House of a Thousand Rooms

Chapter 26

Cora turned to Cerberus with a puckered brow. "I am experiencing the most peculiar feelings here. It makes my stomach a bit queasy."

With a fanged grin, Cerberus countered, "Would you like me to do something about it, little gatekeeper? I myself am particularly fond of belly rubs and head scratches during times of discomfort and distress."

"Thank you, Cerberus, but I do not think either of those things will help me right now."

"Are you certain?" He wriggled his long, clawed fingers at her. "I promise I will be gentle."

Cora bit back a smile. "You are a rascal through and through! I suppose I do not expect you to do anything, really, but... perhaps you can help me unmuddle my thoughts? I feel as though... I am currently a passerby wandering through someone else's reveries. The house. This garden. They are both familiar to me, and yet I know it should not be possible because these memories are not my own. I wonder if they might belong to Theodore... or Lianna. The hand told me that it knew them. Perhaps it brought us here to help them."

Cerberus' handsome face grew surprisingly thoughtful. There wasn't a hint of mischief in his tone when he replied, "You know, little gatekeeper, I do not know how true these tales might be, but I have heard speculation in the past about your kind's abilities to relive the lives of the dead. I would assume these powers are meant to help you better understand the attachments that might bind a soul to the mortal plane. The burdens that they cling to oftentimes prevent them from traversing through the gate to their next destination."

Cora's brown eyes brightened with understanding. "Ah! Cerberus! What a great help you have proven to be! Thank you so very much."

Cerberus' red eyes gleamed hungrily. "Perhaps, then, I deserve a treat, little gatekeeper? For being of such great help to you?"

She flicked his chest playfully with her fingers. "Ha! You will have to do much more than answer a simple question to gain favors from me!"

Cerberus sulked. "Why must you be such a stingy mistress?"

Cora pretended not to hear him. Her mind was already whizzing off to more important matters. "If what you have told me proves to be true, then it might very well be up to me to help Theodore and Lianna overcome their grievances inside this unearthly cage! I must figure out what it is that ails them and help them make their peace with it. You said earlier that you scented death here. Do you think it holds any significance in our quest?"

He shrugged. "I do not know, to be honest. All I can tell you is that something quite young and rather small perished in this labyrinth at some point."

Cora gasped. "Like a cat?"

"Perhaps."

"Or... a child?"

"Anything is possible, I suppose."

Cora gulped with worry in her eyes. "This has suddenly taken a rather dark turn."

Cerberus snorted. "Dark turns are the best kinds of turns!"

Cora glanced anxiously around at the rows of hedges that surrounded them. "Oh dear, oh dear. We better get to searching for clues, then! I feel so awful for Theodore and Lianna. They must be devastated over whoever—or whatever—died in here."

Cerberus smirked. "What makes you so certain that the owners of these memories are indeed Theodore and Lianna?"

Cora frowned. "Now that you mention it, you are right, I cannot claim to know for sure. Can you scent anything, Cerberus?"

"Not at all. I cannot catch a whiff of their essence within the vicinity."

Cora furrowed her brow in slight frustration. "Yet, you referred to the disembodied hand as a 'she' and not a 'he' mere moments ago. How were you able to sense such an ambiguous detail—like the sex of a floating appendage? Were you simply being presumptuous?"

"I was not being presumptuous," Cerberus insisted. Then, he blinked. He seemed genuinely perplexed. "You know, there was something very pungent about that hand. It was brimming with essence."

"Brimming... with essence?"

"Yes," he nodded. "Now that I think about it, I am not so sure if it was the hand's sex that I scented—or the sex of the witches who placed the spell on the hand in question."

"Do you mean Circe and her sister?"

"No, no," Cerberus suddenly protested. He frowned. "The hand did not carry their putrid stench. It smelled minty. Like catnip. But also very, very feminine. With a hint of rose."

"What a mystery all of this is turning out to be," Cora muttered in disappointment. "I feel as though we are now left with more questions than ever before."

Cerberus nodded in agreement. "It truly boggles the mind."

Cora grew pensive. "Do you think it is possible that... the hand... belonged to Lianna... at some point?"

"As I stated once before... anything is possible, I suppose!"

She groaned. "I take back what I said before. You are of no help at all, Cerberus!"

He pouted in objection. "That is not a kind thing to say at all. Clearly, I am the one who has been occupying the more useful half of our partnership. You ought to show me more respect!"

"Why would I ever do such a silly thing?" Cora asked.

"Because," he informed her, "I sometimes develop this overwhelming urge to take a bite out of you whenever you bully me, but I imagine I would have no problem keeping my fangs and claws to myself if you attempted to be just a tiny splattering of a smidge sweeter... to me."

"Are you threatening me again, Cerberus?"

"It is very possible," he confessed with a guilty smile.

"Well, I have no intention of treating you with anything other than what you deserve, so please reign in your animalistic urges until we complete the task at hand," Cora stressed tartly. "Or else I might take a bite out of you instead!"