The portal closed behind us. We were in the Malcolms' basement again. The two angels walked up to us. Anisa was clapping her hands. "That was wonderful," she said, eyeing up the urn in my hand.

I grimaced when I thought of the contents inside. I shoved it into her hands. "There, keep your precious 'Eyes’. Who even calls their testicles that?!"

"Actually that's because--"

I raised a hand. "No thanks, I'm not curious," I said.

Lily began to say something but I cut her off with a wide eyed glare.

"No...we aren't curious," she said gingerly.

Roderick grinned down at Smokewell, "So, we were right. You were perfect for the job afterall."

"We are perfect any day of the week, Roderick," Smokewell said. "But just because my pupils were stupid enough to get drawn into your silly contract, doesn't mean we are going to do this again. Now be a good boy and unmark their halos."

Roderick gave his usual playful grin and manifested the contract out thin air. He put a check mark over Lily and my names with a quill. Our bloodstains from the contract disappeared. "And done," he said.

I looked over at Lily's halo. The mark of sin was gone and the ring was its previous clear green. She nodded at me, indicating that I was also in the clear. I turned back to the angels. "I guess that concludes it," I said, "Would I do this again? Nope."

The angels had Josie drive us back to Asmod's place. Lily collapsed on the small couch in the living room and blew a sigh at the roof. Smokewell hopped upon the windowsill and peered out at the city. I came in, carrying the bundle of our little loot from heaven and set it down on the floor before getting on the couch next to Lily.

Asmod poured us all another round of ginger ale.

For a moment, no one said anything as we all sipped on our drinks. That's when Lily's stomach growled. The girl blushed. "Excuse me," she said shyly.

I glanced at the clock on the wall, it was half past two in the morning. "I won't lie, I can relate to Lily's state of hunger," I said.

That's when Asmod's stomach growled as well. "Seems like I caught your disease." He chuckled.

"It was quite the adventure we had," Smokewell said, "One's bound to get hungry after all that. I hope you are also in the mood to cook."

"No, we don't need to," Asmod said with a smile. "I know a place that serves a good meal." He grabbed his coat once again.

"At two in the morning?" Lily said.

"Yes, they are not too big on sleeping." The short man winked and gestured us to follow. He turned to me before walking out the door, "Grimly, make sure to grab one of the bones from your bundle. We'll have it appraised while we eat."

I nodded and took a small cylindrical digit from the pile of golden bones from the bundle, it was probably a part of a finger. I slipped it into my waistcoat. We left the apartment.

****

Asmod drove us in his steam carriage. The streets of the Orowen city were deserted this late into the night. Lily and I were in the back while Smokewell sat in the front in what would've been the shotgun seat in a regular automobile. I ducked my head out of the carriage and felt the wind in my face, felt its cool fingers running through my hair. Then I felt a smile curl my lips.

These past twenty four hours had been the weirdest of my life, yet they felt like what I always thought life was supposed to feel like. I could remember psychedelic dreams and absurd hallucinations draped in crystal fog and smoky euphoria from my past life. Yet everything seemed to pale in comparison with what I'd seen and felt in the last few hours.

I watched the buildings passing by, watched the moonlight smiling upon its concrete flesh as steam pumped through the heart and veins of the city. This was it. This was real life. This was where I somehow ended up after living through hell. But after seeing and hearing and feeling this world, I didn't want to be anywhere else.

The carriage came to a halt outside a cloth store that was closed for business for the night. The shutters were down and the lights were out. Asmod simply parked his vehicle outside and led us into a dark alley in the back. A rusty metal was fixed into the dark wall deep in the alley. He opened it and walked in. We followed him down a stairway where the air smelled damp and our footsteps echoed louder as we descended further.

We came to a halt at another door at the end of the stairway. Asmod lifted his hand and knocked on the door in a certain rhythm. A voice answered from the other end. "Faeries don't cry when you punch them."

Asmod scoffed. "Forget about the damn password, Grendel. It's me and I'm starving. Open the door!"

There was a groan from the other side before the door opened and light poured out into the stairway. "How is it going, Asmod?" the guy at the door said as we passed through.

"About as good as it was. How are your kids, Grendel?" Asmod nodded.

"They’re a pain in the neck," Grendel said.

I noticed that Grendel didn't have any hair or eyes or lips. He wore a dark leather jacket and his bony neck and cranium stuck out like a skull on a bare spine--which is what it literally was.

Grendel was a talking skeleton. Or if I wasn't wrong, the more accurate word was a 'lich.'

