Erebos by Ursula Poznanski

darker metal than his current one. It changes his whole appearance, right away. To crown it all he puts the wolf helmet on.
    â€˜Are you satisfied?’ the messenger asks.
    Sarius gives his wholehearted approval. He is a Two, and he looks cool.
    â€˜There’s more to come.’
    The messenger draws his cloak tighter around his lean body.
    â€˜This is Erebos. You will see that loyal service is rewarded. Tell Nick Dunmore he should ensure that no outsider can intrude, then he should make his way to the inside courtyard of the block next door. The grating on one of the ventilation shafts is loose. If he removes it and reaches into the shaft, he will find something.’
    Find something? Sarius doesn’t actually want any interruptions right now – he wants to get started and try out his new sword.
    â€˜Right now?’ he asks.
    â€˜Of course. I’ll be waiting.’
    The messenger leans back against the crystal wall and folds his arms across his chest.

    Delays, and more delays. Nick removed his headphones. To be on the safe side he would have to lock the door to his room. But if Mum noticed she would ask questions. He had to walk past her too, and if she asked where he was going, he couldn’t give her a sensible explanation.
    He’d better get it over with quickly. He snuck out, turned the key very very quietly, and listened for sounds in the flat. He could hear Mum’s voice in the kitchen – she was talking on the phone. That was a stroke of luck. Nick crept to the front door, slipped his runners on quickly, and grabbed his jacket. He was outside. The inside courtyard of the block next door exuded benign neglect. Years before someone had attempted to grow flowers in the tiny open space – most of them had withered. Anything that had survived was growing wild.
    There were three ventilation grates, all mounted at knee height. The first one was rock solid. Nick jiggled a bit, but nothing moved. He peaked through the square holes in the grating – there was only darkness and the whiff of damp basement.
    The second grating seemed more promising. It sat in the wall loosely and barely offered any resistance when Nick pulled it out.
    Only now did he wonder what was waiting for him in the gap behind it. Another box with his date of birth on it? Another task? Or would it be the reward that the messenger had hinted at?
    Chocolate, Nick thought. A supply of jelly babies for long Erebos nights. He felt around in the square opening and drew his hand out again immediately.
    Coward, he berated himself. What’s the problem? Afraid of rats? Pull yourself together – this is the real world.
    But he still got goosebumps when he pushed his hand back into the gap. At first there was nothing at all except dirt, but then he felt plastic. He grabbed it and pulled out a yellow Selfridges bag with something soft in it. The first thing Nick thought of was some sort of Erebos uniform that all players were allowed to wear from Level 2 on – that was ridiculous, of course, but it still made more sense than what he actually pulled out of the bag.
    â€˜Hell Froze Over’ was printed in blue on the black shirt, with the icy devil’s skull grinning underneath.
    For a few seconds everything stood still. Because that wasn’t possible. HFO was something between him and his brother. The only people who knew about the shirt were Finn and himself. Nick was absolutely certain that he hadn’t breathed a word to the messenger, or to anyone else for that matter. He glanced at the size on the label. XXL. So it was in stock after all.
    He would ring Finn. There would be an explanation, of course: it was probably Finn himself who had hidden the shirt here. Nick held it to his nose. Did it smell of stale smoke, of Finn’s flat? No, only of laundry detergent and a trace of damp basement.
    Was it possible that Finn played Erebos? Sure – why not? The craziest coincidences happened