CHAPTER 217

"I appreciate it. I appreciate you." Her shimmering brown eyes found his. "Look, if you don't find it, I just want to let you know that I don't blame you. I don't want you to blame yourself, either. Real life isn't like books, and that's okay. Not everybody gets a happy ending."

"Amymone, I—" He had no idea how he intended to finish the statement, and the dryad was now suddenly interested in the book she had been holding. How many years would she be stuck here, waiting to fade into nothingness? It was a problem with no good solution.

"Mike?" Yuki stood just inside the backdoor. Her head was turned away, as if hiding her face. "Can we go home?"

"Yeah, c'mon."

He bid Amymone farewell again and escorted Yuki to the front yard where Cerberus waited. The ride home was largely silent, though between the random howls of wandering demons, he could hear the faint sound of sobbing from Yuki.

Once home, Cerberus turned into their human form and followed them through the gate. A chain formed around their neck, and she stopped a few feet away from the gate and let out a whimper.

"Good girl," he made sure to tell them, patting each head. "You did a great job today, thank you." Their tail wagged even though their faces remained stoic, and the hellhound wandered back through the gate. Abella was waiting nearby with the lock, which she placed around the bars to secure it. On the other side of the gate, he could hear Cerberus growl, warning some wandering demons away.

After making sure that Yuki made it to her room okay, Mike went to the office. The new desk he had was covered in tea stains and a deep gouge where Death had dropped his scythe by accident while trying to find something in his pockets.

"Would you like some tea, Mike Radley?" Death stood by the far wall, looking at the map they had drawn so many days ago. It had been torn in half by a feisty spirit, but Death had taped it back together.

"Yes, please." Mike sat down in the chair and let out a sigh.

"It sounds as if you've had a long day, Mike Radley." Death picked up his teapot and wandered over to the side of the room where an empty cup had been set. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"Not a whole lot to say. Just emotionally draining is all."

"You should relax more. I heard a saying the other day, something about kicking up your feet. What does that mean?" Death came over, holding a cup in each hand.

"Oh. Some people like to put up their feet sometimes, to relax."

"That sounds very strange. Why would they do that?"

"I think it's something about blood flow." Mike leaned back in his chair, causing the wooden legs to creak beneath him, then put his feet up on the desk to demonstrate. "See? The blood can now leave my legs and my heart doesn't have to work so hard."

"The mortal world is silly." Death handed over Mike's tea. "I don't pretend to understand it."

"You'll get there, though some of it isn't worth—" In his reclined position, when Mike had lifted the tea to his lips to blow on it, something large and black tumbled out of his cup and landed on his chin. All his brain was able to process was the number of legs that it had, and he let out a yell as the chair slipped out from beneath him and he crashed to the floor.

"I HAVE TRICKED YOU, MIKE RADLEY!" Death danced about the room, then knelt down and picked something up off of Mike's chest and dangled it in front of his face. "Though you should know that you are safe, for the spider isn't real."

"You about gave me a heart attack!" Mike fought to untangle himself from the chair.

"That is a lie, Mike Radley. I would have sensed your impending doom." Death chuckled to himself, then took a sip of his tea. "Tink was right about waiting to trick you."

"Mike?" Beth appeared in the door, worry on her face. "You okay?"

"Just dealing with Death's sense of humor." Mike pulled himself off the ground.

"She helped me with this prank, Mike Radley. She knew about the spider and never said a word. This makes her my accomplice."

A stunned look crossed Beth's face, and she started sputtering out denials. Death made a clacking sound with his jaw as he moved past her.

"I must find Kisa and tell her about the time I tricked you, Mike Radley. She will be so proud of me. I will be back."

"Take your time," Mike muttered.

"I swear, I didn't know about the spider," Beth said. "Well, I did, but only kind of."

"It's fine, they just freak me out is all. And what do you mean, kind of?"

"It fell out of his pocket when he was trying to find his scythe. During the fight with the shadow. He even mentioned he was going to prank you with it."

"Ha! That makes sense." He looked over at the gouge in the desk. It was only a couple of days old, and he now wondered if Death had intended to use it that day but chickened out. It also occurred to him that Death had tricked him into tilting his chair back first, which meant he had planned the whole thing. "I think I have underestimated how far he's come."

"Oh, absolutely. I feel like we're raising a gifted toddler, only he excels in reading maps and reaping assholes." She smiled, then sat on the edge of his desk with her legs crossed. "So how did it go? I heard Yuki in her room, she's struggling but wanted to be left alone."

"Emily moved on, I know that much. I won't feel right about it until Cecilia comes back, though." He tapped his finger on the wood. "If I have to fight a demon king or something, I'm just going to take Tink's approach. Shoot them in the face or something."

She laughed. "I doubt that. That isn't who you are."

"Yeah, you're right. I'll just let Tink do it for me." He ran his fingers through his hair and then put his hands on the desk. "Shit, now I wish he really had given me some tea. I feel all worked up."