Death's Hold

Chapter Twenty Eight

Zara groaned then slowly sat up. She blinked, her eyes bleary. That had been a most unpleasant way to travel, what with choking on the nasty-tasting fog as well as fighting to keep from projectile vomiting as she fell backward at a tremendous speed, the weight of Hades himself seeming to bear down on her. Death's hold was all that had kept her sane.

"I have forgotten how awful that is," Death said beside her.

Zara slowly turned to look at him. He was already looking at her, a hidden expression in his hooded eyes.

"Is it really over Enes?" Zara whispered.

"Yes, it is."

Death got to his feet and helped her up. They looked around the living room, still holding hands. Everything looked the same as it had three nights ago. Completely normal except for the broken glass pieces on the floor. Zara looked at it, heart thudding. Then she looked at Zion who lay next to it.

His eyes were still closed.

She squeezed Death's hand.

"He is sleeping, Zara. Look at his chest."

Zion's chest gently moved up and down. His face was once again that of a healthy baby boy, cheeks chubby and mouth puckered. His hair was still matted to his skull with dried blood but when Zara picked him up, she discovered the gash had gone. It was as if it had never been there.

Zara sobbed silently, her shoulders heaving.

She felt an arm around her and looked up into Death's face, tears still trickling.

"Thank you, Enes. Thank you so much. Thank you."

"I just gave back what I took."

Zara shook her head but her throat was too tight to let more words through.

"We are not out of the woods yet though." Death pointed to the two figures by the door. "We made good time but still I hope no complications arise."

Zara stared at her frozen mum. "My mum is the strongest human I know. She will be fine. She can't die."

Death grinned at Zara. "Are we back to this again?"

Zara stuck her chin in the air. "What about it?"

"What about it is that your philosophy is still kind of twisted after visiting the Underworld itself."

Zara was about to give a snarky reply but her eyes landed on Zion and she felt everything crash down on her again. Her legs buckled slightly and she swallowed hard.

"Let me go get him washed up. Sit down here." He gently pushed Zara into the same chair Zion had been rocking days ago and took the baby from her. Zara could hear the running of the bathroom tap. She let out a sigh.

They had done it. At a terrible cost but only to her because Death was her dearest friend and she loved him most in the world. To the rest of the world, it was a good thing. A great thing even. He was not going to be missed. Zara felt her eyes fill with tears once again. It was so, so unfair.

Death came back and dropped the still-sleeping Zion on Zara's lap. "He squirmed a bit when I placed the washcloth on his head but he did not wake up. I am grateful for that because I want us to have a proper goodbye."

Nothing was said for a while as they both stared at each other.

"Is this the last time I will see you, Enes?" Zara finally said.

Death began patting himself down. Zara watched him curiously. He brought out an object from his person that glinted when it caught the light. Zara held her breath. She wasn't sure what she expected but it wasn't a piece of jagged mirror.