Charlie opens his mouth to argue but then shakes his head and closes it again. “You got me there.”
I hug him as tight as I can. “I was so worried about you, about everyone.” If Charlie is here then everything in Sweet Tooth has to be okay.
Charlie groans and slaps at my arm. “Meadowwwww,” he says in a voice coming out in a breathy gasp. “C-can…can’t..”
I lean in close to try and listen to what Charlie is saying. “What?”
“I can’t breathe,” he gasps.
“Oops.” I let go of Charlie and he hits the ground like a bag of hammers. “My bad.”
Charlie groans from where he’s laying face down. “When did you get superhero strong?”
“Well, um, since I got married?”
Charlie goes still. “You married a demon, didn’t you?” he asks, voice muffled by the floor.
“So she did, Gamemaster. Meadow has become my anchor and soul-bonded partner.” I look over to see Jaak making his way towards us.
I hurry to his side. “You’re still hurt. Don’t move too much.” I sling his arm over my shoulder and turn to help him towards the living room.
Charlie pushes himself up from the ground to look at Jaak and I on our way past. “That’s a demon?”
“Yeah. A hurt demon.”
“And a hot one. I feel like there’s a trend developing here with the underworld,” Charlie says and gets to his feet to follow behind us. “Are all demons hot? I mean, we’re two for two. It’s only logical at this point.”
“When we are on fire, yes. Demons are hot.”
I look worriedly at Jaak. “You’ve been on fire?”
“Who hasn’t, my heart?”
“Um, me,” I tell him.
“Literally no one I know ever,” Charlie says.
“This world is strange.” Jaak gives us both a troubled look. “Perhaps I misjudged its capacity for chaos.”
I shake my head. “No chaos demon-ing. Sit. I’ll go get something to dress your wounds and then we can work on getting all the glass out.” I point at Charlie. “This is Charlie. As you know, he’s an ally.” Jaak nods so I point at Jaak and talk to Charlie. “This is my husband Jaakobah, Jaak for short, sometimes the Lord of Chaos.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mister Chaos.”
“Likewise, Gamemaster.”
I grab Charlie’s arm and head for the kitchen. “Alright, now you come with me.”
Charlie sighs and stomps along. “Why do I never get to stay behind with a hot demon?”
I shrug. “You snooze, you lose.”
We enter the kitchen and I stop short. Everything in the kitchen is spotless and there’s breakfast sitting on the table. I look up at the ceiling and cross my arms. “If last night wasn’t a dream come true I’d be mad but I’m over it. Thank you for breakfast. Do you have anything that I can use for Jaak’s back?” A drawer pops open in answer. “Yes, thank you!”
I run over to the drawer to see a bottle of what looks like antiseptic and gauze for his wounds, along with a jar. I pick up the jar to read it when Charlie speaks.
“Did you just talk to your house like one of those AI movies?”
“Huh?” I open the jar and give it a sniff. An herby medicinal scent hits my nose, the salve inside a light yellow. I hold it out for Charlie to sniff. “This looks like medicine to you, right?”
