Redemption of Eva

    Eva stood near the front of the ferry, scanning the horizon.  Something was wrong.  The mist had gradually cleared.  The stars had begun to fade.  The sky had brightened.  No.  She was still underground.  And yet light streamed from high overhead, bright as day.

    One of the passengers approached and came to stand beside her.  She turned to face him.  He was dressed like the men she had known in Carnal-Policy.  He stood straight, carrying himself with confidence.

     “You are different,” he said.

    “How?”

    “You’re not like them.”  He gestured toward the other passengers huddled at the back of the boat.  A few were engaged in a lively argument.  “Charon noticed.”

    “You know Charon?” 

    “Of him,” he corrected.  “You and I… we’re different.  We’re aware.  Not like those sleepwalkers.”

“How do you know this?”

    “I didn’t at first.  But little things didn’t add up.  I was in my bed… and then I wasn’t.  Things felt… off.  I’d always been here.  And yet I knew I hadn’t.”

    Eva studied him, tensing slightly.

   “Little by little, I woke up.  Everything seemed so real, and yet I realized…”

   “Realized what?” Eva asked.

   “That I was in Hell.”

    Eva started.

    “It all made sense.  The bickering.  The fighting.  The pettiness.  Everyone acting mechanically.  Unaware.  And yet we remain in Hell by our own choice.”

    “What do you mean?”

    “Some people have been in the Gray Harbor for centuries.  But they always find a reason not to cross over.  Not you.  Not me. We’re different.”

    “How so?”

    “They wait,” he said, with emphasis.  “But I’ve never waited for anything in my life.  And I’m not about to begin here.”

    Eva opened her mouth to speak, but the man either didn’t notice or didn’t care.  He didn’t care.  He kept talking.

    “These people…” the man said, nodding again toward the other passengers.  “They stumbled into it by chance.  But we know.”  He smiled with easy confidence.  “We know where we are bound.”

    Eva could not believe her eyes.  Before her, on the distant shore, lay a grand city.  Sublime.  Vast.  Beautiful.  Marble glistening in brilliant light.  Domes and spires rising above waterfalls and calm, reflective water.  This matched nothing she had ever heard about Hell.  Ever.

    Her world turned upside down.  No.  This could not be happening.  Had Alecto tricked her?  Everything she knew—everything she believed—seemed to come crashing down.  

    “And where is that?”  The words caught in her throat.

    “Why, Paradise, of course.”

    The waterskin containing the Water of Life lay where Alecto had left it.  Eva stooped, picked it up, and slung it over her shoulder.

    Eva did not know why Alecto had left it behind.  It did not matter.  Perry did.

    The tail she had severed lay nearby in blood and venom.  It was as thick as her thigh, the serpent’s eyes clouded, its jaws slack, fangs exposed, still dripping black venom.  One fang had cracked during the fight and hung at an angle from the others.

    The tail was far too heavy to carry.  Even the serpent’s head would be cumbersome.  She would take the tooth.  Perhaps use it as a weapon.  She wasn’t sure why.  She just wanted it.

    She sliced a strip from the hem of her dress.  Planted her boot against the jaw.  Wrapped the cloth around the fang and gripped it with one hand.  Slipped her dagger between tooth and gum with the other.  Then twisted.  It came free with a wet, awful crack.  Nearly as long as her dagger.

    Movement caught her eye.  Cerberus was not dead.  He whimpered.

    She turned to face him warily, staying just beyond the reach of teeth and claws.  She held up the fang for him to see.  His ears flattened, and he lowered his head.  His tongue flicked toward her.  Not in hunger.  Not affection.  Submission.

    The brutality of it all stunned her.  What is happening to me?  Who am I becoming?  She shoved the thought aside.  All that mattered now was Perry.

    She carefully wrapped the fang, taking extra care with the tip, then slipped it into her belt.  And walked into the fire.

    She placed each step with care, avoiding the flames and pools of lava.  Beyond the smoke and burning sulfur stood a stone archway leading into a narrow tunnel.

    The heat lessened.  The air grew cooler.  Still.  Wet.  Stale.  The roar of the fire faded into distant water.  Echoes.  Murmuring.

    The passage widened, and the light changed.  The red glow faded, replaced by a gray-blue gloom.

    Eva’s breath caught.  She stepped out onto an overlook above a vast subterranean expanse of unfathomable proportions.  Stars twinkled overhead—but they could not be stars.  Beyond them, barely visible in the distance was a solid ceiling of rock.

    Below lay a town of twisting alleys and uneven streets.  Doubt surged.  Was this even the right way?  It looked less like Hell than some forgotten underground city.

    But beyond the town lay a mighty river, its far side shrouded in fog, invisible in the dim light.  This had to be the river Alecto had warned her about.

    A staircase wound downward toward the town—and the river beyond.  As she descended, Eva strained to hear screams, but there were none.  Only conversation.  Complaining.  Arguing.  Even coughing.

    The houses here were built of soot-dark brick, weathered stone, and timber framing.  Slate roofs.  Warped wood.  Everything just a little damp.

    The people looked exhausted.  Some paced.  Others stood motionless, blank-faced.

    “I’m going to cross today,” one voice said.

   “The line is always too long.  No room on the ferry,” whined another.

    Eva beckoned to a man leaning against a greasy oil lamp, smoking.

    “What is this place?”

    “This place is…” he replied confidently.  Then he frowned.  “Is… here.”  He stared at her as though she had asked something absurd.

    She made her way past long rows of storage buildings, turning down one street after another, always angling vaguely toward the river.  She passed what looked like a custom house.

    At last, she reached the river.  It was black, slow, and heavy.  Almost oily.  Deeply unsettling.

    A group of people stood on the dock, waiting in line.

    “Fine!” snapped one woman.  “I won’t go at all.”  With a huff, she stormed back toward the town.

    Out of the mist glided a magnificent vessel.  The wood was ancient yet solid, dark as though it had been soaked in salt water for centuries.

    At the helm stood an old man, grim and rough, his skin like leather, a wild gray beard framing a face carved by time, his eyes seeming to blaze in the twilight.  He guided the vessel deftly with a long pole, sure and practiced.

    Eva tugged at the sleeve of the man in front of her.

    “Where does this go?”

    A blank stare.  “Across.”  He turned away.

    Ahead of her, a fight broke out.  Two more people left the line.  Then a third.  A cheer went up from the crowd.

    No sooner had it docked than people began pushing and shoving, struggling to board the ferry.  Eva was the last one left.  Yet there was still plenty of room.  The vessel had barely filled halfway.

    No return.  That was what Alecto had said.  But this had to be the way to Perry.  She would cross.  Then she would find him.  Eva stepped onto the ferry without hesitation.

    “You,” said Charon, fixing her with his gaze.  “You don’t belong here.”  But he made no move to stop her.  He turned away, dipped his pole deep into the water, and shoved off.

    The ground shook beneath Eva.  Her heartbeat thundered in her ears.  Must stay alive.  It was the only thought in her head.

    “God—!” she gasped, dropping into a fighting stance, ready to dodge at any instant.  Her daggers were already in her hands.  Out of the corner of her eyes, she caught a glimpse of tattered wings.

    She slashed at its paw—it was the only part of the beast within reach.  Cerberus growled, and wicked teeth lunged toward her.  She threw herself aside.  Jaws snapped shut where she had just been.

    She scrambled backward—straight into the open maw of another head.  She gagged at the stench of rotten, decaying flesh and jerked away.  Its teeth gleamed in the darkness, as long as her arms.  No place to strike. 

    Fast.  Too fast.  Too large.  Too dangerous.

    Her foot caught on something, and she went down hard, catching herself with both palms on the stone floor.

    Evil eyes blazed, fixed on her.  Flames spewed from one mouth.  She rolled—just in time.   A third head loomed over her, black venom dripping, hissing where it struck the stone beside her face.

    Three heads.  Three enemies.  Not one. 

    Silver lightning streaked toward Cerberus.  Alecto charged through the air, wings spread wide.  Her scourge cracked down across the middle head, the sound echoing through the chamber.  Cerberus staggered back for a moment—then swung a massive paw at her.

