Page 101 of World's Okayest Oracle (Reluctantly) Seeks Demon

She immediately flung it at the dog, and the sandwich whacked the creature’s left snout before falling to the floor and scattering into various pieces. The startled dog paused and directed two of its heads downward to inspect the offering.

Frozen, she watched the middle head sniff the lunch meat suspiciously.

“Gwen,” Hugh entreated furiously, and hauled her to her feet again. “Comeon!”

As the two of them backtracked down the hall at a dead sprint, Gwen spared a single glance behind her. Saw the three-headed creature accept the bribe and wolf down a first mouthful, only to sneeze at the horseradish. Then she skidded around a corner, yanked along by Hugh, and lost sight of the happily feasting canine.

They were following Matilda now, who led the pack with sure-footed, determined grace. They rounded another unfamiliar corner. Another. Another.

“I saw this room in a vision,” Corey panted out, then stopped and lashed out an arm to grab hold of a seemingly random door handle. The silver plaque on the door read GDD-4, whatever that meant, and no noise came from within the room. “Maybe.”

It wasn’t as if they had anything better to go on.

“Do it.” Gwen waved a frantic arm, because the dog might resume the chase at any moment, and if its pursuit had tripped some sort of internal alarm, they’d need a hiding spot. And nomatter what, they couldn’t go much farther without time and a safe space to regroup and rest. “Open the door if it’s unlocked.”

Corey heaved open the heavy barrier, and the group surged inside the pitch-black room. Hugh closed the door behind them swiftly, then fumbled for the lights and flipped them on. As overhead fluorescent bulbs flickered to life, he secured the dead bolt, then grabbed the nearest desk chair to wedge beneath the door handle.

Gwen helped him maneuver the chair into place, then turned to figure out where exactly they’d taken shelter. Only to see…

Holy shit.

Several desks with modern-looking computers were positioned on one side of the entrance, and the other side featured a kitchenette with a full-size refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, and sink. But beyond that entry, the vast majority of the enormous room was taken up by two long lines of closed half-height doors separated by a narrow, brightly lit central aisle. Numbered plaques indicated upper and lower berths, and each door had a shiny push button by its side and a nameplate in its center. Silver ladder rungs and hold bars had been installed to assist entry into the upper berths. There were no visible security cameras.

The space looked like the interior of a Japanese capsule hotel Gwen had once seen in a YouTube video. Did Realm Below employees sleep down here? Or—

GDD-4. Gwen halted in place, considering what she knew. What she’d seen.

If theGDstood forGuardian Demon, then that nextDmight be forDormitory. And the four—well, who knew how many demons had been given this assignment for their afterlife?

She released Hugh’s hand and darted down that central aisle, scanning the nameplates. Only a dozen doors in, she stopped in front of the one she’d half hoped, half dreaded to spot. Then dithered in place, unsure whether she should talk to Hugh, give him context, before showing him what she’d found.

Had Dottie revealed the source of her information about the Realm Below? Or had she simply passed along the report without unnecessarily endangering her guardian demon’s assignment?

The other oracles were watching Gwen with furrowed brows. Hugh had followed her down the aisle and stood a couple steps away.

“Gwen?” He sounded confused. “What are you—are you okay?”

Silently, she stepped aside. Let him see the name on the door of the lower berth.

Eloise “Magpie” Blacke, the silver plaque read.Guardian Demon 7489.

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Hugh’s entire body stilled as he registered his sister’s name. From his look of absolute, agonized incomprehension, Gwen had to assume that Dottie’s report hadn’t mentioned Eloise.

Gwen took his hand and held it tightly. Tried to prepare him for what he would find within his twin’s capsule if he chose to look inside.

“Eloise’s consciousness is aboveground with her designated charge.” Gwen flicked a glance upward with a silent thank-you to the guardian demon, who’d obviously managed to get word to Eloise’s brother despite the risk to her own safety. Also to Dottie, who’d somehow wrangled a meeting with a SERC councilor within hours and convinced him to believe a total stranger’s outlandish tale. “Only her body is here, and it remains comatose except when she reclaims her physical form to file her weekly report. Which she did this morning”—what time was it?—“ormaybe yesterday morning, so you won’t be able to talk with her. I’m so sorry.”

Hugh stared at the plaque in utter silence, his face taut and white. She squeezed his hand, hoping to provide him as much comfort as possible.

“But she’s happy, Hugh. What you sensed isreal.” Another fierce squeeze. “She’s happy, and she loves youso much.”

“How do you…” His throat bobbed. “How do you know that?”

“I met her, Hugh. I met your sister.” And thank goodness for that meeting, for so many reasons. “She’s how you found out where I was. Dottie, the werewolf, is her assigned afterlife charge.”

“I see,” he eventually whispered, which meant he was still completely lost.