Page 113 of Of Mercury and Mist

“No time right now. But later,” he said.

Scanning the room, I tried to peek out the windows as if I would spot an onslaught of angry demons and other supernatural creatures already here and scaling the building.

All I saw were branches swaying in a light breeze and the sunlight sparkling over the Hudson River. Josiah owned prime real estate, a comfortable distance from Manhattan, and it felt safe and secluded.

While I was staring, I spotted a wraith. It took me a second to realize what I was looking at since Samuel’s were shadowed and translucent. This one had form. Its greasy, straggly hair was yellowed and its eyes bulbous, with a tattered cloak streaming behind it as it streaked across the yard. It was headed in the direction of the front door.

“The wraiths here look different. And why can I see it?” I asked no one in particular as it moved out of sight.

“Because you’ve been exposed to different things, and because you’ve seen them before,” Josiah explained.

“I've seen a lot of things I never thought I’d see,” I mused, glancing out the window again.

I sucked in a breath and stood up the same moment there was a heavy knock on the door. The lights dimmed and an ominous energy filled the air.

Josiah stood up. “Della—you and Ashley get in the safe room now. Do not come out until I get you.” Micha waved his hand at a spot on the wall and a hidden door slid open.

Della jumped up from her spot on the couch and took my hand. “Come on,” she said with a frown, pulling at me.

Helplessly, I peeked at Micah again, but he was busy tossing a gun to Josiah. “Okay,” I answered, letting her lead me out of the room.

We went down the hallway before taking another corridor until, finally, she opened a door. “We'll be safe down here,” she assured me.

A staircase led to the lower level of the house and as I followed Della, I could hear voices raised behind me. Grabbing her arm, I asked, “Should we do something?”

“No, we have to get to the safe room.” Della proceeded and my hand slipped away. “Hurry,” she said.

With a backward glance, I trotted after her. The whole house seemed to shake slightly, and Della grabbed my hand, leading me down a dark pathway. We entered a metal room with chains and hooks hanging from the ceiling, every surface shiny and reflective. It was spotless and my shoes squeaked every time my heel touched the floor.

Della opened a door situated between two matching cabinets and we both entered the safe room. I’d been picturing a stark space with a couple folding chairs since the room was mentioned, but that wasn’t what I found. There were cushiony places to sit, a table, bunkbeds, multiple screens, a refrigerator and microwave, and an open door revealing a bathroom complete with a shower.

“Holy crap,” I muttered. “You can live in here.”

“Yeah,” Della agreed, tapping a numerical code into a panel by the door.

After she sat down, we caught up a little bit on superficial subjects discussing Andy and Kayla, and the wedding she’d attended in Canada. It felt like we’d been sequestered in the vault for hours and I had a hard time focusing on our conversation, as good as it was to be in her company again.

“Do you think they’re okay?” I asked, my voice cracking at the end.

Della gripped the edge of her chair. “I don't know. I think so.”

“How would we know if they weren’t? We’ve been in here a long time.” I stood up and started pacing.

She glanced up at me, worry wrinkling her brow. “I think the wraiths are supposed to let us know. Josiah said if anything happened to him, I’m supposed to call his contacts up in Canada and they’ll take me in.”

I stopped wearing a path into the floor. “What about me? Would I go with you?”

“I’m sure Micha would want you to,” she replied.

Micha had never told me what to do if something happened to him. When he was pretending to be Isaac, the rule was to go to Matthew if there was a problem. That was no longer an option. “We never got that far,” I said, worry beginning to fill me.

What would I do if he was ever truly gone? I had no idea. Even during his shunning of me, I’d never let him go. He’d filled my head, remained in my heart, and I’d taken comfort knowing he existed. I couldn’t imagine life without him somewhere in it, even if he was on the outermost fringes.

The safe room was soundproof and there were zero signs of life outside its confines. We might as well have been in outer space. “So, how do we get out of here? Anything could be happening out there, and we have no idea.”

Della shrugged. “We wait.”

“You’re okay knowing Josiah could be getting gutted out there and you’re just gonna sit back?”

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