Do As I Say

Epilogue

"And that is how our races, each unique and powerful, reclaimed themselves, and fought against Mortal oppression." Jules finished reading his essay. The class clapped automatically, and no matter how bored the response had turned out Jules grinned anyways. The teacher took his paper with a smile of his own and Cree sat at her desk beaming for her friend.

As Jules came down the aisle Cree hurriedly said her congratulations on how his difficult essay had turned out. Her arm was in a sling, and her shoulder bandaged so intensely she could barely move her neck. While the painkillers and blood transfusions at the run-down hospital out of town had helped greatly, nothing helped Cree more than herself. She'd used her powers to try and speed up the healing process, and it had worked miracles. Although, she still felt weak from using too much of her powers that one day that had passed just over three weeks ago.

The orphanage was destroyed and three children and one staff member had died in the fire. But the part that Cree tried to remember was the dozens of lives that were saved, and how all of the now homeless children had been given a place to stay in the Ghoul School where they'd created living spaces while the orphanage was being rebuilt.

The demons were gone as soon as their master had fallen into a deep and unending slumber. Nix was buried in a graveyard, his body kept safe between those of his dead parents.

Finn's Drop hadn't changed, not one bit, but Cree had. She couldn't put words to why she felt different about life now but when she'd tried, when she'd finally told Jules and Thimble about the horror she'd faced off with before speaking to Nix, they were shocked.

"The ones we saw were different," Thimble had murmured thoughtfully, fingers picking at a still-bloody scab on his knee.

Cree swatted his hand, "Don't pick,"

"Yeah," Jules frowned, "I didn't see any with teeth, and no one I know had experienced what you did, Cree."

Cree shrugged, feeling too vulnerable for her tastes. She couldn't remember why she'd decided on telling them about the monster.

"I don't think it was a demon," Jules said suddenly.

"What?" Thimble's forehead wrinkled.

"No, demons are different. What we saw were demons, I think Cree faced off with something much different." He turned to her, awe and fear in his eyes, "Cree I think you were held not by your Gran, but by Death."

"That's...that's nonsense. I couldn't have killed Death." Cree shuddered involuntarily. Death had wrapped his arms around her but then chosen to let her go. It didn't make any sense.

"Maybe you didn't kill him," Thimble said thoughtfully, "Maybe he chose to let you live."

"Why?"

Jules shrugged, "I don't think you'll ever really know."

Cree nodded, but she was still thinking. Maybe Death wasn't showing her all the people she'd lost as reasons to die, but as reasons to live. He was showing her who she should live in honour of.

And at last Cree really was going to live.