Page 95 of Can you take it?

“It’s a girl. She’s three months old, and they’ve named her Ten,” I said with a grin.

“Ten,” he said thoughtfully. “Do you suppose it’s for Tenebris, Mendax’s mom?” he asked, and it dawned on me that I hadn’t even asked about the baby’s name.

“I don’t know, but that sounds right,” I said.

“Three months?” Walter asked. “Did you just hear about it?”

I brushed him off, not wanting to dig back up the details and feel left out again. It was obvious that even if Cal and I could talk more regularly, they were alive and we were dead. There was only so much I could be a part of in their lives. Even though I clung tight to the feeling of having them close to me, I wondered how long it would last—how long before they got busy with life and didn’t reach out anymore.

I gripped the pendant around my throat and tucked it under my shirt, stealing a glance at Anna.

“Oh shit,” said Eletha under her breath, catching the movement.

Suddenly, soft footsteps sounded in the room we had just come from. We all exchanged looks and prepared for the worst, not knowing if it would be a servant bearing the finest desserts we’d ever had or a monster prepared to lop our heads off.

Apparently, it was much closer to the latter, for when the owner of the footsteps came into view, panic shook the group. The large figure with the rabbit-head mask stepped in. Walter moved in front of Eletha, and I took a step in front of Anna, but Bexley beat me to it.

We backed up as far as we could into the wall, knocking into one of the paintings. It fell to the ground with a clang. “You should be more careful,” said a feminine voice from the creature.

My forehead wrinkled in thought, and I wondered if I was crazy or if the voice sounded familiar. “Well, at least we know they’re not portals,” said Bexley, poking at the painting with his foot, likely wishing he could fall through it as he had in the other tier.

The creature took a few more steps and stopped in front of us. This close, it was easy to see that it was a mask covering someone’s head. They raised their hands, palms flat, and suddenly, we were all separated in different parts of the room.

I stood next to the creepy creature near a painting with a light hanging over it. My eyes sought to find Anna as quickly as possible. Relief washed over me when I saw she wasn’t alone; she was standing with Walter and Eletha next to a painting on the other side of the room. She looked so gentle in contrast to Eletha’s and Walter’s dark and somewhat vicious countenances. I turned back around to see Bexley. A small door that I hadn’t noticed before was open, and Bexley stood in front of it. It looked like a poorly lit closet, but if I squinted, I could see what looked to be a moving, flashing, lit-up painting in the back with a gold frame.

“Congratulations,” the voice said. I looked down at my side, struggling to recall where I’d heard it before. It tickled something in the back of my mind, but no clear answer came to me. “You have made it through the Ten Tiers of Tartarus, and since Pride does not conflict with your values, you are free to leave.”

Gasps sounded in the room as we all looked at each other. “Unfortunately, not you,” the creature said, pointing to me. “Those of you who have made it past the tiers may continue through your portal. The three of you stand in front of the portal to Eromreven. Am I correct in assuming that’s where the three of you would like to return?”

Anna, Walter, and Eletha looked at each other, then to me, nodding at the creature.

It turned its head toward Bexley. “I’ve heard that you would like to be returned to the human realm.”

“Uh, yes. Yeah,” said Bexley.

“The human realm is typically forbidden, but for you, I’ve made an exception.”

I looked at the painting in front of me. It depicted clouds lit by a bright sun. Sitting on them were my mother and brother, along with several other people I once knew. They were still and unmoving, but seeing my mother’s face rattled me.

“You have not yet passed this level,” the creature said, eerie when its eyes and mouth didn’t move. “The rest of you may go. Simply step through your portal.”

We all looked back and forth, realizing this was it. This was the end of our long journey together. It was odd to think about separating after all this time together. We had all grown closer than any of us had expected.

We looked back and forth, wondering who would go first. We all looked to Bexley. “We love you, Bex,” shouted Anna.

He turned toward her and waved, his eyes welling up with emotion. “I guess this is it,” he said. “I’m going to do some good in the human realm.” He paused for a beat to take in each of our faces. “I’m going to make you all really proud,” he said, his jaw tensing.

“We already are,” I said.

Anna broke free from where she was and ran to Bexley, giving him a hug. Walter and Eletha followed, saying their goodbyes before moving back in front of their painting.

I moved to say my goodbye, but the masked creature grabbed my shoulder. “I’m sorry, but you must remain here until you pass this tier.”

“I can’t even say goodbye?” I asked. “No,” they snapped.

“Could I please go to my friend and say goodbye?” I asked.

I felt Anna’s eyes on me, her gaze on me at the word friend in reference to Bexley, but it was true. We had all become friends. Through all these tiers and all these journeys, part of me wondered if I wouldn’t emerge with more than I had gone in with.