Little Saint Bride [Death and the Maiden, #1]

Chapter Thirty Six: The End of the Road, and Beyond

I'm being watched by hundreds of ghostly figures.

They crowd behind Mercer, filling the empty spaces of the chapel. Human faces peer at me, of all shapes and sizes, colour and sexes, children and adults alike. Among them are faces I don't recognise; faces that aren't human. Feline figures with eyes of yellow sulphur and talons of a bird are the tallest in the crowd, with tails that flit with easygoing grace. Horned, delicate humans with feathery wings stand beside dark-skinned elves. There's so much variety and colour all at once that I sway, momentarily disbelieving.

'What...!' I cry, taking a staggering step away. My mouth drops as my eyes raise to the levels above, where yet more creatures and humans hang from balconies, staring at me with as much intent as I them.

Sybella doesn't move to help me. She watches me fumbling with an uninterested expression. Then, she says, 'Surely you have heard of other creatures in other lands. Is the human world really that backwards, nowadays?'

My chest hurts and my head spins. Am I still breathing? I take a gasp of air. 'No...! Didn't know that they existed!'
I do not know what "they" are, apart from a lot furrier and scalier than me.

Sybella sighs. 'Humans. Only ever see what their eyes tell them.'

'That's entirely normal!'

'Not when there's so much more to see,' Sybella murmurs. 'Minoa is one small island among a sea of stars, and yet all the lives run to the river that is the Underworld, a current that pulls all to it at different speeds. That boy sees. You now see. Before, they were invisible to you during the day, and appeared human during the night. Now, you see both day and night, and any form true they take.'

What in Hades is she talking about? Stars and currents?

That boy? I follow Sybella's nod. Mercer.

'You mean Mercer saw before I did?' I shake my head in wonder. Then, I remember Mercer chatting away to the statue on the evening of our arrival. I'd assumed he'd invented a companion, but...maybe he'd actually been perceptive.

Maybe, but my ego doubts it.

'He's a pleasant surprise,' Sybella agrees, surveying the boy like a fruit that hadn't yet gone off. 'Now, go and find what you came for.'

She gives me a slight push, and I jerk forwards. I haven't even asked her yet about Minoa, and where all these creatures came from. Were there really other worlds?

Find what you came here for. I goddamn hope that whoever killed Nate was from this world.

Plastering my confident air back on, I fold my arms and say, 'Are you not going to introduce me to your friends, Mercer?'

The boy stops, halting in his tracks. Then, he turns slowly with a grin on his face. 'You can finally see them, can you?'

'Yeah, so lose that air of superiority. I'm back in charge.'

'If you lead, everyone will hate us. You're a despicable human being.'

'How romantic, but I'm married. Lead on then, guide.'

In a twist of irony, for the first time, Mercer is being my guide. I step hurriedly to keep up with him; the streams of souls hanging around to watch us disperse at an equal rate. Every so often, Mercer stops to speak to someone, asking for directions, and they point him towards a stairwell or turn. After several of these stops, a kind soul decides to lead us straight there, taking us along a winding, narrow staircase until we reach an imposing door.