Page 2 of A Midlife Vanishing Trick

The voice Stanley heard and that settled in his bones didn’t feel much like a myth.

“What ... what’s going on?” one of the prisoners on his left said.

“Silence!” snapped one of the Collectors, and Stanley heard a heavy thud. “You are in the presence of the Ice Melter, the immortal, most powerful dragon ever to grace Frost Mountain. You would do well to hold your tongue.”

“Ice Melter,” Johan said, “these are prisoners from our latest raids.”

“I sent you to bring me treasures,” Grim Jim muttered, and the entire cave seemed to rumble.

“We did as you asked. We scoured the towns and villages for all we could find, and we brought you the treasures you requested.”

“And why are these men here?”

“These are the survivors among those who dared to resist us. We would’ve chopped their heads clean off, but we thought it best foryouto decide their fate.”

In the silence that followed, Stanley found himself uncomfortably aware of how terrified he was. He was trembling now worse than ever, and he’d stared into the depths of the pit. The darkness seemed to gaze back at him, promising an unfathomable end. Whatever fate lay ahead of him in this pit, it had to be worse than death.

“I see ...” Grim Jim said, his voice jerking Stanley’s attention away from the pit.

“Yes, Ice Melter. These men can beg for mercy, ask that you spare their lives, and let them join the Collectors. Or they may face whatever lies at the bottom of the pit.”

The Ice Melter chuckled. Out of the corner of his eye, Stanley saw a stalactite break loose and drop from the ceiling into thepit. He listened carefully for the sound of the stalactite hitting the bottom of the chasm, but there was none.

Oh, God.

“Interesting.”

Stanley heard footsteps and he imagined that Grim Jim was walking across the cave. The air grew even warmer and stiller. Stanley tried to stop his shoulders from trembling.

“The choice is up to them.” Grim Jim said suddenly. “Any man here who chooses to join my Collectors today will be spared. Anyone else ...”

He didn’t need to finish his sentence. The pit was right there in front of everyone.

Stanley’s heartbeat pounded in his ears. He forced his gaze away from the pit and stared instead at his bound hands. The Ice Melter’s words continued to echo in his mind:The choice is up to them.

Maybe this didn’t have to be the end for him. All he had to do was join the Collectors, and he would be safe.

Even as the desperate thought occurred to him, his stomach churned at it. The Collectors were among the most feared and resented people on Frost Mountain, and for good reason. They did all of Grim Jim’s dirty work, pillaging and murdering at the Ice Melter’s whims. Innocent people died or suffered losses at the hands of Collectors like Johan and the others who had brought him to this very spot before the pit.

He was so lost in thought that he barely registered the movement in his peripheral vision. Only when he turned his head did he see a prisoner get shoved into the pit. The man fell into the darkness, eyes wide with terror, hands still bound before him, his mouth open in a scream that sent a cold shiver down Stanley’s spine, even though he barely heard the sound over the drumming in his ears.

A second later, the man was gone, completely engulfed by the darkness.

A hand suddenly clamped down on Stanley’s shoulder, jerking him to his feet.

“Your turn,” Johan said. The man brought his face closer to Stanley’s. “Choose your fate. A fighter like you ... I saw the way you defended your village. You’d be useful to us here. You can join us, or you can follow the other prisoner and find out what’s at the bottom of the pit.”

Stanley expelled a breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding. He knew that nobody who went into that pit came back out. Even people who didn’t know how deep it was or what lurked in its depths knew to be afraid of the gnawing mass of darkness.

I don’t want to go in there,Stanley thought.

The alternative wasn’t so great either.

“Don’t waste our time,” Johan snapped. “Choose, or I’ll choose for you.”

“I’ll never be one of you Collectors,” Stanley spat.

The other man chuckled. “I thought you might say that.”

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