We finished our tea, and I got dressed for the day’s work. With most of the kitchen done, it was time to hit the main room.

Here, the floor was sagging in places, and there were several holes in the drywall. Some large, as if it had been punched, others were standard screw holes or nail holes. Thankfully, I didn’t have anything in here, so there was nothing to do but to get started.

We began by ripping out the carpet, discovering old linoleum beneath. It was in terrible condition, so we removed that, as well. The floor beneath that was rather nice wood flooring. Or at least, it had been. Something was spilled there at some time that damaged it terribly, eating into the wood in places. I had little choice but to remove it, as well.

Beneath that was the subfloor. It had some damage, and as I surveyed it, I realized I would likely need a general contractor and inspector to fix this. Thankfully, there was no termite damage. Just the standard spiders you’d expect for a crawlspace.

As I explained this to Katira, she shook her head. “No, I can do this work. Since I don’t sleep, I have all the time in the world to learn things. I’ve helped out on construction crews, drafted blueprints and fixed almost everything in a home. Except electrical work. I can’t get into that. Otherwise, yeah” -she shrugged her shimmery shoulders- “I can fix this with you. Give me some time, and I’ll have everything drawn up. I’ll take the liberty of making sure we have no bugs getting into the house while the floor is left this way,” she said confidently.

“Huh. Well, I’ll be damned. I’ll leave that in your pretty little hands, then.” I looked out the window, seeing the sun high overhead. “I should see about getting this debris into the dumpster, and then get a snack,” I said, wiping the sweat from my face.

I hauled the bits of flooring, carpet and linoleum out into the dumpster, then went to the kitchen, washed my hands, and pulled out a slice of pizza from the fridge. I spread a thin layer of mayo on the bottom crust, and set it into the frying pan on medium heat. Time for pizza.

I sat on the counter, flipping through my phone when all sound stopped. Figuring it was my tinnitus, I shook my head, and waited for the moment to pass. When it didn’t, I set my phone down, and got off the counter.

As I walked to the bathroom to get a cotton bud, I glanced over to see Katira at the table, about to put pencil to paper, when I realized she wasn’t moving. Looking around, I noticed several things that were not quite right, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

I hesitantly sniffed the air, smelling the faint odor of rain. It had returned.

I walked over to the hatch, and crossed my arms in front of it.

“So. It seems you’re back,” I said softly.

The hatch began bucking wildly as the banging started.

“CUT THAT OUT!” I bellowed. The banging ceased.

Time for answers. “Now. I’m going to ask you a few questions. Knock once for yes, twice for no, three times for I don’t know. Do you understand me?”

KNOCK

“Good. That will make this easier. Are you trying to kill me?”

KNOCK

“Not surprised. Is there a way to make peace with you to keep you from killing me?”

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

“That’s hopeful. Is there a way for me to appease you enough to get you to leave us alone while I find a way to make peace with you?”

KNOCK KNOCK

I waited for a third knock, but none came. “You are the entity I’ve come to know as the Ma’alkaun, yes?”

KNOCK

“Excellent. Do you hate me?”

KNOCK KNOCK

“Cool, cool. Do you have an issue with my familiar, then?”

KNOCK KNOCK

“Even better. If I were to leave something down there for you, would you be able to understand it and use it?”

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KNOCK

“Awesome. I shall do so as soon as I’m able. Probably tomorrow. Will you leave me be until then, at least?”

KNOCK

“Good. I’d like to get back to work. Release me.”

The sizzling of the stove came back to my ears, and I walked over to Katira. “We need to talk. Now.”

She put down her pencil and followed me to the stove, where I removed the now heated pizza slices, plating them.

“I just had a conversation with our ‘friend’ the Ma’alkaun.” I held up a hand to hold off anything she might say, and repeated the chain of events.

After standing there in silence for a moment, she asked me, “So, what are you going to give it?”

“A chart for Morse Code. If it can communicate like that, we may be able to find a way of dealing with it. I want that threat gone. Simple as that. If we can deal with this creature in a mutually beneficial way, let’s do so. It doesn’t hate us, so I’m thinking it’s acting on some level of instinct. It only comes out at night, so we are safe until tomorrow night. I have to go into town to get some tile for the backsplash, and once you get the blueprints drawn up, we need to get the materials for that, too. We got this. I’m going to do all I can to get out of this alive and attain immortality. Sound good?” I explained.

