Chapter 5
What the fuck is a dead man’s remedy? Nothing on this cocktail menu made any sense.
Despite Aidan’s you should leave as soon as possible orders, he’d been nowhere to be found all day.
His office had been unusually empty and anytime she ran into a stray reaper, they hurried away before she could ask them where he was.
Like any good snoop, she’d used this time to poke around the house, and even pilfered a few fountain pens from his office.
His desk was lined with color-coded jars of them—and now he was a few pens short.
She smiled. She might have only known him for a short time, but she had him pegged, and it pleased her no small amount to mess with his fastidious order of things.
Knowing he’d be pissed if she traveled off to the mortal realm without speaking to him, she decided to venture into the village.
In her initial travels to the death realm, she’d only seen a bit of the woods and the estate—there was an entire realm to explore though, and the local village seemed like a good place to start.
Nestled in a valley, the estate was snugly surrounded by rolling hills and patches of the scraggly woods she had seen on her first visit.
A well-worn dirt path directed her up over a hill all the way to the cobblestone streets of the village.
The houses she passed looked like smaller versions of Aidan’s home.
Dark red-brown brick with black trim and iron accents.
Moving further into the village, she found not only red-brick offices and storefronts but also smooth, creamy plaster buildings with the same dark trim and dark roofs.
Windows were decorated with planter boxes, and she imagined they would be filled with bright red flowers come spring.
Sooty fog reminiscent of Kava caressed the open air, but unlike her home, the buildings remained clean and presentable.
When she inhaled, the tinted and speckled air didn’t stick to her mouth or lungs.
People leisurely unlocked their shops, waving and chatting to each other like it was routine.
Now, her ass was on a barstool as she scanned the cocktail board looking for a single drink she recognized.
Giving up, she perused the liquor shelves instead.
Elaborately cut bottles glowed and swirled.
One bottle in particular caught her eye as flecks of light sparked in the dark blue-green liquid.
“Want a taste?”
Elysia turned her attention to the blonde bartender. He pointed at the bottle. “The starshine? Do you want a glass?”
The lights within the bottle grew brighter and Elysia smiled, enjoying the simple show of magic. She started to say yes before remembering she couldn’t pay. “I mean I do, but I don’t have any money.”
The bartender grabbed a beveled cocktail glass with one hand and the starshine with the other. “Just get here?”
She nodded as he poured the shimmering liquid out.
Pushing the glass at her hand, he settled back against the bar. “Did housing already set you up? You’ll find a job soon enough.”
Elysia combed her hair into a ponytail, grumbling. “Something like that.”
The bartender’s eyes latched onto the floral helm peeking out as she tied her hair back. He whistled. “I thought I recognized you. Elysia Parker, the mortal we’ve all been waiting for.”
He grinned cheekily, and Elysia pulled her cocktail closer, suspicion rankling her. “Why in the realms would you recognize me?”
Corking the starshine, he threw her a look. “I live here permanently. I care about what happens to my home.”
She frowned at him and sniffed her drink. Floral, but sweet. “That’s not an answer.”
He shrugged, evading her question, but still stuck out his hand, introducing himself. “Herman.”
Placing her hand in his, he flipped her wrist and jerked her half over the bar to examine the design more carefully. Elysia wrenched back, but what the man lacked in height he made up for in muscle. He released her, and she smacked onto her ass, the stool wobbling beneath her.
“Aidan’s driving you to drink already?”
“Don’t. Touch,” she bit out.
She didn’t know who she was allowed to stab around here.
Could you even harm someone who was dead?
Ignoring him, she took a cautious sip of her drink, liking how it slid down her throat like warm honey.
Lightness hollowed her bones and her scowl fell away, replaced by an unfamiliar easy smile.
Downing the glass, she held it out, silently asking for another.
The quiet glug of the starshine stopped as the spout tapped against the rim.
She swirled the drink, her chest feeling looser than it had possibly ever been in her life. Every last tension and anxiety were gone in an instant. She couldn’t even remember why she’d been in such a mood walking in here.
Toying with the bevels of the glass, her gaze roamed around the small establishment. Five barstools and a couple of small round tables made it an intimate setting. Candles wavered in the low light, and the heat was positively toasty compared to outside.
