Page 60 of Cherry Moon

Yep. Exactly what Bony had been based on, but a totally different version. Where she wanted to feed on the sorrows of love, the Hone-onna (bone woman) were women who died, but their love for their lover was so intense they returned from the grave at night to reunite with him. A bucket-load of happiness would surround the reunion, and they would usually have sex, both blissfully unaware that she was actually dead.

I found it really sad.

Bony Hag’s version fed on the sorrowful side of love. Like losing it, its destruction, all that nasty shit.

Ugh. If she’d flipped the script on that slice of folklore, then what the hell were the other eight of, erm, The Eight, gonna be?

Yikes.

G reached across the gap between us. I stretched my flesh arm out for him, taking his hand.

He traced my knuckles with his thumb. “Is it morning yet?”

“Soon.”

He exhaled a long breath. “I thought I was losing you.”

Do not start sobbing. “Same. Same. I was so scared.”

“Did I do enough?”

“Huh?”

“To keep you safe.” He winced, poking at the bandage around his neck.

“You always keep me safe.”

“But I let her get me.”

“She didn’t get you. Zach got her.”

“Zach?”

A stab of guilt. “We’ve got a lot to chat about.”

“I see.”

“And if it wasn’t for you, I would’ve died in that fishbowl thingy.” My turn to stroke his knuckles. “You came for me. You rescued me.” I gave him my best lovey-dovey eyes. “My hero.”

He enjoyed that.

“My sparkly starlight man,” I added.

“That’s me.”

“That’s you.”

We kept our hands joined, making googly eyes.

You made the right choice, I told myself.

A selfish one, though.

I hadn’t seen Zach for a couple of hours. He said he’d speak to me properly later, and that everything would be okay.

Yeah, so okay that he was now a chosen weapon for the tenshi, but not quite good enough because of the lack of angelic blood. What about his peace? What about his happiness?

“What’s wrong, Aki?”