Chapter 4
My scalp prickled as Bea and I followed a stream of Judges and trainees over a covered bridge to the Devil’s Castle.
“Do we really need to get to know the Tempters?” I asked an older female Judge.
“It’s important to Death,” she said. “So most of us try to forget what they are on nights like this. They know how to throw a party, and they’re great if you want to blow off steam.”
My nose wrinkled at the suggestive flick of her eyebrows. The Devil’s affinity for temptation was well known, but I’d never be able to forget that Tempters chose to punish souls.
“They have a pleasure elixir that will help you let go of your inhibitions, if that’s your desire.” The woman sighed, as if remembering the effects. “But there’s no rush. You have centuries ahead of you. Don’t push yourself too hard tonight.”
“Note to self: don’t drink anything in there,” I murmured to Bea.
“Right, we wouldn’t want to have any fun,” she deadpanned.
I snorted despite myself.
“Don’t worry, Maeve. I told you we’d use tonight to figure out what comes next, and I meant it. I’m curious, too.”
“Thanks.” I gave her a grateful smile.
When we entered the Great Hall, the party was in full swing, but it was the room that almost made me miss a step.
The stone and wood-paneled walls were half eaten by shadows that looked more solid and less glittering than the ones in Death’s castle.
A balcony with iron railings ran along three sides of the room.
Below it ran a walkway separated from the main room by arches made of shadows, with bits of marble and wood suspended at the edges.
Hundreds of lights floated high overhead, but the room felt dim, as if providing cover for whatever indulgences were desired.
Bea and I exchanged a wide-eyed look. I’d expected something fit for an orgy, but the reality was more than I’d imagined, in every way.
We passed a seating area with chairs and settees in silver and red.
The Devil’s colors. My fingers itched to touch the red velvet upholstery on the nearest chair.
I could practically feel the caress of the fabric against my skin.
Fisting my hands, I resisted the pull and followed Bea further into the room.
People from both castles crowded the floor.
I couldn’t help but look at every face we passed, expecting to see the man from my vision, but I didn’t find him.
Death’s people were easily identifiable by the elegant green and gold clothing they wore.
The other half of the crowd were in red and silver.
Flowing gowns with plenty of skin on display, embroidered leather that looked rich and touchable. Clothing meant to seduce.
My lips curled in disgust. Tempters. It was said the Devil gave them powers of manipulation to use on his behalf.
After all, the worst torture wasn’t physical—something I knew better than most. If I hadn’t chosen to come to the In Between, they would have meted out my punishment in the Devil’s Dungeon after my death. Gods, what would I have deserved?
How they could justify working for the Devil I would never understand, nor was I the only one from the looks of it. My palms grew slick as I watched pockets of Judges and Tempters eye each other with hostility.
Not everyone felt that way, though. A male Judge and Tempter nearby played with a different kind of tension, their hands slipping under their clothes, oblivious to anything else.
I felt a flush building from my chest and an ache building lower, but I couldn’t bring myself to look away.
When a server passed by with drinks, the men grabbed glasses of something red from the tray and tossed them back before stumbling to the dance floor where they tangled together, moving to the music. Their movement was almost hypnotic.
“Do you want to dance?” Bea asked.
“What? No. Why?”
“You’re swaying to the music.”
I hadn’t realized I was moving until she told me. Planting my feet on the floor, I forced myself to be still. The ache pulsed between my legs, but I ignored it.
“It’s okay if you want to.”
“I don’t.” It didn’t matter what my body wanted.
I wasn’t here to indulge my desires. I didn’t deserve to.
I was here for information. “Come on. Let’s mingle.
” I pointed to some people I recognized as new arrivals at the other end of the room.
Bea tucked her arm in mine, and we headed in that direction.
“I’m so nervous about tomorrow’s evaluation,” one of them said as we joined them.
“Did you find out what’s involved?” I asked.
“No, but I bet it’s hard since more than half of us won’t make the final cut.”
“Maybe it has something to do with telling right from wrong,” another one of them said. “Since we’re going to be training to judge souls.”
The others around us nodded.
“I don’t think they’d have let us come to the In Between if they didn’t think we could do that,” Bea said, gently patting the man on the arm.
“Good point,” he said.
Bea raised her eyebrows at me.
