“Must be nice not having to moisturize ever.”
He chuckled as they continued down the lane. “Souls come here knowing very little of their mortal lives. Most of us only remember our names and a single, precious memory.”
“And what was your memory?” she asked.
Dino paused, his gaze drifting to the sky. “Wow. It’s been awhile since someone’s asked or I’ve even thought about it.” He smiled, closing his eyes. “I remember holding a little girl. Newborn. A plump little ball of peach that made my heart soar so high I knew it’d never come down again. She was crying, but it was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard.”
“That sounds nice.”
He swallowed, the memory fading as he ushered them along again. He didn’t like thinking of his memory, and for some reason her asking about it unsettled him. No one asked about another soul’s memory. It was impolite. Uncomfortable. “Yes, well, moving along. Once you get checked in at the Census, you’re free to do whatever with your immortal life. Be a scoundrel. Be a hero. Be rich. Be poor. Be everything. You’ve got eternity to do it all.”
They passed a bench occupied by two women, their curly hair bound in large buns, their dresses billowing lace monstrosities that pooled around their feet. They shared an ice cream and giggled when their eyes met his.
Dino winked and flashed a grin. “It was a free city once. Souls gathered in their districts and elected representatives to the Soul Assembly, and it passed the laws and kept order.” His smile faded. “Then, the Ardent Revolution came, and now, we smile because it’s better not to let the archduke see you frown.”
“If these people are pretending, they’re pretty good at it,” Amber noted.
“Everyone’s a good enough liar here given enough time, and to be frank, not an insignificant number of us were more than happy to bend a knee to a tyrant’s rule. Besides, we’re in the inner districts where the landed gentry live and play. Unsightly suffering is swept to the outer neighborhoods, or if you’re really unlucky, the Deep expansions. Be glad you’re not anywhere near those hellholes.”
A soldier in solid black marched by, twirling a slick baton as he went. Dino nodded politely at the man as he gently clasped Amber’s elbow and leaned to her ear. “Those are blackjackets. They serve the archduke. Always be kind to them. Always be polite. Always do what they say.”
Amber slowed, her eyes searching the passing gazes. “You said everyone who’s died comes here?”
“Did you hear what I said?”
“Yes, be nice.” She turned to him, clearly uninterested in his warning. “But you said everyone who dies come here? Everyone?”
Dino noted the eagerness in her voice. “Each and every one,” he slowly responded.
The air around her electrified. She latched onto his wrist and pulled him eye level with her. “How do I find someone then? Tell me where to go!”
“Whoa now, let’s not get too hasty. We need to see my boss first.” He glanced around them. “And keep your voice down.”
“I don’t give a shit about Fa—”
Dino slapped a hand over her mouth. “I don’t exactly operate on official channels, if you know what I mean, and if you want to find out what a blackjacket baton tastes like, a good way to do it is by shouting her name. Get me?”
She yanked his hand down, glaring daggers. “Answer my question, or I’ll start screaming for someone who can.”
Dino painted on a smile. A few observers had already turned their ears toward the conversation. Instead of screaming bloody murder at the girl for being so foolish, he laughed and closed his teeth into a wall. “You get some kind of sick pleasure from getting on my last nerve? You’ll get us both killed if you don’t keep your voice down. I’ll figure out how to help you after we get to you-know-where.”
Amber cocked her head and grinned, mirroring his wall of teeth. “You promise?”
“I promise!”
Amber clapped, dancing down the street. “Great! Where to now?”
The interested ears turned away. Dino hurried after her, wondering if he’d made a huge mistake saving her life. At least if Bone Man had kidnapped her, then that monster would have to suffer through the girl and not him.
Dino took the lead again, and together they wove in and out of the labyrinthine streets and avenues of a city that never rested. Neon lights, belching smokestacks, newspaper boys, and beggars alike gave Afterlife its light and color and intoxicating rhythm. The horn of locomotives chugging their way on the raised railways slithering through the city punctuated the night.
