Chapter 30: Chapter 28.5: Pause Menu

“How did it go?” Lillian asked. The Companions sat in the Room of Relaxation, but they’d jumped up when Sabine walked in. She’d told them, of course, about her upcoming attempt to contact Daniel. But having all of them there, for a ritual that would already be limited in time and take a lot out of her… she’d vetoed it. She was afraid she wouldn’t have had the energy. If it had failed, the blow would have been lesser if they weren’t all there. If it worked, then it could be repeated. 

 

Tybalt and Mellie sat at a table. For the Companions, the Room of Relaxation looked like a cozy inn. It wasn’t as big or as calming as the pastiche of different cultural influences it was when Liz entered it. Instead, it was a small room, with a few empty tables, a big hearth with a roaring fire on which a pot of something delicious gently bubbled. Soft string music came from somewhere. It was An Inn, the ideal version of one. John sat by the fire, warming his hands. 

 

“It went well,” Sabine said and bit her lip. She didn’t know how to break the news. Months ago, they’d all grieved for the loss of their friend, their leader. Now, things were complicated. 

 

“Hey,” Mellie said, and pushed a chair back for Sabine to sit down. “It’s us. Whatever it is, we can take it.”

 

“He’s not in hell, is he?” Tybalt asked.

 

“Tybalt!” Mellie said, and slapped him on the arm, and then turned to Sabine with a worried look. “Is he?”

 

Sabine shook her head and sat down. There was a glass of wine on the table in front of her. It hadn’t been there before, it simply appeared just when all three of them hadn’t been looking at that spot. The Room of Relaxation aimed to please, but it could be damned creepy sometimes.

 

“He’s not in hell,” she began, and took a deep breath. Then she took a swig from her glass. And another breath. “He’s not in any hell because he’s not dead.”

 

“What?!” Four heads turned to her in unison. Lillian, who’d been leaning against a table, practically jumped up. John got up too, albeit a little calmer, and both joined the others at the table. Tybalt seemed to float somewhere between excited and agitated. Mellie and Lillian were deeply confused. John simply stared at her intently.

 

“If he’s not dead, why didn’t he come here? Where is he?” Tybalt paused, then squinted. “Are we not good enough for him anymore?”

 

“Relax, Tybalt,” Lillian said. “I’m sure he’s got a good reason for not coming back to us. Sabine?”

 

Sabine took another breath. 

 

“So… Sally and Liz… they’re from… another world. Very different from ours. It looks like… Daniel is alive in that world.” Sabine wondered for a moment if she should bring up the fact that the Demon Dragon Queen that had “killed” both Daniel and herself was not only alive, but seemed to have been more than a little intimate with Daniel when she saw them. That she hadn’t been able to tell just how intimate because Daniel had been straddling her lap. Hell, she realized, where to begin to mention that Daniel and the “evil queen” had both been transported into bodies that were distinctly wrong for them. 

 

“Is he… healthy?” Lillian asked. “Does he look happy?”

 

Sabine was grateful for her inability to blush, but Mellie picked something up regardless. She’d always read Sabine quite well. 

 

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“He’s not alone, is he?” Mellie asked. 

 

“Well… no...”

 

Tybalt laughed. “Of course he isn’t.” 

 

“He’s with… There’s a woman. I think they’re happy, together. But they can’t come through. Can’t come back, as far as I can tell.”

 

John nodded thoughtfully. He had no idea what exactly had happened, but at that specific moment he felt that nodding would make it look like he did. Lillian closed her eyes with a melancholy resignation. 

 

“At least he’s alive,” she said softly.

 

“And okay,” Mellie said. She seemed to relax somewhat. After they’d said their goodbyes at the wake, they’d all given up hope of ever speaking to Daniel again. A forbidden ritual to ask for his help had been something Lillian had protested against at first, but she wanted to see her companion as much as the rest of them, and she’d finally relented. Now that there was the possibility of passing messages back and forth with someone who, for all intents and purposes, simply lived too far away to meet up with, there was a feeling of excited relief. Daniel was alive, and though they’d never clasp hands or drink together again, they could talk, share adventures, and just… speak, again, someday. 

 

“And he doesn’t have to deal with any Demon Queens,” Tybalt joked sourly.

 

It took all of Sabine’s strength not to go “Well…” but she felt that that was probably best left for another time. Perhaps even something Daniel could tell them himself, when they opened a portal again. 

 

Sabine sighed, and Mellie rubbed her back. 

 

“Thank you, Sabine.”

 

Sabine looked up.

 

“For telling us,” Mellie continued. “And for doing the ritual in the first place. From the looks of you, it couldn’t have been easy.”

 

Sabine smiled weakly and took another sip of wine, and then looked up at the others with happy resolve.

 

“It was worth it.”

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