Page 20 of Devils and the Dead
“Sure.” Xavier grinned. “How do you feel about bars? And are you free tonight?”
Chapter 10
Babylon
Maude was streaming Season 3 of Supernatural and working on her blanket when I arrived home. I brought the bone, bits of wood from the sugar maple, and my bag full of magic supplies in and set them up on the dining room table before heading to my room to retrieve the bone that Addy had found. When I returned, Maude was eyeing the setup on my table.
“Are you going to do magic?” she asked, pointing to the bone.
I set the other sliver of bone beside the first. “Yes. A group of elves are under a curse and their spirits are trapped on a mountain in Accident where the werewolves have set up a new compound. I’m going to try to communicate with at least one of the elves to see if I can find out what happened.”
“But we eat on this table,” she protested, shaking her finger at the bones. “I hate when you do this. I just got finished cleaning everything up from this morning, too.”
Iate at this table, but I understood what she meant. “I’ll clean it thoroughly and smudge afterward, I promise. It’s a small house and I really don’t have anywhere else to do magic.”
She turned a stern gaze my way. “On the floor? In your bedroom?”
A zombie, a woman who was currently a corpse, was scolding me about bones on the dining room table. It was a bit hypocritical, but Maude wasn’t to blame for her state, and I would not hurt her feelings by bringing up a sensitive topic.
“The floor isn’t always suitable for some magics. Certain things go better if the ritual is at least a foot from the ground. Plus it’s uncomfortable sitting cross-legged and scooting around, especially if the spell is a long one.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“I have bleach. I have sage,” I reassured her.
She sighed. “Okay, but I would never have allowed one of my children to do this on our table. There was that time Jerome brought in a frog from the pond, and I had to practically sand the finish off the table to get it clean again. Tables are for food, eating, and serving implements only. Not crafts. Not frogs. Not magic.”
Ireallyliked Maude, but this roomie thing was getting old. Helping the werewolves wasn’t my only priority. Hopefully Nash would be able to hook me up with another necromancer who could instruct me on how to fully resurrect her. And in the meantime, there were two more spells in those books I’d bought that I wanted to try.
“I’ve made a decision,” Maude announced as I set up the incense. “I want to stay here, but only if I can be in a living body. There’s no sense in continuing on like this where I can’t see anyone without scaring them, can’t eat, can’t do so many of the things that make life worth living. I want to have a second life, but I’ve got a few questions I’m hoping you can answer.”
I put down the matches and motioned for Maude to go on. The ritual would need to wait.
“From what I’ve been seeing on the television, things are different now than they were when I died. I don’t know if I can just suddenly be alive again with all the identification and records and other stuff that I’m not going to have. How will I get a job? Or an apartment? Or a car?”
“It won’t be easy,” I told her. “I can probably find someone who can get your forged identification, but it won’t hold up to a lot of scrutiny, so you’d need to be careful what sort of jobs you apply for. You have to be careful not to get arrested or have any reason for someone to look into your background. Jobs that require some sort of security clearance, or volunteer work where you have to go through a background check would be a problem.”
Her shoulders slumped. “I’m not sure what sort job Icoulddo. I don’t understand anything about your computers, or your tiny portable telephones. I was still using an electric typewriter when I died.”
“There are jobs you can get while you learn that stuff,” I assured her. “Things like cleaning jobs, or working in a kitchen. They don’t pay much, but it’ll be enough to get you on your feet.”
“And afford a place to live?” she asked.
I winced, thinking I’d probably need to put her up for quite a while. “Not at first, but you can stay here until you save up enough to afford a place of your own. Or until you meet someone you’d like to move in with. I know lots of people who rent houses with friends to help split the costs.”
Her brows furrowed. “Will I ever be able to see my daughter? Or my granddaughters? Will they ever know who I am?”
“I…I don’t know.” These were questions I just couldn’t answer. “Maybe once you’re more familiar with modern life you could meet your family. I know Rita and I can introduce you as a friend. But I’m not sure they can ever know who you really are. People don’t believe in magic. They might just think you’re crazy and be less likely to want to be your friend.”
She sighed, looking down at her hands. “That will be fine, I guess. I’ll need to remember that this is a new life for me, not just a continuation of my former one.”
I reached out to put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Itis. Maybe you could even live in Accident for a while until you felt confident about your new life. With all the supernatural beings there, everyone would understand if you didn’t know how to work a cell phone, or had to learn to use a microwave.”
“Maybe for a week or two,” she mused. “I don’t think I’d want to stay there for the rest of my second life. I’m human and I really think I’d be more comfortable around humans. I don’t intend to offend you or anyone, and I appreciate the offer. I’d love to meet witches and werewolves and mermaids, but I’m not sure I could live among them full time as just a plain old human whose only special trait is that I’ve been resurrected.”
“Understood, and I’m not offended at all.” I met and held Maude’s gaze. “I’m going to do everything I can to make this happen for you, but I can’t promise anything. Right now I have no idea how to fully resurrect you. I’m working on it, but it may take time.”
“Weeks?” Her voice was hopeful. “A month?”
