“Are you kidding?” my father cries. “This place is great. I mean, I miss my family, of course. But I finally get to have some peace. No more stress, no more worry, no more running for my life. I get to spend warm, sunny afternoons tending my flower garden. It’s like the ultimate retirement.” He gives me a smile. “Don’t feel guilty, Rayne. I’m actually quite happy down here. And someday—though hopefully not anytime soon—you’ll come join me. And we’ll finally be able to make up for lost time.” He reaches over and squeezes my hand.
It’s too much. I need to tell him about Sunny. But how can I destroy the happy look on his face? He died to save my life. And yet I failed to do the same for my sister.
“Sunny…” I try to choke through my tears. He has to know. I have to tell him.
“Oh! Of course!” he interrupts. “What was I thinking?” He rises to his feet and walks down the hall. “Hey, Sun?” he cries. “We’ve got company!”
I look up, my eyes bulging out of my head to see my sister, translucent and glowing, step into the living room. Her wings are unfurled and she looks more beautiful than I’ve ever seen her before.
“Rayne!” she cries, diving onto the couch and throwing her arms around me.
“Sunny! You’re here? You’re actually here?”
“Of course I’m here! Where else would I go to hang out while waiting for Judgment Day? Certainly not one of those fleabag motels at the Way Station!”
I look up at my father in disbelief. “You knew all along…” I murmur.
He grins. “Of course. Sorry, I guess I should have told you. But I was feeling a bit selfish. Wanted a moment with you all to myself.”
A rush of love washes through me as I gaze in wonder at my family. I suddenly realize all the issues I’ve had with them over the years mean absolutely nothing. I love them. And they’ll be a part of me forever, no matter what happens. Even death itself can’t destroy the bond we share.
“I can’t believe you’re all here!” Sunny says, looking from me to Jareth to Race. “I mean, I hope I don’t sound too selfish, being overjoyed that you’ve died, too. But I’m so thrilled to have you back. Wandering through that Way Station alone was brutal. All I could do was wonder how you made out with Bertha. Did the refugee camp survive? What happened to Magnus? He’s not with you, so I assume that he’s still living. Did he manage to evade Pyrus? Is he still hiding out somewhere?” Her questions come too fast and furious for me to answer. I hold up my hands, begging her to stop.
“If you close your mouth for two seconds, I promise I will tell you all,” I inform her. She laughs then clamps her hand over her mouth.
“Gohead,” she tries to say through sealed lips. I can’t help but giggle. It’s so good to have her back.
“First of all, Jareth, Race, and I aren’t dead. Notice we don’t have that purple glow?”
“Not dead?” My sister drops her hand. I knew the silence couldn’t last. “But that’s impossible! No one living is allowed down here.”
“Which is why it’s taken us so long to find you,” I reply wryly, giving her the story of Prim and the hot tub, Charon, and finally the Demon Patrol and Hercules. “But we made it,” I finish. “We’re all here now.”
“But… why?”
“To save you, of course.”
My sister’s eyes bulge. “To save me? From what? I’m already dead!”
“Exactly. We want to make you undead. I mean, not undead like a vampire, but, back to life completely. We’re working to get an audience with Hades and are going to speak to him on your behalf. Explain to him that your death was unjust and should have never happened. There’s still a chance, if we can convince him before your Judgment Day.”
Sunny stares at me in disbelief, gnawing her lower lip. A sudden worry worms through my insides. “You do want to be saved, right?” After seeing how happy she is down here with my father, I’m starting to wonder.
“Well, yeah. I mean, I think… ?” She glances over at Dad with a guilty look on her face. Yup, I nailed it.
Luckily, my dad catches it, too. “Sunny,” he scolds. “You have eternity to come back here and hang out with me. If you have a real chance to go back to Earth and finish out your life like you’re supposed to, you need to take it. Think of Rayne and your mother. How could your mother go on without her daughter?”
“But you’ll be alone…”
He reaches over and kisses her on the head. “And I appreciate you thinking about me. But I’m fine here. I’ve settled in nicely and am enjoying the peace and quiet. And when you someday come back to me, I’ll have this place all fixed up and ready for you. Remember, time passes differently here. A month on Earth could be a single day in Hades. So I know you’ll be back before you know it.”
Her shoulders droop in relief and she smiles widely, absolved of her guilt. “Well, then, let’s do it,” she says, turning back to me. “After all, it sounds like Magnus is still in trouble. We need to go help him.”
I nod, for once not even minding that she’s more concerned with her boyfriend than her family. That’s just my Sunny.
“I can’t believe you guys came all this way,” she continues. “Just for me. Rayne, you truly win Sister of the Year this time. How can I ever repay you?”