He toyed with the ring hanging around his neck. Zoe would’ve hated this, every step of the way. Dino could almost hear her hissing in his ear about how the girl deserved to know more than just bits and pieces of the truth and not the sanitized version he fed her.
Dino dropped his hand from the jewelry and led Amber down an alley. They passed a table of men playing cards and swigging beer. Their conversation died as they watched him and Amber pass. He nodded to the table, and the men went back to their game.
“Here we are,” Dino said, opening a creaky door at the end of the alley.
She paused at the doorway, a lump traveling down her throat. “You promise this is safe?”
“How many promises are you going to shove down my throat?”
“As many as it takes.”
“Fine, fine. I promise.”
Amber flashed a pleased smile and darted inside. Dino let loose an exasperated sigh and followed after.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Conscripted
Dino lifted his gaze to the stars and prayed what would happen next would go well for him, because so far the day hadn’t exactly turned out the way he wanted.
With Amber on his heels, they traveled down a long corridor ripe with the stench of sweat and stagnant water, then descended a rusted, rickety staircase that ended at a steel door deep beneath the surface of the city.
Two posted guards eyed Amber suspiciously. Dino murmured the right passcode, and the men opened the six-inch-thick, airtight steel door protecting the base from their enemies. He glanced at the relic nailed to the wall. A tiny thing it was, a petrified scarab studded with onyx. No phantoms could transform around it. It ensured souls like Dino unfriendly to the Fool’s Errand were revealed should they try and slip through. Though their headquarters was Faye’s best-kept secret, she always covered her bases.
He led Amber from one corridor to another, down one hall, down the next, then down a few stairs and over a slowly-rolling channel of sewage. He smirked, watching her face pale at the waste souring the air.
“You’ll get used to it,” he said.
From there, it didn’t take long to reach the control room. Dino spotted the reinforced doors and hallway lined with quiet wraiths watching the pair pass by. Amber kept closer to him here, her hand gently clutching his elbow as she trailed behind.
She has a light touch, he thought. So did Zoe.
Dino pulled his arm away from her. He nodded to the final soldier, and the wraith swung the door wide.
The hustle and bustle of the control room crashed over them in a hot wave as the thick door swung outward. Men and women poured over intricate street maps and argued over tactics. Those cursed as spirits sat around tables and stared into oblivion, desperately searching for weaknesses the Fool’s Errand might exploit for their cause.
A pencil flipped across the room, nearly striking him in the face. A woman hurrying outside snatched it midair and slid into into a clipboard tucked against her chest, muttering an apology as she passed.
“What is this place?” Amber asked.
“Welcome to the heart of the Fool’s Errand,” Dino said, motioning for Faye’s door. “The archduke may control the city on the streets, but he doesn’t own the maze beneath them, not yet. The city above was once the city below, and just as massive.”
“It’s all so … surreal.” She gazed into the throng of fools, brows knitted together. “Where’s Faye?”<
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He watched the way her skin wrinkled, how it bunched together just above the bridge of her nose and each fold cast its own tiny shadow. “I wished you’d stop frowning at everything,” he said.
Her brows relaxed. “What?”
“Nothing.” Dino wiggled his fingers toward the door. “I’m pointing. Pay attention.”
Her gaze followed his fingers to Faye’s door. “What’re we waiting for?”
Dino shouldered past her, striking through the thick crowd. He speared their way through the bodies until they reached the far wall where the two wraiths guarding Faye let them pass after patting them both down.
He walked into the much cooler room and took a deep breath. Amber followed right behind. She paused beside him, one fist pressed against her chest, the other cupping that loose fist.
Faye Labelle stood on the far end of the room, back turned, hands clasped tightly at the small of her back. She studied a map of Afterlife plastered on her wall and hummed a tune common to many of the fools in the Errand.
Amber glanced at Dino.
Dino shrugged, clearing his throat. “Faye? I’ve brought a visitor.”
