Page 103 of Half Dead

Beside me, Bruce shuddered.

“He’s the god with the mirror?” I asked, to which Bruce nodded.

“If you are deemed worthy, the mirror will show the location.”

“Are you sure there’s no bypass, o merciful one? Maybe a detailed map instead?”

“The fact that I am allowing you to pass through now is an act of mercy, and I only do this because of what you did for him.”

Like a wise gambler, I knew when to fold ‘em. I lowered my head. “Understood. Thank you.”

A set of doors opened behind him. “Exit only,” he said. “Follow the path and you’ll reach your destination.”

As we passed through the double doors, I wished I felt more triumphant than I did. Knowing the obstacle ahead made it difficult to feel anything other than pure, unadulterated fear. I had Bruce to thank for that.

“Are you sure the mirror is such a big deal?” I asked. “Maybe it’s like the kind at the cosmetics counter that exaggerates your flaws and makes your pores look big enough to drive a truck through them.” Now I sounded like Camryn. At least my friend was here with me in spirit.

“Sie-king T’ai reflects our worst selves.”

“So itislike the one at the cosmetics counter.”

“Not in a physical sense. The mirror shows all of your bad deeds to Ch’u-Chiang and then he passes judgment on you, tells you to which of the hells you must go.”

“I want to go to whichever hell the tablet is buried in. Can I tell him that and skip the mirror?”

Bruce slowed to a stop. “You can ask him yourself. He’s right there.”

I followed his gaze to a wooden platform where a god in a silk crimson and gold robe sat on a bench reading. Living his best life, this one. Beyond him, the glass of a full-length mirror glinted.

“There’s no privacy screen?” I waved a hand airily. “Anybody who walks by can see the reflection and know your personal business.”

Bruce urged me forward. “You heard the god. This is the only way. Trust me, I am no happier about it than you are.”

We approached the platform together. Despite a series of throat-clearing exercises that bordered on comical, the god continued to read.

I rapped on the nearest wooden post. “Excuse me, Ch’u-Chiang?”

The god glanced up from the book. “Who wants to know?”

“I’m Melinoe from the Greek underworld. This is my travel companion, Bruce.”

He returned his focus to the pages of the book. “I don’t have anyone on the schedule today until three o’clock.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt what I’m sure is a very good story, but we’re on our way through your underworld to find a tablet, and apparently the rules dictate we need to look in the mirror to see if we’re worthy enough to continue our quest.”

Ch’u-Chiang closed the book and set it beside him on the bench. “Say again? I wasn’t listening.”

“We need to follow the rules, take a quick look in the mirror, and then you let us pass,” I explained.

“But you’re not dead,” he said to me.

“No, I’m not staying. I’m only passing through, running an errand for a friend.”

The god didn’t ask any further questions. He simply waved us onto the platform. “Hurry, hurry. I just reached the part where Lucy Steele tells Elinor Dashwood that she and Edward are secretly engaged.”

I barked a laugh. “You’re readingSense and Sensibility?”

“Have you read it? No, wait. Don’t tell me. No spoilers.” He positioned Bruce in front of the mirror. “It has a happy ending, though, doesn’t it? I can’t bear anything else.”

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