The Nothing: A Book of the Between (39 page)

Weston laughed, a foreign sound in that place. “That should be interesting. There may be a heavy elephant population in the new world order.”

There was so much she wanted to tell him. About Grace and the baby and Aidan’s death. But the crowd of Dreamshifters were gathering close, drawn by what she carried. Weston’s smile faded.

“It’s time, Vivian. Some of these have waited years for their release.”

“I know, but—”

“This is no life, Vivian. Let us go.”

Her grandfather moved to stand beside Weston, nodding his agreement. Vivian drew her sleeve across her eyes.

“Good-bye, you two.”

“We’ll be seeing you soon enough,” her grandfather said. “Make it count.”

Blinking back tears, she tried to smile for them. “Go in peace,” she said, and emptied the precious fluid in the waterskin onto the dry dust at her feet. A great sigh rose up from the Dreamshifters. The light dimmed from half light into dark. A sound of running water began, growing deeper and closer. A spark of light appeared in the distance, burning ever brighter as it came closer, and she recognized the raft of the Ferryman. When he drew up close, he raised the lantern that he might see her face, his dark eyes gleaming beneath his hood.

“This is not a part of my journey. Why do you call me from my work?” But he did not sound angry.

“Will you carry these across, Charon? They have waited long.”

“I will carry them for naught but the asking. You are certain you will not stay with me awhile?”

“Not now. There is much work to do.”

“You have done well.” He bowed to her and turned to the silent congregation. “Come aboard. Let me take you home.”

Silently, one by one, they stepped aboard the ferry. Last of all went her grandfather, and then Weston. Both smiled for her, thought neither spoke a word. Charon poled them all away, leaving her alone in the dark, with the river running past her feet.

A long time she lingered, mesmerized by the flowing water. No work to do here. No suffering, only the murmuring water and the peaceful dark. But there were Dreamworlds to be rebuilt. Children to be raised and taught the secrets of the Between. And a man whose love shone bright even into the land of the dead. She was smiling as she made a door and stepped through it and into his waiting arms.

“Brett Flynne was here while you were out,” he said before he kissed her.

“And what does Flynne want now?”

“Some strange creature down on Finger Beach. Attacked a tourist.”

“Can it wait?”

“I don’t think so.” He kissed her again, his hands caressing her back, sliding up beneath her shirt. “Well, maybe just a little.”

“Please, Zee,” she whispered.

And he picked her up and carried her off to bed.

D
EAR
R
EADER
,

I want to thank you for spending this time in the Between. There are so many books out there waiting to be read, and I'm honored that you've chosen to read mine. I do hope that you enjoyed the journey into the Forever and back again and would love to hear your thoughts on the story, either in the form of a review or by dropping me a personal note. If you would like to email me at
[email protected]
, I promise to get back to you.
 

If you've enjoyed
The Books of the Between
, you might be interested in my new paranormal mystery series
Dead Before Dying
, coming soon through Diversion Books. I don't have links for you yet, but you can
sign up for my newsletter
to be sure you don't miss breaking news about release dates and giveaways. As my thanks to you for joining the newsletter you can also immediately download a free copy of
The Dream Runner
, the first novella in my Dream Wars series.
 

Again, thank you for reading and I hope you will join me on many more reading journeys.

All good things,

Kerry

http://www.kerryschafer.com

https://www.facebook.com/KerrySchaferBooks

https://twitter.com/KerrySchafer

A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS

W
ORDS
ARE
insufficient to express my gratitude to all of the people who helped this book come to be. My Viking tops the list, as always, followed closely by my informal writer support group - Susan Spann, Heather Webb, Jennifer Spiller, Laura Kreitzer and Alex Hughes.
 

I can't say enough good things about Derek Murphy, who began as my cover designer and ended up as my marketing, Kickstarter, and website guru. Thanks again to my amazing editing team, Vikki Ciaffone and Richard Shealy. I feel truly fortunate to have found my way to both of you. Also to Alex Hughes and Laura Kreitzer, who stepped up at the last minute to take care of formatting the manuscript for publication – bless you both.
 

So many people helped out with the Kickstarter project. My thanks to Jeff Seymour, Jamie Wyman Reddy, and Harry Connolly for tips and advice on creating the project. The Kickstarter video was an event that never would have happened without an overwhelming amount of assistance. Much love to my son, Ryan Schafer, who cobbled together a great video out of the fragments I sent him. To the lovely people who appeared in the video – Ara Grigorian, Jennifer Spiller, Susan Spann, and Chris Petersen – all of you deserve a special circle in writer heaven.
 

Last, but not least, thank you to all of the people who are financial backers for the Kickstarter. These wonderful folks are, in no particular order:
 
Jennifer Tatroe, Frau Wyrt Wicce, Vicki Brown, Kristin Centorcelli, Susan Spann, Kari Lynn Dell, Erin Kent, Joe Conley, Sue London, Derek Murphy, Alexandra Taylor, Inge Atkinson, Stefan Friesen, Zachariah B. Ward, Sally Janin, Marcia Wilson, Skye Christakos, Silver James, Kevin Brucks, Corinne O'Flynne, Linda Grimes, Teresa Horne, Jim Barrows, Gabrielle Connors, Jessica Meade, Aletia Meyers, Rachel Sasseen, Leslie Brost, Stephen Merlino, Adriana Cloud, Sunnie Andrews, Sarah Wheaton, Liv Stecker Weston, Gaylyn Faulk, Ara Grigorian, Holly Hunt, Noortje de Graaff, Bill Cameron, Jamie Wyman, Jaymi Elford, Courtney Schafer, Kristina L. Martin, Arne Radtke, Coralee Hanson, Chris Pitchford, Margaret Plover Martinez, Ann Youmans, Katherine Webber, Michael R. Underwood, Heather Bragg, Silver Hart, Beth Sanderson, Pam LeFavour Bordelon, Krista Long, Chelle Olson, Melissa Hayden, Aimie Runyan, Kellie Rice, Audra Gutierrez-Ritari, Warren Friesen, Natalia Sylvester, Candra Campbell, Dana Kaye, Alexandra Hughes, Janelle Lowe, Xen Sanders, Caleb, Rhonda Rogers, Jean Ann Robertson, Kristine Krantz, Avi Sirlin, Steph Bochenek, Mia Marshall, Janet Smith Brodie, Mary Brosseuk, Trudy Morgan-Cole, Sandra Blackwell, Diana Paz, and Jennifer Spiller.