I’m going to give myself up.
An owl hoots in the distance, and I finally decide just to let myself in. No point in appearing meek. Rook already knows me, and if I’m to hand myself over, I need to be appropriately pissy about it.
I punch in the code Rook gave me all those weeks ago. With a click, the door unlocks. It creaks open with the lightest push from my fingertips, revealing the dark foyer beyond.
Where Rook is waiting for me.
Leaning against a credenza, hands in pockets, he’s in his human form, wearing a three-piece suit like the one he was wearing when we first met, hair perfectly coiffed as always.
Over the last few days, I’ve come up with a thousand different things I want to say to him, none of which will be helpful in this current situation. So instead, I just meet his blank stare and smile bitterly.
“You win, asshole. Congratulations.”
Rook only raises an eyebrow.
I sneer. “You chose your mark well. I want my brother back, and if that means doing some contract work for the literal devil, just call me a demon. No offense.”
Rook doesn’t respond, just leans forward, eyes narrowed as though he’s looking for the trick. It’s fine. He won’t figure it out. This is a shell game. Let him think he knows the con, but all the while he’s missing the real play.
“I have one condition,” I say. “I get veto power. I’m not resurrecting any dictators. Or serial killers. Or anyone who watches videos in public without earbuds.”
“That really limits our options,” Rook deadpans as he pushes himself off the credenza. He takes a few steps forward, close enough he can look me in the eye but still out of reach of an attack. “I have no issues with your condition, but I also have no influence on whether or not Hades takes your deal.”
“Being the one to resurrect her hasn’t garnered you any favors?”
Rook laughs to himself as though something is not particularly funny. “Your problem,” he says softly, “is that you pride yourself on understanding human nature, but right now, you’re not dealing with humans.”
I tilt my head to look up at him. “Your problem,” I say just as softly, “is you spend too much of your grooming budget on hair gel. Now, are you going to take me to Hades or not?”
He watches me for a moment, expression unreadable, and then nods and gestures for me to follow.
I trail Rook up the spiral staircase—I swear to god, these things are following me—hitching up my skirt, bustle flapping with each step. We pass the second floor, which looks to be mostly bedrooms, and land on the third. The spiral staircase hasn’t ended, though. It must lead to one of the turrets.
There’s a set of double doors to the left. The murmur of voices is now a cacophony. A cold, ghostly light flickers under the door.
“You’re making the right choice,” Rook says.
I smile grimly. “I know.”
He looks like he’s about to say something else but then shakes his head and pushes open the doors.
The room beyond is some kind of ballroom, like something out of a period film. Except the period is Hell Epoque. A bone chandelier hangs from the center of the coffered ceiling. The entire place is lit with candles and torches, and it’s brimming with what I assume are demons. Most of them look human, but some have their horns out, claws wrapped around crystal glasses full of some glowing green drink.
“Is this like a demon cocktail party?” I ask Rook.
“It keeps up morale,” he explains.
“And you think you’re so different from humans.”
On the far side of the room, in front of floor-to-ceiling windows,Hades watches from her throne, legs crossed, a dark pointed crown on her head. She’s wearing a sleek black suit, her pale hair pulled back into a tight bun. I was hoping to get eyes on the grimoire before I confronted her, but Rook nudges me forward, and she notices the movement.
She smiles, and it almost looks genuine. “Ms.Fields! Here to try stabbing me again? Why am I not surprised?”
The party grounds to a halt, the room falling silent, all eyes now on me. Just how I like them.
“Oh, I’m not here to stab you.” I wrinkle my nose. It smells awful in here. Almost as bad as Miracle Max.
“Oh?” Hades asks. “Then what is it? Silver bullet? Decapitation? Are you going to go through the list one by one until you finally discover there is no way to kill me?”
