Page 91 of A Dance Macabre

MERCY

“And agreeing to Dizzy’s half-baked plan is what you went for?” Gemini asks, a small smirk lifting his upper lip up as he hands me one of the two dirty martinis he made for us.

I huff loudly but accept the drink and take a sip.When Wolfgang told me he was off to see Aleksandr, I thought it would be best for me to venture out.

The walls of Mount Pravitia are beginning to feel narrow and suffocating when everywhere I look there’s somehow a memory of Wolfgang attached to it. However, now there’s a giant smear over all of it, like toxic paint carrying the perfume of my betrayal.

So I showed up to Gemini’s house unannounced.

“I wasn’t in the right state of mind,” I answer primly, setting the martini glass atop a coaster on the large glass coffee table.

I settle into the red leather couch, leaning on my left side, and cross a leg over the other while I rest my temple against my index and thumb. Falling silent, I gaze out of the floor-to-ceiling windows that make up his living room. Gemini’s property faces the harbor and his casino, spanning the entire cliff, and is the only house for miles on either side.

“And this wasafterthe Oracle confirmed what Tinny and I already suspected?” he asks with a laugh. He takes a long drink of his martini before setting it on the coffee table and plopping beside me dramatically.

“I don’t know what I was thinking,” I mutter, my eyes still trained on the shimmering lights of Pandaemonium, having no idea how to respond to Gemini’s probing questions.

Now looking back, it all feels like a feverish nightmare. Surreal and immaterial.

Wolfgang hadn’t given me any reason not to trust him. Quite the opposite if I’m honest, and instead of sitting with my unguarded feelings, I chose the worst possible solution to my problem.

Was there even a problem to begin with?

“Ruthless little thing,” Gemini sing-songs.

Begrudgingly, I look back over to him. He faces me, mirroring my posture, his head leaning against his palm, an idiotic grin slicing across his face. His hair is a light yellow today. It matches the knitted tank top tucked into his wide-leg tweed pants.

“He doesn’t trust me,” I mutter as I sit up straighter, wringing my hands.

“Can you blame him?”

“Gemini!” I exclaim in exasperation, “You’re not helping.”

His brows lift in surprise. I’m sure it’s due to my uncharacteristic outburst. His hand falls to the couch while he cants his head, eyes narrowing. “Gods be damned,” he says slowly before pointing a finger at me. “You care.”

I sigh loudly, leaning over to take a large gulp of my drink. “Of course, Icare.”

“Never thought I’d see the day,” he muses, looking out the window.

Feeling restless, I stand up and start to pace. “Iamcapable of caring.”

Gemini falls serious, his eyes tracking my nervous movements. “Not like this.”

I stop my pacing. Find his gaze. Swallow hard.

“What can I do?” The tremor in my voice makes me want to open the sliding doors to the balcony and throw myself off the cliff and into the harbor.

“Have you tried apologizing?”

I feel like screeching. I start pacing again.

“Ididapologize, I told you this already.”

Gemini lets out a derisive puff of air, reaching for his drink. After a sip, he pins me with his mismatched eyes. “Have you tried apologizing when there isn’t the disfigured corpse of his former employee at your feet?”

My arms flail, fists tight. “Why does that matter?” My cheeks are burning, chest heaving with offense.

Gemini chuckles, stretching himself across the couch, his arms behind his head as if our conversation is as casual as an afternoon picnic. “Oh Mercy, you know nothing about life but the affairs of the dead, don’t you?”

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