Souillon House!
A cast of youthful if not old ghosts were happy to see Erin Parrish and Kyra Whimsey pull through the iron gates of their home. After a stressful night of worrying that their new mistress might not return to them it was like old times, just they to keep the ancestral home tidy. At least now they had a television to keep them entertained. Scooby Doo to the rescue!
The protective sigils spread out around the property remained intact during the whole Baphomet drama. At least the ghosts within including Genevieve Souillon were safe from having their spirits funneled to hell by the vibratory lure of Lilith's evil. What troubled them most was Genevieve herself going silent and simply staring into space. No late-night piano recitals or screams of anguish. It was... too peaceful. The boys didn't know what to make of it all. Even poor Earl up in the attic seemed to settle down, of course, he had his coloring book to keep him company.
Parking outside Erin sat in her Land Rover with Scooby Ben filling her dad in on the wondrous world she had ventured to. Ben was in awe of time travel of course, but as long as his daughter came home safely that journey was like a trip to Oz. With Kyra shutting off her engine and the Montoya clan, minus Rico, silent, still recovering on their own troubles of once again losing a loved one in baby Serena it was a long ride home.
Mother Rosalita occupying her daughter Isabel's body found her white star tattoo comforting. While it no longer glowed or seem to suck in souls from the graveyard the new addition to her body made even Izzy smile. It was as if William was now with her always. He was waiting on the front porch for her, yet she had her mother to contend with at the moment.
"Mother?"
"Yes?"
"We will get through this."
"Will we Isabel? I entered your body in hopes to understand why Serena vanished from within you. I have no answers."
"I know how you feel, Mom. Even though I carried Serena like... a surrogate... I felt her love. I just don't know what could have happened. Maybe, and I know it sounds crazy but... my star is white... that must mean purity, does it not? What if Serena left me for Heaven? Perhaps my star does the opposite of Abigail's. At the very least if this is to be the case, Serena is in good hands."
"I wish this were true. Yes, your guess has merit. Yes, if Serena is in Heaven, I am most grateful. After I lost her back on the island, I think now it was God's way of telling me to let her go. He gave Serena and I a brief moment of physical love between mother and baby. The wings I grew perhaps a good omen of Serena's future. I felt so invincible as an angel, yet now, here I am, back as a weeping spirit. I know I died here, that this is my true reality. You and Rico need me. I believe this is why I remain."
"Well, I for one am very happy you are still with us. I love you, Mumma!"
"As I you Isabel. I will let you visit your William now. Come, I will walk you to the edge of the porch until I can go no further. William can greet you and keep your body from losing its control once I am away. Get some rest."
"You, too."
"I am always at rest Hija!"
Izzy opened her passenger side door at the same time Kyra did her driver's door. Parting, Kyra met with Erin and Scooby Ben while Izzy stepped up to the porch to seek out William. Since his mark upon her she could see her new man's true form, he was so very handsome. Thanking her mother for walking her to her prom date if you will, Rosalita stepped out of her daughter and took a walk around the yard. Scooby Ben feeling empathy led Ben Parrish to go along as a caring friend.
"Did we really stop Armageddon?" Kyra was tired and still shaking over it all. Hugging to each other's side in the early morning chill, it was nice to feel sunlight again.
"Not Armageddon! I think it was more of a hiccup before the big day. We managed the impossible but it's not over. I don't think even sealing Lilith up on that island or dumping that wand into the Black Sea changed the future that much. All we did was exorcise Ewing Lambert and save a few lost souls at Thorn Briar cemetery. Nothing will ever be the same. All we can do is cope and jumpstart our lives where we left off."
"We have our arm sigils back. Should we lick them and say good morning to the boys?"
"Not yet! I kind of like the birds singing for once. Even if they're few and far between." Erin peered out toward the main road. "Most of them are outside the sigil barrier. Very few animals dare to enter the grounds. If you've noticed the wildlife is minimal around here. Still around, just not as thriving as they could be. They sense the darkness around this place; some are just braver than others."
"Like that lynx Vienna adopted."
"Exactly! Anyway, I don't think I'll be able to sleep much today. We have things to figure out before I can feel the necessity of tuning out the world." She heard the squeaking of brakes out on the main road. "Starting with this. Why don't you go make us some breakfast, I'll work with Rico."
Nodding Kyra kissed Erin on the cheek then stepped away, moving around Isabel and William holding hands. It seemed Izzy was fine as long as he held her. Her shell form without Rico up close was hanging in there with just touch. No inhabitation required, at least for now. It was nice to be herself.
Walking out to the main gravel path up to the house Erin Parrish watched the Shepard's black van and trailer driving through the front gates. She expected the sigils might object to it and the van come to a jolt, but no. Rico was actually able to bring it home where no one could toy with the unknown. The stone wall within the trailer was just too dangerous to be left in the hands of the naive who might somehow activate its portal.
Without Truman and the Demigod, Erin still struggled with that concept. Did that make Herakles truly the son of Zeus or was there a better explanation? She was always taught the theory of the One true God. The rest were merely made up, at least she thought so until meeting the immortal. With he and Truman taking off for parts unknown she simply chalked it up to her bucket list of things she needed to rectify somehow.
