Epilogue

Ryan pulled into his driveway, turning off the engine and stepping out of his truck. It was a flatbed, the paint worn in places, the large tires covered in mud and dirt. It was a far cry from the town car that he had owned when he had lived in the city, that had been so sleek and clean, but this vehicle was well suited to the rough backroads that one had to contend with out here. A four wheel drive was necessary if you didn’t want to get stuck in a ditch, and a demon would only ever give you what you needed...

He stretched his arms over his head, then slammed the door behind him, making his way up the path towards his house as he spun the keys around his finger. The evergreen trees towered above its roof beyond the clearing, the snowy caps of mountains visible in the far distance, rising just above the leafy canopy.

With what had been left in Ryan’s bank account after engraving the tin plates for Gaap’s payment, he had been able to buy an old house on the West coast, only a few miles from the Canadian border. It was a little run down, and far larger than he really needed, putting his old apartment to shame. But it was perfectly situated, far enough from the road that nobody would ever stumble across it without being invited, and deep enough into the forest for Nahash to be comfortable. It was far more suited to her needs than their apartment in the city had been, he didn’t have to take days off work so that he could drive her out into nature, she could open her front door and there it was.

Her sisters had been able to find a suitable location for their new grove nearby, close enough that it was only an hour’s hike away. They were neighbors now, which meant that both he and Nahash would be able to spend more time with them. After laying low for a couple of weeks to make sure that the Masons had lost their scent, Ryan had been able to help the Seirim to generate the energy needed to bring their sisters back from the immaterium. It had taken several days, and they had needed to pace themselves so as not to exhaust him, but Ryan would be lying if he said that he hadn’t enjoyed himself. Azazel had arrived one day to put another protective barrier up around their new grove once they had decided on the location, shielding its inhabitants from any unwanted attention, and then the Watcher had vanished again. Who knew what the beast was up to these days, or how it spent its time when it wasn’t fighting Seraphim.

Orobas had done a great job once again, the demon never seemed to disappoint. It had been able to find him a job in the nearest town, even without the benefit of Ryan’s experience and qualifications, all of which he had been forced to abandon along with his old identity. The pay was lower than what he was used to, but so were his living costs. He had very little to complain about.

As he neared the door, it opened, and he saw Nahash duck through it to stand beneath the porch that wrapped around the house. The supports were already sporting their own growths of moss and small flowers, vines and creepers making their way up the walls of the building, as if the forest was attempting to reclaim it. She greeted him as he approached her, leaning down to plant a kiss on his forehead.

“How was your day?”

“Fine,” he replied, stepping inside as she followed behind him. “You were right about spending some time at the bar after work, I think the locals are slowly starting to accept me, city boy that I am.”