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Chapter 30

Suzi’s anger alone kept her warm as she left the building. The bitter cold and sharp wind buffeted her face, but the fury in her chest felt hotter than the sub-zero air. Her right hand clenched around the glass sphere hidden in her coat pocket, each breath reminding her of how she had failed everyone she cared about.

She couldn’t help Ellie; now Ricky suffered without his wife. Aiden was comatose because she refused to give up that damn phone. Darcy was scheduled to die in the next hours—an unstoppable train only she and Dr. Everett seemed to realize. Nick had a terminal condition but refused her intervention. It was too fucking much, and her fury fired her veins, helping her keep her balance on the ice, driving her forward.

The sun sank lower, bleeding color from the sky, deepening the gloom in her thoughts. She spotted Holy Name Cathedral across the street, spurring a sudden impulse. She crossed over, stepped inside, and sank to her knees in a deserted alcove, running her fingertips over intricate carvings in the wood, brass, and copper. The story of Eden, the Tree of Knowledge—it was all so mythical. She barely believed in anything anymore, but maybe she needed the fleeting comfort of a place built for reverence.

She didn't expect to find solace in the divine but sought some crumb of absolution for the guilt crushing her ribs.

“Ignorance truly is bliss, right?” came Darcy’s voice from behind her, gentle yet laced with that irreverent tone Suzi knew so well.

Suzi’s composure cracked. Tears streamed hot down her cheeks, and she didn’t turn around. Darcy’s hand found her shoulder; warmth and closeness in a cold, empty space.

“Fate can turn on us fast,” Darcy said quietly. “I’ve known for months I’m dying tomorrow. And then just a week ago, I met the love of my life.” Her voice broke with a private kind of wonder.

Suzi jerked around, eyes wide, stunned. “You knew?” she whispered, half-choked by her sobs.

Darcy bowed her head. “Bear and I tell each other everything. When we were planning a rescue for the doctor, he told me. I’ve spent the last six months preparing, I guess.”

“Oh, Darcy… I’m so sorry.” Suzi’s throat felt thick. “I’m powerless to save you, or Ellie, or Aiden. Without you, I can’t skip. I might not be able to help Jo.” Each sentence stung her deeper.

Darcy’s mouth curved in a sad little smile, her gaze drifting to the front of the cathedral. “We all go sometime. But you know what? Before Jo, I was always just…fighting. This merde —” she gestured at a side chamber that displayed Joan of Arc relics, “—this was my legacy. I fought it because it was bullshit. But now, I don’t care. Jo gave me the best conversations I’ve had in almost six hundred years. I’m at peace. That’s what matters.”

Inside Guillermo, Suzi’s entire mental court murmured in agreement. Annie and Jo clung to each other, tears brimming, hearts pounding with love for Darcy.

“She does love me,” Jo whispered in awe. It reverberated through Suzi’s consciousness.

And an idea flared bright in Suzi’s mind. She snapped upright, hands seizing Darcy’s shoulders. “Darcy, do you trust me?”

Darcy flinched, eyes flying open. “Trust you? You’re insane half the time, but I guess I don’t think you’d kill me.”

Suzi’s lips twitched in grim humor. “I want to give you something, but you have to…submit to me.”

Darcy quirked an eyebrow, instantly defensive. “Excuse me? Didn’t think you were—”

“Not like that,” Suzi insisted, though a sardonic smile pulled at her mouth. “Trust me, please? You’ve got nothing to lose, right?”

A shaky nod. “Alright…what do I do?”

Suzi inched closer, gazing deep into Darcy’s freckled face—those faint specks she’d never truly noticed, the stormy hazel eyes. She slowed her breath, feeling Darcy’s rigid posture relax. “Just…don’t fight.”

She stared into those eyes, focusing on the minute details—the swirling flecks, the faint movement of her pupils. Delving deeper into Darcy’s domain, she felt the initial resistance melt in the face of Suzi’s friendship and determination. Darcy’s mental walls wavered, letting Suzi in.

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It was a landscape of memories—six centuries of war, hatred, bitterness, lonely loss. Suzi navigated until she found Darcy’s core: her super-conscious ID, where self-respect and identity reigned. Suzi leaned in, lips brushing Darcy’s in a near-kiss and whispered, “Gracie Jo,” before closing the distance fully.

Darcy’s lips parted, stunned, her body going slack under the intangible connection. Within the next second, Suzi drew back, leaving Darcy swaying in place, eyes blank with confusion.

“Ahem.” A priest’s stern voice echoed. “Not in here, ladies.” His footsteps rapidly approached from near the altar.

Darcy blinked, scratching her head like she’d just woken from a bizarre dream. “Suzi?” she ventured, voice unsteady. Before either could react, the priest laid a hand on their shoulders.

The jolt of contact reignited Suzi’s pain from her injured arm, and Darcy startled fully awake. She glanced at the priest, then at Suzi, and suddenly comprehension hit.

