Page 57 of Of Mercury and Mist

“Unrequited love.” Samuel came to a stop in front of a door. “Love makes one go to extreme lengths and demons aren’t known for their empathy or lack of vindictiveness.”

Confused, I glanced up at him. “I’ve heard demons are incapable of true love so how does that work?” It was one of the warnings Matthew gave us when discussing sponsorship opportunities. Naturally, vampires were the preferred candidates for a lasting, mutual relationship.

“There are different races of demons, clans. But yes, that is true for many.”

He held the door open for me and I entered the noisy space. It was like being transported in a time warp, with the roughhewn wooden tables and booths, sloshing canteens and mugs of beer. I even saw a man stereotypically slap the rear of a buxom server like one would expect in a period movie.

A couple mice scurried by on the floor littered with random strands of hay and there was a cat curled up next to a roaring fire with a black kettle suspended over the flames.

“This is insane,” I said. I had to raise my voice over the laughter and shouting. “Did we fall through a black hole?” He didn’t answer and headed toward the back of the room.

Following Samuel to a table and dodging drunken bodies, I was starting to get a bit excited about the more relaxed atmosphere compared to Angels. It felt like anything could happen at any time and I almost expected knights in armor to burst through the doors. He motioned for me to slide onto a bench seat, and I did, scooting toward the wall.

A woman approached the table, holding a jug in one hand and a filthy rag in the other. “Samuel, haven’t seen you in here in a while. How are you?” She was clearly fond of my companion, a beautiful, wide smile splitting her face that distracted from the twisting, bulbous end of her nose.

“It's been a while, Suzy, I’m glad to be back. This is Ashley,” he greeted her and introduced me.

With a sharp dip of her head, her mouth stretched, and I returned the grin. “Evana is in the back, if you’d like your usual girl.”

“No thank you, give her my regards, please. Bring us some wine and roast?” he asked. “Put it on my card.”

“You got it,” she said, before leaning in closer. “There’s been talk of some scouts in the area. Some big shots stirring up trouble.”

“Oh yeah?”

She was practically swallowing his head now; she was so close. “Yeah, a hitman and an executive are missing in the Third. Watch your back.”

“Thanks for the tip, love.”

She cast a furtive glance at me and then bent to whisper in Samuel’s ear. When she backed away, he let out a low, long, laugh. “Just doing my part,” she said.

After Suzy left, I asked, “What is she talking about? Are you in trouble? Maybe you should bring me back.” Eyeing her as she disappeared into the crowd, I asked another question. “What is the Third?”

“My kind gets into all kinds of trouble, but things have been unstable for a while. I’m not in trouble, you don’t have to worry about that. Just stay close and don’t wander off. Wouldn’t want anyone taking you away from me.”

Was that a possibility? Suddenly, I felt very out of my depth.

Samuel continued, “The Third is where you’re from. This is the Second. They’re Realms; or other dimensions is what they’re generally known as. Demons originate here and humans come from your world.”

“Oh. Okay.” My mind spun. This had always been science fiction or fantasy to me. “So, how’d I get here in my sleep?”

Suzy chose that moment to come back with our food and drinks and Samuel leaned forward for his glass of wine. “There are four ways you can get here. One way is your spirit leaves your body during sleep and finds its way here or to another Realm. The second is someone transports you, such as I did. The other two are either consciously willed or you’ve died, and your soul resides in this Realm. The latter is rare as you’re more likely to end up in the Fourth or Fifth.”

“What are those like?”

“The Fourth and Fifth? The Fourth is most similar to yours and its citizens are varied. It's pretty much an exact replica of the Third, only its more preserved, more natural. The colors are brighter and the air much clearer. The Fifth is... I’m not sure how to explain it but it's more of a hyper-reality than the Fourth. Very few go there; it can be a prison of sorts.”

I took a sip of my wine, mulling over the deluge of information he’d just given me. “The first night I found myself here, I didn’t leave the house. And I saw someone I know there in the room with me. I don’t remember dreaming of this place before. Do you think it's possible I just forgot?”

Samuel cut a chunk out of his steak and ate it, wiping his mouth with a napkin after he swallowed. Suzy came back and topped off our glasses before he spoke again. “It's possible you don’t remember. I’ve seen some strange things, humans thinking they can fly and whatnot. Most likely someone just took you, like I did.”

He shook his head, and I only could only imagine what he was remembering. “Are you important to the person you saw?”

That was a loaded question. What he was suggesting was sobering. Why would Micha go to all the trouble to take my out of my body, bring me to another Realm, and chomp on my boobs? The guy hated me for what he thought happened, right?

“I... I don’t know.”

He gave me a guarded look. “I think you do, and I think it was your Keeper.”

---