    A barrier sprang up between them, and the claws struck it in a blinding flash of silver.  A silver cord sprung from Alecto’s hand, binding Cerberus’s paws.  Alecto backed toward Eva, pulling at it, straining.

    Cerberus stopped abruptly with a choking sound, followed by the sharp twang of chains pulled taut.  The middle head roared and lunged for Alecto.  She did not retreat.  Her scourge cracked down.  Cerberus’s head slammed against the stone.

    This was the moment Eva had been waiting for.  A vulnerable target within reach.  Eva sprang forward, driving her dagger with the full weight of her body behind it, straight for Cerberus’s blazing eye.  Heat seared through her hand the instant metal struck—and the flame went out.

    The roar was hideous.  Cerberus reared up.  Eva went sprawling.  Pain flared across her back, and her vision blurred at the edges.  Chains snapped.

    One head bit down on Alecto’s wing, dragging her down.  Another seized her in its jaws.  Silver light flared around her.  Her scourge clattered to the stone.

    Eva sprang to her feet and charged Cerberus.  The nose.  She raised her dagger overhead and drove it down with all her strength.  Cerberus darted back in a blur—she missed.  She stumbled, nearly pitching into a burning pit, smoke billowing upward.

    Cerberus continued to retreat, Alecto still firmly clasped in its jaws, dragging into the flames beyond.  Eva followed.

    Alecto clawed at the stone frantically.  Her silver shield flickered out.  She screamed as the jaws clamped down.

    “Eva!”

    With no thought for strategy, Eva struck wildly, again and again.  Some blows landed.  Cerberus dropped Alecto and turned all three heads toward her.

    Alecto moaned and dragged herself away from the flames.

    Cerberus’s claws grazed Eva.  Blood began soaking through her dress.  She dodged one snapping head, then another.  Fire. Venom.  Claws.  Teeth.  Her breath came ragged.  Her ribs throbbed.  She could barely stand, much less fight.

   “Back!” Alecto yelled.  “Bring him back—over the threshold!”

    Eva turned and ran for the threshold—where Alecto’s authority held sway.  Thundering footsteps and savage growls followed.

    Silver light flared around Alecto, her scourge once again in her hand.  She stepped past Eva and struck viciously.  Eva doubled over, gasping for breath.

    One head spat venom at her.  She jerked away, barely avoiding it—only to nearly step into the searing flames from another.

    Cerberus knocked Alecto down and began dragging her back toward the threshold by one foot.  Nausea surged through Eva.  She ignored it and advanced.

    Cerberus paid her no attention, spinning Alecto away from her and leaving his backside exposed.

    Eva stabbed, then stabbed again.  Some blows landed against its massive legs.  She slashed upward, trying to reach his body.  Too high.  Cerberus did not even turn to face her.  Its serpent-tipped tail lashed against her chest.  She went down.

   The serpent’s head leered at her, forked tongue flicking.  Its gaze pinned her in place.  She could not move.  Could not think.  Then it struck, clamping down on her hand, fangs sinking deep.

    Terror seized her.  Her arm went numb.  Someone screamed.  Was it her?  Was it Alecto?  She could not tell.  She writhed in agony.  Rib broken.  One arm useless.

    She clenched her teeth.  Squeezed her eyes shut.  Cried.  Prayed.

   The leather pouch had slipped from her pocket.  Herbs lay scattered beside her face, glowing faintly in the darkness.  Do not take many.  The satyr’s words.  They make you less.

    Less than dying here in Hell?  She did not hesitate.  She reached out feebly and dragged the pouch toward her.   Tilted it.  Let the remaining contents spill into her mouth.  She did not know how many she swallowed.  She did not care.

    They tasted like honey in her mouth—but bitter going down.  Everything went quiet.  Muted.

    The moans and screams of the tormented faded.  Her vision narrowed.  The pain was still there—but it belonged to someone else.  Not her.  Clarity washed over her.

    Alecto’s scourge lay nearby.  Three braided lashes studded with sharp fragments of bone, stone, and glass.  It was an instrument not of death, but punishment.  Eva picked it up.  The handle clung to her grip as though it belonged there.  As though it recognized her.

    Cerberus lashed its tail at her again, but Eva stepped aside and brought the scourge across its leg.  It crashed heavily onto the stone.  She struck again, tearing a chunk of flesh from its haunch.  Cerberus yelped in pain and spun to face her, releasing Alecto.

    Everything slowed.  Step by step, she backed away.  Closer to the threshold.  She made no attempt to dodge.  No attempt to hide.  Terror still coursed beneath the calm.  One misstep, and she was dead.  All three heads watched her warily.  Cerberus lunged.  Its face came within reach, jaws beginning to open.  Eva leapt, swinging the scourge overhead and bringing it down.  Cerberus recoiled.

    Her daggers lay on the stone before her.  She struck again, then sprang left.  Again.  Then again.  Beyond Cerberus, she caught the silver glow.

    Just one more step should do it.  The dagger would be within Alecto’s reach.

    Cerberus reared back, howling in rage, then spun.  The dagger jutted from the base of the tail, blood spurting around the blade.

    The serpent tail reared back and fixed Eva with its gaze, hissing.  She felt the pull of it—terror, paralysis, something deeper—but it seemed to be happening to someone else.

   It struck.  She caught it just below the head, inches from her face, and held fast with an iron grip.  Silver flame flashed.  Cerberus crashed to the stone, the tail wrenching free.

    The dagger was within reach now.  She dashed to it and tore it free.  She seized the tail in one hand and cut with the other.  When steel struck bone, she bore down with all her strength, slicing clean through.

    The serpent writhed in her grip, spewing venom.  It burned her skin.  She did not care.

    Blood spurted from Cerberus.  It howled in agony—growling, barking, and whimpering all at once.  Cerberus thrashed, its cries echoing through the infernal halls of Hell.  Alecto stepped to Eva’s side and retrieved her scourge.

    “Lady Evadne,” she said.  Her eyes were dark as the void, but respect still glimmered there.  She placed Eva’s other dagger in her hand.  But the fight was not over.

    Cerberus attacked, more furious than before—if that was even possible.  Alecto battered him with her wings and silver lightning.

   “Stay to my right!”

   Eva obeyed.

    Alecto shielded the left and held the middle head at bay.  Eva’s clarity held.  She slashed, her dagger grazing its throat.  Warm blood splashed across her hand.

    She aimed for the remaining eye.  Cerberus dodged—straight into her other dagger.  The flame went out.  Cerberus jerked.  And she finished the job.  Both eyes out.

    Alecto’s scourge caught the middle head’s jaw, and she hauled down.  Cerberus thrashed wildly, berserk with rage.  Alecto was dragged forward, her knees scraping across the stone, the scourge slipping from her grip.

   “Now!”

    Eva froze, horrified.  The herbs were wearing off.  Pain came crashing back—along with the numbness in her arm.  Terror gripped her heart with icy fingers.  Black saliva dripped onto the stone.  She hesitated.

    Alecto strained against the scourge.  “NOW!”

    Perry’s face flashed through her mind.

    She drove the dagger deep into the open maw.  Deeper than she would have thought possible.  Her arm brushed against the teeth, snagging her sleeve.  Alecto slipped.  The jaw began to close.  Alecto cried out in desperation, hauling down with all her strength.  Eva thrust upward until the blade struck something soft.  Something ruptured.  Hot blood sprayed in crimson streams.  She twisted the dagger and drove it deeper still.

    Cerberus convulsed in choking spasms.  Eva lost her balance and pitched forward.  Alecto caught her and pulled her clear.

    Cerberus writhed before her.  One paw covered its blinded eyes.  One head hung limp.  The other let out a ragged scream.

    Eva trembled, her whole body shaking uncontrollably as pain wracked her.  Burned.  Poisoned.  She collapsed to the stone.

    Alecto knelt beside her.  Eva wanted to make another joke about the Kindly Ones, but she could not form the words.

    “Rest, Lady Evadne,” Alecto said.

    “Please call me Eva,” she muttered.

