Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune

followers, and I command you to—”
But whatever Desdemona would have demanded was lost when Mei burst
through the doors, both knives raised above her head, screaming, “I am
Satan! I am Satan!”
The last Wallace saw of Desdemona, Thin Man, and Squat Man was their
backs as they fled Charon’s Crossing Tea and Treats. Thin Man and Squat
Man tried to go through the door at the same time and became stuck until
Desdemona crashed into them, knocking them onto the front porch. They
cried out when she stepped on their backs and arms to get over them, her
dress hiked up almost obscenely. She jumped off the steps and tore down the
road without so much as a glance back at the shop, Thin Man and Squat Man
managing to pick themselves up, chasing after her.
Silence fell in Charon’s Crossing.
But it didn’t last for long.
Nelson began to chuckle, softly at first, then louder and louder. Mei did
the same, a hiccupping cough that turned into a wet snort before she cackled
as she lowered her knives.
And then another sound filled the nooks and crannies of the tea shop, one
never heard before. This sound caused Nelson and Mei to fall silent, Hugo to
walk around the counter slowly.
Wallace was laughing. He was laughing as hard as he ever had, one arm
wrapped around his stomach, his free hand slapping his knee. “Did you see
that?” he cried. “Did you see the looks on their faces? Oh my god, that was
incredible.”
And still he laughed. Something loosened in his chest, something he hadn’t
even been aware had been knotted up and tangled. He felt lighter, somehow.
Freer. His shoulders shook as he bent over, gasping for air he didn’t need.
Even as laughter dissolved into soft chuckles, that lightness didn’t fade. If
anything, it burned brighter, and the hook, that damnable thing that never
ceased to be, finally didn’t feel like a shackle, trapping him in place. He
thought he had, perhaps for one of the first times in his life, done something
good without expecting anything in return. How could he have never
considered that before?
He wiped his eyes as he stood upright.
Nelson had a look of awe on his face. It matched his grandson’s.
It was Mei who spoke first. “I’m going to hug the crap out of you.”