Page 16 of Mortal Desires

And then I was crying again. I couldn’t control it. Fat tears rolled down my cheeks as my heart squeezed in despair.

“It’s alright,” Bessie said as she massaged my scalp. “All spirits cry when they arrive.”

I didn’t correct her.

They dressed me in white.

I pulled the dress, made with the softest fabric, over my head. The skirt reached my toes, moving gracefully every time I stepped. From the waist up, it had the most intricate lace design going down my arms and up my neck.

Bessie told me she used to be a hairdresser in the eighties as she busied herself braiding my hair carefully, one braid twisted to another and then hanging over my shoulder.

Olivia worked as a housekeeper in the 1920s. They liked working together because, compared to the other servants, the decades they spent alive were quite close.

I asked them questions and breathed easily when they answered. I didn’t dare ask his name anymore or why I was getting ready. I was just happy they weren’t as enigmatic as Gert.

Bessie explained we were in the underworld like Gert said, and that I was a guest of “the lord” of the palace. I tried not to scoff when they called me a guest. They asked me if I was hungry and when I nodded, a plate of fruit, bread, and cheese arrived.

I polished it off as they fussed over me. My hair, my clothes, and my lack of jewelry besides Abuela’s ring. Finally, they placed high heels on my feet. Bessie brought me to the mirror, standing a step behind me with a glowing smile on her lips.

I looked beautiful; I couldn’t lie. Even if I was a prisoner of Mr. Goat Legs. I was a beautiful prisoner.

I was still looking at my reflection when the door opened slowly on its own. I turned to look and mist waited for me outside the bedroom. I stepped back. My breathing changed, getting faster by the second.

“Don’t be scared. They are just here to escort you to the throne room.”

I wasn’t convinced.

“They were just following orders.” Bessie nodded to the mist.

“They are Brumas,” Olivia said. “They guard the underworld.”

“They decide who comes and goes?” I asked without taking my eyes off the Brumas.

“No,” Bessie said, but never explained. When it was obvious I wasn’t walking from the bedroom, she sighed. “Don’t touch her. Just show her the way.”

Still unsure, I looked to my side, from Olivia to Bessie. I had to follow the Brumas and they wished me to do it quietly, without the need for physical force.

I shook off my fear. I couldn’t find Penny if I stayed locked in a bedroom, after all. I had to go out and yesterday I could barely see where I was going.

Taking a step away from the girls, I came out to the hallway where the bodiless mist awaited.

“You can show me the way,” I said before clearing my throat.

They surged forward, and I carefully followed their lead, my steps echoing in the empty corridor. I kept my wits, watching as we went along.

But it was impossible once again.

Right, left, left, right. It didn’t matter. One room melted after the other, just like last night. I sighed in defeat. If I found a servant, an unattended door, maybe I could run for it. But the Brumas only guided me through dark hallways and impossible rooms, my eyes blurring as we passed torch after torch.

The door I recognized from yesterday came into view and hope flared in my chest. I turned my head around to see if I could spot the stairwell I came down, but it wasn’t there anymore. The door was the same, but everything else was different.

As much as I hated coming to this conclusion, I knew the rooms moved. It was ridiculous to say, but nothing I saw yesterday was in the same place. The palace shifted to create a new path for me to reach the throne room.

I faced the door, and when I opened my mouth to speak, the Brumas disappeared at once and the door unlocked and swung open.

He sat on his throne of despair. Black velvet cushions stretched over dark wood—curved edges, intricate swirl designs, the focal point of his opulent room.

His eyes found mine, and I took my time to watch him with the same intensity he watched me.

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