Chapter 154 - When it Rains, it Pours

“Great. Tell Evelyn I said hi.”

“I uh…” Morrigan blinked and reread the message. “S-So… I need to, uh… I’ll be right back.”

“Morrigan?” Emma asked, looking over her shoulder. Hilda was halfway down the hall but stopped in her tracks. Alice was still standing by the couch with folded arms and a look on her face like a fast-food worker listening to a guy argue that he definitely ordered extra onions three hours ago.

Morrigan stepped out of the apartment and put her back to the wall beside the door.

Okay. Come on, this isn’t THAT big of a deal. I was planning to tell her anyway.

She looked at her mom’s first message again.

“Hey. How's the foster family treating you? Settling in? Having fun?”

Yeah… She’s definitely pissed.

Morrigan exhaled. Finger hovering over the call button. She told herself to quit being so stupid about it and just call and clear the air. Evlyn is just trying to help, and Morrigan didn’t exactly have a choice in going with her. As for not telling her who she was with, she had planned to all along. That was the truth, after all.

Morrigan finally pressed the call button and then put it to her ear. It went to voicemail after three rings. She gritted her teeth and tried again. It went directly to voicemail with no rings this time.

“Oooooh shit. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit…” Morrigan muttered under her breath, pushing off the wall and beginning to pace.

Emma came out a moment later with a worried expression. “Morrigan? What’s going on?”

Morrigan sighed and held the phone up to her, Emma bending forward slightly as she read the messages.

“Oh shit…” Emma muttered under her breath.

“That’s what I said!” Morrigan growled in frustration, her legs continuing to carry her back and forth along the corridor. “And she turned off her damn phone! I mean, come on! She isn’t even giving me a chance to explain! I mean, why the fuck is she doing this?”

“Hey, hey, hey, uh—just calm down? I’m sure it’ll be okay.” Emma said, wincing. “I mean… What’s the worst that can happen?”

Morrigan froze mid-pace and slowly turned her head toward Emma. “Why the hell would you say that out loud?”

Emma winced harder. “Oh no. I jinxed it, didn’t I?”

Morrigan groaned.

Behind them, the apartment door creaked open again. Hilda leaned out, towel now tied up on her head, the other one still wrapped around her like a robe. “Sooo… should I not make eggs? ‘Cause it feels like an ‘everyone's gonna die’ moment has just occurred.”

Morrigan sighed and rubbed her brow. “I’m sorry. You guys got your own unresolved drama right now. I’ll just… I don’t really know what to do yet, but I should go.”

“Hey! Na, our drama’s already over,” Hilda said. “Actually, if you’re that worried about it, we can sidequest my drama on the way there. I’ll bring Alice along, and we can tell you the whole crappy story about how I got a new roommate. So… what happened, and where do you need to go?”

“My mom somehow figured out I’m living with her mom, who she hasn’t talked to in fifteen years, and she sent me some… ominous messages,” Morrigan explained, showing Hilda her phone.

Hilda leaned towards the phone with an almost identical mannerism to Emma that would have normally made Morrigan chuckle.

When she was done, she said, “Hmmmm, yeah, that is ominous. Okay, so what are we thinking here? She’s mad and just… being creepy? Or are we talking full-blown ‘she’s on her way to Evelyn’s now and probably going to burn the place down’ kind of thing?”

“Hilda!” Emma snapped.

“Sorry!” Hilda winced, once again with Emma mannerisms.

“I don’t know. I mean…” Morrigan exhaled. “I’m worried about Mom more than anything. She hasn’t exactly been in the best mental state, you know? And… Evelyn made a big deal about how learning about her involvement could set my mom off.”

“Hm. Alright. Let me get some clothes on, and I’ll drive you there.”

They followed her back inside. Alice was now leaning against the kitchen counter with arms folded, silently watching as Hilda rushed past her to her bedroom.

Emma squeezed Morrigan’s shoulder and smiled when she looked at her. “Don’t worry, I’m sure she’s just upset, but everything will be alright.”

