“I said you should offer him a drink, not go live with him.”

Sandra, the Bellisade’s bar owner, was leaning against the bar with her arms crossed, watching Vre who was fully dressed and standing by the front door. It was early morning, and the rustle of wind could be heard whipping against the door. It was not raining today, but the skies outside were as gray as ever and there was a bit of chill in the air.

“I think it’s a good opportunity. You were very kind to take me in, Sandra, but I know you have your hands full already. You don’t need another mooch living under your roof.”

“That’s what the Bellisade is for, kid. I established it a long time ago ‘cause we kept getting people stuck here in this world and we needed a place for people to go. You’re not a bother. You can stay as long as you want.”

“You’re so kind.” Vre smiled. “But it’s not just being a bother… I want to help more. If I’m stuck here, I don’t just want to just spend my days waiting on people who need liquor. I want to know why we’re here. What secrets this place has. Maybe there’s a way back. The beings that come here… they don’t stay here forever. There’s got to be a way. Maybe we can figure something out.”

Sandra sighed. “Well, that’d be nice, but you ain’t the first that’s tried. Still, I suppose it’s not so bad. You’ll be with Drake, that moody codger, but promise me you’ll look out for yourself. This World Between ain’t no place for a pretty young lady to be on her own and heaven forbid going to live with a strange old man. If he lays a hand on you, you let me know, okay? Just 'cause we’re in this damned place doesn’t mean he can be an animal.”

Vre made a face but then laughed. “That’s a good point, but I guess I didn’t get that impression from him,” she said, though she remembered the way he had looked at her initially. He had definitely made it obvious he saw her as a woman and hadn’t minded what he saw. “I’ll keep my guard up. I have a boyfriend back home, and I haven’t given up hope of seeing him again.”

“I hope you do see him again.” Sandra’s voice belied a bit of sadness. “I miss my husband. It’s been twelve years for me. Dunno if he’d even remember me.”

Something softened in Vre’s expression, and her lips went tight. “That’s terrible.”

They looked at each other for a moment, but Vre’s decision was finalized. She walked over and gave Sandra a hug. Vre was of middle height, but Sandra was a small, circular woman and though she was a bit hard around the edges, she let Vre hug her happily.

“Well, come around and say hi sometimes, okay, kid? Bring that codger with you.”

“Is he really that old? He didn’t look it.”

“I dunno. He’s been here since I got here. He hasn’t changed much.”

Vre chuckled. “Alright, well. I’ll be going now. Thanks for taking me in, Sandra.”

“See ya, kid.”

Once outside, it was windier than she had been expecting, and the thin, black jacket she wore did little to cut through the cold. She didn’t know if this World Between had seasons yet, but it felt like the start of fall to her. She had only a small sack on her back, filled with a loaf of bread and a few pieces of fruit. She didn’t have much to her name. The clothes she wore now had been left over at the Bellisade, specifically meant for new refugees like her. She had chosen black jeans, a white blouse, and a black jacket. She had her clothes from when she had first arrived, including the boots she had been wearing. Those boots had seen her through everything.

She pulled the rough map that Drake had drawn out of her pocket and gripped it with both hands to protect it from the wind. It was a map of the town, and she assumed she was heading north toward the treeline that separated Demure from the large forest she had first appeared in. She hadn’t been back to the forest since. But the map showed a path heading in this direction, veering to the left or west a little ways in.

The streets were quiet. The only sounds were the breeze rustling through the distant trees and the cawing of crows. Vre wrapped her jacket tighter around herself and started walking.

As she neared the treeline, the village seemed to fade into the background, replaced by the dense, foreboding forest. The path was narrow and overgrown, and she had to push aside branches and underbrush as she made her way deeper into the woods. The light dimmed as the canopy thickened, casting eerie shadows that danced in the corners of her vision.

She followed the path according to the map, her heart pounding with a mix of excitement and trepidation. The silence of the forest was broken only by the occasional snap of a twig underfoot and the rustle of leaves. After what felt like hours, but was probably only a short while, she reached a fork in the path. The map indicated she should take the left path, leading her toward Drake’s mansion.

The air grew colder as she continued, and she noticed the trees becoming more twisted and gnarled. Finally, through the thick foliage, she glimpsed the outline of a large, imposing structure—the mansion. It was a gray-stone building, ancient and in a state of disrepair, with ivy crawling up its walls and broken windows staring like empty eyes.

She approached the front door, a massive wooden portal with rusted iron hinges. Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand and knocked loudly. The sound echoed through the empty halls inside, and she waited, shivering in the cold.

After a few moments, the door creaked open, revealing Drake. He stood there, looking as moody and mysterious as ever, but with a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips.

“Welcome, Vre,” he said, stepping aside to let her in. “I’m glad you decided to come.”

Making measured eye contact with him, she nodded. Vre stepped into the dimly lit foyer, feeling a mixture of anticipation and unease.

She had never been in a bonafide mansion before. Albeit, this one was in a sorry state. It was very dark inside, even through the large windows. Every corner seemed to harbor shadows and cobwebs, and the foyer, though large, was devoid of furniture or light, save for the gray glow from outside.

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Drake closed the door with a heavy thud, turning to face her finally. He was wearing a long-tailed suit today, a dark green color with a plaid vest underneath. His speckled hair was combed neatly behind his ears, making him look a bit more sophisticated and less like the wild scientist he had appeared to be the night before. He stood a few inches taller than her, even with her boots on, and the shadowy atmosphere did nothing to soften his imposing presence.

She was startlingly aware that she was alone with him. She hoped she hadn’t made a mistake coming here, but she decided to give it her best shot.

“How are you, Drake?” She smiled easily, her light presence an anomaly in this dark place.

