millennia. “Where we live, Etherics are tangible,” Xeke had said aside. “What’s cosmic or spiritual in your world is hard science in ours.”
Cassie didn’t even pretend to understand.
They traversed the dark, silent house, Via and Xeke leading the way. Hush had clearly formed a bond with Cassie, touching her and holding her hand whenever possible. The contact was not erotic or sexual in the least but something sisterly, as though Hush regarded Cassie as an elder sibling. The younger girl’s hand felt hot, which struck Cassie as odd. Hush was dead. Shouldn’t her hand be cold?
But then Cassie reminded herself that her new colleagues weren’t really dead at all. Dead was a subjectivity. In their own plane of existence, they were very much alive. They were as alive as Cassie was in her own world, the Living World.
“God, your aura’s really strong,” Via told her.
“I can feel it,” Xeke added.
“It’s lighting up the whole downstairs!”
Again, Cassie was mystified. On the first floor, she saw nothing in the way of luminescence, felt nothing that could be described as an emanation of her lifeforce. Guess I’ll just have to take their word for it. “Oh,” she said. “And I got the birthstones.”
They stopped on their way through the kitchen, and Via, Xeke, and Hush’s faces did indeed seem to light up when they saw the pro-offered handful of stone-set jewelry.
“Outstanding!” Xeke said.
“Look at it all!” Via beamed. “And she got an onyx! That’s terrific!”
“Here, you better take it,” Cassie said to Xeke and made to hand it to him. “I don’t even know what it’s for.”
“I can’t take it,” Xeke told her. “None of us can.”
“Not here,” Via added. She held out her palm. “Drop one of those earrings in my hand.”
Cassie did so, a sapphire.
The gem fell straight through Via’s hand.
“See? We won’t be able to touch them until we go through the Rive and exit the Deadpass.”
Cassie got the point—at least as best she could, and picked up the stone, put it all in her pocket. “The bones are in the garage,” she said. She took them out there, and they all seemed just as elated to see the bag of fish spines and ground bone meal. Cassie, however, recoiled when she opened the bag. The bones stunk worse than they had when she’d pulled them out of the trash bin in the kitchen.
“We could probably travel the entire city from one end to the other with all of that,” Xeke approved.
Cassie closed the bag, frowning after the odor. “But it’s just garbage.”
“Where we’re going,” Via told her, “it’s better than cash.”
“Bones are how the upper Hierarchals amass their wealth,” Xeke went on. “The only way to get bones from the Living World into the city is by the power of the Ossifists.”
Cassie’s confusion was beginning to make her irritable. “Hierarchals? Ossifists? I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”
Xeke grinned in the dark. “You will.”
They left the garage through the side door, stepping out into the sultry night. The chirrups of crickets throbbed loudly. Moonlight made the woods fluoresce. They wound around to the front of the house, which faced south. “You said we’re going to the city,” Cassie stopped them. “This ... Mephistopolis.”
“That’s right,” Via replied.
“You’re talking about Hell, right?”
“Oh, yeah,” Xeke answered. “Home, sweet home.”
“Sort of,” Via amended. “See, we don’t live there any more—we can’t. We’re XR’s—ex-residents.”
“Same as fugitives,” Xeke explained. “In the city, there are two social castes: Plebes and Hierarchals. We’re Plebes, commoners, and as XR’s we’re not allowed to reside in the city anymore. We’re considered criminals because we haven’t conformed. That’s why we have to live in a Deadpass, like your house, or the Deadpasses in the other three Outer Sectors. It’s a bitch, but if we stay in the city
Cassie didn’t even pretend to understand.
They traversed the dark, silent house, Via and Xeke leading the way. Hush had clearly formed a bond with Cassie, touching her and holding her hand whenever possible. The contact was not erotic or sexual in the least but something sisterly, as though Hush regarded Cassie as an elder sibling. The younger girl’s hand felt hot, which struck Cassie as odd. Hush was dead. Shouldn’t her hand be cold?
But then Cassie reminded herself that her new colleagues weren’t really dead at all. Dead was a subjectivity. In their own plane of existence, they were very much alive. They were as alive as Cassie was in her own world, the Living World.
“God, your aura’s really strong,” Via told her.
“I can feel it,” Xeke added.
“It’s lighting up the whole downstairs!”
Again, Cassie was mystified. On the first floor, she saw nothing in the way of luminescence, felt nothing that could be described as an emanation of her lifeforce. Guess I’ll just have to take their word for it. “Oh,” she said. “And I got the birthstones.”
They stopped on their way through the kitchen, and Via, Xeke, and Hush’s faces did indeed seem to light up when they saw the pro-offered handful of stone-set jewelry.
“Outstanding!” Xeke said.
“Look at it all!” Via beamed. “And she got an onyx! That’s terrific!”
“Here, you better take it,” Cassie said to Xeke and made to hand it to him. “I don’t even know what it’s for.”
“I can’t take it,” Xeke told her. “None of us can.”
“Not here,” Via added. She held out her palm. “Drop one of those earrings in my hand.”
Cassie did so, a sapphire.
The gem fell straight through Via’s hand.
“See? We won’t be able to touch them until we go through the Rive and exit the Deadpass.”
Cassie got the point—at least as best she could, and picked up the stone, put it all in her pocket. “The bones are in the garage,” she said. She took them out there, and they all seemed just as elated to see the bag of fish spines and ground bone meal. Cassie, however, recoiled when she opened the bag. The bones stunk worse than they had when she’d pulled them out of the trash bin in the kitchen.
“We could probably travel the entire city from one end to the other with all of that,” Xeke approved.
Cassie closed the bag, frowning after the odor. “But it’s just garbage.”
“Where we’re going,” Via told her, “it’s better than cash.”
“Bones are how the upper Hierarchals amass their wealth,” Xeke went on. “The only way to get bones from the Living World into the city is by the power of the Ossifists.”
Cassie’s confusion was beginning to make her irritable. “Hierarchals? Ossifists? I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”
Xeke grinned in the dark. “You will.”
They left the garage through the side door, stepping out into the sultry night. The chirrups of crickets throbbed loudly. Moonlight made the woods fluoresce. They wound around to the front of the house, which faced south. “You said we’re going to the city,” Cassie stopped them. “This ... Mephistopolis.”
“That’s right,” Via replied.
“You’re talking about Hell, right?”
“Oh, yeah,” Xeke answered. “Home, sweet home.”
“Sort of,” Via amended. “See, we don’t live there any more—we can’t. We’re XR’s—ex-residents.”
“Same as fugitives,” Xeke explained. “In the city, there are two social castes: Plebes and Hierarchals. We’re Plebes, commoners, and as XR’s we’re not allowed to reside in the city anymore. We’re considered criminals because we haven’t conformed. That’s why we have to live in a Deadpass, like your house, or the Deadpasses in the other three Outer Sectors. It’s a bitch, but if we stay in the city
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