“Master, this sounds risky. I know we’ve little choice, but still. I want this threat gone, too. I’m just afraid,” she said softly, holding her midsection.

“Me too, but it’s the best thing I can come up with. Come on, let’s go to town and get the things we need, or at least get them ordered for delivery tomorrow,” I said, wrapping my arms around her.

She hugged me close, and nodded.

We headed into town, chatting comfortably about my life, and my thoughts on the whole Necromancy thing. We continued to talk as we shopped, choosing materials together as if we had been making decisions like this our whole lives together.

Once finished, we headed to my car, and loaded up the tile. Once we got on the road, I looked over at her, admiring the way she held herself, her curiosity about the world around her, and yes, marveling at how beautiful she was.

“So, I know you said you don’t really eat, but can you eat? Like, is this form able to process food?” I asked uncertainly.

She looked over at me, and with a smirk she said, “I am one hundred percent anatomically correct. Anything you expect out of your dream woman, You. Will. Get.”

I hurriedly plastered my eyes back to the road before my mind made up a hundred different fantasies to that statement. “Yes, well. Okay, then. Anatomically correct for my dream woman. Gotcha.” I cleared my throat and drove us to the nearest Outback. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible, either. I was hungry, and if there was a chance I could die in the next few days, I wasn’t going to do so on an empty stomach if I could help it.

We got inside, and got to a table after a few minutes' wait. I looked at her, then. She hadn’t changed a thing about herself. Still in a baggy t-shirt and shorts. Her pale, creamy skin sparkled intermittently as it catched the light just right, as did her horns.

Horns. Shit. No wonder we were being stared at the whole time we were at Home Depot. And here. I had gotten so used to them being there, that they were simply ignored as normal for me.

I cleared my throat. “Um, Katira?” When she looked up from her menu, I almost lost my next words from seeing her soft smile. I pressed on, however, “Uh, darlin’, I just realized your horns are still there. It’s why everyone has been staring at us all day. That and your beautifully shimmery, scaly skin.”

She reached up and touched the horn on her left side. “Do you not like it? I can make it go away, if you want,” she said with a small pout.

“No, no. I love it. The whole package is perfect to me. Just, uh, the people in this small town aren’t used to seeing folks that look like you. It attracts attention,” I said with a shrug. “But, if you’re fine with that, I will be, too.”

She shrugged and said, “That’s their problem. Not mine.” She returned her attention to the menu. She surveyed it for a moment, then looked up at me. “What do you think you’ll have, Master?” she asked casually.

I blinked a couple of times, then eyed the menu. “Well, we’ve worked up an appetite, so I absolutely have to have the Bloomin’ Onion, and I’ll get the twelve ounce ribeye. I’m a bit of an eater, if I’m working hard,” I said somewhat self-consciously.

“Yes, I know,” she murmured. “I’ve been inside your head, remember?” she said with a slightly raised eyebrow.

Luckily, the waiter came at that moment, and we placed our orders. We chatted some more about the house, and what work it still needed, and how to reinforce the workshop, if needed. Lunch came and went, the two of us laughing and talking happily about life, getting to know each other better. Sure, she’d been in my head, but she didn’t know much more about me beyond her form and the reasons for it. Finding that out was weird. We paid the bill, and left.

Instead of heading home, I drove north.

“Master? Where are we going?” she asked, the confusion evident on her face.

“You’ll see,” I replied. “Why have you taken to calling me ‘Master’, instead of my name? Not upset, or anything. Just curious,” I said.

“It just feels right to call you Master,” she said with a shrug. “I follow that sensation whenever it crops up. It has always kept me safe,” she continued.

I shrugged and accepted it. Being called ‘Master’ would definitely take some getting used to. I’d only been called that one time before, and that was a short-lived relationship. For multiple reasons.

We rode in companionable silence for the rest of the trip, and I pulled into the Barnes & Noble lot. We got out of the car, and Katira turned to me, a very confused look on her face.

“We’re here to get a couple of books on Morse Code. I’m not terribly familiar with it, but it’s a fairly simple and useful code to learn. One book for us, one for our ‘friend’ downstairs,” I explained.

Katira nodded her understanding, and we went in. I asked an associate for some help locating the book, and we were directed to it straightway. I got what we needed, and turned around to find that Katira had disappeared.