Page 77 of Nexus
We were talking quietly, but this still wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have in my apartment. “We’ll talk about it later,” I said when my stomach rumbled. “I’m starving and we need to visit my mom.”
She nodded, then slid off the bed and ambled into the bathroom. I got dressed while she was freshening up. I found an old skirt that was too small for me and used a belt to tie it around her tiny waist when she was done. I had to punch a new hole in the belt and almost wrap it around her twice.
“How do I look?” she asked, holding her arms out wide.
“Like a kid dressed up in her mom’s clothes,” I said with a smirk. “It’ll have to do for now. Let’s get going.” I sent a quick message to my mother that we were on our way.
“Does your mom have coffee?”
“She’s got all kinds of stuff I think you’ll like,” I replied, making her grin happily.
Chapter Fifty-Six
AURORA STOPPED DEAD when I led her outside to my bright orange, dented hatchback. “What is that?” she asked with a frown.
“It’s my car,” I said defensively.
“What happened to it?”
“Hail,” I explained.
“Did hail turn it that hideous color?”
“No. Hail caused the dents. The car manufacturer painted it orange.”
“But why?” she asked in true bewilderment that anyone would deliberately choose to paint it that color.
“They probably thought it would be popular back when they made it,” I said with a shrug and unlocked the doors. She reluctantly climbed into the passenger seat, then copied me when I buckled myself in.
I drove to my mom’s house, answering all of the questions Aurora came up with on the way. She wanted to know all about Nexus and the people and creatures who lived here. We didn’t need to worry about being overheard now, since we were constantly on the move. I was going to have to find somewhere private to have an in-depth discussion about exactly who and what she was.
Mom opened the door when she heard me pull up. Aurora grinned and waved and mom waved back. “You look just like her,” she told me. Mom had yellow and green hair, didn’t have any tatts and was heftier than I was, but there was a definite resemblance between us.
Getting out, I locked the car, then strode up the path. My pace quickened until I was almost jogging. Mom opened her arms and I threw myself at her. She hugged me tightly, stroking my hair in relief that I was back. We didn’t need to voice our feelings. We both knew how glad we were that I was home.
“Hi,” my new friend said brightly when I stepped back. “I’m Aurora.”
“I’m Pearl, Saige’s mom.” My mother offered Aurora her hand and they shook politely. “Come in,” mom invited us.
We followed her to the dining room to find she’d made us lunch. “I love you, mom,” I said with great sincerity as I sank down onto my usual chair.
“I love you, too, Pearl,” Aurora said fervently, eyeing the bounty that lay before us. She took a seat beside me rather than across the table where her plate full of food waited.
Mom quirked an eyebrow and I gave her a small shrug. I reached for the second plate and slid it over to Aurora. Mom had made a pot of coffee, since she didn’t know how my new friend took it. I poured cups for us all, then we began to feast.
“What can you tell me about your mission?” mom asked.
I could sense some shifters nearby and cast a warning look towards the door. “Not much,” I replied. “We found the item we were looking for, but there were complications along the way.”
“I helped Saige and Ruen,” Aurora said proudly. “They saved me when I had a broken wing.”
“Wing?” mom asked in confusion.
“How’s your arm?” I asked, realizing she’d shown no signs of pain since coming through the gate.
“Transforming into this body seems to have healed me completely,” she replied, moving her left arm up and down with ease.
Mom had fought and killed hundreds of creatures from the underworld, but they’d mostly been in human form. She hadn’t seen them in their true forms, because she’d never been to their realms. “I have something to tell you and you need to brace yourself for it,” I whispered.
