had time to put yourselves together again.”
“Bad choice of words,” said Jack—but she looked thoughtful, almost pensive, as she turned her face away and led Kade and Nancy out of the room. Christopher brought up the rear, his bone sticking out of his back pocket like an upthrust middle finger. The door swung closed behind him.
Together, they walked out to the porch. Loriel was still on the lawn, covered by a sheet, and for a moment, all Nancy could think was that if this didn’t stop soon, they were going to run out of bedclothes. Nancy, Christopher, and Jack kept walking. Kade stopped.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I can’t. I just … I can’t . This was never my job.” Because he’d been a princess in Prism, before they’d learned that he was really a prince; because unlike the rest of them, he had never been responsible for tending to the dead. He’d killed people, sure. That was what had earned him the title of Goblin Prince. But his part in their deaths had ended on the blade of his sword.
“It’s all right,” said Nancy gently, looking back over her shoulder at him. “The dead are much more understanding than the living. Let us take care of her. You keep watch.”
“I can do that,” said Kade, relieved.
Nancy, Jack, and Christopher made their way to the body. They came from very different traditions. For Nancy, the entire experience of death was revered. For Christopher, the flesh was temporary, but the bones were eternal and deserved to be treated as such. For Jack, death was an inconvenience to be conquered, and a corpse was a Pandora’s box of beautiful possibilities. But all of them shared a love for those who had passed, and as they lifted Loriel from the ground, they did so with gentle, compassionate hands.
“If we take her to the basement, I can mix up something to strip the flesh from her bones,” said Jack. “The skeleton will still appear fresh to any forensics tests, but it’s a start.”
“Once she’s a skeleton, I might be able to find out what happened to her,” said Christopher, sounding almost shy.
There was a pause. Finally, dubiously, Jack said, “I’m sorry, but it sounded like you just confessed to being able to talk to bones. Why have we never heard this before?”
“Because I was there when you said you could raise the dead. I saw how everybody reacted, and I enjoy having a social life at this school,” said Christopher. “It’s not like I can go hang out at the pizza parlor in town if the other kids stop talking to me. And don’t say you and your sister would have talked to me. The two of you don’t talk to anybody .”
“He’s got you there,” called Kade from the porch.
Nancy frowned. “They talked to me.”
“Because Sumi made them, and because you went to a world full of ghosts,” said Christopher. “I guess that was close enough to living in a horror movie that they were cool with you. And they talked to Sumi because she didn’t give them a choice . Sumi was like a small tornado. When she sucked you up, you just tightened your grip and went along for the ride.”
“We keep to ourselves for good reason,” said Jack stiffly, adjusting her grasp on Loriel’s shoulders. “Most of you got unicorns and misty meadows. We got the Moors, and if there was a unicorn out there, it probably ate human flesh. We learned quickly that sharing our experiences with others just drove them away, and most of the social connections at this place are based on those shared experiences. On the doors, and on what happened when we went through them.”
“I went to a country of happy, dancing skeletons who said that one day I’d come back to them and marry their Skeleton Girl,” said Christopher. “So pretty sunshiny, but sort of sunshine by way of Día de los Muertos.”
“Maybe we should have talked to you a long time ago,” said Jack. “Let’s get Loriel to the basement.”
They carried her around the side of the manor, walking until they found
“Bad choice of words,” said Jack—but she looked thoughtful, almost pensive, as she turned her face away and led Kade and Nancy out of the room. Christopher brought up the rear, his bone sticking out of his back pocket like an upthrust middle finger. The door swung closed behind him.
Together, they walked out to the porch. Loriel was still on the lawn, covered by a sheet, and for a moment, all Nancy could think was that if this didn’t stop soon, they were going to run out of bedclothes. Nancy, Christopher, and Jack kept walking. Kade stopped.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I can’t. I just … I can’t . This was never my job.” Because he’d been a princess in Prism, before they’d learned that he was really a prince; because unlike the rest of them, he had never been responsible for tending to the dead. He’d killed people, sure. That was what had earned him the title of Goblin Prince. But his part in their deaths had ended on the blade of his sword.
“It’s all right,” said Nancy gently, looking back over her shoulder at him. “The dead are much more understanding than the living. Let us take care of her. You keep watch.”
“I can do that,” said Kade, relieved.
Nancy, Jack, and Christopher made their way to the body. They came from very different traditions. For Nancy, the entire experience of death was revered. For Christopher, the flesh was temporary, but the bones were eternal and deserved to be treated as such. For Jack, death was an inconvenience to be conquered, and a corpse was a Pandora’s box of beautiful possibilities. But all of them shared a love for those who had passed, and as they lifted Loriel from the ground, they did so with gentle, compassionate hands.
“If we take her to the basement, I can mix up something to strip the flesh from her bones,” said Jack. “The skeleton will still appear fresh to any forensics tests, but it’s a start.”
“Once she’s a skeleton, I might be able to find out what happened to her,” said Christopher, sounding almost shy.
There was a pause. Finally, dubiously, Jack said, “I’m sorry, but it sounded like you just confessed to being able to talk to bones. Why have we never heard this before?”
“Because I was there when you said you could raise the dead. I saw how everybody reacted, and I enjoy having a social life at this school,” said Christopher. “It’s not like I can go hang out at the pizza parlor in town if the other kids stop talking to me. And don’t say you and your sister would have talked to me. The two of you don’t talk to anybody .”
“He’s got you there,” called Kade from the porch.
Nancy frowned. “They talked to me.”
“Because Sumi made them, and because you went to a world full of ghosts,” said Christopher. “I guess that was close enough to living in a horror movie that they were cool with you. And they talked to Sumi because she didn’t give them a choice . Sumi was like a small tornado. When she sucked you up, you just tightened your grip and went along for the ride.”
“We keep to ourselves for good reason,” said Jack stiffly, adjusting her grasp on Loriel’s shoulders. “Most of you got unicorns and misty meadows. We got the Moors, and if there was a unicorn out there, it probably ate human flesh. We learned quickly that sharing our experiences with others just drove them away, and most of the social connections at this place are based on those shared experiences. On the doors, and on what happened when we went through them.”
“I went to a country of happy, dancing skeletons who said that one day I’d come back to them and marry their Skeleton Girl,” said Christopher. “So pretty sunshiny, but sort of sunshine by way of Día de los Muertos.”
“Maybe we should have talked to you a long time ago,” said Jack. “Let’s get Loriel to the basement.”
They carried her around the side of the manor, walking until they found
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