    Alecto pressed a waterskin to Eva’s lips.  The gentle flow of life spread through her.  The same gentle fingers as before laid the gold-tipped leaves from the River of Life over her injuries.

    “I wish you could come with me,” Eva said.  “I can’t do this alone.”  But she knew.  She had seen what the threshold had done to Alecto.

    “Come back with me,” Alecto said.  “There is a river ahead.  Once you cross, there is no return.  No one ever has.”

    “No.  I will still go to Perry.”  She rose unsteadily.

    Alecto stared at her for a long while, searching her.

   “May the King’s favor be with you, Eva.”  The words were so soft Eva almost missed them.  Then Alecto turned and walked away.

    After drinking a cool handful of water, Eva washed in the river—first carefully scrubbing every last trace of dirt and blood from her face, then her hands and arms.  At last, she slipped off her boots and washed her feet.  She watched the blood swirl away and drift downstream.  When she rose to continue her journey, Alecto already stood beside the stone bridge spanning the river.

    Alecto did not move until Eva stepped onto the bridge.  Hollow footsteps sounded behind her.

    The river followed the path for a short distance before veering sharply around a small chain of mountains.  The way ahead was rough.  Eva’s ankle twisted when she stepped on a crooked stone.  Beside her, Alecto walked as though the rocks did not exist.

    To her left ran a split-log fence, separating the path from a pleasant meadow.  Not a single stone marred the grass.  It was as though someone had dug up every rock long ago and thrown them onto the path ahead.  Leave the hard way, and the ground will take you.

      “What does Beelzebub want with me?”

    Alecto continued walking in silence, as though she had not heard.  A sharp rock jabbed through the sole of Eva’s boot.

    “Why?” Eva demanded.  “Why are you here?”

    “Many things are in motion,” Alecto said.  “You play your part.  I play mine.”

    Eva placed each foot with care, but it did not seem to matter.  A loose stone shifted beneath her, and she nearly lost her balance.  Alecto did not reach for her.

    “Who is the Daughter of the Moon?” Eva asked.

    Alecto stopped.  She stared at Eva for a brief moment—then turned and kept walking.  This was going nowhere.

    A set of wooden steps climbed up and over the fence into the meadow.  Beside them stood a rough stone pillar.  Inscribed upon it were the words:

    Over this stile is the way to Doubting Castle, which is kept by Giant Despair, who despises the King of the Celestial Country and seeks to destroy His holy pilgrims.

    Doubt keeps Despair.   Hope stirred in Eva’s chest.  This had to be the right way.  Eva climbed the steps, expecting Alecto to stop her.  She didn’t.  She simply followed.

    The path was smooth, a relief to her tired feet.  It ran alongside the Narrow Way, but little by little—almost imperceptibly—it drifted away.  The Narrow Way tugged at her.  She should have been walking it with Perry.  Well… not this path.  The rocks would not have mattered with Perry beside her.  She was sure of it.

    Alecto caught Eva’s arm.  The sun was nearly down, and the way ahead had grown dim. 

    “Walk with care,” she said.  “There is a deep pit ahead.”

    Eva scanned the horizon.  The sun was half-hidden behind a castle of cyclopean proportions, hewn from rough stone.  Castle Doubting.  Other than scattered bones and lengths of chain, there was no sign of the giant.  Eva hoped it would stay that way.  It didn’t.

    “Who trespasses on my grounds?”  Giant Despair bellowed.  He stood directly in their path, towering above them.  A cap of steel covered his head, iron shoes shod his feet, and a breastplate glowed as though fire burned beneath it.  Six fingers curled around a mighty club fashioned from an entire crab-tree.

    “You will let us pass,” Alecto said.  The giant stared at her without moving.  “By order of Dread Lord Beelzebub.”  Menace edged her words.

    Confusion crossed the giant’s hideous face.  He shifted the club from one hand to the other.

    Alecto’s eyes darkened to ink, and her hand went to the whip at her side.

    “Your command, Mistress,” the giant muttered.  He bowed slightly, then turned and lumbered toward the castle.

    They made their way around the deep pit, Alecto’s whip still in hand.  Ahead, men wandered among the tombs in the gloom—grasping, stumbling, pacing without purpose.

    “Help me,” one groaned, his empty sockets fixed on Eva.  Alecto nudged him aside with her whip.  Almost gently.

    Despair takes the eyes… Feet walk among the dead.   This had to be the place.  But where?

    Mountains loomed ahead, steep and jagged, their crooked silhouettes barely visible in the darkness.  There was no way through.  No way over.  The ground rumbled beneath Eva’s feet, and sulfur thickened the air.  There was no mistaking the moans of the tormented here—the same anguish she had heard in the Abyss.

    Words drifted toward her—tortured fragments of broken sentences.  “Curse my father…”  A shriek.  “…torn in pieces…”  Wailing.  “…lost my soul…”

    Eva could not decide whether Alecto’s presence comforted her… or terrified her more.

    Set into the mountainside, in impossible stone, stood a massive black iron door.  Inscribed upon it were ancient words:

–

ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO ENTER HERE

–

    Eva let out a sharp, breathless laugh.

    “What is it?” Alecto asked.  

    “The Author,” Eva said, quickly regaining her composure.  “He’s been reading Dante.  The vicar’s son snuck me a copy of Inferno.  It was worth the chores.  Gave me nightmares for months.”

    The door was pitted and scarred, streaked as though by centuries of heat and tears.  Slowly, it began to open on its own.

   Eva stepped forward hesitantly.  Alecto didn’t move.

   “You will not return,” Alecto said. 

    “I will go anyway.”

   “Why?”

   “Perry.” Eva offered no further explanation.

    “What my sister showed you was not merely a vision.  It will come to pass.  Lord Peregrine will die.  You cannot change it.”

    “Then you know.”  Eva’s lips curled with bitterness.  “I was there—with him.”  Her mouth refused to form the next words.  She forced them out anyway.  “When he dies.”

    Inferno.  It was hard to breathe.  The smoke choked the air, but there were no flames to light the descent.  She followed the footsteps ahead of her.  Down and down the path led, seemingly without end.  The occasional red fissures scarring the walls did nothing to pierce the inky darkness.

    Eva’s breathing quickened.  She could not draw enough air.  Terror clenched around her heart.  She froze.  Screams echoed off the walls around her.

    The footsteps ahead of her ceased.  A finger snapped.  Alecto stood before her, silver flame dancing in her palm.  It cast harsh shadows along the tunnel walls.

   “Follow.”

    Wretches lay sprawled across the ground, hiding their faces and recoiling from the light.  None seemed aware of her.  None made any move to approach.

    The way widened before them.  Ahead, a scattered infernal glow bled through the darkness.

    “I cannot go much farther,” Alecto said.  “Up ahead is the threshold of Hell.  Beyond that, I cannot cross.  If you go, you must walk alone.”

    Eva’s heart sank.  She nodded.  “I understand.”

    The cave opened into a vast cavern, flames scattered across the floor.   Guarding the threshold to Hell waited a three-headed dog.  Teeth the size of swords.  Three tongues from each slavering mouth, dripping deadly black venom.

    It snapped at them—close enough that Eva could have touched the mane of writhing snakes.

    “Stand down, Cerberus,” Alecto ordered.  “By command of Dread Lord Beelzebub.”

    Without hesitation, Cerberus slammed into Alecto with a massive lion-clawed paw, sending her flying.

    What had happened?  Eva stared at the people convulsing on the ground around her.  Some laughed wildly.  Others wept.  Some had gouged out their own eyes, blood running down their cheeks like crimson tears.   She did not stay to find out why.

    She made her way through twisting alleyways and narrow streets until she found the Narrow Way again.  A hush had fallen over the Fair.  The streets stood empty, the booths abandoned.  A curtain shifted.  A woman peeked out—then quickly disappeared from the window. 

    Eva was grateful for the quiet.  She had endured all she could of “Bright Noise,” and would be glad to leave it behind.

    Even the breeze had gone still, and the banners hung lifelessly.  Above them, the Bear waited placidly to the north.  He seemed unaware of the trauma she had just endured.  And yet, somehow, his presence comforted her.   

