CHAPTER 43

"You can see him?" Mike asked.

"Of course, but we've never talked or anything." She pointed at herself. "I did technically die, so I thought that explained why I could see him. But whenever I tried to talk with him, he just kept looking at his maps. I figured maybe he was pissed that I got away or something, so I've just been leaving him alone."

"Mike Radley, who are you talking to?" Death was looking near where Dana stood, his bony brow furrowed.

"I'm talking to Dana. You... can you not see her?"

"I am capable of seeing anything with a soul, yet I only see you, the goblin, and His Majesty, the Rat King. Are you saying there is somebody else here?" Death held out a bony hand. "You may call me Death. I am pleased to meet you."

"Oh, I still have my soul. That's the problem." Dana reached out for his hand, but her hand passed through it. "I can't touch him, apparently."

"Her hand went through yours," Mike explained.

"Fascinating." Death stood up and swallowed some more tea. "You have brought me a better room to conduct my studies in, and an intriguing mystery. Today has been a wonderful day for me."

Mike shook his head in disbelief. "I'm happy for you, Death. Really."

Death let out a chuckle and stepped away from Dana. "I am learning so much in your home."

"Yeah, so am I." He shook his head with a grin, then turned to look in the new room.

It was well decorated, and had several bookshelves covered with a variety of items. On one wall was a large collection of pictures and some devices that looked like goggles with sticks on them, and the other wall had a large phonograph machine. Covering the walls was a bewildering assortment of artifacts that looked like they came straight out of a museum, and in the middle of the room was a large, ebony table with a stack of records on it.

"See what I mean?" Dana walked over to the phonograph. "Now that you're here, I can try this out and see if it works."

"Why do I have to be here?" he asked.

"In case it doesn't. Didn't want to take the blame." She smirked, and picked up a record and put in on the phonograph. Mike watched her mess with the device until the scratchy tones of an old record filled the room with soft music.

"Sounds like it works."

"Yeah. The record isn't labeled though, and I didn't take enough liberal arts classes to tell you what song it is."

"Tink like phonograph." The goblin moved toward the device, then took a step back. "But Tink no touch. Break too many times."

"Break it as much as you like," Mike told her. "I'll just have you fix it."

Tink grinned, and Dana handed her a record. While the two of them messed with the phonograph, he circled the room. What looked like Egyptian hieroglyphs had been carved into the sides of the shelves, and several of the pictures were printed in duplicate.

"Weird." He held up a picture of a dig site. The pictures seemed old, but the clarity of the image was amazing. In the one he held, a large statue was being excavated. "Why are there two of every copy?"

"Oh, neat." Dana picked up one of the goggles and held it to her face. "These are stereoscopes. Here." She took the picture from him and set it in the frame, then fiddled with a knob at the top. "Now look."

When he held it to his eyes, he saw the world of the picture extend into three-dimensions. "That is pretty cool."

"Right, Mike Radley?" Death's voice came from over his shoulder, and he nearly dropped the stereoscope. Death had found a stereoscope of his own and was looking at a picture of a pyramid. "This is way more interesting than a map."

"I'm sure." He looked around, then spotted a large statue tucked in an alcove clutching a scepter. "Is that Anubis?"

Dana looked up at the statue. "It might be. Certainly looks straight out of the movies, doesn't it?"

"Wasn't he a death god or something? Shit." He set his stereoscope down. "Let's leave for now. I feel like we're just going to end up cursed or something if we go digging through all this stuff without the necessary precautions. Last thing I need is to unleash the mummy's wrath or something."

A loud screech filled the room, causing him to jump. Everyone turned to look at Tink, who had lifted up a panel on the phonograph, causing the record to pop off. The goblin blushed, then lowered the panel.

"May I continue to use this room, Mike Radley?" the Grim Reaper asked.

"Yes, but no fighting with Anubis." He pointed at the statue. "There's plenty of room in my heart for both of you."

"You are a good soul, Mike Radley." Death held the stereoscope to his face.

"So... upstairs?" He looked at Tink and Reggie. The goblin and the Rat King nodded, and they left Death behind to enjoy the pictures in the room.

"Hello?"

Beth hovered in the void, her eyes on a shape in the distance. There were no stars, no ground, just blackness, save for something that looked suspiciously like an antique lamp post. She tried to kick or swim through the void, but was unable to discern any sort of movement.

From all around her came a low pitched buzzing sound that turned on and off intermittently. She wondered if she was hearing voices from the real world, or if this was some dumb version of purgatory.

Typically, when she and Jenny exchanged places, she was unconscious for all of it. She wondered now if her soul was already inside of the device, slowly being extracted into the lower chamber.

She would have shivered at the thought, if she had a proper body.