Page 39 of In Between Death and the Devil

“I know.” Death rubbed a soothing circle on Talia’s back and then released her. “We have work to do.”

Talia nodded, swiping at her eyes. “I have a meeting with the senior Judges. I’ll see you later.”

Death’s smile was tender as she leaned forward and kissed Talia gently on the lips.

Talia left without even a glance in my direction. I wondered if she’d forgotten I was there.

“Maeve.” I started at Death’s voice. “Give me your hand.” She wasn’t looking at me; she still faced the door that Talia had walked through, but there was nothing but command in her voice.

I hesitated. Death had never asked me to touch her before. My scalp prickled as I stepped forward and reached out.

She seized my hand in an iron grip, pulled me to her, and collapsed against me.

I stumbled as I absorbed her weight, managing to keep us both upright.

My eyes went wide as I looked down at the woman in my arms. This was the cost Talia had referred to. The effort in restoring the bridge had felled a goddess. I expected the room to start shaking and come apart at the seams, but it was quiet aside from the ticking of a clock.

We stood there for several moments, waiting for her to make a noise or move. I felt her breathing, but she said nothing. If not for her still-firm grip on my hand, I would have thought her unconscious. “My goddess?”

She stirred at my voice, rousing enough to struggle back to her feet, though she wasn’t steady enough to let go of my hand. “Help me to my workshop. I need a cup of tea.”

I never thought I’d be so relieved to hear Death give me an order.

She leaned on me as we made our way through her sitting and dining rooms to a room I’d never been permitted to enter.

The walls were covered in shelves filled with bottles and jars. Wooden tables clustered in the middle; some were covered in glass cases. No. Not cases. Vivariums. All but one of them were full of salamanders, who scampered in and out on their way to or from the fireplace in the corner. My heart squeezed. The organized chaos reminded me of my father’s office.

I helped Death into a chair by the fire and placed the kettle over it to boil at her direction.

“The jar with the yellow top,” Death said. “Second shelf in the middle. Put three spoonfuls of the leaves into a cup.”

I took down the jar, removed the top, grabbed an empty cup, and spooned dried leaves from the jar into it. In my haste, I spilled some on an open notebook on the counter. The writing was in a language that I couldn’t read but the open page seemed to show a recipe for something, with quantities listed next to ingredients. There was also a drawing of something that looked like the anchor I’d swallowed in the Ritual. I brushed the leaves off, hoping Death wouldn’t notice.

I expected Death to chastise me for my clumsiness, but she said nothing. Merely stared into the fire.

When I moved back to the kettle, a salamander crawled up Death’s leg. The movement made me freeze. I’d never seen a salamander touch someone before. Star never came that close to me.

“They are my companions,” Death said, noticing my shock. She stroked the salamander who was now crouched on her shoulder, a gentle smile on her face.

It seemed content to sit there, watching me with its beady eyes, so I pulled myself together and finished making the tea.

Death gulped the tea down as soon I put the cup in her hands, heedless of how hot it was. It seemed to restore a little of the color that had drained from her cheeks. “Are you feeling better?” she asked as I put the jar back.

My shoulders tensed. “Yes, thank you, my goddess.” I could feel her watching my back.

“What happened?”

I briefly considered lying, but she’d know. “A sudden headache, my⁠—”

“Not to you. To the bridge.” I’d never been so grateful to be beneath Death’s notice.

I settled with the worktable at my back, my hands gripping the edge. “I’m not sure, my goddess. I was walking across when cracks started appearing in the ceiling, walls, and floor. Then it started to shake.”

She nodded, her expression one of resignation. “The imbalance is accelerating.”

“Is that what caused it?”

“Yes. The In Between needs to be balanced. With the… increase in the Devil’s power, the realm is strained. And it’s only a matter of time before strained things crack.”