    At last, she reached the edge of the city.  Beelzebub’s pennants hung from the walls, just as they had at the entrance.  And there, beside the Way, stood Alecto.  Her dark robes cut sharply against the bright colors of the city.  She stepped in front of Eva, impassive eyes fixed on her.

    Fury surged through Eva.  Her daggers flashed into her hands.  She had held back before.  Not this time. No one—nothing—would stand between her and Perry again.

    Alecto did not move.  Did not reach for her weapon.  “Lady Evadne,” she said, her voice even.  Emotionless.

    Eva stopped short, but did not lower her guard.  

   “I will escort you to Beulah.”  Alecto’s lip curled slightly at the name.  Bitterness, perhaps?  No.  That couldn’t be it.

    What game was Beelzebub playing?  First he had her captured and tried.  And now he sent his lackey to “escort” her?

   “Tell your master I serve the King—and Him alone.”

    Alecto’s eyes flared with rage, but her face didn’t change. 

   “Very well, my Lady,” she said, stepping aside.

    Eva walked past her slowly, every movement deliberate.  She could feel Alecto’s cold stare between her shoulder blades.  She fought the urge to run. 

    She did not breathe easily again until the city lay far behind her.

***

    The way ahead was easy, but Eva barely noticed.  Her whole body ached.  Her mind still reeled.

    Only days ago, she had been respectable.  Then Perry entered her world and turned it upside down.  The Prince.  The Interpreter.  Charity—and Innocent. 

    She had lost the mirror Innocent gave her.  Her sister’s ribbon.  The satyr’s handkerchief.  And Perry.

    Her stomach growled.  She wished she had eaten the roots and berries the satyr had given her.  Now they were gone—along with his precious lace handkerchief.  Eva wished she had asked about the owner of the handkerchief. Who was she? And what had happened between them? How had it broken him so completely? She didn’t even know his name.

    She fixed her eyes on the Bear and placed one foot in front of the other.  How was she supposed to fight her way down to Perry?  How could she save him when she could barely walk?

    A lark flitted into view from a lone cherry tree.  His song was bright.  He seemed to promise Eva that everything would turn out well.  She wished she could believe him.

   Perry would be all right.  He bore the King’s signet.  Her heart swelled as she remembered him standing before Beelzebub—bold, unshaken.

    Once again, confusion overwhelmed her.  Beelzebub kneeling before her.  Why?  She was nobody.  And the lily pendant—she had left it at the Cross.  Alecto.  Tisiphone.  Megaera.  Nothing made sense.  The Prince loves the lilies.  

    She looked down in surprise.  She was kneeling at the edge of a mighty river, water soaking through her dress to her knees.  The surface shimmered in the sunlight, clear as crystal, revealing smooth pebbles below.

    She didn’t recognize the reflection staring back at her.  Bruised.  Battered.  Eva the Broken.  She lowered her hand into the river, water swirling around her trembling fingers.  It felt good.  She cupped her hand and lifted the water to her lips—but it slipped through her fingers, leaving her hand empty.

    She steadied her hand and dipped it again, lifting a mouthful to her lips.  The water was colder than she expected.  A chill ran through her whole body.  Then she plunged her face beneath the surface and drank deeply.

    She tried to rise—and fell onto her side.  The grass was soft.  So soft.  No.  Must go on.  Must save Perry.  But her body would not move.  Her eyelids felt like lead.

    Timber walls veiled in velvet, gold and candlelight.  We begin again.  Are we dancing tonight… or dueling?  She reached for Perry—but he remained just beyond her grasp.

    She was dreaming.  She knew it.  Must wake up.  It hurt.  Like gasping for breath.  Must keep moving.

    Perry sinking in the Slough, reaching for her hand.  She clutched him desperately.  Dreaming.  Wake up, Vee.

    Charm embracing Perry.  Rage tore through her.  Wake up, damn it!

    Perry dragged before the Great Red Dragon—deep in the deepest pits of Hell.  Chained to the wall.  Broken worse than she was.  Tears down his face.  Not for himself.  The Dragon showed him everything that had happened to her.

    Perry lying dead beside her.  Her sword and shield at her side.  Resolve welled within her.

    “You tell him—I’m coming.  And Hell’s coming with me!”  The words startled her.  The Author’s words in her mouth… but no less her own.

    She would go back.  Find Alecto.  But she would not go to Beulah.  Not without Perry.  She understood Adam now.  She would rather be damned than leave Perry behind.

–

    A hand rested against her brow.  Tender fingers pressed something cool to her cheeks… her ribs.  Light washed over her.  And she slept peacefully.

–

    When Eva woke, she felt like a new woman.  Gold-tipped leaves clung to her wounds, her bruises already fading.  She drew a deep breath.  Her ribs still ached—but the sharp pain was gone.

     The fragrance of lilies greeted her.  The bleating of sheep drifted through the air.  Branches hung heavy with fruit that resembled lemons, scattered with remnants of oranges among the same gold-tipped leaves.  Small green limes had begun to sprout.  They were the only fruits she could compare them to—but the shapes were wrong.

    Several of the “lemons” lay beside her.  She rolled into a sitting position.  Alecto sat cross-legged nearby, her back perfectly straight.

   “Eat,” she urged.

    A quiet laugh escaped Eva despite herself.  “Be careful,” she said.  “People may start calling you the Kindly Ones.”

    Alecto’s expression didn’t change.

    Eva peeled the lemon, separated a slice, and placed it in her mouth.  It was sweet.  Life surged through her body.

“We leave in ten minutes,” Eva said.

   Alecto nodded solemnly.

   “But we go where I lead.”

   “As you wish, my Lady.”

    The Narrow Way led straight through the great city of Vanity.  There was no mistaking it.  Her dress hung in torn, blood-stiffened strips.  Her hair was uneven where she had hacked it short.  Bruises throbbed beneath her skin with every step.  She scanned the path behind her.  The abyss.  The valley.  No way around.  Her path led through.

    She could wait for nightfall.  Slip through the shadows.  Go unseen.  No.  Every moment mattered.  And she didn’t even know if this path would lead to Perry.

   Still… this was Vanity.  Anything went here.  She might pass through without a second glance.  She had heard the stories.  Anything could be bought here—for the right price.  Husbands.  Wives.  Prostitutes.  Slaves.  And if you knew who to ask… kidnapping.  Even murder.

    But that wasn’t what met her.  Beelzebub’s pennants hung from the city gates.  Beyond them stretched the world-famous Vanity Fair—colorful tents and banners glimmering in the sunlight.  She passed a cage—an ape inside, baring its teeth.  A bear lumbered past on a leash, dragged by its handler.  Vendors shouted, hawking wares and haggling, their voices rising above the din.

    A burst of flame from a flame-breather stopped just short of her face.  She nearly collided with a juggler.  He slipped past her, deft and fluid, never missing a beat.

   “Removes all stains.”  A shabby merchant sidled up to her.  “Even blood.”

    Eva’s gaze snapped to him—hard.  He flinched and backed away.

    She caught her breath.  Right in front of her stood… him.   No.  Not now.  She didn’t have time for this.  His eyes met hers—empty.  No recognition.  The breath left her slowly.  She turned and kept walking.

    “Evadne?” he called after her.

    She stopped.  Turned.  

    “Brisk?”

    “My god, Evadne.  Whatever has happened to you?”

    A young woman—five, perhaps ten years younger than Eva—caught at his sleeve.

    “Who is she, Brisk?”

    “A friend I once knew.”

    The girl looked Eva over—and her lip curled.

    A crowd gathered.

    “What happened to you?”

    “Where have you been?”

    “Who did this?”

    “Are you all right?”

    The crowd closed in around her.  Hands took her arms—not restraining, just guiding.  Steering her forward.  They moved her through the streets.  Someone pressed water into her hands.  A cloth.

    A magistrate stood waiting, deputies at his side.  Brisk lifted a hand—pointing.  “She’s not well.”

    Her hands went to her daggers.  No.  Not for this.