“I don’t know… I just really need to get to her as fast as possible.”

Morrigan’s eyes drifted over to Alice, who might as well have been a statue for how little she reacted. Not even a single word of curiosity about what Hilda was rushing around for all of a sudden.

When Hilda came out, she was dressed in her usual style, this time wearing a black t-shirt with Faun printed over her chest and a black and white design that looked like a deer skull. “Okay, let's get moving,” she said, snatching her keys off the counter. She pointed at Alice. “Come on, Little Miss Sunshine. You’re riding shotgun.”

Alice raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me? What possible reason would I need to be involved in this?”

“Well, certainly not for emotional support. But I don’t want to risk you poking through my things before I’ve cleaned up. Besides, these two want to know where I’ve been, and since you’re the one who whisked me away, I figure you can give your side of the story.”

Alice huffed as if she wanted to complain, but pushed off the counter and began to follow. Morrigan truly was interested to learn what exactly Alice was doing here and why she seemed to be listening to Hilda.

Before walking out the door, Hilda palmed her face. “Oh right, almost forgot something.” She turned to the closet by the door and started digging through it. She pulled out a pair of leather gloves and tossed them at Alice, who jumped, startled, before catching them. The reaper just stared at them with narrowed eyes.

Hilda wagged a finger at her. “In this house, reapers wear gloves. Alright?”

Alice stared at them like they were cursed relics. “This is insulting.”

“Yeah, well, you’ll survive sweaty palms and a bruised ego. Us humans won’t survive you accidentally touching one of us. And I expect high fives all around once we make sure Morrigan’s mom is okay.” She winked at Morrigan.

Morrigan smiled slightly, appreciating that Hilda was trying to ease the tension a bit. Something about it made her feel like this situation really was under control.

Then she accidentally met eyes with Alice after the other reaper finished pulling the gloves on. Morrigan grinned and raised her own hand, showing off her fingerless gloves. “You uh… get used to the sweaty palms. I do recommend lighter fabric and cutting off the fingers, though.”

“I can’t believe I’m stooping to such a level…” Alice muttered as she walked past. Then she mumbled something else Morrigan didn’t quite catch, she thought maybe it was, “I’m a damn arbiter.”

Making it to the Jeep, Morrigan climbed in the back with Emma while Alice took the passenger seat. It felt a bit surreal that the girl was here with them. Not long ago, Pepper’s life was in the balance along with Morrigan’s continued existence as a reaper, and Alice was at the center of all of it. And yet…

“Seatbelt,” Hilda said sternly, as she backed her Jeep out.

Alice, to Morrigan’s extreme surprise, reached over her shoulder and then slowly fastened the seatbelt. It wasn’t just that she had done it, but it was that she clearly didn’t want to, but did so anyway. Just like putting on the gloves, and obeying Hilda’s order for her to come.

Just what the hell happened? Morrigan wondered.

“Okay,” Emma said once they were out of the parking lot. “So, just what the hell happened? Why is she here?”

“Well… Where to start…” Hilda muttered. “So, I was visiting Arrietta and Alice showed up, demanding I come with her. She took me to the mountains to meet a uh… so, this will probably be a bit hard for you to a believe…”

“A God?” Emma asked. “Lorelai?”

“Ha! Okay, so you know about her, weeew,” Hilda chuckled and made a show of wiping sweat off her brow. “That will make this a little easier.”

“Yeah, Death said that’s where he suspected you were,” Morrigan clarified.

Hilda nodded. “Anyway, when we got there, Lorelai asked me some questions, then… well…” she frowned, glancing at Alice.

Alice for her part, stared forward. “I don’t require your pity, witch. My mistress used inflicting me with the corruption as a way to test you. And you played right into her hands like a fool.”

Hilda nodded. “Yeah, I mean, Alice over here is acting tough, but she’s actually still in a lot of pain. Despite my efforts to heal her. That’s why she’s staying with me, so I can continue to treat her until she’s made a full recovery.”