Since this group could only guess at what came next, I scanned the room for other sources of information.
My gaze snagged on the dais with a massive silver and black throne in the middle, and my heart skipped a beat.
I expected to see the Devil sitting there, lording over the party, but it was empty.
Perhaps he preferred to be in the middle of the action, or a more intimate encounter. I shivered at the thought.
Two male Tempters dressed in rich burgundy leather with silver accents stood on the steps in front of it.
One wiry and lean with dark hair, and the other blond and muscled with the prettiest face I’d ever seen.
They scanned the room like they were anticipating trouble, their eyes missing nothing.
I pretended to focus on what the novices were saying, but I watched them out of the corner of my eye.
“I bet you a month’s laundry duty that a fight breaks out in the next fifteen minutes,” the pretty one said.
“No deal.” The dark one didn’t take his eyes off the room.
“Oh, come on. If we have to stand here all night, might as well make it interesting. You know it’s just a matter of time before something happens.”
The dark one shook his head, a faint smirk on his face. “Exactly. Tell me who you think will be the first one to throw a punch and I’ll consider it.”
“Anything go down yet?” A willowy black woman with a confident stride joined them.
“Nope. Unless you mean the stick up Marcus’s ass, in which case the answer is still no.” The pretty one crossed his arms.
“No one’s going to do your laundry duty, Titus.” The woman sidled up to the dark-haired one called Marcus and put her hand on his chest.
“You should have more faith in my ability to shirk my responsibilities, Daphne.” The pretty one called Titus gave her a charming smile.
She snorted.
“You don’t have to stand with us,” Marcus said, placing his hand over hers. “Titus and I have this covered.”
“And do what instead? I hate these things. They accomplish nothing. I don’t know why he agreed to it.”
“Yes, you do,” Titus said. “For the sake of appearances.”
Daphne scowled but took up a position between them, watching the room.
I’d heard enough. “Let’s go check out the rest of the room,” I said to Bea.
She made our excuses with a smile and we moved on.
The “he” they were talking about had to be the Devil.
They made it sound like the party was to give the appearance that all was well between the two sides.
I wasn’t sure I believed that, given the source, but I also wasn’t sure why this night was important to Death.
If she hoped it would help us get along better, it clearly wasn’t working.
The tension was almost as thick as the lust, but maybe one spurred on the other.
We passed the goddess herself holding court at the other end of the room in another white gown, this one embroidered with gold. The group with her looked sedate in comparison to the rest of the crowd, listening intently to her every word.
A group of trainees nearby were deep in conversation with a couple of Judges, and Bea and I joined them.
“The first day is the hardest,” a man was saying. “The transition is brutal. It’s so different from the convent. You’ll adjust, but give it time. New arrivals always look dazed for the first few weeks.”
I leaned in. This was more promising. “What will we be evaluated on tomorrow?”
The older trainees winced. “Each of you will weigh your own soul.”
I felt the blood drain from my face.
“All souls who enter the In Between are weighed,” he continued. “Since you’re training to be Judges, you weigh your own.”
“We sentence ourselves?” I asked, my throat tight.
“Yes and no. You decide on the sentence you think you would deserve if you weren’t here as a resident. It’s how they decide where to start your training.”
A buzzing filled my ears. I was vaguely aware of Bea asking a question, but I couldn’t catch what she was saying. I was too busy trying to catch my breath. I would need to face everything, not just what I’d done, but the choices I’d made afterwards. Everyone would see my tarnished soul.
Air. I needed air.
I mumbled an excuse and headed towards the walkway under the balcony.
A moan made me jump, and I rushed past two bodies tangled up against the wall, searching for a way out of the Great Hall.
Cold sweat beaded on my forehead as I dodged two more couples and a group of three.
There was no door, but I found a set of stairs in the corner.
Up, out, I didn’t care, as long as it got me away from the crowd.
My feet pounded up the steps. By the time I reached the last few, there were spots in my vision from lack of air. I stumbled forward and into a pair of arms.
“Hey. Are you—?”
I let out a wheeze and the hands pulled me upright.
“Pull your shoulders back so you’re not hunched over.” The voice was deep and commanding and male.
I latched onto it and tried to do as he said. The pressure in my chest eased a little.