46 - It's Just the Beginning

  Beaverton, Winter Break

  Petra woke up in her own bed, with her three-year-old snuggled at her side. He'd had a scary dream last night. Choosing to not tip her son that he had briefly been a barbarian king, she had told him that the demon wasn't real.

  He had nonchalantly responded, "I won the demon. My bad dream was about ice cream."

  Not wanting to ponder all the ways she had screwed up her kid by interdimensional body-hopping, she had decided to let him sleep in her bed. It had been a month, and she still couldn't believe that she was in her own room. She couldn't remember any other time she had slept so well. No more foul-smelling humans who bathed once in their entire life. Goodbye, sleeping on rocks and eating woodland creatures. Killer rangers, evil undead, hungry trees, and all the things that wanted to do her in could stay in Carnt.

  In fact, even though she had previously been dreading it, she was now looking forward to finishing college. She didn't fear the life of an unrespected, overworked single mother. It was time to ovary up and take life as if it were a fell realm demon and squeeze it to death, or whatever a person did to be better at living it. She was mommy and had goals. The world would have to deal with it.

  Petra wasn't the only one who was shaped by the experience. Jack said he would quit football and planned to audition for the spring musical theatre show. Sissy volunteered at the animal shelter, though Petra was still a little suspicious of her motives. Tim, bless his heart, tried out for the school archery team and got in. He was finally in a school sport and better than his brother at it, at least while he was wearing glasses.

  Aiden had woken up in bed with Petra's mom, which caused some problems with his girlfriend, who turned out to be real. Her mom hooking up with Zafosaul in Aiden's body wasn't that big of a surprise to Petra. Daddy dearest wasn't the best role model for life choices. If her parents wanted to screw around with consenting adults who could have been their children, Petra would just vomit inside her mouth.

  At least Aiden had the gonads to put his animal sweater designs on Etsy. He was branching out to hamsters, mice, and other animals. Though he was still keeping his eye on all the pet stores, watching out for Big Pet.

  Even her son seemed better able to control his bodily functions. He went to the potty more and peed on the couch less.

  Everything was looking up until she got a call from Mr. Jackson. She picked up the phone and said, "I told you never, ever, ever, ever call me again. Did I leave out an ever?"

  "I know, Petra, I'm sorry for everything I've done. Really, I am, but you've got to come to the school."

  "On a Saturday? Weren't you fired from there?" Petra asked. "You know, getting high with students on campus, endangering their life?"

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  "That wasn't me! Besides, what the school doesn't know can't hurt them."

  "Sacrificing students to a demon lord really can hurt them."

  "Look, I'm really sorry. Am I going to have to atone for it my entire life?!"

  "Yeah."

  "Fine, right... you're right... now please, just come to the school. I promise you. No games."

  "Fine, only because we had a life-threatening experience together, and I've got some weird Stockholm syndrome for your sorry ass." Petra hung up the phone.

  Jonathan was awake and grinning at her.

  "Momma!" he said and patted her hair.

  As much as she just wanted to spend her Saturday with her boy, it was off to school yet again.

  ***

  A half-hour later, Petra pressed her face into her steering wheel and screamed. Jonathan, strapped to his car seat in the back, giggled and chortled, "Mommy is honking her horn."

  At the steps of her school was a giant rat warlord. He wore an eye patch and had scars across his body. The creature held Principal Sokol's decapitated head towards the sky. Blood oozed down his arm. More of the same snarling rat folk burst from the school armed with sabers. They jeered and rattled their weapons.

  The vicious leader roared, "I am Nimbus, the rat king. Lovantus's head will be mounted on my wall. So will the Beaver King's, if he hides the murderous barbarian!"

  Petra hit the Mom button on her dashboard. The phone rang, and Claire answered, "Hello?"

  "Mom, I need you to watch Jonathan."

  "I'm in Portland, Saturday Market. See if your friend is up for a little role play. Can your dad—"

  "Ew. Ew. That's stalking, Mom! Just get down here. I'm sharing my location," Petra hung up.

  She pulled up a group chat labeled 'The Silent Legion'.

  She typed, "It's Buffy the Vampire Slayer time."

  "What?" Tim was the first to respond.

  "Just get to the school," she tapped out, and threw her phone on the passenger seat.

  Petra opened her glove compartment. There was a stash of shiny daggers that Sorsha claimed were enchanted. Hopefully, the magic was powerful enough to do some damage to these rat creatures.

  ?