“Oh my God!” Darcy cried, tears welling as she threw her arms around Suzi in a fierce hug.

“Please take your…er…affections outside,” the priest snapped, looking mortified.

They rushed out the cathedral doors, stopping to catch their breath on the wide steps. The winter air slapped their faces again.

“You weren’t lying,” Darcy breathed, awe shining in her eyes. “Jo really was in your head, and now…she’s in mine. I feel her.” Her voice brimmed with jubilation.

Suzi exhaled, relief flooding her chest at Darcy’s joy. “Yeah. She can talk to you now.”

Darcy’s smile wavered. “But if I die soon—what happens to her? She’s in me.”

“We have to find her. Put her back in her body,” Suzi said firmly.

Darcy cupped Suzi’s cheek, blinking with a tenderness Suzi rarely saw in her. “I saw them…your others. Dr. Everett claimed they don’t exist?”

Suzi’s jaw tightened. “He’s been my therapist for years, but he won’t acknowledge my condition. He says I don’t have lapses. No typical DID symptoms, apparently.”

A flicker of suspicion crossed Darcy’s face. “But didn’t he spend four years missing, possessed by a demon? He claims he remembers none of it…yet he remembers details about your therapy?”

Suzi muttered, unsettled. “Then there’s this.” She pulled out the Miracle Globe, letting Darcy see the figure of Ellie inside.

Darcy’s eyes narrowed. “I knew Bear and Everett were messing with one, but I never dreamed they’d actually succeed. It was the doc’s idea…he insisted we at least try. Bear wasn’t sure it’d work.”

Suzi nodded, bitterness souring her mouth. “He said there was a ritual to seal her inside. But is there a way to get her out?”

Darcy’s face fell. “I don’t think so. Bear might know more, but from what I’ve heard, you’d need insane power to break it. Legend says the last time one broke, it unleashed Leviathan, flattening an entire region. Total chaos.”

“Fuck.” Suzi stared at the orb, then shook her head and pocketed it again. “Alright. First things first—Jo. I had Miraleth start searching, but who knows how long that’ll take?”

Darcy shrugged. “The demon in Jo’s body can skip because of that ring, right?”

“Yeah. That’s what I suspect.”

“So, it could be anywhere, but the body’s dying. Probably it’s out panicking, either looking for another vessel or hunting you down since you stole Jo’s essence. I guess we wait for it to show itself.”

“That’s why I want you to have this.” Suzi summoned the Dagger of Roanove into her hand, offering it to Darcy. “When I fought the Abhorrence Demon, I saw you stab him with this.”

Darcy’s lips thinned as she tucked the blade into her hoodie, glancing away. “Fine, but that baiser better hurry up. My clock’s ticking.”

Suzi swallowed. She’s really at peace, she realized, marveling at Darcy’s acceptance. “Let’s stop by the hospital on our way—Aiden’s there,” Suzi suggested. She wanted Darcy as backup in case a demon attacked. Darcy nodded, eager to spend time with Jo’s consciousness.

While Darcy chilled in the family room, presumably in telepathic conversation with Jo, Suzi found Aiden’s new room—a wave of nerves and gratitude making her chest tight. Now that quarantine was lifted, she could actually touch him. She slipped inside with caution, seeing his body cast-free, arms and leg under a thin blanket. Only his thumb and two fingers peeked out.

She brushed those exposed digits with her own trembling hand and whispered his name. Immediately, she was yanked to Guillermo, happy to see the others had cleaned up the mess and the debris. All of her alters were paused into their rooms, performing various activities that kept them occupied and primarily out of trouble. She watched in awe as his room materialized and his image took shape. He was barefoot, wearing his blue jeans and Superman tee, sporting a glowing red-gold ring around his finger.

“Hello, honey bunny!” she blurted, knowing Suzanne and Annie would appreciate her using their nickname for him.

He turned, eyes brightening. “Suzi? Oh, my love, it's so great to see you! It feels like it’s been an eternity since I was here last.”

She laughed shakily. “You had been quarantined for a while after—” she paused, unsure if she should divulge, then decided not to keep anything from him, “—well, Aiden, you died.”

His face went still. “Wait, I’m dead? Am I…?”

“No, you came back,” she reassured him, fighting tears. She didn’t want to mention demon bindings or the heavy cost of those favors. “But there was quarantine, so I couldn’t touch you for the last couple of weeks.”

He exhaled, tension slipping from his shoulders. “Feels like time stopped and rushed all at once. So…how long was I out?”

“Eighteen days,” she said in a hush, though she herself wasn’t precisely counting. “Not that I’m keeping count.”

He frowned. “I can remember it so vividly, but at the same time, it's foggy. Like static. How are we able to talk like this?”

She forced a grin, ignoring the swirl of heartbreak behind it. “It’s a long story. You better sit—this could take a while.”