“Checkmate.” The smug look on Hope’s face told me I didn’t even have to double check her. Beating me wasn’t really an achievement, she had already done it once before in the time since we had started with the second board.
“Don’t be so proud of yourself, I’m an amateur. You should be ashamed that it took so long to beat me.” I frowned. I wasn’t upset, only a little annoyed really. The problem was that I was almost enjoying myself, not only did it bother me that I was enjoying doing something with someone I shouldn’t like, but I also had the nagging feeling that at any moment Dante could burst through the door and drag me into another nightmare.
“Reset then.” Hope shrugged.
“Wait.” Amy muttered, completely transfixed on her board. “Checkmate.” Amy moved her queen and gestured for Hope to look at the board.
“What?” Hope was shocked. “How… how did that happen? How did I not see that?”
“It was your own fault, you let Sam psych you out.” Amy smiled. “She copied almost all of my moves in that second game and you did the same thing you did in mine. The things she didn’t copy were the last few moves, because I hadn’t made them yet and she was getting impatient. They were, however, all the difference I needed to confuse you.”
“Wait what?” Hope’s shock had been completely replaced with confusion.
“She’s saying the games were so similar you started mixing them up in your head without realizing it. So you made the moves from our game on the other board and let her get the edge on you.” I laughed. I hadn’t actually thought Amy had been paying attention to my game. We hadn’t made a strategy beforehand, I hadn’t even known she was using my copying her to her advantage until she said it. The lack of conversation was actually probably what fooled Hope.
“Are you serious?” Hope groaned, looking at both chess boards. “Ugh, that is not fair.”
“All is fair in love and war.” Amy sighed as she leaned back in her chair.
“I don’t think chess counts as either.” Hope frowned. “I would also call that cheating, but whatever. If you have to stoop that low to beat me then I’ll take it as a compliment.” Amy rolled her eyes.
“Whatever, you still lost so reset the board. Not to sound like a jerk, but that means you too Sam.”
Hope grumbled silently as she set the pieces back up. I didn’t really mind it that much, I wasn’t really even trying to win anymore, I was more worried that my moment of peace wouldn’t last.
“Hey, make your move already.” Hope grumbled.
“Huh?” My hand had been sitting on a pawn for a while and I’d wandered off. “Oh, sorry. I just keep getting this nagging feeling that the second I get comfortable Dante will burst in and ruin my life again.”
“Speaking of Dante,” Amy mumbled, I could tell she was trying to look interested in the game but I could tell her thoughts were elsewhere. “He usually doesn’t take this long, although… What did he say he was doing again?”
“Something about a personal file I think?” I mumbled. “I’m not sure. He’s supposed to be looking for someone he’s had business with that doesn’t like him. At least that’s what the Old Man hinted at.”
“Oh you stopped by the Old Man’s place?” Hope perked up at the mention of the contractor. “Did Dante buy anything?”
“I think so. I didn’t see what it was though, I was too busy being pervily stalked by the most powerful being Death has ever heard of.” I groaned at the memory, it was embarrassing in so many weird ways.
“Really?” Amy and Hope asked in unison, both showing a large amount of skepticism.
“I get that he’s probably not normally like that, but to be fair I was in shredded clothes with nothing but that armor to really cover me up.” I gestured over to the armor that was still lying neglected on the floor. “And let’s be honest I don’t think any man, regardless of age or influence could resist all of this.” I made what I thought was a sexy pose, but it probably didn’t look anything like what I had intended. I laughed lightly, but I don’t think I even convinced myself.
“She’s got a point there.” Amy nodded, legitimately laughing. “It’s hard for us lady slaves, unable to really defend ourselves, to avoid being sought after by every powerful man we inevitably attract.” Hope even smiled as she shook her head in mock disapproval.
“The only reason you can get away with that joke is because you know every contractor is only interested in their own personal obsession.” Hope finally said after they had both finished laughing. Her quick change of tone felt like a sign of discomfort. I imagine it would be uncomfortable to joke about someone that could probably kill you with a wave of their hand.
“Obsession?” I was curious and there was nothing better to do than ask, even if I didn’t expect a full answer.
“Every contractor tends to obsess over one thing, usually collecting one particular thing.” Hope sounded forthcoming, but I was still expecting the information to be cut short along the line somewhere. “Perhaps you remember Trish? In a way she collects people, but really she’s more obsessed with the torment and the pleasure she can inflict on them. My father loved romance, although he had a mind for business he had an extensive collection of literature primarily with a romantic focus. More recently however he found something better and left his old collection to Dante, who also enjoys reading, although that isn’t his obsession. Dante is a little odd, he obsesses over details never stopping until he understands something entirely. That is more of a personality thing though… I’m not entirely sure what his obsession is, but if I had to guess it would either be myself or his garden. And don’t bother asking about that, because you’ll never hear another word about it, I promise you that.
