Rubbing her hands up and down her face, Heather came to the quick clusion that she was indeed avoiding the issue of how to restore Tatum. Until now she had wao summon the darkrealm version of the elder mage and release her spirit into it just like every other normal way. It was ohat Tatum had been safely tucked into her new body, Heather figured that the shadowed version of the mage could work with her ahe body into their world, effectively bringing the mage back to life.

  Creaking from one of the heavy barn doors shook Heather out of her thoughts of how to save Tatum. Watg as a small crib floated its way to the makeshift living room, Heather shook her head in disbelief. “Miracle worker.” Heather assisted Cire with the antique by sending her own white magic to take over where Cire had started to look a little tired. “I don’t want to ask how you got it here so fast.”

  Dismissiher’s praise over the use of such trivial magic, Cire instead focused on the crib. “The wood is basically in good dition. Just needs a few magical touches and that will make it right as rain.” Cire hummed to herself and summoned her magice more as she worked on the wheelbase. “It’s on four little wooden wheels that I am going to ge to…something fun.” Cire ughed and began to weave her magic. “Okay, while I do this, what did you think about?”

  “You were right, I was avoiding dealing with this. Ultimately I started thinking about the darkrealm and using that body in some way.” Heather paused and smiled as the wooden wheels turned into rubber-psties that would typically be found on a set of roller-skates. “Odd choice, Cire.” Resuming her initial response, Heather sighed and visibly shook as she thought about the dark simucrum. “I remember that Derek was scared that he’d lose himself to those things.”

  “So the shadow-body there in the i’t good?” Cire questioned and showed Heather the wheel-brakes that could be applied to the bassi. “Updated and now safe.” She smiled.

  “Fifteen minutes is all Denise would allow us, Cire.” Dropping her hands, Heather focused her bloodshot eyes on her new friend. “She told us it was so vampires couldn’t find us…or that it was corrupted? I simply don’t know. Cire, until st night…I had never used it.” Her voice cracked ihroat aher saw Dusty jump to his feet, a solemn look in his dark eyes. “...It..its okay, boy. I was thinking of Derek. Everything is alright.” Heather hung her head low, her gray-brown hair falling across her face. “Oh…god. She was right…” Heather quietly started g. “...I gave her…a…” Sniffing and doing her best to gain trol of herself, Heather fessed the remains of her sins. “...Denise was right…It was her idea, but…but I did it…poor Wendy.”

  “Wendy?” Cire whispered and focused her magi Heather. “Let’s hear it all.”

  Right after the bright yellow hugged her softly and uplifted her spirit, Heather used the energy to keep talking. “Cire, I lobotomized a woman named Wendy. Denise only wanted me to do the procedure.” Heather reached out for Cire’s hand, and smiled as she felt more of Cire’s positivity pulse through her as though she were in a room of citrus and honey. Heather took a deep breath, “I wanted her to suffer, but I didn’t. I did as I was ordered to…but I shoved Derek’s picture in Wendy’s face…” Staring ily into Cire’s shimmering brown eyes, Heather drew more from Cire’s magic. “...I wao hurt her so badly, and Deopped me. She knew…she khat..”

  “We seem to have gotten off track, Heather.” Cire gently urged through her ected magic. “What does this other form provide for Tatum? I got the impression that it wouldn’t be very useful.”

  “What do you mean?” Mindlessly turning the ring on her pinky, Heather felt the soft pulsing of magitained ial band. “I just have to somehow get that form into this world.” She shrugged, “Or find a way to e the one she had. I mean if we stifically grow skin or whatever, magic should be able to e from almost nothing.”

  Kneeling to make a couple of adjustments to the wheel-brakes, Cire got everything perfect then rolled the bed over to Carrie. “Hello there little one. Your mom is in doode, and Auntie Cire has a bed for you.” Cire pyfully cpped and did a little bounce when Carrie did the best she could to copy the g with her tiids. “Little genius.” Once she had Carrie safely in her arms, Cire stood up and faced Heather. “There is a reason why books like Fraei, Heather. I think even Stephen King tried to show that the dead never e back correctly i Cemetery.”

  “That’s true. I have no way to know ‘what’ Tatum I will be bringing back.” Heather sighed a over to the small box of personal items that she’d collected of Tatum’s at the time she found the ring. “There’s an old brush and some bobby pins, a set of earrings..things that I could likely use.” Turning back to watch as Cire tucked Carrie into the lovely bed, Heather smiled. “I have parts of her in these somewhere…but…how long ago?”

  Shrugging and a sympathetic look, Cire walked to Heather and pced her hand on her shoulder, then csped the hand with the e ring. “There’s no way to know.” Her voice soft and mournful, Cire kept talking. “There’s also the possibility that you didn’t get just Tatum. You mentioned weaving yi with the white thing?” Cire watched Heather nod slowly. “Heather.” Cire paused and took a deep breath as she walked in front of Heather and then cupped her cheeks tenderly. “Heather, maybe it's better to just let her go.”