Emma and Morrigan both nodded. Morrigan took a better look at Alice, the way she sat there with her eyes forward… It seemed to Morrigan that she was holding a poker face. “Um… How much pain?”

“It is none of your concern,” Alice said. “The only reason I’m staying with this witch is because my mistress ordered it. Otherwise I would deal with this myself.”

“I still don’t understand what Lorelai would want from you, Hilda,” Emma said, a bit of worry in her voice. “Um.. what’s she like?”

“She a total sadistic bitch,” Hilda said. “She’s interested in our bloodline, though. And… I guess healing Morrigan with the changeling got her attention.”

“Wait? Seriously?” Morrigan asked.

“Yeah. Speaking of which, hows things been with that for you, Morrigan?” she asked, looking at Morrigan in the rearview mirror.

“Oh, uh. Fine. Actually, I feel a lot more control over it now.”

She suspected Hilda to say something like, ‘okay, that’s good to hear,’ but the way she quietly returned her gaze to the road made Morrigan wonder if something else was on her mind.

Then, her phone started ringing. Morrigan picked it up, hoping to see if it was her, but it was Evelyn. She answered, hoping against news that her mom had shown up there, making a scene already or something.

“Hey, Evelyn,” she said, answering the phone.

“Morrigan. I just got home and saw your note. Is Emma okay?”

“Oh… yeah, false alarm there, but uh…” Morrigan grimaced, thinking about how to explain. “We… might have another problem.”

“Okay. What is it?” Evelyn asked.

“Well, I just got a message from my mom. Apparently, she somehow figured out I’m with you, and then she turned her phone off. I uh… don’t really know what she’s thinking.”

There was a pause, and then to Morrigan’s immense surprise Evelyn muttered, “Oh shit…”

Well, at least we’re all on the same page.

“Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do,” Evelyn said. “It sounds like you’re in a car. Can you come back here so I know you’re safe? As for you’re mom, I’m going to call 911 and ask for a wellness check.”

“W-Wait—don’t do that.” Morrigan said quickly.

“I think it would be best to stay on the side of caution here.”

“No. I mean. Think about how Mom will interpret that. I think… I should go home and see if I can find her there, and I’ll try to smooth things over.”

“Morrigan… I don’t know if that’s the best idea.”

“She’s my mom, okay? And… I know her a lot better than you do. If cops show up and she does something stupid, things will be a hundred times worse. Besides, we’re almost there. I’ll be able to get there before any cops anyway.”

“Morrigan…”

“Please, Evelyn, just trust me on this one. If I get there and she’s not home, you can call the police then. Okay?”

There was a long pause until Evelyn finally said, “Alright, fine. Just keep me updated, okay?”

“Thanks, Evelyn, and I will.”

Silence returned to the car until Emma said, “Um… so Hilda, have you had a chance to talk to Arrietta since you’ve been back?”

“Huh? Oh, no, I was going to until this.”

“Sorry,” Morrigan said.

“Na, don’t say sorry. She’s probably worried but I’ll clear things up and let her know I’m okay, and in a weird turn of events, am rooming up with the girl she thought was going to kill me. So that’ll be a fun story,” Hilda chuckled. The silence that followed made Hilda raise an eyebrow. “What?”

“So… Death revealed something about Atomyst to us,” Emma said carefully.

“Well, I know he is supposed to be dead. He’s on Alice’s list,” Hilda said.

“Yeah, but there’s more to it than that. And it’s pretty bad.”

Hilda took a turned and muttered, “Damn, when it rains it pours, huh? Look, fill me in on whatever that is later. Let’s focus on Morrigan’s mom for now.”

The graveyard came into view, the place Morrigan had once thought of as her sanctuary, and where she had died. Her house was just around the corner. She felt Emma grab the back of her hand as she silently prayed that they would see her mom’s car sitting in the driveway.

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Chapter 155 - Good Intentions