“I’m good.” He did not smile in return but instead stepped past her, beginning to walk further in. “I have been thinking a lot about what I would have you do when you arrived. To be honest, I was not sure if you would accept. But your curiosity seemed genuine, so I wanted to be prepared. It isn’t often that I have… visitors.”

She followed him as he led her deeper into the mansion.

There was something hauntingly beautiful about this old building, even in its state of disrepair. She could smell the must and dust in the air as they walked into a grand room with a huge staircase that led upstairs, branching halfway up to separate into the left and right wings of the house. On the ground floor, there were many doors—a large archway to her immediate left led into what looked to be a sitting room, and numerous other closed doors with heavy handles lined the room. Upstairs, she could see hallways, more doors, and beautiful paintings that she couldn’t wait to examine. She noticed there was one single light on, indicating there was electricity, at least. The mansion was breathtaking, and quiet. Peaceful and somber.

Abruptly, she heard the scurry of little feet approaching. A small form darted out of the sitting room towards them.

“Bwak.” A full-sized black chicken scampered through the room and disappeared in an instant down one of the hallways. Drake did not seem perturbed in the slightest, but Vre was baffled.

“Was that… Herb?”

“Aye. That was Herb. He’s a little skittish, but he lives here too. You’ll probably see him running around frequently.”

Vre frowned. A chicken was not what she expected. “...Aren’t chickens female?”

Drake gave her a look but didn’t respond. He motioned for her to follow him behind the grand staircase and led her to what she guessed was an observatory room. She gasped when she saw the state of it. The windows were massive, taking up the entirety of the wall, though all she could see outside was an overgrown and tangled courtyard.

Dominating the room was a large, intricately carved wooden table, strewn with an assortment of papers, sketches, and various scientific instruments. Surrounding the table were more bookshelves than she could count, each crammed with ancient tomes, modern textbooks, and handwritten journals. Some bookshelves even had glass cabinets, displaying delicate specimens in jars and peculiar artifacts that she could only imagine their origin.

On one side of the room, a large chalkboard was covered with complex equations and diagrams, some of which seemed to merge scientific principles with arcane symbols. A few easels held detailed maps and star charts, while a nearby desk was cluttered with open books, a microscope, and various measuring tools.

Technological devices, some larger than she was and some small, were scattered throughout the room. One corner housed a towering machine with blinking lights and a low hum, reminiscent of a mainframe computer but with modifications that made it look almost alive. Nearby, a collection of smaller gadgets lay neatly organized on a workbench—some with lenses, others with tiny gears and cogs, and a few that seemed to pulse with a faint, eerie glow.

Hanging from the ceiling were several intricate mobiles made of metal and glass, their components spinning slowly and casting shifting patterns of light and shadow across the room. These seemed to be part art installation, part scientific instrument, perhaps designed to measure atmospheric conditions or cosmic energies. In another corner, a series of shelves held rows of vials and bottles filled with brightly colored liquids and strange powders, each carefully labeled in Drake’s precise handwriting. A few of these substances emitted a soft, phosphorescent light, casting an otherworldly glow in the dim room.

“Wow,” Vre whispered. “This is amazing.”

“This is my lab,” Drake explained. “This is where I spend most of my time. I have a separate space in mind for you, but I wanted to at least show you the heart of where my research is. I don’t mind if you come in here, but be cognizant and wary of everything. Do not touch things that you do not know what they do. Do you understand?”

“That’s fair,” Vre nodded. “I’m a beginner here. I don’t need to be getting blown up or summoning demons accidentally.”

Drake curled his lip in what could have been a smile. He began to show her around the lab, pointing everything out as he went.

“I mentioned that my primary focus is on understanding the different beings that frequent the World Between, right?”

“Yes.”

“Many of the books I have collected here are my research on them, including where they are from and the stories they can tell. I’ve been here for a long time, and it never ceases to amaze me how many different realms there are out there. Back on Earth, it was so easy to think our existence was the only one. That humans were alone… we get so caught up in the mundane, material stuff that we don’t even fathom the different states of being out there. But there is so much. And it’s all… twisted. All of ‘em. Except for Elysium.”

“I think I’ve heard that mentioned before. But what is it?”

“The way I think about it is like Eden. It’s the original God-made world. It is a land of no darkness at all.”

“Does such a place really exist?”

“Yes. But it’s almost impossible to get to for people like you and me, when we carry taint in our hearts.”

“Ah, I heard about that too. Jonah mentioned it. What is the taint, exactly? Is it like sin?”

“Mmm…” Drake shook his head as he found a seat in one of the chairs that surrounded the great table. “Not exactly. But that’s what I’d like you to focus on. I’ve spent a lot of my time, and will continue to be researching these different beings and these worlds. But the taint has something about it too, and I wish I had more time to devote to it. If you’re really interested in staying here and helping… I think you should investigate the taint. It ain’t sin. But I am convinced it is the reason this world is the way that it is. And the reason for darkness at all. If you can find a way to overcome the taint… perhaps we could find a way to Elysium. For everyone.”

Vre considered what he was saying. The absurdity of the situation was not lost on her, even under the gravity of what everything appeared to be. Under normal circumstances, she would never have dreamed of entering a different world where the skies were forever gray to investigate the very nature of evil with a strange scientist who lived in a mansion with a chicken. She glanced around at all of the furniture, the apparatuses, the tomes, and the books.

A sprinkle of rain began to fall on the windows outside.

“I do want to know more,” she said, more to herself than to him. “I don’t want to just be on standby.”

“So then you’ll do it?”

“Investigate the taint?” she said, “Sure.” She felt a prickle of fear tickle the back of her neck as she said it. The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees.

Drake looked at her squarely from where he sat, then nodded. “Then let me show you to your room, and where you might be able to start learning.”