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“Oh. Well, that solves one problem then.” I didn’t dive into any of the complications she’d created for herself. We could deal with all of that later.
Baz staggered a bit, put out his hand, and leaned against a tree.
I stepped in his direction, then stopped when his eyes widened. He shifted away from me.
“Now what?” Kyoka looked around curiously.
“Have you ever been to the Conscious Realm?” About the only thing we could do was head for my parents’ house and hope they weren’t too upset about anything.
“No. The arches closed before we started our search for a mate, and unlike the princes, we were not inclined toward wandering,” Kyoka answered.
“Well, we need to get to my parents’ house, and then I need to sleep and eat and apologize to my parents and I guess figure out what’s next.” It was a bit of a hike from here, and everything from the last few days had taken its toll. I could make it, but my feet dragged, and I felt like we had to cross the entire Dream world to get there.
Ash put a shoulder under Baz’s arm to help him, and I led the way, stumbling over tree roots and rocks as the shadows lengthened and undergrowth hid them from my tired eyes. When I was a kid, this path had always stayed relatively clear from my near daily trips out here. Now that I rarely came, it apparently got thick as the spring progressed into summer. The canopy above must have let in enough light for things to grow.
Adeyayo caught my arm as I tripped and would have gone head-first into a tree, tired enough that my natural athletic nature couldn’t save me.
Finally, we reached the edge of the woods just as the last of the light faded from the sky. The outside lights on the house shone in the distance and many of the cabins for the summer camp kids had lights on.
I almost chickened out, but hunger, more than anything, drove me forward. Even if my parents were angry, they’d always feed me.
“So, it’s safe enough for you to talk around my parents,” I said as I left the woods and headed for the house. “They basically know what’s up. Anyone else, though, don’t say anything.”
I spared a quick thought for Robby and Casey. Hopefully Bloody Mary got them someplace safe, and without me there, maybe the nothingness storms wouldn’t follow.
The front door opened as we got closer, and my mother rushed out.
“Ember?”
“Yeah. Sorry I left without saying anything. It was kind of an emergency.” The last time we’d seen my parents, we’d promised to tell them before we went into Dream, then headed off in search of Dio’s essence. So much had happened since then.
“Ash! Everyone thinks you’re dead. Honey, we even had a funeral.”
Cold trails of ice wormed through my body at that. A funeral? How long had I been gone?
Ember
“Say what now?” Ash blurted out.
“Ash, your home was destroyed. The school vehicle was out front. We all assumed the worst. Especially when they found bodies inside they couldn’t identify.” Tears were streaming from my mother’s face, and she clutched the door.
Dad came running out to the doorway, eyes widening when he saw us. “Ember?”
“Shit, I’m so sorry. They were trying to kill us. We barely got away.”
Mom let out a sob and threw herself at me, arms almost uncomfortably tight as she clung to me.
Dad’s shoulders sagged, and he let out a deep breath as if sighing in relief. “Honey, let them come inside.”
“Of course, of course.” She released me from the hug but grabbed my arm and pulled me inside. “Where are the others?”
“It’s a long story.”
Mom’s hand tightened on my arm. “I think you owe us the story.”
“Of course, Mom, just, maybe, can we sit down first?”
“Oh!” Almost frantically, she dragged me into the kitchen. The others followed, and my dad got everyone something to drink while I, yet again, went over the events of the last few days, though for my parents’ benefit I backtracked a little further.
