Chapter 3
The mist curled and billowed, pouring over the edge of the platform as it grew.
My mouth dried as a pulsing ball of light appeared above it.
With each surge it grew, doubling in size, until the air split and a woman stepped forward out of nothing.
My breath caught as she raised her arms and the mist and light vanished.
Everyone in the Amphitheater knelt in one swift movement, bowing their heads. Startled, I followed suit with Bea and the other newbies, glad I wasn’t the only one who was behind.
“You may rise.” The hair on the back of my neck rose at her voice. Melodic and laced with power, it made every instinct I had scream to run and hide. I had no doubt that if she wanted to rip my soul to shreds, she could, and there would be nothing I could do to stop her.
As we settled into our seats, she gave us a dazzling smile, and the atmosphere shifted from threatening to soothing.
I stared at her, comparing her to the statues I’d seen.
Her features were so perfect they looked like they’d been carved from marble but, other than that, there was no comparison.
Long blond hair fell in waves down her back to her waist, crowned with a simple gold circlet.
Her white dress was modest but close-fitting, sharply tailored to flow over her lithe body and covering her from neck to ankle and shoulder to wrist. Simple yet stunning.
I leaned forward, only to realize Bea and the rest of the new arrivals were doing the same. It broke the spell, sending my pulse skittering. I gripped the bench to ground myself.
“To our new trainees, welcome to my castle.” Death’s smile was magnanimous. “You have taken the hardest and most important step in your journey to become a Judge of Death. Everyone in this room has been where you are. They know the pain of physical death, and we salute your courage in joining us.”
My shoulders hunched at the applause. Courage had nothing to do with why I was here.
“And yet your journey is only beginning,” she continued. “There are thirty of you now, but only ten will make it through the next four years and become my Judges. The rest of you will join my service in another capacity, helping run this castle.”
My hand flew to my throat as shocked murmurs rippled through the people around me.
“Does she mean twenty of us will become servants?” Bea whispered.
An unpleasant taste filled my mouth as I nodded. “How do you think she picks the other ten?”
“It sounds like there will be a competition of some sort.” Bea’s eyes narrowed.
A hot flush spread from my chest to my limbs. What a shitty thing to keep from us. We’d given our lives for a chance to judge souls, to make a difference. We didn’t deserve the bait and switch of more hoops to jump through once we arrived. Well… the others didn’t.
The flush faded from everywhere but my cheeks. I was here to atone. I’d vowed to endure anything. It would make no difference if I atoned as a servant instead of a Judge. Did I think I was too good for such a position?
Death held up her hand. “I understand your confusion. You were not told you would be tested, that only a portion of you would be found worthy. You must trust the process. It has been developed over centuries and serves as the foundation for this realm, bringing order out of chaos.”
The muttering around me only grew louder at her words. The silence from the rest of the room was striking. Most of the Judges sat with blank faces, though I saw a few shift in their seats, as if remembering their own initiation.
“I am the Goddess of Death,” she continued, ignoring the disturbance.
“My Judges are responsible for making sure souls learn what they need to and must make judgments impartially and fairly. To make sure every soul is judged the same. Not everyone is capable of that. I must assess whether or not you have what it takes. You must prove yourselves.”
A wave of calm washed over us and the faces of those around me relaxed from confusion into agreement. I resisted the pull of it, unnerved by its power.
“Tomorrow each of you will be evaluated so we can decide where to start your training,” she said, her smile widening.
“The first elimination tests will be held over the next two months. Now you’ll be shown to your rooms so you can settle in.
And then tonight we’ll adjourn to the Devil’s castle for a feast of welcome. ”
With a glance at the woman in the cream sash, Death stepped back and disappeared in a flash of light.
“We have to celebrate with Tempters?” the woman next to Bea asked, her eyes wide.
My jaw clenched at the thought of celebrating with the Devil’s people, and maybe the Devil himself.
Not only did they delight in punishing people, their counterparts in the World of the Living actively worked to increase the Devil’s power by corrupting people.
Power, money, drink—whatever your vice, the Order of Shadows would help you drown in it, and ensure you’d damn yourself to the Devil’s care when you died.
“We have to work together,” Bea said. “We might as well start getting to know them.”
