CHAPTER#37

Mike was fast, grabbing the rat by the neck. It tried to bite him, but he shifted his hands so that he held it by the scruff instead. "We never declared war on you or your king. You're the ones who did all this." He waved his hand at the room.

"Your avatar has killed many of us and you dare to accuse us of malfeasance?" He swung a paw at Mike, his plastic glasses falling off.

"Our avatar? What are you talking about?"

"You built a shrine to her, I saw it!" He pointed toward the window where the dollhouse had been. "Your champion, the evil doll."

"Oh, you mean the shrine that you destroyed? Let me rephrase that so you can soak it in. You broke her house and that pissed her off. I didn't send her after you, I wanted to work things out. She sent herself."

"W-what?" Disbelief was etched on the rat's face.

"Yep. You guys dug your own graves and you're welcome to them." He dropped the rat on the floor. "You trashed my house, twice, and you have the nerve to tell me your king has the right to be mad at us? Fuck you. You can all die for all I care right now."

"Hold up." Beth knelt down to look at the rat. "Now, if you were to take us to your king, maybe we could talk Jenny into not murdering everybody in your kingdom."

"Impossible." His eyes watered, his beady nose twitching. "I will not risk His Majesty's safety."

"He's dead anyway, it's just a matter of time." Mike kicked at the rat, who dodged to the side and bared his teeth. "I'm not feeling particularly generous right now, but my friend here has the ability to speak with her. It's your call."

The rat looked back and forth, indecision on his furry features. Finally, he slumped. "Fine. I'll take you to him."

"Damn fucking right," Mike said. Beth saw a fire in his eyes she had never seen before. It was only once he looked away from her that she realized his eyes had actually been glowing.

…

Mike pulled his shirt on in front of the bathroom mirror, Naia watching him from the tub. He could see the look of concern on her face, knew that the question was coming, and he had no idea how to dodge it.

"Are you okay?"

He let out a sigh. "No."

"Tell me."

He didn't want to. He never wanted to talk about it with anybody. Yet, when he turned to face her directly, he remembered that she was the other part of his soul. She completed him in a way he couldn't quite comprehend, and the fact that he wanted to hide his feelings filled him with shame.

"The fast version." He stood right in front of her. "Cecilia took the souls of the poltergeists with her."

"That I know."

"When she did, I saw... things." Even now, it was a fading memory, a dream not meant to be remembered. Something about the light had called to him in a primal way, a way that surpassed even his love for Naia and the others. It had been terrifying just how close he had been to simply giving everything away just to step into its warm comfort. "It was a place of pure peace, just a shoreline on the waters of eternity, I guess. And I wanted to go, but I heard a voice. My dad's voice. I knew it was him, but I couldn't explain to you how I knew, and all he did was say my name. I wanted so badly to meet him, to ask him all the questions I had, but..."

Naia grabbed him, hugging him tight against her. "Death comes for us all. You got to see what awaits after we pass, but only a piece of it. The terrifying part of dying comes from letting go of this world and still not knowing what comes next."

"I guess."

"Your father will wait for you. I need you here now." She fixed him with those deep, penetrating eyes of hers. "When you die, you go beyond those shores. What you saw was just the doorway. Don't let that experience fool you into suddenly knowing what comes for any of us."

"Why was my dad there?"

"Often we find those we miss the most waiting for us on those shores. It is no big surprise that you would hear from him. You will walk those shores one day and find out for sure, but today is not that day."

"I just..." He put his forehead to hers, unable to voice it aloud. A swirl of complex emotions ran through him, everything he had been forced to experience at the same time. When the light had washed over him, he had been forced to confront his entire life, condensed down into mere moments. Once Cecilia had vanished, those thoughts and feelings unpacked like a can full of spring-loaded snakes, overwhelming him.

It's okay, lover. Naia's voice echoed in the back of his mind, her arms squeezing him tight. He took a deep breath and let it go, the emotions flowing out of him. Give it all to me. My waters are deep.

He stood there for a few minutes, his emotions rushing from him like the tide going out. When he finally let go, she kissed the tears from his cheek.

"Better?" she asked.

"Once I get Jenny back." He wiped his face on his sleeve.

Outside his room, he heard one of the planks squeak. When he walked out of the bathroom, he saw Sofia duck her head to walk through the doorway.

"Is this a bad time?" she asked.

"No, I'm good. What's up?"

"Tink came and got me just now. She said you're going after the Rat King again and I wanted you to have something first." She held out a piece of fabric. "I'm not done with the rest of it, but wanted to give you what I had."