Page 107 of Carved
“Why are they having so much fun with this ifshe’s getting them right?” I asked.
“They will take the flesh because it’s thelaw, but the complexities and cleverness of the mind are what theyenjoy most,” Corson replied. “These demons love their puzzles andriddles.”
That was for sure, as I now realized all thethings scattered across the bar and tables were some form of apuzzle waiting to be solved. The skelleins were grinning as happilyat us as leprechauns did at their pots of gold. If they weren’tplanning to tear the skin from our bodies if Erin got a riddlewrong, I may have actually gotten a kick out of thesecreatures.
Another one lifted his mug and swung off ofhis stool. His toes clicked on the wooden floor as he did an oddlittle two-step toward us and pulled off the black felt hat sittingon his head.
“You’re fine competition, miss, but now I’vegot one for you,” he said happily. “The measurement of time thatcan't be found on a clock, but can be looked upon on a map.
Who am I?”
Erin’s mouth pursed as she contemplated hiswords. The skelleins settled down once more. I held my breath, mylungs burning as the seconds ticked into minutes on the cuckooclock. I couldn’t bring myself to look at Erin as a bead of sweatslid down my temple and curved around to my chin. Convinced wipingit away would distract Erin, I didn’t touch it.
I kept expecting her to blurt out the answerwith the same ease she had before, but I found myself drawing airinto my deprived lungs as another minute went by. The jovialatmosphere of the bar vanished, and a menacing air intensifiedwithin it.
More sweat slid down my back, adhering myshirt to my skin. “You must answer,” the one who had asked thequestion said.
I finally dared to look at Erin. Her fingertapped against her mouth, and her eyes were half closed as shemuttered something. At first, I didn’t realize she was repeatingthe riddle to herself, but then I heard the word“time.”
Youcandothis, thosewords remained lodged in my throat so as not to add more pressureto her. Kobal was unmoving, his eyes focused on the bar. BehindErin, Vargas and Hawk had paled. Erin’s lips moved as she ranthrough the riddle one more time.
“You have to answer now, or it is a forfeit,”the questioner said.
Erin’s lips moved as she finished saying theriddle to herself one more time. “I am Mississippi?”
The rise of her voice at the end made it comeout as more of a question than a statement. I turned to theskellein, my heart hammering as I tried to figure out if she wasright. It made sense now that she’d said it, but she’d hadn’t hadthe same confidence with this response as she had with the firsttwo.
Across from her, the skellein put his hatback on, took a sip of his drink, and lifted his mug high into theair with a loud cry. I didn’t know if his shout had meanttonightwefeast on flesh,or if it had been another celebration of a puzzle well solved.Around the bar, all the skelleins cheered and stomped theirclattering feet on the ground.
Someone had to let us know if she’d beenright before I screamed.
The skellein bowed to Erin before doing hisodd little two-step away. He was almost to his stool when he threwup his feet and clicked his heels together at waist level.
“Are they going to skin us or not?” Hawkdemanded.
“Bring her again, Kobal!” one of themcheered.
“The gateway is at the end of the hall!”another cried.
I guess that was our answer. Grabbing hold ofErin, I gave her a hug. Vargas embraced her next. Then Hawk liftedher up and spun her around as he whooped loudly. Erin almost fellover when he set her back on her feet, but Corson grasped her armto steady her.
“Nice job,” Corson said.
“Thanks,” she said and straightened herhair.
I glanced at Kobal as he took hold of myelbow and led me down the hall toward a set of glass doors. As wewalked, the skelleins leaned back on their stools and held outtheir palms to Erin when she strolled by. Her brow furrowed, butthen she lifted her palm and began to high-five them as theycontinued to cheer loudly.
“Smart and pretty,” one of them said eagerly.“My kind of lady.”
Erin blushed but continued to slap the palmsfacing her, some of them turned to slap five behind their backstoo. They were an odd group, a little disconcerting to look at, buttheir enthusiasm was contagious. By the time we arrived at the doorleading to the hall, they were all chattering happily again. Theone at the piano burst into a fast-paced song that had many of themtapping their feet to the music.
My smile over their happiness vanished whenKobal pushed open the door to reveal the hall beyond. He kept meclose against his side as we made our way down the hall. The dullwood of the wall emphasized the deep-red carpet beneath myfeet.
“Were those things demons too?” Vargas asked.“Or something else entirely.”
“They’re a breed of upper-level demon,” Kobalreplied. “After what the humans did, I left the skelleins here toprotect the unnatural gateway the best they could, and the houndsare protecting the seals.”
“But something is happening to the hounds,”Erin said.
