“You know, I always thought it was you that started the fire,” said Lewis.

Mr. Gray chuckled again as he searched the air for a weak point from which to form a new portal. “Never mind that,” he said. “It’s time to retrieve your bicycle.” He waved his hand and a portal coalesced in front of them.

Down the street a boy in a blue hoodie approached on a bicycle. Lewis recognized himself when he got closer, already returning from the task for which he was about to set out.

“Come on,” said Mr. Gray as he hopped through the portal.

Lewis gave himself a little wave before exhaling fully and stepping through.

Orcus and Adeona were waiting for them on the other side. Adeona wore a worried scowl, while Orcus was his usual grumpy little self.

“The Council has called upon us,” Adeona said as she wrung her hands together.

Mr. Gray grunted angrily. “The last thing we need…” he said. “Let me drop Lewis off really quick first.”

“Can’t do,” said Orcus. “They want him as well.” He pointed a bony finger at Lewis.

“What now? Who’s this council?” Lewis didn’t like the sound of any of this.

“The Council,” Orcus reiterated.

“The Council of Three is the highest position in the multi-verse,” said Mr. Gray.

“Like the Parcae President?” asked Lewis.

“No,” said Adeona. “The Council is no joke.”

“Nona, Decuma, and Morta sit on the council. They are legendary amongst our people,” said Mr. Gray.

The names sounded familiar to Lewis, especially Morta.

Mortality.

Death.

Lewis didn’t like the idea of being called before them.

He shuffled back on his feet. The portal was still open. It would be so easy to simply jump back through.

“Don’t even think about it,” said Orcus. His eyes were locked on Lewis.

“There isn’t anywhere in any universe you could hide where they wouldn’t find you,” added Adeona.

The itch to run didn’t subside, but Lewis followed behind Mr. Gray anyway as he led them off towards a distant hill. Lewis could just barely tell that the hill was there from the lack of shimmer that usually filled the sky as the ground bumped up above the horizon. Instead, a steady glow crested the top of the hill. The trek only lasted fifteen minutes, but with the increased heat of the immortal realm, Lewis was starting to sweat before they even reached the base of the hill. He wanted to ask more questions, but it was clear none of the Parcae knew why Lewis had been ordered along with them. All three Parcae remained stoic as they marched on up the steady slope.

When they reached the top, Lewis’s eyes lit up in wonder. A sheer cliff before him formed one side of a wide canyon, deeper than the Grand Canyon. The whole cliff side on both sides of the canyon glowed with a million tiny lights. Little rooms and giant chambers alike were carved into the rock face; this was just the tip, an entire city of Parcae living in a subterranean metropolis, just peeking out at the surface. There were thousands of the creatures going about their lives.

Mr. Gray took him down a long set of tiny stairs. They were too small for Lewis to stand upon, so he had to slide down slowly on his butt.

At the bottom of the stairs a winding corridor led deep into the stone. It was just barely tall enough for Lewis to walk without hunching, but thankfully wide enough not to cause claustrophobia. Other Parcae walking by in the opposite direction paused to gawk at Lewis as if he were a circus freak. It didn’t make him feel any less awkward.

Lewis doubted many humans, if any, got to visit this amazing city. It was all he could do to take in the wonders before him as they walked for what felt like a mile. Hundreds of corridors split off from the main walkway like Swiss cheese beneath the surface. Some passageways were too small for Lewis to even enter, at least without crawling, but Mr. Gray remained cognizant of Lewis’s size. They stayed within the main tunnel which seemed to stretch on infinitely into the distance.

A clamor of high-pitched voices arose from a distant chamber. The crowd grew louder as Lewis and the Parcae trio closed in on a meeting hall—the Council of Three was in session, and they had a large audience. When Lewis entered the vast chamber, the voices ceased. Hundreds of Parcae turned towards him all at once from their various delegate seats all across the room. It reminded Lewis of a meeting of congress or the United Nations.

As Lewis scanned his eyes across the crowd, the first thing he noticed was the three council leaders—Nona, Decuma, and Morta—sitting upon a stage like judges of a court. They watched him silently as he walked across the chamber behind Mr. Gray.

The second thing he noticed was that not all of the crowd were Parcae. There were other delegations of creatures, most small like the Parcae, though some were larger than Lewis. Several golem-like creatures that seemed to be made entirely of stone stood like hulking statues at the far side of the chamber. The only reason Lewis knew they weren’t statues was their heads followed him while he walked.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

In one of the rows near the front, a pair of extremely lanky pale old men with long white beards hunched menacingly into the aisle to get a better view of Lewis. They were at least seven feet tall, though it was hard to tell their exact height while they were hunching.

“Those are Agares,” said Mr. Gray out the side of his mouth. “Don’t worry, though, they wouldn’t dare try anything here.”

The old men glared at him with dark eyes, their fluffy eyebrows angling sharply as they frowned. A shiver ran down Lewis’s spine.

Mr. Gray didn’t stop walking until he’d reached the front of the chamber. Lewis stood with him before the Council, Adeona and Orcus at his side.

“Longinus, Adeona, and Orcus,” said Nona, Decuma, and Morta in unison, “you stand accused of meddling with mortal affairs by leading this human and others in opposition of the Agares delegation’s wishes.” It sounded like a creepy chant, the way they spoke perfectly at the same time. “You have placed the treaty our peoples have made in jeopardy. How do you respond to these charges?”

Mr. Gray cleared his throat. Lewis could tell he was nervous from the unusually wide-eyed expression on his face. “I have guided Lewis,” he said, gesturing up at him, “but the Agares have not been present at any of my interaction points. I have done nothing to meddle with Agares affairs.”

