A Book of Dust and Breath

Chapter Thirty Seven

Gracie bustled into the room with shopping bags full of baby things and a teddy bear three times the size of Liam. "Delbert wouldn't come in," she announced by way of greeting. "He's sitting in the car smoking one of those awful pipes that smell like a dead skunk. He says this is women's business." She dropped the bags next to the bed and scooped the baby right out of Lily's arms.

Forgetting all the strangeness that surrounded them for just a moment, Lily shot a look at Max. Had she just said that Delbert was outside, smoking pot in the hospital parking lot? Max shrugged, his eyes crinkled at the corners.

"Oh, you are a handsome one, aren't you," Gracie crooned to the baby. "You and your mama nearly gave this old lady a heart attack."

"What happened that night, Gracie?"

"Lily," Max's voice was warning.

"No, really, Max. I want to know. I can't remember very clearly." She held him in the grip of her steely gaze. He relented and walked to the window to watch the tiny, insectile cars crawl along in ceaseless rows.

"You remember calling me, of course," Gracie said.

"Yes. I called you and then I headed downstairs to wait for you. It all gets a little fuzzy after that."

"That's not surprising. You were in pretty bad shape. When we got there, the door was locked. We knocked and knocked, but there was no answer. Your truck was in the drive and Max wouldn't have driven you on that motorcycle of his. Delbert called the police and they showed up lickety-split at the same time as the ambulance. When the cop opened the door, there you were on the floor right at the bottom of the steps." She shivered and pulled the baby closer. "I thought... you were so pale, and there was blood everywhere. I'm very thankful those boys were so quick."

"Yes. Me too," Lily said in a shaking voice. "That's all you saw?"

"Well, that was quite enough to upset a couple of old fogies like us."

"I'm sure it was. Thank you, Gracie. How can I ever thank you?"

The old woman waved the words away and focused her attention on the baby. "What's his name?"

"Liam."

"Liam," she repeated. "Very nice."

After fifteen minutes of fussing and repeated exclamations over the infant's perfection, Gracie left the little family alone once more.

"Why couldn't she see you? I know you were there." It was the first question she'd asked since he'd first told her the truth about what had happened.

"Like I said, the shadow crawlers have no dominion over the physical realm. They are creatures of death and death is an in-between place. People sometimes sense that place, but they can't really comprehend it with the physical senses."

"Part of me keeps pushing it all aside, trying to turn it into a terrible dream."

He nodded. "That makes sense. It's what your brain is designed to do."

"Why did you marry me, Max?"

He rubbed his hands over his face. He'd been prepared for a lot of questions. That wasn't one of them. With an immense sigh, he said, "I married you because I'm Anakin Skywalker."

"What are you talking about?"

"I loved you so much I couldn't imagine going on without you in my world. I was a selfish ass. All love and not a shred of wisdom."

She let Liam finish his bottle and put him up against her shoulder to burp him. When he was settled into a sound sleep she met his eye. "I don't know what we do now."

Around them, the world tilted toward chaos. Imbalance thundered in his cells. The nightly news was degenerating into a daily disaster report. What could any of them do?