Past the door that Grendel guarded was a cobble stone pathway that lead up to a double story structure. The front of it was made of brick and mortar alit with a light that seemed to just hover in the air, shining in from nowhere. I guessed it was something similar to the enchanted magic that Asmod did with his inks and brushes, but in this case, the entire air had an enchanted feel to it.

The building was painted black and red and neon green letters hung atop the entrance that read: THE SKELETON CREW.

The first thing that I noticed before entering was the music they played in the joint. It was a weird mix between swing and pop, with a lot of drums, trumpets and something akin to synth? Somehow it all went together like a good cocktail. And even though it was close to three in the morning, the tables were all nearly taken, the booths were pretty much full. The attendants were all liches, carrying orders, clearing tables and also the band that played at the centre of the big circular dining area.

"A place like this exists?!" Lily blurted out, gawking at the view in front of her.

Asmod chuckled. "It sure does. In fact, this place has existed before Orowen even got its name."

"Why didn't we ever come here?" Lily said to Smokewell.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Cuz we were broke most of the time," the cat said, rolling her eyes.

"I don't mind seeing this place now that we are here," I said with the smile still firmly planted on my lips.

The maître d'hôtel was also a lich dressed in a sharp looking tuxedo and a starry bow tie. "A table for four, I presume," he said.

Asmod nodded. "Yes, and thanks, Krec."

"It's been a while, Asmod. But it's nice to see you and your friends," the lich named Krec said as he led us up a spiral staircase and to a much quieter and more premium looking dining area.

"I've been busy with some business, Krec," Asmod said as we settled into a booth by the window.

Krec summoned menu cards out of thin air and laid them in front of us. Jugs of water were manifested in a similar fashion and our glasses were filled with Krec barely lifting a finger. He summoned a metal dish filled with water especially for Smokwell. I took a sip from my glass and looked out the window. I almost spat my water when I saw the dark city of Orowen sprawling below us. "Aren't we technically below the city right now?" I said. “Yet I can see the city outside.”

"It's our optical illusion array, ma'am," Krec said. "If you don't like the view, we can change it to tropical grassland, coastal evening or the tundra havens." He shifted the view outside the window through different settings.

Lily's eyes glinted excitedly as she took in the view. "Can we customize the setting?" she asked.

"Certainly, ma'am."

"I want sand dunes in the background!"

"And in the foreground?"

"Tundra."

"Any props or characters?"

"An apple orchard. And a wyvern by a lava lake!"

"There you go, ma'am."

"WOW!" Lily pressed her face into the window and gaped with wide eyes of a child.

Smokewell held back a groan as she watched Lily. We placed our orders and leaned back in our seats, looking out at the strange view. "This isn't going to cost you too much, is it, Asmod?" Smokewell said.

"Don't worry. The owner of this place, Zir'zulec and I go way back." Asmod said, waving his hand. "I probably won't even have to pay for the meal."

I dug deep into Old Elsa's memories. I couldn't find anything specific about Asmod so I set my glass down and leaned ahead. "You have me curious now," I said, "Exactly how old are you, Asmod? You knew the angels and now this lich guy."

The short man gave a humble smile but remained quiet.

"Also, don't forget Madam Smokewell," Lily said, "Mr. Asmod is full of surprises."

"Girls, it's not very mature to pry into other people's personal lives," Smokewell said curtly.

"Oh give it a rest, Alana." Asmod winced. "They are still young. They are supposed to be curious." The man rested his elbows on the table and looked out the window. "It's true, though. I know some interesting people. Not because I'm an ancient being or anything, I'm barely two hundred." He scoffed. "It's just that I don't have many qualms against whom I work with or help out. Witches, liches, angels, golems, trolls, humans. I'll shake hands with anyone and everyone as long as it doesn't involve hurting someone innocent. Especially in times like these when the Steam Elemental claims ownership over so many institutions of magic." He looked at every face at the table. "It only makes sense that those like us overcome any personal feuds and work together. It's our independence that's at stake after all."

As a comfortable and meaningful silence descended over the table, the waiter arrived and poured us all a glass of merlot. "I hope you are having a wonderful time," he said. We all gave a gracious nod and he left us with the bottle, his skull face, forever smiling.

Our food arrived soon after. We started with an oxtail soup, followed by the main course. I had a duck confit while Lily had braised beef. We got Smokewell some boiled salmon and Asmod had a risotto with wild mushrooms. The dessert was lemon tart. Then the waiter poured us all another round of merlot. "I hope you enjoyed your meal," he said, "Shall I bring the bill?"

