With her newfound freedom of movement, there was really only one thing to do- wait in the hallway for Anna to leave her room so that Devorah would know which room was hers and therefore, which room she should wait by like a loyal dog whenever she lost track of Anna.

And of course, because Devorah also had the luck of a beaten dog, it wasn’t Anna who left her room first. No, it was Gabe. And with him went Bel and Eugenia.

Woof.

Devorah awkwardly stood in the hall, hands at her sides. They looked much the same, as they ever did. Eugenia, still in her resplendent gown and jewels, watched Devorah with an impassive gaze. Bel, meanwhile, looked conflicted. She raised a hand, clearly considering saying hello, before she turned away to follow Gabe as he left, Eugenia as his other tail.

Devorah blinked and wasn’t sure what, exactly, to do. Um, didn’t they want to know how she was out and about on her own? No Gabes or Jacobs or anyone else holding her down? Devorah was free- or freer than they were at least.

Whatever. Devorah crossed her arms. If they wanted to play ghost and follow all the rules, that was their prerogative. But to just ignore Devorah like that? It wasn’t like she was obsessed with Bel or Eugenia, but that was just rude. To see her, and not even say hello?

And what was Gabe doing awake, anyway? It was one of those weird hours that lived between dawn and dusk. It wasn’t a time to be stalking around a haunted mansion. Didn’t Gabriel know ghosts were afoot?

It wouldn’t hurt to follow him. Along with Bel and Eugenia. She was just curious, and could go back to waiting for Anna later.

Gabriel led the parade of ghosts into the library, where he then sat down. He placed Bel’s insignia pin and a small book, presumably Eugenia’s, onto the table before him. Then he reached into a pocket and pulled out a string of beads, from which hung a small cross.

He wrapped it around one of his hands, then began to pray in a low voice.

It was the perfect time to speak with Bel and Eugenia. And from the way Eugenia was eyeing her, the other woman clearly felt the same way.

They all met in the center of the room. Devorah waited for Bel to deliver her usual greeting, but Bel just kind of stood there with an uncomfortable look on her face. Eventually, Devorah decided to step up.

“Hey Bel, Eugenia,” she said.

There was another small pause, before Bel responded. “Hey Dev. Wild night, huh?”

“Sure was.”

Another break.

Devorah bridged the gap, saying, “you had been with Mathilde and Nour, right, Bel? How are you doing?”

Bel shifted on her feet. “I’m okay. Thanks for asking. How are- um. Mmm. But yeah! A doctor and religious leader, the last two to be suspects. And they both seemed so nice…”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Eugenia huffed, a soft breath of air pushed from her mouth. “I find myself with few sympathies for those who knowingly risk infecting others with debilitating or fatal illness. Nour did what was right, and is all the nobler for it.”

It was Devorah’s turn to feel uncomfortable. “But we have treatments for leprosy now,” she said.

“In here?” Eugenia said.

“No.” Devorah said.

“Then there is another element of tragedy, yes, but I still cannot find it in myself to fault Nour, nor can I truly despise such a romantic end,” Eugenia said.

Something about that rubbed Devorah the wrong way, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what.

“That doesn’t really matter though. It’s done with. In the past, and not our problem. More importantly,” Devorah did a spin, “haven’t you noticed anything different?”

Bel squinted. “You look the same. Maybe a little happier?”

“Not with my appearance, exactly. Not like Eugenia and her gown and jewels. I mean more like, how am I here without my totem?”

Bel and Eugenia exchanged a look. “Hey, Dev,” Bel began, “not that I’m not happy for you and whatever you did, but I feel like… Ugh. Eugenia, you do it.” She pushed the other woman in front of her.

Eugenia shot a look back, then took over. “You were rude to us earlier, especially Bel. She was just concerned for you, and how you aren’t taking the whole being dead thing very well. I believe you should apologize.”

Apologize to Bel? For butting into Devorah’s business? She found her mood quickly soured. Devorah didn’t think she was acting all that weird. Not only was she extremely normal in the brain, she was also reacting like any person would. “I actually think that Bel should apologize. For not respecting my boundaries,” Devorah responded.

Bel wavered. “I didn’t mean to disrespect your boundaries-”

Eugenia cut her off. “This isn’t about any boundaries. This is about you being obnoxious. Devorah, allow me to be blunt with you- I don’t care for how you treated Bel earlier today. Not only is it unlike you, but based on how Bel reacted, I’m assuming there was precedent to this behavior since you’ve awoken here. I understand you’re suffering-”

“You don’t,” Devorah spit out. “You picked how you wanted to go. You took the easy way out!”

Bel gasped. Eugenia, steely eyed, removed a long, silk glove from her hand in a sinuous motion. Then she slapped Devorah across the face with it.

Devorah clutched her cheek, more from surprise than pain. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“That was so completely out of line,” Eugenia said, “that the line does not even exist anymore. You set the line aflame and watched it turn to embers. The easy way out? How dare you!”

“At least you had a choice!” Devorah shouted.

“Guys-” Bel tried to interrupt.

“And you didn’t?” Eugenia answered in a scathing tone. “I remember what you told me, about how you ended up in our first game. That was a series of choices you made, each more reckless than the last. If anyone should be criticizing choices, it’s me. It’s Anna.”

“Don’t bring Anna into this!” Dev shouted.

“Eugenia, Devorah, please,” Bel put her hands up. “Can we calm down? Talk this over like adults?”

“I will not calm down!” Eugenia responded, raising her hand then slamming it in a downwards motion towards the floor..

Then, across the room, something unexpected and amazing happened. Half the books on one of the shelves flung themselves from their neat, orderly rows into the air. They launched into the air in a haphazardly manner, banging to the ground strewn all about the room.

She hadn’t touched the books. There was definitely no point in which Eugenia grabbed each of those books and flung them around. Not possible. No way. So what did that mean? Did Eugenia have fucking telekenesis now? Did that count as just one charge? How was something like that even possible? Did someone install air currents? Put strings on the books? Magnets? Devorah didn’t know.

Devorah thought she had the upper ground, being able to move as she pleased. That AI had been holding out on her. What else could Devorah do, given time and ability? And how did Eugenia, ancient Eugenia, manage to make a strong enough connection with someone to essentially get superpowers on top of new, clean clothes?

Eugenia put her glove back on, her eyes cool.

“How did you do that?” Devorah asked. “How the fuck did you do that?”

“You aren’t the only one who can make deals, Devorah,” Eugenia said. “You aren’t special.”

Admittedly, that had stung a bit. “Well, I was the one who introduced you to Riley. Set you up in that nice gown, removed the rope from your neck. You should be thanking me!”

“I never asked for that!” Eugenia said, then bit her lip. She turned around, away from Devorah. “My cloak…”

Bel stepped in again. “I’m sorry about your cloak, Eugenia. But I think Gabe is saying something. I want to listen. And I think it might be good to give Devorah some space.” Bel offered a small, shaky smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “That’s all you want, right, Dev?”

She huffed out a breath of air. “I was done speaking with Devorah anyway.”

Who did Eugenia think she was? To dismiss Devorah, like she was a servant? A program she could just shut down?

“Fine! I don’t walk to talk to you anymore anyway. Enjoy being stuck to- to that cowboy! I’ll take my space. Don’t bother me again!” Devorah said, then stomped out of the library with the intention of heading back towards the bedrooms.