“Lies!” hissed one of the old men. “Our agents have seen this boy flee with a Parca. He was shuttled to the Beyond to keep him hidden from us.”

“Silence,” ordered the three councilwomen. “We shall call upon you if we seek your input.” They turned their heads back towards Mr. Gray.

“Check my echoes,” said Mr. Gray, holding his white hand up in the air. “I have not been anywhere near any Agares agents.”

That was technically true. Lewis was with Adeona when the Agares erased Mr. Bradley.

A hairy creature that looked like a wet ball of dark seaweed rolled across the chamber floor to Mr. Gray’s outstretched hand. A needle-like stinger shot out faster than a piston and pierced his palm. It withdrew several drops of blood, then rolled away, over to the Council of Three’s podium.

Mr. Gray clenched his tiny fist.

The councilwomen consorted behind the podium with the hairball for a moment before reclaiming their positions.

“We see what you speak is true,” they said. “How do the Agares respond?”

The old men’s expressions soured further. “We know they are attempting to interfere with our harvest and we will not stand for it. Any Parcae caught with the humans will not be shown mercy. Reign in your people or our treaty will end.”

The Agares turned and began to walk out of the chamber.

“You have not been dismissed,” spoke the Council.

The Agares ignored them as they departed the meeting hall.

Shocked mutters erupted all across the chamber floor.

“Silence!” ordered the Council. “The Agares delegates show us disrespect, but this is not a game to be played lightly. We will continue this hearing.” Their heads shifted towards Lewis. “Please present your hand.”

Lewis’s face was locked in a concerned frown.

The hairball creature approached him. “Your hand,” requested the slimy tumbleweed with a soft-spoken whisper of a voice.

Despite his nerves, Lewis lowered his hand, palm up, for the creature. Its stinger shot out in an instant, poking straight into his palm. Surprisingly, he barely felt a thing. It must have injected a fast-acting numbing agent like a mosquito as it pierced him. It withdrew a moment later, leaving Lewis with a beaded drop of blood in his hand. The hairball rolled back over to the councilwomen.

They lingered over Lewis’s blood for far longer than they’d spent with Mr. Gray’s. When they returned to their podium they did not look pleased. “You did flee from an Agares agent,” they said, shooting glares back and forth between Lewis and Adeona.

Lewis felt a spike of irritation for being chastised for staying alive. “The Agares are trying to destroy my universe,” Lewis spouted back. “Would you have had me sit down and be erased?”

“We do not care what you do,” they said. “Your actions do not jeopardize our treaty. The aid from our people is what is in question here today.”

Lewis still wasn’t having it. “You let the Agares make the rules and bully you into letting them destroy whole universes of innocent people. What do you think they are going to do when they run out of universes to snip? Clearly they do not respect this council. They won’t stop with my universe.”

“Enough,” said the Council. “It is not your place to question our will.” The councilwomen glanced at one another before continuing. “The treaty must be maintained,” they said. “Longinus will return Lewis to his timeline and will then immediately cease all interfering actions with Agares affairs. That goes for all Parcae. Grave consequences will befall any who do not heed this warning. You are all dismissed.”

A ruckus of voices erupted across the chamber as seats were pushed back and everyone immediately began to file out. The ball of hair rolled back over to Lewis before he could react. “Nona wished to speak with you in private,” the ball whispered.

Mr. Gray looked concerned. “I’ll wait for you just outside the chamber,” he said, pointing towards the main doors.

Lewis nodded as he set off behind the living hairball. The odd creature led Lewis to the back of the chamber to a doorway barely large enough for him to fit through. Nona was waiting for him on the other side. The hairball dismissed itself down a hallway.

“Hello, Lewis,” she said. “I’m sorry for the ruling. The Council must maintain civility between our people and the Agares, but I am personally moved by your plight. I have seen what you have done and all that you may become. Take this,” she said, slipping a cylindrical object attached to a chain into Lewis’s palm. “It will come in handy.” She rubbed the back of Lewis’s hand gently and then turned away without another word. She didn’t glance back as she exited the small chamber.

Lewis stared down at the object. It was a simple brass whistle, about three inches long. He had no idea what it was for. Scratching his head, he exited the small chamber as well. He hurried across the mostly empty meeting hall to catch up with Mr. Gray.

Mr. Gray was waiting for him just outside the door. He wore a worried frown. “What did Nona want with you?”

Lewis held out the brass whistle.

Mr. Gray’s eyes grew large. “Put that away!” he cried. “Don’t let anyone see that. It’s a very powerful weapon against the Agares!” He glanced around to make sure no one was watching them.

Lewis slipped the chain around his neck and tucked the whistled under his shirt. “A weapon?” he asked.

Mr. Gray nodded. “It emits a high-pitched frequency that counters the basilisks’ low-pitched time-stopping tone. It’s too high for you to hear, but it’s a very irritating pitch for those of us who can.”

It was clear the Parcae wanted to help him, but they couldn’t do it officially. This was the best he was going to get.

Adeona and Orcus went their separate ways as Mr. Gray led Lewis on the trek back up to the surface. When they reached the narrow staircase Lewis had to lie on his stomach to climb back up. At the top, Mr. Gray searched the air for a moment and then produced another portal. He remained behind as he sent Lewis on his way.

Lewis paused at the portal’s opening. “Will I see you again?” he asked.

“Most certainly,” said Mr. Gray with a smirk.

Lewis patted him on the head before stepping through, back to the mortal realm.