    “You won’t need those here,” the magistrate said.  He was young.  Strong.  Handsome.

    The deputies moved in.  One caught her wrist as she shifted.  The other took her arm.  Not violently—but firmly.  Decisively.

   She twisted—tried to pull free.  A blade flashed in her hand—then stilled.  No.  She would not cut flesh.  They tore the daggers from her grip.  Rope bit into her wrists as they dragged her arms behind her back.

    “She’s not well,” the crowd murmured.  “For her own good.”

    The magistrate turned the bloodied daggers over in his hands, frowning.  One of the deputies leered—then stepped in.  His hand plunged into her bodice, dragging out the hidden throwing knife.  

    Eva lunged—spitting in his face.  He drew back to strike her, but the magistrate caught his wrist.   “Stop.”

–

    Eva lay in a cage—hands and feet shackled, chains biting into her skin.  The crowd gathered to stare.  Just another attraction in the Fair.  Just like the ape she had seen not long before.

***

    Tisiphone stood before the throne of Beelzebub, her head bowed.

    “Go to Vanity.  My daughter is in danger.”

    Tisiphone did not move.  Beelzebub knew this was not her office—to rescue, but to acquit.

    “Go.  Wait for me in Vanity.  Try the guilty.  Release the innocent.”

    Tisiphone bowed deeper.  “As you command, Your Majesty.”

–

    Tisiphone returned to her chambers, fastened her cloak, slung her sword over her shoulder, and stepped into the hall.

   Megaera shook her head as she passed.  “Not this time.”

   Alecto fell into step beside her.  No words passed between them.  Alecto knew her office—and would not interfere.

***

    “Evadne.” 

   Eva jerked upright.  The sun had sunk low, and the crowd was gone.  Brisk stood before the cage.

     “I don’t know what happened to you,” he said, shaking his head. “But I didn’t want this.”

     “Brisk?” she said.  “Help me… please.”

    He only looked at her, a pained expression on his face.

    “Brisk,” she pleaded.  “If ever you loved me at all—give me something.  A knife.  A pick.  No one has to know it was you.”

    Then he turned and left.  Gone.  Like always.

***

       “All rise.  The Honorable Judge Hate-Good presides.  Court is now in session.”

       “Good morning, Judge—Your Honor.  I will plainly show that the prisoner who stands before you, was caught red-handed in acts of treason against our Lord.”

     “Call the witnesses.”

    “My lord, I have known this woman a long time, and I will attest upon my oath before this honorable bench that she is—”

    “Hold.  Give him the oath.”

    “I, Envy, do swear…”

    “My lord, despite this woman’s good name—Madame Wanton—she has no regard for our country or our people.”

     “Swear in the next witness.”

    “I, Superstition, do swear…” 

    “I don’t know her—and I don’t want to.  But I heard that she keeps company with satyrs…”

     Gasp!

     “And spills the blood of travelers!”

     “I, Pickthank, do swear…”

     “She—and that rogue with her—have rebelled against our Great Lord Beelzebub and taken up arms against his servant, Apollyon.”

    “What does the accused have to say for herself?”

    “…”

    “There is no need for the jury to retire.”

    “She is clearly guilty.”

    “Away with such a woman from the face of the earth!”

    “I hate the very sight of her.”

    “A sorry wretch.”

     “My heart is set against her.”

    “Hanging is too good for her.”

    “Burn her at the stake!”

***

    The guard dragged Eva to the pyre outside the courthouse.  The wood was stacked high, the ropes already waiting.  He bound her fast, then set the wood alight.  Flames licked upward.  Smoke curled around her.

   She lifted her chin and looked to the sky.

   “Oh King,” she prayed.  “Keep Perry safe.”

    The Bear drifted above her, watching.

***

    A hush had fallen over Vanity.  Only one thing emptied the fair.  Alecto moved on.  Tisiphone inclined her head, then turned toward the courthouse.

    The crowd parted around her.  Lady Evadne stood bound at the stake.  Misapplied judgment.  

    “She does not belong to you,” Tisiphone said to the flames.

    The guards rushed her.  She did not reach for her sword.  Cruelty.  Blood-guilt.  All of it directed at her.  She turned it back.  She did not judge.  She revealed.

   One froze, a look of horror on his face.  Others wept.  Those who could not bear it broke—laughing madly.

    Tisiphone ignored those who lay broken around her.  She made her way to the stands—to the magistrate.  Guilt.  Anguish.  And something else.  Something worth keeping.  She reached into him and brought it to light.

***

    The flames were gone.  The magistrate stood before Eva.  He cut her bonds with her own dagger, then placed it back into her hand.  

    “These are yours.”  He returned the other dagger, the throwing knife, and finally the satyr’s leather pouch.  Then he turned and walked away without a word.

    Eva dropped into a fighting stance.  The satyr stepped back, hooves scraping softly against the stone, watching her warily.  Was he afraid of her?  Curious?  She couldn’t tell.

    His shape was wrong in a way that her mind resisted naming—man and goat stitched together, as if neither had claimed him.  But he didn’t seem hostile.

    The satyr extended an empty hand—long-fingered, rough, a dusting of coarse hair along the wrist.  “You are hurt… little blade.”  He took a step toward her, the curve of his horns shifting with the movement.

    Eva stepped back, daggers raised.  He didn’t move.  She edged away, inch by inch.  Outside, the giant hammered against the cave.

    “The heavy one does not tire,” he said.  “If you go out, it will remember.  But there are other ways… places the ground forgets to close.”  He showed sharp teeth in what Eva guessed was meant to be a smile.   “Not far.”

    Eva’s vision blurred.  Her head pounded.  Her ribs burned.  She staggered.

    “You fall out of yourself,” the satyr said.  “You will not walk the leaning places like that.”  He turned slightly, glanced down—hesitated—then met her eyes.  “There is a quieter place.”  The satyr turned and moved deeper into the cave, hooves finding the stone with an ease she couldn’t match.

    Eva didn’t move.  It could be an ambush.  She might be able to take him—but not more than one.  Not like this.  His footsteps echoed down the tunnel, torchlight flickering against the walls.  She didn’t want to be in the dark.  Alone.  She followed.

    The cave twisted and turned, then began to widen, the ceiling disappearing into the darkness.  Drops of water echoed in the distance, mingling with the faint, steady flow.

    A fire burned low.  The satyr added a few pieces of gnarled wood from a pile along the wall and stirred it with a stick.  It could hardly be called a camp at all.  A dirty blanket lay nearby, along with clay bowls and jars—most chipped, some broken.

    “Rest,” he said.  “Until you are better.”  He turned away from her.  He poured water from a jar into an iron pot, crushed dried herbs between his fingers, and let them fall into the water before setting it on the fire.

    Eva slumped down against a stalagmite, letting her daggers fall at her sides.

    “How can I reach the bottom of the abyss?” she asked.

    The satyr stiffened.  “No.”  He shook his head sharply.  Fear flashed in his eyes.

    “Too many goblins,” she muttered.  “Drakes.  There must be another way.”

    “No,” he repeated.  “No, little blade.”

    He set a bowl before her, filled with roots dug from the ground.  They had been cleaned—after a fashion.  She lifted one to her nose.  Bitter.  She shook her head.  “No.”

    He held out a handful of small, dark berries—popping one into his mouth before dropping the rest into the bowl with the roots.  

    “It has not bitten me,” he said.

    He lifted the iron pot from the fire—it was scalding, but it didn’t seem to trouble him—and poured the liquid into a hollow shard of stone.  He drank it in a single gulp, then filled it again and offered it to her.

    Her lips were dry.  Her throat burned.  She couldn’t risk it.  She shook her head.

    “I will go to the bottom,” she murmured.  “I am Eva the Fearless.”  A faint smile touched her lips.  “The favorite of the Author.”  She was babbling.  She knew it.

    “These,” he said, striding toward her.  He traced the gouges across her chest.  “Teeth.  Claws.  They end you.”  Pain flickered across his face—quick, almost hidden.  “Things go down with their names.  They come back… if they come back… without them.”

    Eva didn’t flinch.  “I don’t care about my name.”

