The Book of Death (Bourbon Kid 4)

sea?’
    Kacy shook her head. ‘No. The
healing powers of this thing mess with the forces of nature. I want us to grow
old together and take whatever life throws at us.’
    Dante smiled. It was his boyish
smile. The one he used whenever he wanted to get her to do something she might
not be keen on. ‘Grow old together, huh?’ he said.
    ‘Yeah.’
    Dante called over to the waitress.
‘Check please!’ He turned back to Kacy. ‘Let’s take that stone and throw it the
fuck away then. I don’t want anything as much as I want to grow old with you.
Let’s get the fuck outta here and go throw it off the end of the pier.’
    ‘You sure?’
    ‘Fuck yeah.’
    After paying for their food, they
left the diner and strolled along the promenade towards the pier. The sun was
back out in the sky and all traces of the snow had long since vanished. Dante
kept his arm around Kacy’s shoulder the whole time, occasionally squeezing her
in tight for no particular reason. It was great to be back together as humans
again, and not to be in any danger for a change. There were lots of other
love-struck couples and families strolling along the promenade too and everyone
looked happy and carefree.
    ‘You know,’ said Kacy tentatively.
‘We never got around to arranging a date for the wedding, did we?’
    Dante stopped walking. ‘What
wedding?’ he asked.
    ‘You proposed to me right before
we got into all this shit, remember?’
    Dante scratched his head. He
looked puzzled. ‘Really?’
    ‘Yeah. When we went to the fortune
teller at the fairground.’
    ‘Huh? Where’s your engagement ring
then?’
    ‘I haven’t got one.’
    Dante stuck his hand into one of
the front pockets on his jeans and pulled something out. He held it up in front
of her. ‘Are you sure?’ he said.
    Kacy’s eyes lit up. He was holding
a small ring in between his index finger and thumb. It was a slim gold band
with a small pink heart-shaped diamond in its centre.
    ‘Oh my God,’ Kacy spluttered,
struggling to find words to describe how she was feeling.
    He reached out and grabbed her
left hand. He pulled it towards him and slipped the ring on her finger. ‘I’d
get down on one knee,’ he said, ‘but I’ll be honest with you, I really can’t be
fuckin’ bothered.’
    Kacy barely heard him. She stared
at the ring on her finger. It was beautiful, exactly the kind she would have
chosen herself. And it fitted too. Feeling herself welling up with joy she
threw both arms around him and planted a huge kiss on his lips. He in turn
slipped both his hands onto her ass and squeezed hard. After a few seconds she
pulled herself away and stared at the ring again.
    ‘How did you know I’d like it?’
she said, failing to mask the surprise in her voice.
    Dante shrugged. ‘It’s pink, gold
and expensive. Even I could figure that out.’
    ‘I love it,’ she said, still
unable to take her eyes off it.
    ‘Nothing’s too good for my woman.’
    They carried on walking along the
promenade until they reached the old wooden pier that led out into the sea. As
they walked across the rickety wooden panels on the pier, Kacy stopped staring
at her engagement ring and looked up. Standing at the end of the pier, looking
out at the horizon was a solitary figure she recognised. It was Beth. She was
wearing a pair of torn black jeans and a blue hooded cardigan, her hands tucked
into its pockets.
    ‘I wonder what she’s doing here?’
said Dante.
    ‘I expect it’s a nice place to
come when you want to get away from everything and collect your thoughts,’ Kacy
suggested.
    ‘Probably a good place to get
mugged, too.’
    Kacy elbowed him in the ribs to
remind him to keep his voice down. ‘Don’t be like that,’ she said.
    Beth may have heard them because
she turned around as they approached. Kacy could see that she had been crying.
As they walked up to her she wiped her eyes on her sleeve.
    ‘Hi, Beth,’ said Kacy with a
sympathetic smile.
    Beth smiled back. ‘Hi, what you
guys doing here?’
    Kacy held up her hand to show off
her new engagement ring. ‘Dante just gave me this!’
    Beth’s eyes lit up. ‘Wow, that’s
beautiful,’ she said as she moved in for a closer look.
    ‘Thanks.’
    As the two of them marvelled at
the ring, Dante butted in. ‘Beth, we’ve still got the Eye of the Moon. But we
got no need for it any more. Do you want it?’
    Beth stopped staring at Kacy’s new
ring and shook her head. ‘That thing brings nothing but trouble,’ she