Page 107 of Of Mercury and Mist

A small group of people exited the one other door I hadn’t opened and spilled into the hallway, oblivious to the lights flashing by the elevator as they talked among themselves before slowly separating. I paced back and forth, trying to keep the stragglers in front of me before I spotted an alcove and darted for cover.

With muttering and then a huff, one of the guards reset the panel as the second man lazily perused the surroundings. They backed away and crossed to the other side where the wall automatically swung open.

Sucking in a breath, I sprinted after them, shoving my shoe in the way to stop the door from closing. It held, but the weight started crushing my foot while I waited for their footsteps to recede. My fingers curled around the edge of the layer, my flesh turning white from the effort until I was finally able to slip inside.

Once my eyes adjusted to the dimmer lighting, I took in the space. From the end of the new hallway, I spied several doors with a staircase down by the end. Everything was nearly silent other than some faint chatter I attributed to the guards who’d entered right before me. I’d expected tortured screams and cries of agony and was met with the low din of electronic humming and voices.

Carefully, I took the stairs, holding the handrail as they wound their way down into the darkness, while glancing over my shoulder the whole time. My steps were soundless, but I fully expected to hear boots come running after me, or some type of effort to stop me in my tracks. No one came.

The space opened when I reached the bottom and I clung to the wall while I explored, peeking around every corner, my heart racing. More than once I asked myself what I was doing, what I thought I’d accomplish by sneaking around a castle in Hell.

I knew I’d seen Micha. He’d been bound in chains as he tried to reach for me. He needed help. I wasn’t dumb enough to think I could do much, if anything. All I really knew was I wanted to see him and tell him I was sorry. It no longer mattered he thought I stole from him, or that he’d unfairly fired me from my job. All that mattered was I wanted to be near him; see him one last time.

I wanted to know why he’d stalked me around Ipomoea, and why he was kind to me, just to turn around and act like he couldn’t stand the very sight of me before he’d accused me of theft. What had changed? It’d been like a switch was flipped. It’d given me whiplash. One moment, he was there peeking over my shoulder and the next he was yelling at me over emojis.

I’d be killed when I was discovered down here, especially after interfering with a prisoner. It wouldn’t be Micha who ultimately killed me, but I suspected I was already dead and gone.

The number of doors I’d pushed open revealed nothing but empty space. Bare rooms with stone walls, shackles fixed to iron loops, stockades, and everything else one would expect to find in the underworld’s palace.

Before I touched the last steel entryway, I knew it was different. The air felt heavier, and the energy was different, tugging at my soul and compelling me forward. My heart leaped in my chest, and I pushed through.

A body was laid out on a metal table, bare-chested and so pale it almost glowed. One marble-like arm dangled off the side, a chain loosely woven around its wrist. The figure’s head was twisted away from me, but I would’ve recognized the man anywhere.

“Micha,” I cried softly, rushing over to the table.

I gently lifted his hair from his face, pushing it back while I took him in. His cold skin felt waxy and stiff, and I placed a hand on his chest. No heartbeat. With a start, I realized the table was for cadavers.

It seemed impossible for the man to be dead but without a heartbeat and not even the rise and fall of his chest, I didn’t know what else to think. I started searching the room though I had no idea what I was looking for. A spell? Some kind of instructional paperwork? What was I supposed to do?

There was a desk against the wall, and I tugged open the drawer, thinking maybe I could find a cellphone. I knew the chances were slim to none, impossible really, but I had to try. Had I found one, I would’ve called Josiah for help before I remembered technology worked differently here. Not that I wouldn’t have dialed Della’s number anyway just in case. There was nothing, the drawer was bare other than a matchbook.

I wasn’t sure how long it took as I tore the room apart, but I returned to Micha’s side and stood there staring at him, keeping one ear to the door in case anyone decided to check on the deceased. They’d left him in pants and boots, with his earrings and rings on, and I started tugging one of the pieces of metal from his finger. I’d been too late to do anything helpful, but I’d take something to remember him by.

The band was at his knuckle when he growled, “I always knew you were a thief.”

THIRTY-EIGHT

Ashley

Micha gripped my wrist much harder than a corpse ever should and then he grabbed my head with his other hand. The chains that bound him clanked against the metal as I stared at him in shock.

“Micha, you’re dead,” I cried out before his palm covered my mouth.

“Did you think you could kill me? It seems to me you’re sorely mistaken,” his voice rasped.

He didn’t let go but his chilly hand slid from my lips to grab me by the front of my throat before he tugged me down. “I’m sorry,” I gasped, trying to pull away. “I’m sorry.”

His chest rose and fell, a cool breeze brushing against my chest before he stopped moving again, his eyes fluttering shut. “What do I do?” I hissed at him. “Tell me what to do.”

“Stop... stealing from me.”

I slapped his chest. “Not funny. I’m trying to help you.”

“You’re a grave robber.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I muttered, and walked around the table. His comedic timing needed some work.

Both his ankle and wrists were bound to the table. An electric shock wound up my fingers and through my wrists each time I touched the chains while trying to figure out how to loosen them. There hadn’t been anything in the desk drawer and all the shelves bore were knives, stakes, and other pointy instruments I had no idea how to use.

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