Vero shudders. “Creepy.”
“I never said I was… fuck off,” I growl.
“I would raise him. Little baby Riley would be adorable,” Mickey says.
“You can’t even raise yourself!” Joy points out.
“Oh… right. I would still give it a valiant effort.”
“I’m not dying off! Why are you all planning for my afterlife?” Riley asks before whirling on me. “And you! Stop fretting. You’re making yourself anxious.”
“I would never.”
Riley raises an eyebrow.
He’s just so delightful.
“Okay, fine, fine. I’ll be good,” I promise him.
Riley says, “We need to instead think about what we’re going to do. When we get to the palace, I’ll step into my realm and call for some undead to help clean up and get things sorted.”
“I can do it,” Mickey offers.
“You still look rough,” Riley says.
“I still feel weak but I can do it.”
“I think it was caused by the spell Famine used to turn Onyx’s body into a vessel for Selena,” I observe.
“That was my impression,” Mickey says. “Story told me that they recently put new brands on those with magic. Onyx was the one who placed the brands, making me believe that Onyx had magic that allowed her to deplete others’ magic.”
“Onyx had magic?” Lark asks in shock.
“After hearing what happened, I believe that Famine used both Onyx’s and Sterling’s magic to make Onyx into a vessel for the goddess. She accomplished that by using Onyx’s magic to siphon all of the magic from everyone in the world via the brands. Sterling’s part in it is less apparent, but my assumption is that Sterling’s power was manipulative in some way. It must have been some type of mental magic that made it so the goddess could enter Onyx’s body,” Mickey says thoughtfully. “So since Onyx placed a brand on everyone, she was able to draw in their magic and drained many people—including me because of the bullet—to complete the spell. I’m sure Onyx had no idea what Famine was convincing her to do. This tells me that the goddess was so severely depleted that she no longer even had a physical form. So in order for Famine to save her, she had to find a way to open up a body that Selena was compatible with.”
Riley hums in thought. “I don’t think Sterling had any idea what was going on, either. Sterling was convinced she was talking to her sister. They needed her to complete the spell.”
“I didn’t know you had a brain in there,” Vero says as he flicks Mickey’s head. “Sounds empty.”
“Did you justcomplimentme?” Mickey asks, looking absolutely thrilled.
“I would never choose to do such a distasteful thing,” Vero says, eyes narrowed. “I compliment no one other than myself.”
“So… so that means I’m special,” Mickey announces. “Riley, did you hear that? I’m special!”
“How does this creature come to these conclusions?” Vero growls before looking at Riley. “Make it stop.”
Riley simply shrugs. “Once Mickey’s released on the world, there’s no stopping him.” Mickey gives him a pitiful look, and without hesitation, Riley kneels down and Mickey climbs on. He slumps down on him while I wonder if maybe we should have sent Mickey with those who needed medical attention. He still looks extremely pale and weak, but he’s happy as can be because Joy and Tommy are back. He sags against Riley and mumbles something I can’t hear, but it makes Riley tilt his head toward him and murmur, “I’m really glad you’re okay.”
That’s when something Riley said earlier hits me… about him bringing the dead in to help.
I know he mentioned retrieving the dead fromhisworld, but what would happen if we revived some dead here?
An uneasy feeling hits me, so I shake my head and decide I’ll think about such a thing later.
“The town continues down this street,” I explain to those following us. “We’ll fit as many of you as we can in the palace for now and the rest in town halls. Then tomorrow we’ll begin to set up housing for all of you.”
“We cannot thank you enough. We will do everything we can to help,” Lark promises.
