Soul exchange

Twenty nine ~ What a riot. Screw em.

Iris sat staring at the floor with an unreadable expression, and Nyx wrung her hands nervously. Perhaps the whole story was too much for her.

"Jesus, Nyx. You've been through a lot. You got murdered by a freaking angel, dude."

"Yeah, well, the King of Hell offered you a job," Nyx returned with a snort.

Both women ogled each other before letting laughter bubble from their lips.

When the laughter died down, Nyx turned severe. "It's so good to see you, Iris. I thought about quitting a lot after you died."

"Yeah, but you didn't, though, did ya," she replied lightning fast, but her gentle shoulder nudge showed her true feelings. "How was my funeral?"

The silence stretched between them for a few moments, and Iris mock-gasped. "You didn't go?"

"I did," Nyx replied quietly. "It was beautiful. But I couldn't help but notice how many people showed up that I had never seen visit you. They were convinced you were in a better place, though."

Iris chuckled at that before sighing.

"What a riot. Screw em."

Slowly the orb above their heads illuminated the whole space, and Nyx could see every corner of the room with clarity. "What-"

"Oh, that just means it's daytime," Iris said as she stood. "Come on. I'll show you around and get you into a shower. There was only so much I could do while you were unconscious."

Nyx stood and padded across the wooden floors. "How long was I out?"

"About three days."

Nyx's eyes almost burst from her head, and she rounded on her former patient. "What? I have to go back right now. What the Hell? My patients. Selene! What if Micah got to her? Oh, God."

Iris raised her hands as if calming a spooked horse. "Woah, Nyx, it's only been like three hours up there, alright, calm down. And Neo sent Maeze to watch her."

Heart still racing, Nyx slowly followed Iris through the bedroom door and into an adjacent hallway. The walls appeared concrete, and Nyx couldn't see a single window as far as the hallway went.

"Just to your left is the shower," Iris said, pointing her finger at a nearby door. "And if you follow me, you'll see the kitchen slash living area on your next right."

Nyx peered in and saw a retro kitchen space floor-to-ceiling grey. At first, she thought it looked dull until Iris muttered, "Steel. His favourite colour." Iris stared into Nyx's wide eyes with a knowing smirk. "I wonder why." Her sarcastic comment brought a blush to Nyx's cheeks. 

They continued down the hall to two more doors, one to the left and one directly ahead. "This door," Iris pointed straight forward, "leads to the main castle. There are lots of demons down there, so I recommend staying up here for now. And the door to your left is Neo's office. He's usually in there if not on the earth plane."

Sudden fatigue washed over Nyx, and her stomach began to ache. Instead of finding out more about the castle, she gestured for the shower. 

The sooner she could clean herself and go back to sleep, the better. Maybe she should rest there for a couple of days. 

The thought of sleeping to her heart's content while the world above barely noticed her absence warmed Nyx. The security she felt from being protected from Micah was another draw card. The maths seemed pretty straightforward, and she calculated she could rest in Hell for over a month before she would be due back to work. While tempting, she resigned herself to a few days—a week maximum.