CHAPTER 112

The smell of Earl Grey filled the room as Death walked in, carrying a small tray. He set the tray down on the desk and pulled up a chair across from Mike.

"What is it you are working on, Mike Radley?" Death filled his cup and then poured some tea for Mike.

"Remember when I went to go see the faerie queen?"

"Ah yes. I remember it like it was yesterday." Death took a long sip of his tea. Steam floated up out of his eye sockets, and the tiny flames inside turned blue. "Or maybe it was? I lose track of time quite easily."

"Don't you burn your..." Mike realized that the question was dumb and let it drop. "How is it?" he asked instead.

"Very good, Mike Radley. Out of the many things I have enjoyed on the material plane, I dare say that tea is my favorite." Death sipped again. "I like how it warms me from the inside and fills me with vim and vigor."

"Yeah, sure." He pulled his cup toward him and noticed the bowl of sugar cubes on the tray. He added a couple of cubes to his tea and stirred it. "Well, we didn't get my friend back. However, the queen gave me a task that I can accomplish that will allow me to bring her home."

"Ah, a quest!" Death leaned back in his chair. "I have met many an adventurer who has gone on such a thing. Granted, the ones I met had failed. There was much disappointment on their part."

"Yeah, well, my quest is supposedly impossible. I need to travel through the Underworld to get back to the faerie realm. I imagine that won't be a walk in the park either."

"Mmm." Death stared at the ceiling, lost in thought. Mike swirled his tea around and gave it a tentative sip. He wasn't a tea person, but figured he may as well learn how to drink it.

"Yeah, so Sofia and I went through some books in the Library and we hope to find a way to get there."

"Getting to the Underworld is quite easy, Mike Radley."

Mike rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah, dying gets you sent there, so I get it."

Death shook his head. "I am not referring to the act of dying. You need to simply open the appropriate portal."

"Easier said than done." Much like the faerie realm, the rats had been unable to make any headway. The Underworld was on another plane of existence, and Reggie had been unable to make any headway on the problem. "Some of these books make reference to a portal that can be traveled through, but none of them even hint at where to find one."

"Ah, yes. I have met many men and women during such an endeavor." The Grim Reaper nodded knowingly, then drank some more tea. "They, too, suffered some disappointment. At least they got to go there in the end, I suppose."

Mike laughed. "Well, I fully intend to come back, so we need a better way. What's frustrating is the Underworld is a pretty broad term, so even if I get there, I need to find my way to the faerie realm without getting lost and ending up somewhere bad."

"Like Hell, Mike Radley?"

"Hell would be on the top of my list for places I don't want to go." He pulled a piece of paper out of the desk and drew a circle. "From what I understand, there's a place called Purgatory that kind of acts as a giant lobby for the Underworld." He drew a circle on one side and labeled it Earth. "Now, some places overlap Earth, like Hell or the faerie realm." He drew two more circles, making a chain along the edge of Purgatory. "Now I don't know if Purgatory will get me there, but if I can find a path that avoids anywhere bad, then I should be fine."

Death leaned forward and gazed at Mike's diagram for several seconds. Suddenly, the Grim Reaper stood, nearly spilling his tea. He picked up the piece of paper and held it close to his face.

"Mike Radley! Do you realize what this means?" Death lowered the paper in awe, his jaw hanging open.

"No, what?" Excited, Mike rose and crossed to the other side to look at the diagram.

"You have created a map!" The specter held the paper up triumphantly. "I have never seen one created before. All it took was a bit of paper, and some ink, and—"

Mike groaned and went back to his chair as Death rambled on excitedly about what had just transpired. While he appreciated the enthusiasm, disappointment was sinking in.

Every fiber in his being fought him right now, crying out for him to fight his way back to the faerie realm. He knew it was a terrible idea, but knowing that Cecilia was in a cage had put a massive hole in his heart, and it would remain unfilled until he could save her. Scowling, he picked up his tea and took a sip, careful not to burn his lips.

"—and I suppose you will probably go there through the portal in your backyard." Death set the paper down on the desk and picked up the pen. "Ah, yes. If I draw the gate right here, then I have participated in map making, too!"

"Wait, what?" Mike leaned forward in his chair as Death drew an arched gateway with iron bars. "Death, that's just the gate in the backyard, it doesn't go anywhere."

"You are wrong, Mike Radley. I may not be knowledgeable in many things, but I certainly recognize a portal to the Underworld when I see it." He drew a cartoon skull over the bars. "I assumed you knew this already, which is why I said getting there was easy. If not for that gate, I would have called your task impossible."

Stunned, Mike sat with his mouth open. Could Death be right? Was the unassuming gate in the backyard really the answer to his problems?

"It is very rude to stare, Mike Radley." When Death scowled, the temperature in the room dropped dangerously and the twin fireballs in his sockets went from blue to red.

"I'm not staring, I'm...is this a joke? You're absolutely serious, the gate in the backyard is a portal?"

"Mike Radley, if there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I'm always dead serious." Death picked up his tea and sipped it with a smug grin. "Now that is a proper joke."