    “You fight those.  There is nothing to fight there.”  He turned away.  “It does not hunt.  It keeps.”

    He returned to the far side of the fire, sat down, and picked up a small flute.  It was a hollow reed, its finger holes uneven.  He raised it to his lips and began to play.  The sound was thin, wavering, sometimes off—but steady.

    He played the same pattern over and over, with slight variations.  It reminded her of the music she had heard before—but something was different.  Not beautiful.  But strangely soothing.

    Eva’s eyes grew heavy.  But she refused to sleep.  She shook her head, then buried her face in her hands.  Just for a moment.

–

    A lightness washed over her.  The sun shone.  Birds sang.  She walked through the Interpreter’s orchard, hand in hand with Perry.  She reached up, picked an apple, took a bite—then held it to his lips.  He drew her into his arms.  Happiness flooded her.  She tilted her face up towards his.

–

    Eva jerked upright.  Her heart pounded.  Sweat drenched her skin.  Her hand flew to her daggers.

    The satyr sat quietly on the far side of the fire, his attention fixed on a ragged piece of cloth.  It was dirty, torn—but unmistakably a woman’s handkerchief.

    His large, uneven hands fumbled with a needle and thread, trying to mend the tear—but making no progress.  They were better suited for tearing than mending.  She stepped closer and placed a hand on his shoulder.

    “Let me try,” she said, gently taking the needle and thread from his hands.  He watched her for a long moment, then handed her the cloth.

    She sat down beside him and began to sew.  Slowly—each stitch careful, the way her sister had taught her all those years ago. When she finished, she placed it in his hand, closing his fingers around it.  Something glistened in his eye.

    “Maybe she comes back now,” he said.  But something in his expression told her he knew she wouldn’t—whoever she was.

    “Nothing goes there on purpose,” he said.  “You do.  You are not empty.  Why go where empty things are made?”

    “Perry,” she breathed.

    “Let the name go.”  He shook his head.  “It will not follow you back.  You will not come back.”

    “I will go anyway.”

    “Why?” he asked.

    “Perry,” she said.  Her voice faltered.  “I love him.”  The words startled even her.

    Understanding dawned on the satyr’s face.  “Not here.”  He laid a hand on hers.  “The deep opens elsewhere.  Past the bright-noise.  In the high places.  Not safer… but you might pass.”

    “Show me,” she said.

    “I can take you where the dark thins.  I do not go past it.”  He motioned to the blanket.  “Rest.”

    She shook her head.

    “Eat.”

    She shook her head.

    He poured the tea into the broken shard and handed it to her.  She lifted it to her lips and drank.

    He wrapped the roots and berries in the silk handkerchief, tied it in a rough knot, and placed it in her hands.  Then he rummaged through his belongings, pulled out a small leather pouch, and handed it to her.

    Inside were dried, shriveled things—black, with a dull sheen.

    “What is this?” she asked.  When the firelight touched them, it almost seemed as though something lived beneath the surface.

    “Things that do not like the dark.  These keep the edges from falling.  Do not take many.  They make you… less.”

    The satyr led Eva through the tunnels to another exit.  He took her hand and guided her past pits and snares until they reached the edge of the valley.

    Sunlight spilled across the ground before her, but the satyr remained in the shadows, hooves planted at the edge of light, as if he could not—or would not—cross it.  In the distance, the great city of Vanity spread out—unmistakable, with its brightly colored tents and banners.

    “Bright-noise,” he said, pointing toward the Narrow Way.   “Beyond the air is clear.  But not all.”  He closed his eyes and recited:

Leave the hard way, and the ground will take you,
Doubt keeps Despair,
Despair takes the eyes…
Feet walk among the dead.

    Eva took his hand in hers.  “Thank you.”

    As she set out, she almost missed his whisper.

     “Forgive me, little blade.”  

    Eva took his hand in hers.  “Thank you.”

    As she set out, she almost missed his whisper.

     “Forgive me, little blade.”  

    She glanced back.  A tear traced down his cheek, his horns silhouetted against the shadows behind him.

    Eva rose slowly to her feet and scanned the abyss.   It was as deep as the Hill of Difficulty was tall—perhaps deeper still.  The trail of blood ended here.  Firelight flickered below, revealing ledges and outcroppings, but the rock walls were sheer—no handholds.  Perry was down there.  She had no doubt.  And she would find a way down.

    She retraced her steps to where the fight had taken place—if it could even be called that.  The Narrow Way ran along the edge.  She followed it.

    Her progress was slow, each step placed with care.  On the other side lay a bog—but not like the Slough.  Heat rose from its surface, carrying the stench of sulfur.  The mire seemed to boil from some fire far below—the same fire burning in the abyss.  One moment, an unseen force tugged her toward it; the next, it drove her toward the edge.

    Nothing lay ahead but inky darkness.  She imagined the Bear beyond the smoke and clouds.  She imagined Perry’s hand in hers as they walked beneath the moon.  But there was nothing.  She was alone in the darkness, with nothing but the path beneath her feet.

    A faint sound caught her attention.  She strained to make it out.  Was it music?  Singing?  Strangely, it seemed to harmonize with the moans and shrieks rising from the abyss.

    Something whispered in her ear.  She spun—tight, controlled—and drove her dagger forward.  Nothing.  She turned and kept walking.

    “He’s gone, you know.”  She wasn’t sure it was a voice—or her own thoughts.  There was no one there.

    She slipped her daggers back into her sleeves and prayed—not for herself.  Keep him safe.  Somehow, it made her less afraid.

    One foot in front of the other.  It was all she could do.  Ignore the dizziness.  The pain in her ribs.  In the darkness, she lost all sense of time.  There was only the endless now.

    She blinked.  The clouds had parted, and the moon broke through.  It was no longer full, but it still washed the valley in silver light.  Ahead, the way was strewn with bones—snares, traps and pits stretching all the way to the distant mountains.  But that was not her destination.

      She left the certainty of the Narrow Way and moved along the edge of the abyss to the east, searching for a way down.  There should be a way down.  There has to be.

    Movement in the distance caught her eye.  Two shadowy figures hunched over something.  Guttural noises.  Stories her sisters had told to frighten her when she was little—goblins.  She dropped into a crouch.  One faced away from her.  The other had his back completely turned.

    She slowed her breathing, the way she had been taught, and moved forward as quietly as she could.  The goblin lifted his head.  She froze.  He didn’t see her.  He gnawed on a bone.  Her stomach turned.

    She crept closer.  The goblins continued eating, unaware of her in the shadows—now only inches away.  She steadied her trembling hand, then drove the dagger beneath the goblin’s ribs.

    No one had told her about the resistance—how close she had to be to kill with a dagger.  The goblin tensed, a gurgling sound escaping him—almost a whimper.  She pushed with all her strength, held it a moment longer than she wanted, then let him fall.

    The second goblin didn’t react at once.  Her heart thundered.  For a moment, she froze—caught in the hate burning in its beady eyes.  He reached for his weapon.  She slashed at his wrist.  Then she seized him—harder than necessary, more force than she needed—and pressed her dagger to his throat.

   “How do I get down there?”  she demanded, her voice ragged.

    The hatred vanished—replaced by fear.  He began to gibber, harsh guttural sounds spilling from him.

    “How do I—” she began again.  It was no use—there was no comprehension in his eyes.  She pressed the dagger down—then stopped herself and threw him to the ground.

    The goblin lay stunned for a moment, then scrambled to his feet and darted away.

    Eva didn’t hesitate.  This was her chance.  She sprinted after him, ignoring the pain flaring in her side.

    Eva halted abruptly.  The goblin had vanished into the rock face before her.  She stepped closer—there, a narrow scar in the stone.  An opening barely wide enough for one person.  She could have passed it a hundred times and never seen it.

    The stone sloped inward.  Eva lowered her head and paused, testing her footing.  Her hair fell into her face.  She twisted it into a bun and tied it back with her sister’s ribbon.

    She inched forward, squinting into the darkness.  The goblin pounced—almost knocking her off her feet.  She swung, aiming for its eye.  It screamed.