"Not yet." Asmod gestured the lich to lean closer and whispered something we couldn't quite hear.

The waiter nodded and left us as we sipped our wine. It was the maître d'hôtel, Krec, who came up next and clasped his bony hands together. "The Director would see you now, my dear guests."

"Can I get a light?" Smokewell said, holding up her ivory pipe.

"Certainly." Krec dipped a bony finger into the well of the pipe and set the tobacco aflame.

We followed him out of the dining area and up a flight of stairs beyond a door that read: RESTRICTED ENTRY.

Past the door was a hallway with shiny linoleum floor that led up to another door that read: DIRECTOR'S OFFICE.

And in parentheses below it read: (ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE.)

Krec held the door open for us. We walked inside and he walked away.

The inside of the office was a lot larger than expected. A pool table sat on the right, a piano on the left, a small dining table at the centre and a long executive desk at the very back against a rippled glass wall, looking over the big room. The director Zir'Zulec was about to take a shot with his obsidian pool cue. He was wearing a long velvet robe, cotton pajamas and fluffy bunny slippers.

He probably missed his shot since he rose from his hunched over position, beating a fist over the table. "Dang it, I missed it again!"

"You'll get it next time, boss," said another lich, probably a subordinate.

“Yes, you can have my turn, instead, boss,” said another subordinate standing on the opposite end of the table.

"Stop consoling me, you fools! You are supposed to let me win!"

"Forget it, Zir. You underlings are trying their best to play worse than you. Just admit that you are terrible at the game."

The lich in velvet robe paused and raised his head from the pool table. That's when we got to see just how big Zir'Zulec really was. This guy towered over everyone in the room by several feet. Him and Asmod facing each other was like a lawn gnome looking up at the Statue of Liberty.

"You wound me with your words, Asmod," Zir said, "You stop by at my humble establishment just to remind me that you are capable of hurting my ego."

"Stop being a big baby, Zir." Asmod chuckled. "And as much as I love to hurt your ego, today I'm here to introduce you to my friends."

He gestured at us. I was certainly intimidated when Zir's hollow eye sockets set their empty gaze upon us. With his skull face turned into a forever-grin, he was a lot more unreadable than Smokewell.

"Are you like...seven feet?" Lily asked, awed and terrified.

"No, I only have two feet, can't you see?" Zir said.

"Oh no, not now." Asmod shook his head, exasperated, "I'd rather watch you suck at billiards than let you make a joke. Don't get started now." He turned to me and said, "Grimly, show him that little souvenir "

I nodded and pulled out the section of the golden finger bone and handed it to Zir'Zulec.

The lich examined it closely. For a second, I almost expected him to bite into the piece. But instead he just shrugged and looked at Asmod, “It does seem like gold,” he said, “Why are you showing me this? Is this a gift?”

“We want to know if it's actually gold. And if yes, how much can we earn from it?” Asmod said.

“Hm, let's see for ourselves then.” Zir manifested a golden coin out of thin air and dropped it on the floor with the piece of gold. With a snap of his bony fingers, he made a magic circle appear around the coin and our piece. “This is called the scorch test,” he said and waved his hand over the magic circle. Both of the objects within the circle caught fire. “The truth flame will burn both the objects and leave a mark on their surface. The coin is pure 22 karat gold. If the color of the mark left on the piece you gave me resembles the one on the coin, then the gold you showed is legitimate. If it's not the same color, then you are trying to fool me.”

Zir kept gazing into the flame with his hollow eyes. So did the rest of us. The flame was orange in the beginning before turning green. The magic circle started to burn too until it turned to ash. Then the fire went out.

The lich picked up both the pieces of gold. His coin was scorched green. And our piece of gold was marked purple.

My jaw went slack.

“This is bogus!” Lily cried out, pouting at Smokewell. “That coin omen was never the money that we were going to make. We are just going to be poor after all.” She huffed, frustrated.

“No, I would take back that last statement if I were you, child,” Zir'Zulec said.

“What does that purple mark mean?” Asmod asked.

The lich looked down at us. “Did you know the scorch test is for testing the objective truth?” he said. “Any inanimate object that’s from the mortal realm and is not an imitation is going to be scorched green. Any kind of imitation will be scorched white. But anything that belongs to an immortal realm is going to be scorched purple.” He held up the piece of gold we had given him. “I don’t think this thing is gold, but it probably costs more than the purest gold from this realm.”