Her humming quieted at his voice. She swiveled, her dark trench coat fluttering in loose folds around her knees. She flashed that polished, plum smile and twisted from the map. “Didn’t I tell you he would lead us true? You wanted vengeance, and now, now we hold the greatest mystery in Afterlife in our hands, and perhaps even the weapon to stop the archduke himself.”
He rubbed the back of his neck and forced a smile. “Yeah, about that … This is, uh, a person of interest to Bone Man.”
Faye inspected Amber. Her tongue slid from between her lips and passed slowly across them. “You mean to tell me she stole it? Her? She’s so ordinary.”
“Thanks,” Amber said, rolling her eyes.
“Bone Man wanted her, Faye. She claims she didn’t steal the relic—”
“Because I didn’t,” Amber snapped. She fixed her fiery stare on Faye. “I’m not a thief. I didn’t take some relic. This is the first time I’ve been in this city or whatever it is.”
“Who is she, Dino?” Faye asked.
“My name is Amber,” she replied.
Faye arched an eyebrow at Dino. “Why do you have this girl here before me? I thought you were bringing me the relic thief and the relic they stole, not some girl.”
“Bone Man tried to kill her, Faye.”
“Bone Man tries to kill a lot of people. So? If she’s not the thief, why are you here? Is she useful? A fighter? Ransom, perhaps, for the one who really did it?”
“I’m not your ransom!” Amber shouted.
Dino shot an annoyed glance at his charge. “Bone Man tried to kill her in the mortal world. She stopped him. Flung him clear across the room like a thousand-year-old poltergeist.”
Faye’s eyes lit up, and she finally acknowledged Amber. “You’re strong, that’s good. Dangerous business, running off into the mortal world. Is that where your thief-friend went too? Tell me, who is the one who stole the relic? I will reward him handsomely. I just want to know him, that’s all.”
“I. Don’t. Know. Anyone,” Amber rasped. “How many times do I have to say that?”
Faye pursed her lips and looked to Dino. “Is the girl Deep touched? She seems a little off.”
“My name is Amber Blackwood,” she said, marching toward Faye. “And don’t call me girl, and don’t ignore me.”
Dino caught Amber’s sleeve and yanked her back. “Deep touched she isn’t. Mortal? Yeah, she’s that.”
Faye blinked. She took a step back from Amber. “Alive?”
He nodded. Faye fell into her chair, lips parted in an O of surprise. “That’s impossible. Mortals can’t travel through mirrors or use curses.”
“Apparently one can,” Dino said. “And there’s only one way I can think of that a mortal might use a curse.”
“A relic.” The excitement in Faye’s voice filled the room. “And if there is a relic that can grant curses….” Her eyes widened, and she shot from her seat. “Dino! This must be it. This must be what the archduke wanted!”
“For once, I agree,” he said.
Amber turned to him, shaking her head. “I don’t have a relic. I swear. Why don’t you believe me?”
“I believe you,” he replied, gazing at the pitiful girl before him. “I just don’t think you know what you’re talking about.”
Faye sucked in her breath. Both Dino and Amber turned toward the woman while Faye’s gaze shot to him. “God, Dino, she could be a ticking bomb. Put her in a cell! Post six guards outside and keep a close eye on her.”
“What?” Dino laughed and glanced at Amber. “She’s harmless.”
“So was Bone Man until he wore the skull mask,” Faye spat. She jabbed her finger at Dino. “I want her contained. Now! Hurry!”
Amber stumbled back to the door. “I will not be your prisoner.” She turned to Dino, backing from him. “You said you’d keep me safe. You promised. I’m not going to hurt anyone. I won’t hurt anyone.”
“You can’t believe her!” Faye roared. “Dino, don’t let the past repeat itself. Don’t be the father of another murderer of souls!”
The terror in Amber’s eyes melted into frustrated tears. She wiped them with the back of her hand and started backing toward the door. “I didn’t want any of this. I don’t—I don’t have anyone. Dino, please, you said you’d be my friend. You said you’d keep me safe.”
