Celine shook her head. “No such luck, sorry.”
Michael stared at the ceiling for a moment. “How’s Damien? Were we really in another time band?”
“Yep,” Celine assured him. “That pulse sent both you and Damien all the way to Alterra, an alternate time band. Damien’s doing okay, he’s awake and recovering.”
“Wow,” Michael replied, shaking his head in disbelief. “I’m glad we’re back. I hated it there.”
Celine chuckled. “Things were very different, huh?”
“Very,” Michael assured her. “I’m glad to be home.”
“And we’re glad to have you back,” Celine declared, squeezing his hand. They sat for another moment before Celine excused herself to return to Damien’s room.
“Hey, tell him I said hi.”
“Will do,” Celine promised. She returned to Damien’s room.
“Well?” Damien inquired as she entered the room.
“He’s okay,” Celine answered, climbing onto the bed with Damien and covering him with another blanket. “He was concerned about you. He has a hazy memory, too.”
“Yeah, about that,” Damien responded. “It’s coming back to me. It wasn’t a dream, was it?”
“No,” she responded with a shake of her head. “Sorry, D. That was all real.”
“And it was some kind of alternate reality?”
Celine nodded her head. “Yes. It was a different time band, one where things happened differently than they did here. Different choices were made, different events were set in motion.”
Damien nodded as he spoke. “You aren’t kidding,” Damien agreed.
“Do you remember everything that happened?” Celine asked.
Damien nodded. “Yeah, yep.” He glanced at her.
“We don’t have to talk about it,” Celine assured him.
“It’s okay. I just… it was really weird. You were so weird, nothing like you. I’m so glad to be home and back with the real you,” he replied, reaching out to embrace her.
Celine pulled him into her arms. “It’s okay, D. You’re home now.” She hugged him tight.
They sat for a few more minutes together, Celine held Damien’s hand. “Well, it appears all is well,” Gray said. “Which means you can leave.” He pointed to Marcus.
Marcus stood. “Why, thank you, Marcus, for saving the lives of my loved ones. I am so grateful for your help,” he mocked.
Celine kissed Damien’s cheek and climbed off the bed. “I’ll be right back, D. Try to get some rest.” She walked toward Marcus. “Come on. I’ll walk you out.” She squeezed Gray’s arm. “Stay with Damien, please.”
“Celine…” Gray began.
“Gray, please,” she answered.
He kissed her forehead. “All right. Don’t be too long.”
“I won’t be,” she promised.
Celine and Marcus departed the room. They navigated through the halls and downstairs to the foyer.
“Well, I suppose I am once again persona non grata in these halls now that my services are no longer required,” Marcus mentioned as they approached the door.
Celine gazed at him. “Thank you, Marcus.”
He glanced to her. “I’ll never understand what it is you see in these individuals, Celine. They are most irritating.”
She took his hand. “I mean it. Thank you. You saved their lives. And that means a lot to me. I appreciate your help. I will never forget it.”
He didn’t speak for a moment. “Well, it did remove me from that dreadful Shadow World, so I suppose it was to my advantage. Looks like I am free to roam the Earth again.”
Celine held back rolling her eyes at his response. “I suppose this is as good a time as any to tell you,” she said.
“To tell me what?” Marcus inquired.
“You aren’t exactly free.”
He furrowed his brow, turning to face her. “What do you mean?”
“When I spoke with the adjudicator and it agreed to allow you to return to Earth…” Celine paused.
“Yes?” Marcus prompted.
“It gave me the marker for your soul.” Celine held up the black stone representing her possession of his soul.
“It WHAT?!” Marcus asked, incredulous. Marcus reached for it. “Give it to me!” he demanded.
Celine pulled it back. “No, Marcus. While I appreciate what you’ve done, I must do everything I can to protect my family. Especially after your performance in the in-between. That includes keeping control of your soul for as long as I can.”
Marcus set his jaw. “This is unwise, Celine,” Marcus warned.
“We’ll revisit it when the adjudicator returns, until then, it’s mine.”
He huffed at her. “We’ll see about that, Celine.” He turned on his heel, exiting the house with a slam of the door. Celine sighed, watching him disappear down the path. She shook her head, climbing the stairs.
She entered Damien’s room. “Is he gone?” Gray asked the moment she entered the room.
“Yes, he’s gone.”
“For now,” Gray griped. “I’m sure he’ll be back to cause trouble.”
Celine climbed onto Damien’s bed, taking his hand in hers again. “Well, perhaps not,” Celine hinted.
“You give him too much credit, Celine. The man is a menace.”
“That might be, but there is something I didn’t tell you before that might hold him off for just a little bit.”
“What’s that?” Gray asked.
“Yeah, what is it?” Damien inquired, interested in the conversation.
“When I freed him from Shadow World, I convinced the adjudicator to give me control of his soul.”
Gray’s eyes went wide. “You got it to do what? You’re kidding?”
Celine brandished the black soul chip. “Nope.”
Gray hurried to her side, kissing her. “Celine, you’re a genius.”
She grinned at him. “He was not happy when he found out.”
“You told him?” Gray inquired.
“I did. I warned him to keep his cool and not to do anything destructive.”
“So, this means you…” Damien began, unsure where to go.
“Have some control over him. Not lots of control but enough to barter with if need be,” Celine responded.
“That’s perfect, Celine. It buys us some time.”
“Buys us some time?” Damien asked.
“Yes,” Gray answered. “It buys us some time to figure out what we’re going to do about getting rid of Marcus Northcott.”
Epilogue
Celine laid on the bed, monitoring Damien’s vital signs. Hours after he’d awoken, returned from Alterra, she still counted his heartbeats and tracked his chest rising and falling. Asleep on his back, she feared him slipping back into another realm, although she realized this was an impossibility.
Celine slipped her hand around his, squeezing it tight. It was
