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ller."
He grinned. "See? You did notice."
I laughed. When I finished, he touched my chin, turning my face to his.
"The point is that I'm not leaving, and no one can make me. No matter what happens, I'll fight. If you get stuck in there, absolutely stuck, you don't quit on me, either--you fight, even if it means you need that damned sword to do it."
I hesitated, then nodded. "I will."
When I was ready, Trsiel took me away, to escort me into Dachev's hell. As we walked through the complex, he gave me some tips about Dachev himself, based on his own encounters with him. I drilled him on that, getting everything he knew about Dachev, from concrete facts to behavioral interpretations to general impressions. Then I declared myself ready.
"He's right through that door," Trsiel said.
"Door?" I followed his finger to see a narrow door behind me. "He's through there?"
"His hell is, at least. You'll have to find Dachev himself. I don't know what's in..." He shook his head. "This won't work. You need more details. Let me try tracking down Katsuo again. He's been there--"
"Don't," I said. "If I start stalling, I won't stop. If Dachev's in there, I'll find him."
Trsiel nodded. "But be careful. Remember what I said--"
"I know."
"Don't forget, the...men down there, they haven't seen a woman--"
"I know."
"They can hurt you, Eve. Really hurt you. You have to be--"
"I know." I reached out and squeezed his hand. "I know, Trsiel."
He hesitated, as if there was so much more he wanted to say, a hundred more warnings he wanted to impart, but instead he returned the squeeze and, with his free hand, pulled a vial from his pocket.
"Ah, the hellsbane potion," I said. "Don't want to forget that."
"If you did, or if you lost it, we'd send someone after you. You don't need to worry about that. No matter what happens there, you aren't trapped. But try not to lose it. Time is slowed in the hells, so we can afford to give you all the time you need to talk to Dachev. That means, though, that if something goes wrong, it could feel like days before we realized it and came to get you out. It--it wouldn't be a pleasant stay--"
"I have deep pockets," I said.
"Good. Put this in the deepest. Now, one last thing--or two last..." He shook his head. "Never mind. Just...just..."
"Go," I said, smiling.
"And be careful."
"I will," I said, then turned and opened the door.
41
I STEPPED INTO A SAGE-AND-GOLD MEADOW POLKA-DOTTED with jewel-toned wildflowers dipping and swaying in a warm summer's breeze. Overhead, the sun shone from a perfect aquamarine sky, marshmallow clouds drifting past, but never blocking its bright rays. Birds sang from the treetops. A butterfly fluttered past.
"Serial-killer hell, huh?" I muttered. I started turning around. "Trsiel! You sent me to the wrong--"
The door was gone. In its place was a dirt road, lined with tall grass and more wildflowers. The road led to a cluster of picture-perfect stone cottages.
"Trsiel," I sighed. "When you screw up, you go all the way, don't you?"
I took the vial of hellsbane potion from my pocket and peered at the clumps of tarlike ooze suspended in a muddy brown liquid. Yummy. I'd really rather not drink this stuff, only to have Trsiel do a mental forehead smack ten seconds later, realize his mistake, and reopen the door. In the meantime, no harm in checking out this village, seeing what kind of afterlife he had sent me to.