    Pain shot through her head as she was dragged to the ground.  Sharp rocks bit into her back.  She tried to pull free, but something had her by the hair.  Another goblin pounced, claws grazing her chest.  She struggled—swinging wildly.  Some of her strikes connected.

    She scrambled to her feet and spun, swinging both daggers at once.  Her hair whipped into her eyes.  Something struck her.  She drove forward, knocking the goblin to the ground—and stabbed.  Over and over.

    Her panic subsided.  Two goblins lay dead beside her—she was sprawled atop the mangled body of the third.  A sob escaped her lips.  Her blades—and her hands—were slick with blood.  Her hair clung to her face, matted with sweat… and perhaps blood as well.

    She wiped one dagger on her dress and set it on the ground.  Then she reached up, gathered her hair in one hand, and cut it as close as she could with the other.  It fell uneven—loose strands slipping free.  She no longer cared.  She stood, letting it drop at her side.  She didn’t look down.

    It felt strange—she had never worn her hair short before.  But her vision was clear.  And there was little now for an enemy to grasp.  One less thing to work against her.

    The wind stirred.  The stone was sharp, recently broken.  But the wound itself felt ancient.  This was no mere cave, but the beginning of a fall arrested in stages.  The way down was no true stair, but a broken ledge road—part natural shelf, part old cut, part the ruin of a greater work.

    Eva was afraid.  Before her lay shallow shelves, cracks and crawlspaces no one would enter willingly.  A thousand places for goblins to crouch in the shadows, waiting.  Eva the Fearless?  She scoffed.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

    Thoughts flooded her mind—despair, grief, guilt, shame.  From the depths, specters rose:  faces of men, half-formed, flickering in and out of existence.  The same voices that had plagued her before.  Her daggers were no use against them.  She closed her eyes and thought of Perry.  The Prince.  Innocent.  Charity.  And kept walking.

    Fires burned in clusters in the distance.  The incessant chattering of goblins filled the air, rising above the wails and moans below.  Metal rang against metal in the darkness.  Far off, a drake swooped.  A shriek—then angry howls.

    The ledges began to widen—shelves of stone layered one above another, connected by ladders, crude stairs, rope bridges, pegged ruins, and narrow traverses cut into the rock.

    Eva grasped the top of a ladder leading down and began to descend, one step at a time.  At the bottom, movement caught her eye off to the left.  She dropped into a crouch behind a rock.  Several drakes tore at the carcass of a goblin, devouring it.

    She tensed and backed away slowly, then turned.  She wouldn’t be going that way.  Along the shelves stood lean-tos, smoke pits, refuse heaps, hanging racks, and piles of bones.

    Across a wooden bridge, a sentry stood guard, a jagged sword hanging slack at its belt.  She crept forward, careful not to make a sound.  It scanned the sky, searching for drakes.  A board creaked under her weight—the goblin spun, surprise flashing across its face.  Before it could draw its sword, Eva stepped in and slit its throat.  But not before it raised the alarm.

    Three goblins stepped into her path.  She dropped into a fighting stance.  Then four more appeared.  She turned—and ran.

    Eva bounded across the bridge—she could hear them now, almost feel the goblins at her back.  She sprinted toward the ladder.  The drakes lifted from the carcass, rearing up with wings spread wide.

    She climbed the ladder frantically.  Something grabbed at her boot—she kicked free.  At the top, she ran the way she had come.  A wing brushed her.  Can’t slow down.  Goblins sprang from the crevasses she had passed on the way down.

    Blinding pain shot through her head—she had forgotten to duck on the way out of the cave.  She couldn’t stop.  Had to stop.  Pits.  Snares.  She cast a hurried glance over her shoulder.  They had stopped following.  She dropped to the ground, gasping for breath.

    A spiked club slammed down beside her.  Eva rolled just in time—the blow crashing into the ground where she had been.  She scrambled to her feet and ran—straight into a pillar of muscle and flesh.  A leg.  Bigger than any she had ever seen.

    She spun and fled, heedless of pits and snares—and ran straight into a rock wall.  Footsteps thundered behind her, the ground shaking beneath them.

    Not far ahead, a crack split the stone.  If she could just reach it—wide enough to squeeze through, far too small for the giant.  She pushed herself harder than she ever had.  She slipped inside just as the club crashed down.  She stumbled and dropped hard on the stone.  She scrambled away as a massive hand reached for her. 

    Her back hit the wall.  The giant peered in at her, its face twisted with rage.  The fissure veered sharply to the left.  She pivoted and lunged forward just in time.  The giant thrust its club in—it slammed against the stone.

    The crack opened into a small cave.  She was safe—at least from the giant.  It couldn’t reach her here.

    Then she froze.  Eyes glowed in the darkness.  It raised a torch, revealing itself—the body of a goat, the chest, arms, and head of a man.  Sharp teeth.  Curving horns.

    A satyr.

    Eva woke in a chamber called Peace, its great window opening east to the rising sun.  She had stayed out with Perry until the stars appeared—the Bear before them, the Hunter behind.

    After a light breakfast, she and Perry set out, with Prudence, Piety, Discretion, and Charity seeing them to the edge of the plateau of Difficulty.  The way down was hard.  She wasn’t sure it was any easier than the climb up, though it demanded a different kind of effort.

    She slipped on the loose gravel, and Perry reached out before she fell—but she didn’t mind.  She’d already caught him twice in the last hour.

     They both breathed a sigh of relief when the ground leveled out.  The air was sweet, heavy with the fragrance of lilies, and birds sang softly.  They stopped to drink deeply from a brook that crossed the path, then continued over a small footbridge.

    Little by little, the lush grass of the valley gave way to dead reeds, jutting at crooked angles, and broken timbers rising from the mire—splintered posts and collapsed fencing, the remnants of something built long ago, now fallen into ruin.

    The trees stood thin and black, their branches stripped bare—charred fingers reaching upward.  No leaves stirred.  No birds broke the silence.  Even the wind seemed to have forgotten this place.

    The air carried a faint chill that settled into Eva’s bones, dampness clinging to her skin and clothes.  There was a smell, too—wet earth and rot, with something faintly acrid beneath it.  As if the ground had been scorched and never quite recovered.

    The sky was a dim, colorless blue—almost gray.  What little light remained reached the valley thin and diffused, casting no shadows.  As they walked, the mist thickened until the path ahead nearly vanished.

    Eva stepped carefully over fragments of broken iron darts littering the path—large enough that, in her hands, they would have been javelins.  Some had been driven deep into the stone, splitting it apart.

    Perry’s hand tightened around his staff.  Eva held his other hand just as tightly.  Some of the rocks were stained a dull black.

    Flames flashed past her face.  A thud.  Perry’s hand wrenched from hers.  His staff clattered against the rock.  He tried to rise, his hand clutching his shoulder, crimson spreading beneath his fingers.  The color drained from his face, and he collapsed in a heap.  A glowing iron dart lay at his side.

    Her daggers were already in her hands.  She drove forward, putting her full weight behind the strike at the vague shape in the mist.  The blow landed solidly—but glanced off, the impact jarring her wrist.  That much force should have felled anything… human.

    Whatever it was… it towered over her.  Clouds of sulfur billowed around it, choking her.  She ducked as wings swept overhead.  Sparks and flame swirled, blinding her.

    “Eva, run.” Perry’s voice was feeble.  No.  Not like this.

    She thrust her dagger again, but the creature’s tail lashed across her chest like a whip, and she went down, one dagger slipping from her grasp.

    Her free hand caught fur—its foot.  She flipped the dagger in her grip and drove it down as hard as she could.  The angle was wrong—but the blade struck something.

    A massive roar—and a sweeping force that drove the breath from her chest.  She slammed into a rock, her head exploding with pain.  Her vision blurred at the edges.

    She struggled to stay awake—to keep her eyes open.  Then she saw him.  The face of a lion—eyes blazing with pure evil, wings spread wide.  Apollyon.  She had passed his statue a thousand times in the City.  He towered over Perry and lifted his limp body as if he were nothing.  Despair flooded her.

