11
PENN
Penn walks the horse back the way it came, looking for its rider.
Cody walks beside him. Her shoulders are square. Her spine is rigid. Her dark eyes are clear and dry and dull.
How quickly she composed herself, Penn thinks! Now he really worries about her.
A clap of thunder sounds, and Cody smiles – smiles! – ducking her chin. Smiles, and her eyes glow a little brighter, as if near-death is an ordinary thing.
Overhead, the cobalt clouds are writhing and slithering together like wispy blue snakes. Penn feels a strange communion with them. But they are not spirits. And he’s a mortal now.
A mortal again.
He doesn’t want to be a wraith.
He doesn’t miss the Under Realm.
Another clap, and the sky breaks open. Cody stops mid-step, and lets her head fall back. Fast, her