I knew I wouldn’t be able to avoid Tempters completely, but it hadn’t occurred to me that we’d be expected to socialize. I thought we’d be too busy judging souls.
Judges stood and filed out and up the steps of the Amphitheater.
“New arrivals, this way.” An attendant ushered us out a door to our right.
I followed in a daze. My plan had seemed straightforward: come to the In Between and serve as a Judge of Death.
Clearly, it wouldn’t be so simple. Not only did we have to fraternize with Tempters, we had to face Death’s assessment and, if we failed, spend the rest of our existence as servants.
I looked at the souls around me, chatting about where they’d come from, staring in wonder at the mirrored walls like they couldn’t believe they were here, or fretting about whether they’d measure up to Death’s standards.
Bea reassured an anxious woman that none of us knew what was to come.
Anything could happen. Bea deserved to be one of the ten. But me…
Perhaps I could withdraw. Spare everyone the hassle of the testing and become a servant.
Take myself out of the running. Leave the competition to those who were more deserving.
Except, I couldn’t bring myself to. I wanted to make a difference.
To redeem myself. I couldn’t let go of that chance, unworthy as I was.
It’s a calling. Not a choice. I repeated my mantra as we wound our way up more stairs and through more corridors.
I lost Bea in the throng. To my surprise, I felt a little adrift without her warmth by my side.
It made no sense; I barely knew her. After an interminable number of steps, we arrived at a balcony overlooking an open space.
Six floors high and square, it was topped by a clear dome.
“Wow,” someone next to me said, looking up.
I followed their gaze. Balls of light clustered in four large groups like floating chandeliers, with inky darkness billowing and curling on the other side of the glass above them. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to that.
“This is the dormitory,” our guide said. “Judges live on the bottom four floors, trainees on the top. Your rooms are along these two sides. Two of you to a room. Your names are on the doors.”
Waiting for the crowd to thin before looking for my own, I watched two Judges work their way down the halls, checking lists in their hands and removing names. I wondered how many souls had been lost in the transfer this time. At least twenty by the looks of it.
Halfway down the hallway, I found my name.
I stood in the doorway and gaped. At the convent, I’d slept in a shared room with nine other people.
This was half that size, and it was for only two.
The mirrored walls were thankfully too smoky to make out anything more than vague shapes and they were softened by green, velvet-like drapes.
Balls of light hovered near the stone ceiling, illuminating the shadow seams at the edges, and a fireplace outlined in marble sat on one wall.
Closing the door, I sank onto the closest of the two beds. It was so soft I wasn’t sure I’d be able to sleep. I was used to a hard pallet. This felt like a marshmallow in comparison.
A salamander popped its head out of the flames, making me jump.
Its snout had the distinctive marking of a yellow starburst. It cocked its head, as if watching me.
I’d never seen one this close before. The dormitories at the convent didn’t have fires.
There was more intelligence in its eyes than I expected.
I stared back at it for a few heartbeats, feeling as if it was taking my measure, before it darted back into the flames and vanished.
“Oh, good.” The door swung open and Bea stepped into the room.
“We’re roommates.” Her smile was warm and I found my lips curving in response.
I hadn’t paid much attention to the name next to mine—Beatrice, which I now knew was Bea’s full name.
It didn’t matter who I roomed with, but I was relieved it was her and not a complete stranger.
She strode over to the other bed. “This is so nice.” She ran her hand along the plush quilt and my relief evaporated.
“It is.” I swallowed, looking at the luxurious furnishings.
“It’s a bit odd, isn’t it? The contrast between where we’ve come from and this.”
“Yes.” My laugh was shaky.
“Did you sleep on the floor at your convent, too?”
“We had pallets.”
“Such luxury.” Bea’s teasing expression faded when she saw me flinch. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t make light of it.”
I shook my head, my throat thick. “You’re not wrong.”
She frowned, staring at me as if trying to figure me out.
I shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position. “Did your transfer seem to go on forever?”
“Yes. It took so long I thought I was lost.” Bea shivered.
“Me, too.” Relief washed over me that my experience wasn’t unique. “And that hook in the heart was brutal.”
“Hook?”
