Page 76 of Half Dead

He crossed the bedroom to lay a gentle kiss on my forehead. “Sleep well. When you wake up, I’ll be here.”

“I look forward to it.” I slipped straight into slumber, grateful for the reprieve from conscious thought. My mind needed a rest.

Naturally my brain had other plans.

I knew at a glance this wasn’t going to be the nurturing sleep I’d intended. The desolate landscape was my first clue.

“Do we have to?” I whined, to no one in particular.

My surroundings seemed familiar, yet I couldn’t identify them. I chose a direction and trudged forward, eager to move through the REM stage as quickly as possible and reach a state of deep sleep. I wasn’t in the mood for dreams of any kind, and this one didn’t bode well if the tumbleweed-friendly landscape was anything to go by.

I punted a random rock and sent it flying, kicking up acloud of dust. I was the goddess of nightmares, for crying out loud. Did I need to be subjected to whatever this was?

A hill came into view. At first glance, I thought it might be the Castle’s hill, until I saw the top. No money pit sat at the top. No cemetery. No beacon of any kind.

I soldiered on.

A feeling of loneliness cracked my bones until they ached, sapping my strength. I was overcome with a strong desire to sit where I stood. The ground beckoned me, as though it was offering me a plush cushion and not a granite surface covered in a thin layer of dirt.

I surveyed the horizon and saw nothing of interest. Nothing to look forward to. My shoulders slackened. I craned my neck to see the path behind me; it was fraught with pain and suffering. I had no inclination to retrace those agonizing steps.

“Hey, girl.”

The unexpected voice startled me. One glance at her head of lustrous brown hair confirmed my suspicion. There stood Aite, the goddess of mischief who’d sacrificed herself to save me. Her familiar tattoos were illuminated by the reddish glow of the light. “Where are we?”

“How should I know? It’s your dream, not mine.” Aite gave the place a cursory glance. “My money’s on Tartarus, though.”

Terrific. My discussion with Kumbhakara had seeped into my subconscious, although I shouldn’t be surprised. In fact, I should be grateful it wasn’t worse. I could be stuck in a loop with him, driving a blade through his heart on repeat until the sun came up.

Tartarus and all its horrors were preferable.

“I’m sorry about your trial,” Aite said. “But at least you won. Yay.” She waved two fists in the air like a cheerleader shaking pompoms.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Cool with me. Where should we go?”

“Home. I really need to sleep.”

“Gotta get your Zs before the next trial, right?”

“It would be helpful to show up well rested.” I had no idea what Lucifer had in store for me next, nor was I excited to find out.

Aite batted her long lashes at me. “Do you miss me?”

“Yes,” I admitted. We hadn’t started off on the best of terms, given how she’d tried to feed me to The Corporation to save her own skin, but she more than made up for it later.

“I hope you’re using my money wisely.” She snorted. “What am I saying? I hope you’re being a complete spendthrift.” She clutched my arm. “Please tell me you bought something frivolous, like a glitzy Chanel handbag.”

“I did not buy a luxury handbag with your money. I invested in an upgraded ward.”

She groaned. “You’re so practical. What’s the point of capitalism if you don’t buy things you don’t need?”

Her question coaxed a smile out of me. “I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

“You could never disappoint me. That’s my specialty.” Her attention drifted to a chain of mountains in the distance. “Tartarus doesn’t seem so bad. Maybe there’s no actual torture taking place here. Could be more of a killing-them-with-boredom-type deal.”

Except I wasn’t bored. My body felt heavy, my feet directionless. I would’ve dropped to the ground and curled into a ball if it hadn’t been for Aite’s presence, an attempt by my subconscious to keep me from burying myself in guilt.

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