“Remember Zoe, Dino?” Faye’s words dripped poison. “How many Zoes must there be before you learn? Contain her!”
Memories of that night floated to the surface. He squeezed his fist, and with his free hand grabbed the girl’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Amber, but it’ll be better if you don’t fight on this one.”
“Take her to a cell,” Faye commanded.
Amber tried wrenching free, but he held her tight. She sobbed. He squeezed harder. “I can’t let it happen again. Please don’t hate me for this.”
“You promised,” she said.
“And I have to break it now. There’s no other choice.”
Amber shuddered. She stilled. The air in the office chilled. She shot up, her eyes boiling with rage. “Let. Me. Go!”
Without so much as a pause she twisted his wrist and hurled him clear across the room. He slammed into Faye’s map, a flash blinding him as the air rocketed from his lungs. He crashed to his knees and gulped for air, clutching his wrist where she had seized it.
“Guards!” Faye called. “Guards, restrain her!”
Commotion. Chaos. Dino blinked as his vision steadied. Faye kneeled beside him, her arm threading beneath his and lifting him to his feet. He leaned back against the wall and pressed his hand to his throbbing head. “What was that?”
The guards dragged the unconscious girl from Faye’s office. When the door closed, she dropped Dino and went for her desk, pulling out a bottle of whiskey. She poured two glasses, jabbing one at him. “In all my years I’ve never seen a mortal come to Afterlife. Never could I have thought someone living could command a curse. You told me she used the poltergeist curse?”
“She did.”
“That was the power of the wraith she just used.”
“I know,” he said, rubbing his wrist. “I can still feel it.”
Faye took a drink. “What kind of weapon have you brought me?”
“But what is she?” he asked, downing the alcohol. He shuddered as it pooled in his belly and washed his chest in warmth.
“Hell if I know.” She downed the rest of her drink and licked her lips.
Dino stared into his glass and shook his head. “She’s got more than one curse. Nobody carries two curses.”
Faye slammed her glass on the table. “Two? You’re thinking small, like you always do. We’ve got a monster in our midst, and I’ll be damned if I let her go to waste. Forget Bone Man for now. Amber Blackwood, that’s the only one you care about. Earn her trust. Make her mine.”
> “How do you think that’s going to work? She’s going to hate me after this.”
“It doesn’t matter, don’t you see? We have what we want now. This girl will either bring the thief to us, or she’ll fight for our cause. Either way, we win.”
“Choose someone else, Faye. I’m telling you she’ll hate me.”
“Everyone hates you. You’re a miserable piece of shit. Doesn’t mean you aren’t useful. Now do as I command.”
Dino slurped the glass in one gulp. He extended it for another round. “One of these days, I’m just going to run to the Deep and never come back.”
“God willing,” she said, pouring him another drink. “But I know you well enough to know you won’t. I need this weapon, and you can be damned sure we won’t be attacking the palace or Bone Man until I can use her. So have fun with your new friend, Mr. Cardona. Get me what I want.”
Dino gulped the whiskey and dropped the glass onto her desk. “If you want me to earn her trust, we can’t keep her caged.”
“Do you think you can control her?” Faye asked.
He shrugged. “We need to give our little bird room to fly. She’ll never sing in a cage.”
“Hmm.” Faye swirled the whiskey in her glass. “Let her sit in there for a few hours. I want to see if she transforms into something like Bone Man first. Once you think it’s clear, let her out. Put her in a room someplace where we can keep an eye on her. The thief will come for her.”
“I’ll get right on it.”
“Dino, if you lose her, I’ll make you suffer for it.”
“More than you do already?”
“You haven’t begun to suffer, Dino Cardona. Not yet. Now get to work.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
A True Friendship
Amber woke to a buzzing. She blinked, her pounding head aching with each heartbeat. An oversized light bulb flickered and popped. When it steadied, the buzz continued.
She stretched her eyes and sat up. She lay on a cot with a dingy mattress and sweat-stained sheets. Her room was windowless, one cold cinderblock atop another and painted a faded army green.
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