CHAPTER 124

Lily frowned and put her legs back down. "Shit, really?"

"Yep." He rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. "Apparently there's something nasty on the other side of the gate that I might have to deal with. After that, it sounds like I just need to roam around Purgatory or whatever for just a little bit until I can find the portal I need to get to faerie land."

"Hmm." Lily furrowed her brow. "Romeo, you're aware of the danger of walking into the Underworld...right?"

Mike picked up the book he was looking at and turned it to face her. It showed a tree biting a man in half. "I've got some ideas. Can't tell which ones are any good. And once I get to the queen's court, I'm half expecting some form of betrayal once I'm there, so I've been trying to bone up on faerie law. The queen created this bargain, and I fully expect her to try and weasel out of it. The only thing I can find is that the bargain can be reneged or altered if one party challenges the other to a contest or a duel, but the other party has to agree to it. But it can't be made under duress, and the challenger gets to pick the location. I don't know how she'd make me break our agreement that way, but I should brush up, just in case."

"Enough about faerie law, let's go back to the Underworld. You're alive. You can't just waltz on in there, you'll draw so much attention." She snatched the book from his hand and slammed it shut. "From all sorts of spirits."

"You almost sound like you're worried about me."

"Eat a dick." Lily put the book in her lap. "That shadow is just on the other side of the veil. In terms of geography, that puts him wherever the fuck he wants to be, and now I wonder if he isn't waiting for you on the other side of the gate."

"I'm not going alone. I'm planning on taking Yuki. You could come too, if you want."

Lily scowled at him and then looked down at her book. "I shouldn't. That close to Hell, demons would sense me moving about and it would draw attention to you. Demons are curious like cats. They'd come just to see what I'm up to."

"What is it like? The Underworld, I mean, not Hell."

"Dreadfully boring. Everyone you meet there is a miserable bastard, but you probably won't even see that many people. A place like the Underworld isn't meant for the rules of reality as you know them. It's an infinite plane, generally devoid of distinguishing features. It can look different depending how you get there—maybe it's a cave, a river, whatever. You can read about it in almost every religion known to man, and almost every description has some truth to it."

"Is it safe, though? Like, it won't hurt me, will it?"

"The Underworld itself? Not really. You have to remember that souls migrate there naturally. I guess the best way to describe it is like a layer of primer beneath the paint of reality. However, the Underworld lies beneath all realities on account of the fact that everything dies eventually. Why are you asking me all this, hasn't Death told you all about it? I thought you two had a bromance for the ages?"

Mike shook his head. "Death just reaps souls, he doesn't follow them into the Underworld. I asked, and he doesn't know."

"Oh." Lily bit her lip and contemplated him for a moment. "Well, being serious, the Underworld itself can't hurt you, but a lot of things go there when they die, so you may run across something that can. And don't even bother asking me if it's something Yuki can handle, because I honestly don't know. Maybe wear your running shoes, just in case."

"Noted. How about time? If I go in, it won't be like the faerie realm, right? I don't want to walk through the gate and come back forty years from now."

"Nah, the time in there is messed up, but only in terms of perception. Five minutes there is five minutes here. What did Einstein say about time and pretty girls?"

"Something something relativity?"

"Exactly. The Underworld is kind of like that, except you're not talking to a pretty girl, you're holding your breath underwater. It was never intended to be a pleasant place, and I try to avoid it if I can. When are you planning to go?"

"Ratu has spent the last week mending the key that unlocks the gate, so as soon as she hands it over. The plan is to pop in for a quick reconnaissance and then come back."

"I see." She sighed and handed the book back over before standing. "Well, guess I'm off."

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To check with Beth to see if she can change your will. Technically my heart is part of her inheritance, and I don't need three masters after you eat it in the Underworld." She sashayed toward the door dramatically, then stopped at the exit. "I'll see if Dana wants to be my new mommy. She's not in a rush to die anytime soon, cause, well, you know."

"Appreciate the vote of confidence," he muttered once she was gone.

The will was technically finished, this much was true, but he wondered how inheriting magical items worked. Did they recognize human laws? Would Lily somehow be shared between Beth and Dana, or would she be Naia's alone? He looked out the window behind him, chin in hand. There was always the fear that he would fail, that something terrible was waiting to happen to him. But did he want to spend his entire life locked in this house, trying to get others to do his job for him?

"Do you think I'm making a mistake?" he asked Jenny.