Chapter twelve:
Life goes on
"Ken!" I smile as Davis rushes forward, folding Ken into a hug. Ken grunts, surprise and happiness mingling on his face.
"Glad to see you, too, my friend." His thin arms wrap around the redhead, and I turn to my own best friend. Tai's watching me speculatively, as if trying to make sure that I'm still really me.
"From now on, we stay away from haunted houses, and anything to do with the occult." He smiles, relief draining most of the tension out of his body. "Seriously, though, Tai. This day has been really weird." Without a word, he hugs me, his grip squeezing the air from my lungs. I hug him back, glad to be back on ground level, glad that it's over.
"I'm glad to see that you've found your friends." I look up, and raise an eyebrow at Lisa Pendragon. She's wearing a slight smile. "For a while, I thought that it was a lost cause. We expected you back nearly three hours ago."
I look around for a clock but find none. Tai answers my unspoken question. "You guys have been gone for nearly seven hours." Ken's glance meets mine, and I shrug.
"I don't remember most of those hours. Between falling into another dimension and dying, I don't remember much of anything."
Tai and Davis both look at me, pulling back from Ken and I enough to give us room to grasp each others' hand. "I believe it. I was the demon in that pit for along while. I thought for a while that I'd lose my mind."
"You guys went through a lot, didn't you?" Tai's watching me, his gaze more serious than normal.
I squeeze Ken's hand, and smile. "No offense, Tai, but I don't think I'd go through any of that willingly again." Ken squeezes my hand back, and we both know that he's the unspoken exception to that rule.
"Will you four be eating dinner here? Phinneas should be up in a couple of minutes, and I'm cooking a big meal."
Davis looks at her oddly, then at us. "Personally, all, I don't think I want to stay here much longer." She smiles in understanding, and then leads the way out of the kitchen.
"I didn't think you would." She opens the door for us, and lets Davis and Tai through, before putting a restraining hand on my arm. Since Ken's hand is still in mine, he stops also. "I think that you two should have these."
She hands us each a wrapped package, two rectangles that look and feel like picture frames. Then she pushes us gently through the archway, and shuts the door behind us. It's shadowy out, early evening. We quickly join our friends at the car, and get in, driving quickly, but carefully, around the drive, pass the gatehouse, and back towards the road.
"What is it?"
"It's the poems. The demand and the response."
"You guys going to keep them?" I look at Ken, watching as the moon reflects off of his hair.
"Yeah. Something to remind us that this really happened." He smiles at me, squeezing my hand to show that he understands. Of course, with the scars on my arm and the story we have now, I doubt either of us will forget this day for a long time to come.