    The world tilted around Eva.  Her ears rang, her vision blurred.  She wheezed, one hand pressed to the pain in her ribs.  What had just happened?  Her thoughts scattered.  Her head throbbed.

    Perry.  Panic surged through her.  She tried to stand but fell back to her knees.  She crawled to where he had been—or where she thought he had been.  Nothing.

    She searched desperately.  Her hand found a wet rock.  She brought it to her nose—the iron scent unmistakable.  Fresh blood.  Perry’s blood.

    A trail of blood led north into the darkness.  She followed it.  She was forgetting something.  Her daggers.

    She found one where she had dropped it, the other ten feet away beside the rock she had slammed into.  She didn’t return them to her sleeves.  No time.  She followed the trail of blood as fast as she could, ready to strike at anything in her way.

    A groaning filled the air—deep, terrible groans of dying men.  Lamentations rose on every side, thick with torment.  She kept walking.

    She stopped short, nearly pitching forward.  The ground dropped away into a bottomless abyss, its sides flickering in the darkness with the fires of Hell.

    She sank to her knees at the edge of the abyss, trembling, tears spilling freely down her cheeks.  There was no bottom—and no way down.

    Eva froze as her foot sank into the giant’s footprint, pressed deep into the earth.  It was far too large to be anything else.  Her body tensed before her mind could catch up—the two lions were already there, waiting, guarding the path.  They wanted to be seen.  For a brief moment, the thought of turning back flickered through her—but she pushed it aside.

    Perry studied the lions closely, as if they were a puzzle.  Then he stepped forward.  Not boldly—deliberately.  Eva moved with him.  Not behind, but at his side.

    As they approached, the lions lowered themselves, growling—muscles tensed and ready to pounce.  Eva felt the daggers hidden in her sleeves, waiting to be in her hands in an instant.

    A voice called out to them from the Palace.  “Keep to the path.”  It was the Porter.

    Perry stepped to the very center of the path and held out his arm.  He meant to go first.  There was no time to argue.  Eva stepped in behind him, every muscle taut, ready to spring into action.

    “The lions are chained,” said the Porter.  He did not raise his voice.  

    The lions lunged—claws swiping just inches away.  The chains were easy to miss, half-hidden in the dust and grass.

    After they passed the lions, Perry glanced back at her.

    “I still have the daggers,” she said.

    Perry laughed.  It was exactly what she needed.

–

    “Welcome to Palace Beautiful,” said the Porter.  “I am Watchful.”

     Something about him felt familiar, though Perry couldn’t say why.  His eyes were sharp.  His hair and beard were streaked in gray—nothing unusual in that.  And yet… he belonged here.  Guarding the threshold.  

   “I will call for the Virgins of this place,” he said, and rang a bell.

–

    Young women of radiant purity appeared at the doorway.  When they saw Eva, they began to whisper among themselves, excitement rising in their voices.  One voice drifted above the rest—“…Daughter of the Moon…”

    “Come in and eat,” said the first.  She was tall, grave, and beautiful.  “I am Discretion,” she said.

    “Stay with us,” said her sister.  Her gaze was measured and even, yet she was no less lovely.  “Prudence,” she said simply, “and my sisters—Piety and Charity.”

    “And rest,” said Piety.  She gave Eva a look of welcome, then lowered her gaze.

    Charity—perhaps the most beautiful of the sisters—stepped forward and held out her hand to Eva and led her inside the Palace.

    As they ate, Perry and Eva recounted all that had happened to them on their journey to Discretion, Prudence, Piety, and Charity.

    The sisters spoke of the King and of the Prince—how He had built Palace Beautiful and charged them to receive all pilgrims who traveled the Narrow Way.  They spoke, too, of the armory, where pilgrims were fitted with weapons and armor against the dangers ahead.

    When they had finished eating, Prudence turned to Perry.  “Follow me.  My sisters and I will instruct you in the way you understand.”  Then she led them up several flights of stairs until they stepped out onto the roof.

    The sky stretched wide above them, the world falling away below.  Music began to play—Perry couldn’t tell from where, but it didn’t matter.   Prudence held out her hand to him.

    Perry stepped, and she followed.  “You are not what you seem… and yet…”  He frowned slightly as she moved in perfect harmony with him.  “You wear no mask.”

    “I dwelt with Wisdom before the foundations of the earth were laid.  She reveals truth.  I determine how it is lived.”

    One step brought clarity, the next confusion.  He could feel the difference.  He was certain he was leading—yet every step felt measured, as though guided by her.

    “Do not ask, ‘What can I do?’ but rather, ‘What is fitting?’” 

    “And the Author,” she said. How did she know about the Author?  “He does not lack perception.  He sees many paths.  He understands meanings.  But he lacks restraint.”

    Perry stumbled at her words, but Prudence did not miss a step.  “I would teach him this:  Not every truth must be spoken.  Not every path must be explored.  Not every power must be used.”

    She smiled.  “He must learn to do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason.”

    The music ended, and Prudence released his hand, leaving him standing beside Piety.  He blinked.  She had been leading him the whole time.

–

    A new song began, quiet and reverent, and Piety took Perry’s hand.  Prudence’s words had been precise, but Piety’s were still.

    “I am called Piety, but that word has been worn thin.  I am not ritual, or performance, or even the appearance of devotion.  I am orientation.”

    This was a different kind of dance—not heavy, but deep.

    “I don’t think the Author knows you,” he said.

    She smiled, but didn’t respond.

    “At dinner… you spoke of the Prince as though you know Him?”

    “Yes,” she said.  Her eyes met Perry’s—they were filled with deep devotion.  “Of all, I love Him most.”  Her eyes twinkled.  “And I am His favorite.”

    She slowed Perry’s steps.  A calm settled over him.

    “I am the beginning of Wisdom.  My sister orders your actions.”  She glanced toward Prudence.  “I order your allegiance.”

    When Piety spoke again, she no longer spoke to Perry.  “You do not know me well.  You seek clarity.  You seek meaning.  You seek alignment.  All good things.  But…” She let the moment hang in the air.  “You need a different posture.  Less analysis.  More reverence.”

–

    Perry’s mind reeled.  The Author was troubled.  The Virgins spoke truth—of that he had no doubt.  How he had come to be holding Discretion, he did not know.

    “I don’t understand,” Perry said.

    “Good,” Discretion said.  “That is the first step.  Prudence prepares the way—I walk it.  She orders the path—I place the foot.”

    “The Author walks with Prudence—but you are not there for his sake.”

     “No,” she said.  She left space.  Perry tried to fill it—she did not let him.  “If he walked with Prudence, he would find me there as well.  My sisters and I are not as separate as you think.”

    Perry struggled to keep step with her.  She kept shifting her rhythm.

    “The Author loves you,” Perry said, then added, “I love you too—and your sisters.  But we lack will.”

    “No,” she said.  “You do not lack will—you have many.  When you are quiet, at peace, there is space to choose.  Then my sisters will show what is right—the proper orientation, and the path.  And I will order your steps.  This is Wisdom.”

***

    Eva watched as Perry danced with Prudence, Piety, and Discretion.  Not since that night—when she had stood as Madame Wanton on the balcony overlooking the ballroom—had she watched him dance.  She could not make out the words, but she knew they were teaching him.  He adapted to them.  He harmonized with them.  Her heart swelled.

    Charity stood before her, hand outstretched.  Eva placed her hand in hers, and they began to sway slowly.

   Her eyes were gentle.  So pure.  She didn’t say a word, but Eva could feel her heart.  You are accepted.

    The music ended, but Eva didn’t let go.  She rested her head on Charity’s shoulder and let out a quiet breath.  Charity wrapped her arms around her, and they continued to sway in silence.

–

    When Eva finally let go, Charity took her hand in one of hers and Perry’s in the other.  She led them out into the garden below, then up to the highest point of the mountain, where the land stretched wide in every direction.  Beneath the shade of a broad sycamore, she placed Eva’s hand in Perry’s and slipped away without a word.

    Together they stood, watching the sun set at the top of the world.  There was nothing to gain, nothing to lose.  Only I and You.  For a moment, the world was right.