Part 57 (1/2)

”Granted. But that still doesn't mean it's Meryat.”

”Why are you so resistant to the obvious?”

”Maybe I just like the thought of people being in love without any sucking going on!”

Oh, yeah. Definitely too much use of the verb to suck. He kind of wished he'd remembered that.

But all Austin said was, ”I wish Claire was here.”

Chapter ELEVEN.

Claire closed her fingers just a little too tightly around Lance's arm. They were standing at one end of a ma.s.sive hall, although ma.s.sive didn't really do the place justice, on a pair of circles made of the only red tiles visible in a blue-and-gold mosaic floor. Just to be on the safe side, she looked up and breathed a sigh of relief. So far, no falling anvils. Behind them was a set of what looked like fifty-foot-high, solid gold doors. In front of them, a double line of huge pillars disappeared into the darkness above. If they were supporting a roof, Claire couldn't see it. The walls behind the pillars appeared to be covered in tiny black dots although, given how far away they were, it was entirely possible they were covered in huge black dots. Light levels were comfortably bright in spite of no visible light source, which was hardly surprising as ambient light was the one thing pretty much every reality took a crack at. If she'd been in one cave with phosph.o.r.escent fungus, she'd been in fifty.

”So. Where are we?” she asked, a little surprised by how calm she sounded. They were no longer on the Otherside, either Otherside, that much and that much alone she was sure of. Well, that and how much she'd like to kick Lance.

”I don't know!”

Not exactly a surprise.

”What were you thinking when we went through the door?” Maybe calm wasn't exactly the right word. Tight was closer.

”That if I didn't get it right this time, you were going to give me h.e.l.l.”

”This isn't h.e.l.l.”

”How can you be so sure?” Lance demanded, turning to stare down at her with wide eyes.

”It's my job to be sure.”

”Of h.e.l.l?”

”Of what isn't h.e.l.l.” While he was thinking about that, she turned to face the doors. Doors were doors. Fifty feet high and solid gold, two feet high at the end of a rabbit hole, it didn't matter. If she could get them open and fit through over the threshold, she could use them. In this particular instance, getting them open might be tricky since the doork.n.o.bs were a good twenty feet above her head.

A quick glance around determined the area was unfortunately empty of a small table holding a bottle and a note that said, Drink me.

”Incoming!”

Does he have to sound so cheerful about it? Claire turned again and watched as two figures approached from the far end of the hall. Of course, since she couldn't see the far end of the hall that was an a.s.sumption only. Wherever they'd come from, they were moving fast.

Very fast.

Impossibly fast.

One moment they were barely visible in the distance. The next, they were standing barely two meters away.

On the left stood a cat-headed woman, barely covered from neck to ankles in a sheer linen s.h.i.+ft. Her fur was pale brown with darker fur outlining golden eyes, lighter fur around the mouth, and two large pointed ears; both pierced, with a small gold ring in each.

On the right, a jackal-headed man, naked to the waist, wearing a pleated linen skirt held in place by a wide leather belt. Two small metal disks, stamped with hieroglyphs, hung from the front of the belt.