“What about the Old Man? Please tell me it’s not cute innocent girls with burn scars…”
“The Old Man might be the last person to ever have a romantic interest in anyone which is what made your statement so funny. He’s very into history, to the point where he cares about almost nothing else. He collects objects of either high intrinsic or historical value which is why he has a pawn shop.”
“Well. That’s actually a little comforting to hear, and kind of interesting I guess.” The cutoff of information had happened, but not where I had expected it. “You left yourself out though.”
“Because I didn’t even know for the longest time.” Hope sighed. “I think for a while I was just looking for something to obsess over to fit in and that became my obsession. I started out just trying to be a loyal daughter, I focused on torturing Amy for a while, then I tried being adventurous, then social, then I kind of just locked myself up and did nothing for a long time. Finding Dante was a miracle for me, he’s my obsession now and I don't think I could really handle doing this without him anymore.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to actually understand that. How you two are attracted to each other baffles my simple little human mind.”
“Don’t be jealous, just because you’re in a situation that doesn’t currently allow you to have that sort of relationship doesn’t mean that can never happen.” Hope replied, easily ignoring my sarcastic remark. “Maybe we’ll be able to arrange something someday after this mirror madness is over.”
“Okay first off, you’ve been waiting to say ‘mirror madness’ for a while I can tell. Secondly, when anyone ever says anything along the lines of something someday they really mean never. Thirdly, and I need you understand that this is probably the most important point so far, I am not jealous of you nor am I interested in dating now that I’m unable to age.” I left out the sarcasm this time in the interest of being taken seriously.
"Fine, be lonely forever. I'll be enjoying my relationship while you suffer." Hope said smugly.
"Speaking of being lonely forever, when was the last time Dante paid you any real attention?” I bounced back on her comment quickly, it didn’t even have time to sink in. Loneliness was terrifying after thinking about it for a while, but I couldn’t let it show on my face.
“It has been a while.” She almost growled it, her jaw clenched but I was still too put off from what she’d said to smirk. “But it’s not like I can go and drop in on him right now, like I said, he’d toss me through a wall. However,” He clenched jaw loosened into a sly smile. “Amy, you haven’t been thrown through a wall in a while. And while I am trying to turn a new leaf and be a little less abusive I don’t think it’ll really bother you that much.”
“It has been a while.” Amy smiled as she repeated the words. “And you’re right, I don’t think I’d mind it that much. I’ve been feeling a little stiff in the joints, a little exercise might do me some good.”
“You’re insane… aren’t you.” I said shaking my head slowly.
“I don’t think I ever said I wasn’t.” Amy shrugged. “Not that this is all that crazy, I am seriously in need in a stretch and after so long you really need to get beat up to get back in shape. You’ll get it one day. If you survive.” Her last words were more of an afterthought over her shoulder as she followed Hope out the door. While I didn’t really want to be a part of what they were about to do, I had nothing else to do. So following them was really the only thing I could do that wasn’t sit alone in a dimly lit room and contemplate my screwed up existence.
“So where would he be anyways?” Amy asked. “I haven’t really explored around much since the renovation.”
“He took my dad’s old office to use as his own.” Hope mumbled. “I think he liked how dirty it was for some reason.” I got the feeling she was speaking softly to avoid me hearing anything I probably shouldn’t be. She was really bad at speaking quietly.
“It had about as much dust as every other room last time I checked.” Amy shrugged again. Her nonchalance about getting thrown through a wall made me wonder what kind of attitude towards pain and physical punishment I would have if I ever lived as long as her.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
"So what kind of renovations were made?" The question had been lingering in the back of my mind since the topic was mentioned.
"We used to only have one door connecting every room and every room was accessible only as needed. Dante put every room on this hall to give the den a more solid shape, which was exactly what my father had been avoiding, but I guess everyone has their own style."
"What if two people in two different rooms tried to go to two different places at the same time with the one door?" Would it rip open a hole in the fabric of existence or something? The teleporting properties of contractors were already ambiguous and confusing.
"We never had to worry about anything like that before with so few people wandering around. I guess there are more now so that could have been a problem." Hope was still speaking quietly but her tone had become thoughtful.
"Yeah, but what would happen?" The thought was stuck in my head now and I couldn't let it go.
"Either a catastrophic event or both doors open to nothing, or a brick wall, or maybe they open to each other? I'm not really sure, I've never had to set up anything like that. I'm not really entirely sure it was just one door either, they could have all been different doors that connected to each other without a physical hallway." She stopped in front of a dark wooden door, her brow wrinkled in deep thought. "You know, I've never really thought about it too deeply. I'm kind of interested in how it works now. However, for now I’m just glad there's a hallway for Amy to fly into as we watch from a safe distance."
