Page 93 of Dead Wrong

“You won’t be needing those, either.” The woman extended her hand, the air around it shimmering briefly with an acidic green light.

Bastien gasped as the glamour faded from his arms, revealing the intricate lines of black ink. He ran his hands over them, tracing the designs. His breath hitched in his throat.

The woman moved over to him, wrapping wrinkled hands around his. “Paradise welcomes you, child. Do not hide from her embrace.”

Bastien nodded, swallowing.

“Come, Thessa,” the woman said, releasing her grip on Bastien. “We’ll need more rampion for our guests tonight.”

“Okay, Gran.” The child gave us another slight bow. “It was nice to meet you!”

“Likewise,” I replied, my attention focused on Bastien as he stood stark still, looking down at his hands.

The child and woman moved back up the path, the child chattering excitedly. “Why was he hiding his marks, Gran? He looked really sad.”

“You know, there are markings that are always invisible,” the woman replied, balancing the basket on her hip as she went. “And they can make even the happiest people sad sometimes. I think our new friend carries some of those as well…”

Their voices trailed off, words swallowed up by the greenery as they returned to their work.

“Are you alright?” I asked Bastien, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He flinched at my touch, blinking a few times before nodding. “Yeah, sorry. I’m… let’s keep going.”

“Stay strong now,” Kaine told Bastien. “There’s a lot more to see.”

Bastien nodded once more, squaring his shoulders. As we began to move up the path once more, approaching the collection of buildings, he reached for my hand.

It was a simple gesture, his fingers wrapping around mine. It was something that we’d done countless times during my first life. But this was different from those times. He needed strength in this moment, someone to lean on as the world he knew was being rewritten around him. It meant everything to me, that I could be the one to provide that support for him when he’d already given me so much.

It would do little to even the scales. But that didn’t keep me from tightening my grip.

Paradise was more than either of us expected. Buildings made of colorful stone rose from the earthen floor of the massive cavern with rounded doors and windows of colored glass. We walked past residences and shops, fountains bubbling with crystalline waters, grassy knolls with flora of all kinds, blooming as if it were the peak of spring. And people. So many people that all bore the markings along their arms and upper body. They greeted us in the street with smiles and friendly faces, one after another. The laughter of children carried above it all, rising as they played with toys of beautifully carved wood.

Everywhere we looked, there was joy. There was peace. There was something the world had thought long gone for people like Bastien.

Hope.

“We’re this way,” Kaine instructed us, and I realized that we were near the center of the cavern now. A row of buildings, three stories tall, sat on one side of the street, with pallets of goods stacked outside of the entrance—evidence of the hundreds of displaced Unseen. “Azrael should be here soon with the majority of those from the camp. They had to take a longer route to avoid attracting attention. It should go without saying this place is to remain a secret at all costs.”

“Only for the time being,” a voice called, coming from the entrance of the building opposite the row of housing. A woman with dark skin emerged from the doorway, approaching us with a confident stride. She was tall, even taller than Bastien, with thin braids of black hair pulled back and held by a band of golden fabric. Her clothes were just as colorful as the rest of paradise—a loose tunic that cut off just before her navel with billowy sleeves and cropped pants. “We won’t be kept in the dark forever.”

“Wilhelm,” Kaine addressed the woman. “Azrael should be here soon. These two are a special delivery ahead of our main contingent.”

“Tobias Greene,” the woman said, approaching me without hesitation. She extended her hand to me, and I dropped Bastien’s to take it, wincing at the strength of her grip. “Never in a million years did I ever think I would be welcoming a Greene into Paradise. Even a reanimated one. The universe has a unique sense of irony.”

“I’m grateful,” I replied, my diplomatic instincts taking over. “You’ll forgive my incredulity. This is a lot to take in.”

“That it is,” she agreed, her attentions shifting to Bastien. “And you, seeker? I can see the chaos that’s consumed your thoughts. Share them with me.”

Bastien’s nostrils flared, his breathing reaching near-panting levels of exertion. “How… have you been here all this time?”

“You’re upset,” Wilhelm concluded, her expression soft as if she were speaking with a child. “This is a natural response. Come with me, seeker. I will provide you with any answers you seek.”

Bastien looked at me, and I gave him a nod of encouragement. He had been disconnected from his people since his grandmother died. I knew this was something he had to do.

“We won’t be far,” Kaine added, pointing to the row of housing. “You can come find us once you’ve talked things through. Wilhelm, I’ll send word once Azrael shows up.”

“Thank you, friend.” She motions for Bastien to join her, steering him towards the building she came from. “Ask your questions.”

---