Page 41 of Mortis

Brilliant.

Heat flooded my face. Without a word, I shoved the door fully open and marched towards the embalming room.

My sanctuary.

Or at least it had been.

Kael followed me through the heavy metal door, slowly turning his head as he took in the room in the daylight. Nobody came in here unless I was working, so everything was exactly as we’d left it. The embalming table still sat slightly crooked, last night’s instruments remained inside the autoclave instead of neatly laid out, and my eyes were inevitably drawn to the refrigeration units.

Dorothy Robinson and Mr Cartwright, both waiting patiently.

But Dorothy would have to stay where she was.

Arlo had a tendency to burst in when I least expected it. There was no way I could explain to him why the woman he’d watched me embalm yesterday had suddenly developed bite marks and lost several chunks of flesh.

No.

Mr Cartwright was first.

“Kael.”

The demon looked up from where he’d been curiously poking the aspiration machine. The trocars had been put away, leaving little more than a metal box connected to clear tubing.

“Yes, Teddy?”

He looked . . . excited. His eyes were wide, fixed entirely on me, and he almost seemed to be bouncing where he stood. Either he was genuinely eager to help, or he was enjoying the springiness of the Crocs again.

“Could you help me lift Mr Cartwright onto the table?”

Kael nodded enthusiastically and strode towards the refrigeration units.

“Hang on,” I said, realising something important.

He stopped instantly.

“There are other people here now,” I explained. “Let’s get you into some scrubs first.”

He obediently followed me into the storage room where I’d found his current wardrobe. I wasn’t sure we’d have anything big enough, but the previous mortuary technician—a man who’d helped Grandad before I was qualified—had been well over six feet and built like a brick shithouse, so I hoped there’d still be something tucked away.

While I rummaged through shelves, Kael lifted heavy boxes as though they weighed nothing. It made searching infinitely easier, and eventually, we unearthed two unopened XXL sets of scrubs. It was enough to keep him going until I could order more.

Assuming I needed to.

Would Kael even stay?

I’d promised him food without murder, and I’d delivered. Did that mean he’d simply keep following me around while I carved up the occasional corpse for dinner?

Had I accidentally adopted a cryptid?

I shook the thought away.

Later.

Right now, I had bodies to embalm and a demon to dress.

“Here.” I handed him the folded scrubs, and grabbed a fresh pack of small ones for myself. “Go and get changed.”

It was then I remembered I was talking to someone whose understanding of human etiquette was, at best, developing. Which explained why Kael immediately reached for the waistband of his joggers.