“Interesting.”
“Sure,” Luciano says. Then he turns towards his reception desk, but stops and looks over his shoulder. “You’re coming back tomorrow, right?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
He shoots me a grin, which is kind of smarmy and not really charming. But it’s not a bad grin. “Because I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that we can’t come get you. You’re on the honor system.”
I knew he was lying earlier when he made that veiled threat to organize a kidnapping. But I don’t bother with that. What’s the point? Instead, I ask a new question. “What happens to my debt if I never come back?”
“I wouldn’t know,” he admits. “But I don’t think it would be anything good.”
“No. Of course it wouldn’t.”
“So… I’ll see you tomorrow.” Then he really does walk off.
And I do too. Turning in the opposite direction. I walk to the far corner where I came in to this world two times already. And just as I approach, the tomb door appears.
And waiting on the other side is…
Well.
Everyone.
My bad day falls away and I practically run through with a huge smile on my face.
Pell is there, grinning at me from a rooftop several tombs back, looking even more charming and handsome than when I left him. And all the monsters—like… all the monsters. Eyebrows, and Cookie, and Batty—are right up front. They rush up to me, like I missed a big day of happenings and they want to tell me all the things, even though I can’t understand a word they say.
But as soon as I’m home, Pell jumps across the rooftops separating us, leaps down to the ground, pushes them away, and takes me in his arms. “How was it? Did you see Tarq? Did you eat? Are you hungry? The monsters made dinner. They want us to eat with them tonight. I have a surprise for you.”
I just lean up on my tiptoes and kiss him.
He kisses me back like there isn’t a mob of monsters around us and when we pull apart, I sigh. “I missed you too.”
His yellow eyes brighten and the bloodfire inside his horns glows a little. His body is blackened with soot and he smells like smoke. “I like reunions.”
“Why are you all black? And why do you smell like smoke?”
“Oh.” He snaps his fingers and shakes his head. Then his eyes go all sneaky as they sweep across all the monsters. “We had another… incident.”
“Incident?” My eyebrows go up.
“The r-i-n-g-s.”
“I think they can spell, Pell.”
“Right.” He looks at the monsters again. “Well, she’s home. Thank you for coming. We’ll meet you in the dining room.”
None of the monsters move. In fact, Batty comes right up to me with his hand out, talking in his monster language.
“What’s he saying?” I ask. “Where’s Tomas?”
That’s when I hear the rumble of a truck on the other side of the wall. And when I look down the hill towards the parking lot, I see it drive away.
“Oh, that.” Pell sighs. “We bought a truck today.”
“I saw. It showed up in the Book of Debt.”
“It’s a long story, but Tomas learned how to drive and found a girlfriend.”