"Wait." Amy hesitated as she was about to open the door. "What if he throws me through an exterior wall?"
"Then we'll finally know what it looks like both outside the den and what the den looks like from the outside." Hope sounded more excited than when Amy had agreed to interrupt Dante. "Now go." She gestured for Amy to hurry up.
“Fine.” Amy pushed the door open and walked in silently. I had thought that simply entering the room would send her flying but apparently her goal was to sneak up on him.
Only a few seconds passed before there was a loud crack like thunder and Amy came flying right back out the door and through the door across the hall. I froze in place surprised that what we had actually just been talking about and were sure would happen actually did. Even when I expected it, it was still so unexpected. It probably had something to do with how fast she had actually gone flying, it was an unnatural speed.
“I would say sorry, but you should know better.” Dante called from the room. “Thank you though, I’ve been obsessing over the details on this for far too long and the wakeup call was probably necessary.”
“What details?” I slowly leaned into the doorway, just in case he felt like throwing someone else.
“I need you to sign something.” He motioned me over to him and I slowly made my way into the room. “It’s just a contract, don’t be so scared I’m not actually violent.”
“I wasn’t actually the one that wanted to come see you, just so you know.” I mumbled as I stepped up to his desk. The room was dimly lit, more so than the rest of the den, and it had taken me until then to actually be able to see the interior of the room.
The walls were covered in bookshelves, each filled with dusty tomes and ornate bookends which didn’t look so dusty. The desk Dante was standing in front of looked like it weighed a ton and was probably worth its weight in dollar bills, I had never seen anything that looked so old yet solid before. Probably the most curious thing in the room though was sitting on the desk. What looked like long pins stuck into a wooden base held aloft a shimmering spider web covered in what looked like dew but I recognized the blue glow for what it was. It was entrancing for some reason, it was so large and complex. A shiver went down my spine when I realized I couldn’t see a spider.
“Don’t worry, he’s right here.” Dante held up his finger and I could see a small black spider walk across the tip and onto the back of his hand. I cringed. I am not afraid of spiders, it’s just that the way that they, and pretty much every bug, look grosses me out. “I’ve been trying to figure out what species he is, best I can tell he’s a black widow. Doesn’t seem to want to bite though, he’s actually pretty friendly. Then there’s that web of his, clearly not a natural creation.” Dante put his finger on the tip of one of the pins and the spider crawled onto the web. “Poor Henry here is a mystery.”
“Yuck. Just yuck. If Henry decides to crawl anywhere near me I’m killing him.” I kept my eye on the web, nothing, no matter how interesting would be able to tear the idea of that web from my mind so long as I remained in that room.
“He’ll be fine.” Dante smiled, completely relaxed. It was an odd expression to see on him. “Now what was it you were saying about not being the one that wanted to see me?”
“Yeah, that would be me.” Hope chimed in from the doorway, she’d been so quiet the whole time I had almost forgotten that she was there. “Haven’t talked to you in a while, thought we could catch up and you know…” She sounded sheepish, which made no sense to me.
“What are you doing all the way over there then? C’mere.” Hope walked quickly over to his side and wrapped her arms around him. “I need to get this done, but I do want to catch up. Can you wait just a little longer?”
“Fine.” Hope frowned. “I should probably dig Amy out, she hasn’t gotten up yet.”
“I’ll see you in a bit then.” Dante kissed the top of her head. “And don’t get too close, just because you were nice for once won’t mean she won’t still try to kill you on instinct.”
“I’ll be fine.” She blushed. It was hard to see in the dim lighting, but I could hear it in her voice as well.
Hope walked out of the room slowly with her head a little slouched. She closed the door as she left me alone in a room with a Grim Reaper and a possibly deadly spider that was somehow missing from his web again. I could hear her move the broken down door aside out in the hall and a quick shifting of feet shortly after. After a second the footsteps faded and I was actually alone with Dante.
“So what is this?” I asked finally addressing the paper sitting on the desk.
“That is a contract.” Dante answered blankly. I glared at him, I knew he was trying to get a response out of me but I wouldn’t let him get one. “This particular contract is what will stop you from becoming a wraith, among other things.” I was stunned, it didn’t fit that he knew. I hadn’t told him yet about what had happened in the maze. “Don’t look so shocked. I know more about you than you do, in probably the creepiest way possible.”
“I’ll ignore that. However I won’t ignore you slipping in other things.” I hadn’t missed that. I wasn’t stupid, I wasn’t about to sign something without reading it first.
“Nothing will change hands, just containers.” Dante held his hands up defensively. “And honestly why would I try and trick you when I can make you believe anything I want.”
“Then why aren’t you making me sign this without looking at it.” He wasn’t making any sense.
