Determined not to lose my focus again, I hold the string firmly between my fingers and palm, using it like a guide rope to my destination.
The string leads me to an area on the other edge of the pond and while I can see the string ends, I can’t fathom how it does so. It’s as though it vanishes into nothingness.
Stepping up to the end, I run my hand along the string to the point it no longer exists. Surprisingly, my hand pushes straight through, vanishing along with the string.
Confused, I pull my hand back and stare at it. While it seems whole and complete, there’s something in the back of my mind that tells me this isn’t how it’s supposed to be.
All of a sudden, a remarkable resolve washes over me and I pick up the string again. With it clutched in my hand, I close my eyes, walking forward into the space where the string vanished.
When I open my eyes, I’m no longer outside by a pond, but instead, in an enormous garage.
The space is sparsely decorated with metal shelving and storage units. Light streams in the windows, illuminating the pain in cars before me. Suddenly aware of them, I realize the space is full of vehicles of all makes and models. They’re all lined up, going down as far as the eye can see.
With the string still clutched in my hand, I follow it around to the front of the nearest vehicle. The blues and purples in the paint sparkle like a fireworks display and I bend in, mesmerized. Then, to the right, movement catches my eye, making me jump.
I nearly drop the string, but instead, clutching it tight, I race to the front of the car to get a better view. The string tugs back, pulling me forward and I practically stumble as I make my way to the front of the cars.
Gripping it tighter, I’m startled as I realize the string is attached to a body.
And not just any body, either.
Dominic leans back, resting his elbows on the hood of a bright red sports car. “We’ll it’s about damn time.”
Chapter 16
Them’s the Rules
My thoughts sputter as I try to pull them into a cohesive unit. Nothing makes sense at first, but Dominic doesn’t give me long to question it. He hops off the car and walks over to me like a man on a mission.
“I was beginning to think I overestimated your abilities,” he says, smirking at me.
I shake my head, trying to clear the confusion. “I don’t understand.”
“Look, we don’t have a whole helluva lot of time here, so let me get straight to the point. You have a lot of work to do and it means getting serious now.”
He steps forward, tapping my forehead with the tip of his middle finger.
Suddenly, everything that’s brought us to this moment comes flooding back to me with an intense clarity that makes me double over.
I blink back my surprise at how easily I was confused and led astray in this realm.
“It’s not just you,” Dominic says, clearly reading my thoughts. “This place is meant to break you down to your simplest form. Heaven, hell. It’s all here.”
“What?” I say, narrowing my gaze.
“You must have felt it—the pull through all the good and the bad. But ultimately, you end up one place or another. Your heaven or your hell, based off your soul’s experiences. Mine is clearly taking form as—this,” he says, widening his arms and twirling around. “Gotta admit, it’s not a bad place to be.”
“You can’t stay here,” I say, suddenly filled with anger. “Why wouldn’t you come back? You promised to help me.”
“And I am,” he says, cocking his head to the side. “We needed a safe space.”
“You call this safe? We’re in the realm of the dead, Dominic. Neither of us belongs here,” I sputter, panic bleeding into the very fabric of who I am. “If we don’t get back—”
The garage space around me flickers briefly, like someone trying to adjust the antenna to get a clearer picture.
His lips press into a thin line for a moment. “I know that, I do. Hell, I honestly had no idea if this was going to work for sure. I just knew it had to be done.”
“So, the whole idea of leveling up was a lie?” I sputter.
Dominic chuckles, shaking his head. “No, not at all. It wasn’t until I was here, until my abilities tapped into the universal energy, that I realized what needed to be done. You wanted me to help you, so that’s what I’m doing.”
“How in any way, shape, or form is this helping me? We could get stuck here, Dominic,” I say, shoving him in the shoulder. He just chuckles at me as if it’s the actions of a child. “Stop laughing. This is serious.”
He shakes his head, but the movement transforms into a nod. “Yes, I know. But this was the only way to pull you outside of the earshot, so to speak, of the Moirai. They’re powerful as fuck, and grounded in the land of the living. But once their job is done—meaning, once a soul has moved on—they no longer have access to it. Do you see what I’m getting at?”
“We haven’t moved on,” I say, alarmed at his flippant attitude.
He shakes his hands in front of him. “No, I know that. But for now, we’re still outside their realm. We can talk freely here.”
I narrow my gaze. “All right. So, talk already.”
“Don’t give me that look. Trust me, this was the only way.”
I can’t help but maintain my skeptical stance as I arch an eyebrow.
“Look, turns out I’m not the only one here who needed to level up. You do, too,” he says. “Only you’ve already done it—you just don’t realize it.”
“What are you talking about, Dominic? We need to go.” I twist around, suggesting we go…somewhere else. Only, there’s no clear exit. It’s all just a never-ending garage.
“Dammit, Autumn, listen to me. This
