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He had realized it was probably her who had saved them. And Octavius now knew the cost. Min-ji, out of magic, used the one source of power she had left…her life. Holding on tight to his sobbing lover, tears ran down his face as he watched his best friend fall apart.
* * *
Scarlett screamedin anger and pain. It wasn’t working… Nothing was working. She pounded on Min-ji’s chest. “Wake up!” she screamed. She held her nose and blew into her mouth a few times. “Wake up! You don’t get to say that and then do this to me! Do you hear me, witch?! You get up, this instance! Wake up! Min-ji, get up, you stupid bitch! How dare you?!”
She tried and tried… Why…why did it have to be like this?! It wasn’t right. Her hands stilled and she grasped at her heart. It hurt…it hurt.
“You didn’t…you didn’t let me say it back…” She sobbed as she tried again to restart Min-ji’s heart. “You have to wake up and let me say it back! It’s not right! It’s not…”
“Scarlett…” She heard Octavius call out to her, but she couldn’t pull herself away…couldn’t acknowledge him at all. She felt Turney’s emotions mirror hers, but couldn’t even find the will to cut the connection.
* * *
Octavius lethis tears fall freely…unsure of what he should do. He couldn’t find it in himself to stop her.
He flinched when Scarlett suddenly sat up. Back bone-straight, she began to silently sit there staring down at Min-ji as tears ran down her face.
His eyes widened in shock as the zombie did something he would never in a million years think she’d do. She sliced into the palm of her right hand and into Min-ji’s left, joining them together. The words she spoke next were old and laced with power. It was not the words he expected to hear… The words were so old, even Octavius did not know exactly what language it was, or even what they meant…only what they would lead to.
His heart clenched in pain when the words cut off and nothing happened.
“Work!” Scarlett screamed. “WORK!”
Scarlett and Min-ji’s body both jerked. Min-ji’s eyes snapped open, lighting up like flashlights, a mirror of Scarlett’s own eyes.
Min-ji took a gasping breath as the lights dimmed and the women’s eyes returned to normal.
Scarlett shuddered, body swaying. There were tears still running down her face. “I’m…so mad at you right now,” she weakly rasped, before collapsing forward on top of Min-ji.
Min-ji’s arm, shaking though it was, came up to wrap around Scarlett, her eyes closing, but alive.
“Scarlett! Scarlett!” Turney screamed, his struggles to pull from Octavius’ hold intensifying. He tightened his arms around him.
“It’s okay, Turney. She’s fine. She is just tired. She probably just shut down the connection. The sudden loss of such strong emotions is confusing, I know. But it’s fine. I promise, love. She…she made herself Min-ji’s familiar… It was the only way to bring her back. Let her hide from you for now.” He whispered the last part.
Octavius…didn’t know exactly what was going through Scarlett’s head at the moment, but he imagined it was not anything she wanted to share.
Turney struggled for a few moments more, before sagging in his arms. “Are…are you sure?”
“Listen, my precious bun. You can hear her heart beating. Not that it needs to beat. She is a zombie like you are. It would take a lot to kill her.”
Turney was silent for a moment. “I can hear it.”
Octavius smiled and kissed his neck. “Yes, you can…”
“Master Octavius…”
He glanced at Henry, smile still in place. “Thank you for keeping yourself and everyone else safe.”
Henry smiled back, looking exhausted. “As always, captain.” Octavius chuckled at the phrase the man had used constantly back in their pirate days. “I believe the ghouls outside were wiped out in the explosion. They would be invading by now if they hadn’t been, as the ward is gone.”
“You are right. We were up above when it happened. They are all gone…”
“Is…” Theo started, and then cleared his throat. “Is he dead?”
“Yes, Theo. Dayan is dead.”
Theo sagged. “Thank you.”