“I want to do this honestly and it helps if you know how this works. I’m going to put those extra flecks burning in your eyes, in this.” He held up a small glass vial on a silver chain. “I picked this up while we were at the pawn shop. I had debated about presenting it to you as a gift but I decided it would be best not to. You still keep possession of that extra power, just not in a way that can hurt you, I’m even throwing in Jonas’ soul. All you have to do is sign and agree to the terms.”
“What are the terms then?” I asked skeptically. I could tell he was trying to slip something past me.
“Read for yourself.” He handed me the paper.
The text was typed, neat, and easily readable. It covered a little more than half the page and he had already signed his name at the bottom. Just Dante, which I guess meant he hadn’t taken a last name. Everything he had said would happen were covered but one line didn’t quite make sense.
“What is this? These actions and their benefits will be taken and retained so long as blank” I read the blank space aloud. “Acts with the best interest of himself/herself and his/her spiritual possessions in mind regardless of employer.”
“The blank space is just where you name would go. I edited this down from a previously written contract so some terms are generalized.”
“You know that isn’t what I mean. What does this line mean?” I honestly had no idea what it meant or how it could benefit him in any way.
“It means exactly what it says. I want you to stay alive, regardless of what sort of situation you find yourself in, even if you don’t work for me anymore.” I knew that wasn’t what it meant, but I couldn't think of anything else it could be.
“I don’t suppose you’d remove that part?”
“No. Without some sort of balance in the contract it won’t work. It's called consideration, in order for something to be given one way, another thing must be given another. I can’t just hand out super powers for nothing. This is one of the few things you can actually give me and it really isn’t something you should be opposed to. It’s just a reminder to be cautious… written into your identity.”
“And if I decide not to sign?”
“You’ve seen what would happen to you. It might take a while, but I know you don’t want to lose yourself like that.”
“So I have no choice. Even though you want me to make the decision on my own, I have no choice but to say yes.” It was so underhanded. Whether he had good intentions or not, the way he was going about doing things was wrong.
“Yes.” He didn’t seem upset at all that I’d seen through the charade.
“Where’s your pen?” I sighed in defeat.
Dante held out a black feather quill that looked like it had appeared out of nowhere. I ignored the mystery of it all, it was just for show. I took the quill and filled my name in the blank spaces before finally scratching my full signature at the bottom. I looked up to see his expression when I had finished but he looked just as indifferent as he had before. When I looked back down the quill was gone and the little black spider was crawling off the page towards his web.
I was about to chew him out for tricking me into touching the disgusting little insect but I was frozen by a prickling sensation across my skin. I looked back at Dante who was holding a small flickering blue flame. He closed his hand around it and held the vial ready under it before pouring what looked like clear glassy sand into it. He sealed the vial with a cork and handed it to me by the chain.
“Is that it then?” I asked as I slowly reached out to take it.
“That’s it. All the benefits, none of the side effects. Only downside is that it breaks easily enough and if you don’t have it on you, you can’t use it. The only reason I can imagine why other contractors don’t give these things to their collectors is that collectors are prone to taking a lot of damage.”
“That and we might try and use the extra strength to kill you.”
“That might also be part of it. I don’t you mind being stronger though, I have faith you won’t do anything stupid… at least anymore.” The prickling sensation returned as I put the chain around my neck.
“You know, Hope might get a little jealous you didn’t get her anything. If you aren’t more careful she’ll lose interest.” I joked.
“That's why I’m dedicating the near future to spending time with her.”
“So then where are you sending me while you do that?” I assumed he was going to send me after whoever it was that had the piece of the mirror. He’d had enough time to figure out who had it.
“I have no intention of sending you anywhere. You obviously don’t want to be sent anywhere and I regret sending you out unprepared. It was a childish idea that sending you into that maze with no clue what you were doing would teach you anything. I get the feeling it only made you trust me less, which is not what I want.”
“Isn’t getting that last piece of the mirror kind of important?” He’d definitely made that point before. “I take it you know where it is.”
“I know who has it. It’s just some punk I made a deal with a while ago. It will be much easier if I deal with him alone, he can have a certain effect on people that you might not want to deal with.”
“I think I’d rather take on some punk kid than be around while you and Hope have your little lovey-dovey time. I’ve dealt with idiot gangbangers before, and I don’t know how much harder it could get or how much worse than the maze it could be. I would rather do it than sit around and wonder when you’re going to spring something else on me. At least this way I’m doing it on my own terms.”
“I won’t stop you then.” Dante smiled, it wasn’t a creepy or sneaky kind of smile but it looked a little respectful. If that was actually something he could show at all. “Actually some privacy might be nice. I’ll see if Hope will let Amy go with you, it’ll be a lot less trouble with two people I’m sure.”
“I’ll go get my armor then.”