Or maybe it was. “The pain that seemed to never end.” My stomach curdled at Bea’s blank look. “You were as shaky as I was. I thought—”
“Yes. The pain from the poison was intense. And then the interminable wait. Plus, it’s not easy waking up naked in a room full of strangers.”
“Right. That’s what I meant.” It wasn’t, but Bea didn’t need to know about the hook or the man I’d seen. No one needed to know about that. At least not until I understood what it was and knew I could trust them.
Casting about for a change of topic, I picked up a black card with silver writing from my nightstand and handed it to her. “Look at this.”
You are invited
To a Feast of Welcome
In the Great Hall of the Devil’s Castle
Indulge your pleasures and desires
In celebration of your new lives
My heart sank at the reminder that we were expected to spend the evening with Tempters, and with the Devil.
A new set of worries settled on my shoulders, wondering if he’d declare he’d been cheated and send me to his Dungeon, even though I was here to become a Judge and not a soul passing through. Would he punish me for eluding him?
My heartbeat pulsed between my legs, and I bit the inside of my cheek to stop it. Gods, there really was something wrong with me. Being punished by the Devil wasn’t sexy. He was a power-hungry tormenter of souls.
“It’s so fancy.” Bea ran her fingers over the invitation’s shimmering silver words.
“Do they really expect us to celebrate? Today of all days. And with Tempters?”
“The Tempters are something we’ll have to get used to. And we deserve to celebrate after what we’ve been through.”
I crossed my arms as she turned her attention to the wardrobe with her name on it.
She held up dresses and tunics in various shades of green as she rifled through the options. “What do you think we should wear tonight?”
“I don’t know. Depends on the kind of party, I guess.” Something tightened in my stomach.
“Do you really not want to go?” Bea asked, abandoning her search to sit beside me. She was far too perceptive for my comfort.
“It feels wrong to celebrate when there are souls waiting for judgment. We came here to serve.” It wasn’t a lie. It just wasn’t the whole truth. I hoped it would satisfy her.
“We may no longer be human, but the souls here to be judged are. One of the sisters in my convent told me I needed to remember what it means to be human. Otherwise, how can we judge them?” She had a point, but it didn’t make me feel any better. “Celebrating life is never wrong, Maeve.”
Maybe not for her. It was for me.
“Just come for a short time,” she said. “Meet some people, see what the Devil’s castle looks like, get the lay of the land a little, and then if you really want to leave you can. Don’t you want to find out what we’re in for?”
Knowing what came next was appealing. I was sick of surprises. And maybe I’d see the man from my vision. “They are expecting us all to go.”
Bea nodded.
“What are you going to wear?” I asked, standing.
She grinned and ran to her wardrobe where she pulled out a sleeveless, emerald column dress with a high neck, low back, and a slit up to the hip on one side.
“Wow.” My eyebrows rose. “I’m sure you’ll look fantastic in that.”
“What about you?” She asked, tossing the dress on her bed.
I opened my own wardrobe with a resigned sigh.
It was well stocked with structured dresses, tunics, and pants.
They felt far more sophisticated than the clothing I’d grown up with—tight bodices and loose skirts meant to give every woman a feminine shape.
On someone with my curves, they made me look like I’d been stuffed into my clothes.
These conformed to my figure without overwhelming me.
Still restrictive but also enhancing. And far more ornate than I was comfortable with.
Pulling out the plainest dark green gown that still felt appropriate for a party, I held it up for Bea’s inspection. “Do you think I can get away with this?”
“I think it will look stunning on you,” she said with a smile.
It fit like a glove, sleeveless and showing off just a hint of cleavage. Gold embroidery decorated the waist, almost like a corset. It gleamed as I examined myself in the mirror on the wardrobe door, feeling prettier than I had a right to, given the circumstances.
Bea let out a low whistle. “You look amazing.”
My face grew hot as Bea appeared in the mirror next to me. “So do you.”
“May I?” She gestured to my hair. I nodded and she grabbed some jeweled pins from a nearby dresser. Then she swept it back, out of my face, so it cascaded down my spine.
I had to admit, I looked good. If I had to go to this party, it wasn’t the worst outfit to do it in.
“Now, let’s go see what all the fuss is about.”
I hoped the fuss would be minimal and the information plentiful.