It’s all over now.”
She peeked around the massive stone chair, unsure. “Monster.”
I shook my head, tears heavy and hot. “No, baby girl, no more monsters.”
She pointed at me. “Monster.”
My heart broke, as if that was even still possible. I exhaled slowly and blinked back tears. “Not anymore.”
Esther covered her eyes, like peekaboo, but it wasn’t a game.
“My eyes?” I pointed to mine. “Are they black? Like nighttime?”
She nodded, face still covered. “Nigh-nigh eyes.”
I forced a smile. “It’s magick. Watch this.”
She peeked out from between her fingers.
I covered my eyes, like she had, and willed away the scary color. “Peekaboo.”
She smiled. “More.”
I brushed the grateful tears from my cheeks with the backs of my hands. “More magick?”
“Yes, Oh-ee!” She clapped her little hands.
“As you wish.” I conjured the bunny I’d used before, and she lit up in a way that mended a few of those shards in my chest. I sat it down on the floor and tapped the top of its head. “Go find your girl.”
The little lop-eared bunny hopped two steps forward, and my beautiful, wonderful, amazing little niece ran from around the chair to scoop it up. “Bunny!”
She ran into my arms. “Home, Oh-ee? Home now?”
I cradled her against my chest. “Yes, baby girl, we’re going home.”
***
Clean up was a messy affair. Explaining to the media about the freak snowstorm, the body count, and the tornado that had appeared over the cavern was worse. Ethan handled that, as a contingent of our guys corralled me and Esther to a waiting ambulance and Dr. Seth.
He’d made a point to give all the kids a once-over as they left the cave. “They’re all good. Scared, a little undernourished—what do a bunch of naga know about the care of humans?—but good. Once the hospital does a more thorough check, bloodwork and all that, they’ll be released to their parents.”
“Good,” I said, watching Esther eye him. “She knows you’re one, you know.”
He smiled. “You sure you didn’t just tell her? No boo-boos, sweetie?”
She shook her head and reached for him. “Snake.”
He picked her up and handed her back to me. “You watch this one. She’s got a thing for the bad boys.”
“Are you going to have to leave now?” I hugged Esther.
Seth paused. “Are you?”
I didn’t answer.
“Grief is a great reason to get out of Dodge, Zoë. These people tonight? There’s no unseeing what they’ve seen. I’ve advised Ethan to get them all seen by one of my friends, who is like us—you and me. He’s a good therapist who won’t make them feel crazy, but it changes things, no matter what your humans say.
“As for me, it’s about time I stopped skipping my family business, and relocate the rest of my species to somewhere... well, not here. I hear Alaska is nice—cold as all get out, but fewer people, fewer chances for godhood. Or maybe somewhere warm and deserted.”
I let Esther down to wander the ambulance. “I’m sorry to ruin your life. You didn’t have to help us.”
He smiled at me again, but it was sadder. “Oh, I did. Not dealing with Simon when he was manageable... that was my fault, my ‘not your business, look at the good you’re doing’ rationale. If I had, maybe it wouldn’t have come to this. You know what they say about hindsight.” He shrugged.
“Just promise me that you’ll grieve, Zoë. You’ve lost so much, and you’re about to lose more silly humans.”
I grimaced. “You talk like I’m not one of them anymore.”
He shook his head. “Take care of yourself, Zoë Delante. It’s been a pleasure.”
Dr. Seth Northman stepped out of the ambulance and disappeared into the crowd.
