Did I still somehow possess my eyes? I tried to wiggle my fingers. The part of me that should have been my hand seemed to respond. I felt it brush against something like smoke made solid. I would have gasped if there had been air to draw in or lungs to draw it. I stretched my not-fingers out further, reaching for the elusive tendril of energy. It slithered by me again, too far away to catch.

No! Come back!

And as if it could hear every last one of my desperate thoughts, it obeyed.

It enveloped my fingers, twined around my wrist. And then I felt my not-self embraced by countless shimmering phantom arms. They wrapped all around me, gathering me, buoying me, drawing me down, down, down, down…

~*~*~*~

Down, down, down…

…back onto the stage with a thump.

And I was no longer alone. Riley’s arms were around me, cradling me in a fervent embrace. He brushed my hair back from my face as he peered into my eyes, his expression desperate as he sought to assure himself that my mind was intact. I managed to give him a little smile.

He relaxed visibly and returned my smile wearily, his warm fingers brushing over my cheeks. If I thought he’d looked drained before, he looked ready to drop now.

“The gate has been secured,” he whispered as he drew me to my feet. “Azathoth slumbers.”

I leaned against him, suddenly feeling almost as tired as he looked. “But I felt him wake up,” I said, taking a confused breath. “I was so lost, Riley. Everything was gone… You were gone.”

“No, little one. The Old Ones ensured he was not awoken. They ensured our love would endure…”

Our love.

For me and Riley, his strange family would fight to keep our little world spinning. Defy the prophecies. Risk the wrath of the gods. It was worth it to them… for love.

I realized how silent the space around us had become. “Where are they?” I asked.

I heard a raspy cough and Neil emerged around the column. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve before screwing the dragon head back onto his cane. “You think they’d stick around this dump?” He glanced over the ravaged space, the settling debris and the gibbering splayed forms of the mad cultists. He shot Riley a look. “After all, you already cleaned out the buffet.”

Riley’s gaze slipped from me to follow Neil’s to the black-robed shells of former zealotry. I felt him release a distantly contented sigh.

A feminine yawn caught my attention and I saw Chloe hop up from the orchestra pit. “I’m out of here too,” she said, joining us by the wings.

Riley nodded to her appreciatively. “I thank you, sister.”