Wilom hadn't expected to be going back.
Suspected, perhaps, but suspected and expected are two very different things.
Just like he suspected that the living world was in turmoil, but he didn't expect to get so involved in it.
He suspected that he'd have trouble finding his feet, but he didn't expect to be this out of his depth.
And he suspected that the ferryman's apprenticeship had some hidden caveats, but he never expected they'd include - for want of a better word - magic.
The ferryman's apprentice: part two, paperback/Lee Cope