“I shouldn’t be here,” she acknowledged, thinking about Kava and the temples.
“In my bar? How barbaric. Tell him you’re your own person.”
She shook her head, lips splitting into a grin. Herman was a lot more tolerable after a drink or two. “In the death realm. Or in charge of finding Aidan’s talisman at all.”
Herman poured himself a thimblefull of something red and fiery. “You think you’re the wrong person for the job.”
She snapped her fingers and pointed at him. “Exactly. You get it.”
He considered her, his blue-gray eyes more serious than she’d been expecting.
“On the contrary, I think you’ve been through a lot, and it’s easier for you to think you’ll fail.
Easier to expect that both you and others will let you down.
That everyone else lies and manipulates as much as you’ve had to. ”
The airiness of the starshine rippled as her natural emotions tried and failed to affect her. Her brow wrinkled as she grasped for wariness or even confusion, but it was futile. They all drifted away like little clouds of nothing.
“What do you know about what I’ve been through?” Perfectly at ease, her question had no bite, only curiosity.
Polishing off his drink, he topped hers off again. “What can I say, I’m a fan.”
A frown started, but then left as her smile widened.
“Find the talisman. Go home to Relaclave.” She nodded to herself, the room shifting with prisms of beautiful light.
It was simple, she just needed to start.
How hard could it be? She was born to find secrets, and the talisman was simply an object of power—hidden like a secret.
It was time to go to Bellia.
Dropping her jacket on the floor, Elysia stood in the foyer of the estate.
She was humming tunelessly, staring at an oil painting of Aidan’s dogs, when the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.
Twisting on stockinged feet, she found him striding closer, holding an open leather-bound ledger with his sights set on her.
His mood wasn’t difficult to decipher, if his tightened jaw and harsh gait were anything to go by.
Serves him right, she thought, giggling.
She hoped she’d stolen his favorite pen.
Elysia gave the worst curtsy of her life as he approached, almost falling over. “Your Deadliness.” Tiny spheres of light floated around his head, drawing her attention as she watched them shift colors with delight.
His expression flattened and the ledger snapped shut. “I didn’t realize day drinking was how one showed their commitment to the job.”
Elysia kicked her jacket out of the way, enjoying how Aidan’s gaze slid over to the motion in annoyance. “I couldn’t find you. And it’s a well-documented part of the Parker process. You should just be glad it didn’t involve drugs.”
Aidan placed a hand on the credenza, leaning his weight onto it as his irritation melted into tired patience. “Potions do have drugs, Elysia.”
She paused. “Oh.” That explained a lot.
She’d promised herself she would never do drugs. Alcohol on occasion, but never drugs, not after watching her sister fall in and out of sobriety for years. The guilt she expected to overtake her escaped her reach though, and she grinned to herself. No wonder people were into this.
Aidan’s shoulders dropped, his head tilting as he watched her. “Yes, oh.”
Tossing the ledger onto the credenza, he grabbed her hand, pulling her along through the house until they were in what looked like an infirmary.
The small amber potion bottles here looked decidedly less fun than the ones at the bar.
Instead of beautiful shimmering colors, they were filled with dark, murky liquids and floating herbs.
Raised lettering on their labels said things like anti-diarrheal and Aidan’s migraines.
Her mind flashed back to the meela’s tincture, and she grimaced, waving her hands. “No, no. No, thank you. I’m good. Drugs wear off.”
Aidan grabbed a particularly sludgy bottle off the shelf and uncorked it. “That they do. But you were expected at the Bone Temple hours ago, only you disappeared, and no one knew where you went.”
Elysia poked him in the belly, making him jerk back in disbelief. “Nooo, I looked for you, and I couldn’t find you, so I found…other activities.”
Aidan fought a grin. “I had to go to the prison. I’m half-tempted to leave you like this for a while. Alas, responsibility wins out like it always does.”
She nodded sagely, some distant sober part of her relating to what she heard in his voice. “Truth.”
Aidan handed her the bottle, but she pushed it away, wrinkling her nose as the smell wafted from it. “You know, some people would argue that I deserve a little respite after almost dying. Unsurprising behavior for someone who rules over the dead, though. How lively could you be?”