Nanowrimo 2020 Day 13 - Word Count and Favorite Bit (Patreon)

Today I added 1974 words to Match.God, making my current total word count 29,051!

Hannah watched closely as Death finagled the faucet into giving her proper bath water. Satisfied that she knew what to do, she turned to grab herself a few towels from the linin closet within the en suite, turning to see Death doing something very strange.

As Hannah watched, Death dipped his fingers into the water, inky midnight purple smoke flowing out from his sleeves and down into the water. The smoke seemed to swirl around in the water before disappearing, leaving virtually no trace behind.

“What was that?” she asked.

“I have…I suppose the word would be bless. I have blessed the water with an inkling of my essence,” Death explained, retracting his hand. “This should chase away the chill that came from being too close to the gate. In time, you will acclimate to the proximity to the afterlife. But, for now, this will mitigate any unpleasantness you experience.”

“I don’t know if I could ever get used to being little more than a brisk walk from the underworld,” Hannah admitted, staring at the water as if the inky smoke would appear beneath the surface once more.

“I suppose a more accurate way of putting it would be that you will absorb some of my divinity,” Death corrected. “It will keep you from having the physical reaction, at the very least.”

“Are you saying I’ll become a demigod?” Hannah asked, mostly joking.

“I suppose it could be a possibility,” Death mused. “Love is the only one who keeps mortals around long-term. We do not yet know what it means to make a mortal our constant companion.”

Hannah could understand that. Even if they had tried to keep mortals around, most folks would get weirded out by the fact Death and the others never aged. Not to mention the intensity of their…aura? Aura seemed like the right word. It probably scared off a lot of people before they could even notice the immortality.

“Either way, I shall leave you to your bath,” Death said. “If you need anything, do not hesitate to call for me. I will hear you no matter where I am in my domain.”

Did that mean Death could hear everything she said, regardless of whether or not he was there? Hannah wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

The bath was, however, very good at chasing away the chill that had settled in her bones. Every so often, Hannah thought she saw that inky smoke swim through the water. It looked similar, Hannah realized, to the way Death’s hair trailed off into wispy smoke. She wondered if he was made of the stuff. Betrothed to sentient magic smoke. She laughed. That would be her luck, wouldn’t it?

Once done, Hannah slipped into the second pair of airline pajamas, the fabric soft and slick against her skin. She poked her head out of her bedroom door, glancing up and down the hall. No sign of Death. She chewed nervously on her bottom lip.

“Death?” she called.

“Yes, Ha-yun?”

Hannah yelped, jumping back suddenly enough to hit her elbow against the doorframe. Despite not having been there a second before, Death appeared at the top of the stairs in the time it took Hannah to blink. God, she hoped he didn’t make that a habit.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Hannah hissed, rubbing her elbow ineffectually. “I just wanted to say goodnight.”

“It is still very early,” Death pointed out.

“Yeah, but I’m kind of exhausted. And the bath made me sleepy.” Hannah peered up at Death through her lashes, cheeks flushed from the bath. “Thank you, by the way, for that thing you did with the water. I don’t feel cold anymore.”

“You are welcome, Ha-yun,” Death said graciously. “Anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable will be done without hesitation.”

Hannah wanted to tell him to maybe have a few boundaries, but decided against it. “Anyway, I just wanted to say good night.”

Death nodded, his face soft. He was almost smiling. Not quite. But almost. “Very well. Good night, Ha-yun.”

“Good night.”