#worry not

Dear Ghost God,

The Devil said your arrival would be soon. I’ve sent two of my children to catch you; hopefully, this prevents any injuries from your fall. You’re home now, though you won’t remember. The Divine Creators in their infinite wisdom have seen to that. They said you should start anew, learn this world so you can care for it. They didn’t do that with the Old Gods, and if you’ll pardon me for saying so, it shows. Every last one of them, mad as hatters. 

Missy and James will take care of getting you sorted. You can trust them and any of my children. As far as trusting anyone else, well, I’m sure Akira will help you develop a list, but in the meantime, lay low. 

Things should be quiet with the holiday season. I’ve stocked your house and given it a good cleaning. It’ll be ready when you are. I’ll come around later and see what you need. 

All my devotion,

Bonehilda

P.S. - I know I can’t change your mind about Vladislaus, but you should know most places in the Netherworld have banned him. 

P.P.S - The Devil said to tell you that you’ll need to visualize the fourth grave on the right, second row, last name Sparacino. And the cemetery is in Ravenwood. 

When Missy finishes reading, Alice is both confused and comforted. “The cemetery? The holiday? Wait, Vlad is banned? How?”

“Well, it’s the haunting season, as you know. The veil is thin. Good time for visiting living relatives, takin' a wee spot of vacation, and restocking our supplies,” Missy explains. “That’s why the city of the dead is basically empty.”

“Right. And don’t worry about Vladislaus. There’s a reward for his head,” James adds. “Akira’s too.”

“WHAT?!?!?!” Alice shouts. “How the hell is that supposed to make me NOT worry?”

James frowns. “Well, no one takes it seriously on account of no one actually wanting to be within ten feet of them. The only creatures even remotely interested in—”

Missy elbows them. “Don’t overwhelm her,” she snaps. “Mum said Ghost God needs to discover things in her own time.”

“But the Book says Ghost God will fulfil the prophecy. And how she’s supposed to be fulfillin’ anything if she don’t know nothin’ about this place?”

“What book?” Alice asks. 

“Don’t worry about that either,” Missy replies, crossing her arms.

Alice sighs. Her head is beginning to ache, there’s a sound…maybe like someone calling her? She shivers and rubs her arms, looking around as she finally begins to take in her surroundings. 

The giant statue of her is unavoidable. 

Did she...did she make that? 

No, she wouldn’t have herself tits out squatting in dirt!

She inches closer to the structure, blowing the dust off a plaque near her foot and squinting as her brain scrambles the letters. This is why she missed Vlad. He happily read things out loud to her without hesitation and never made her feel stupid. 

Damn it! Why did she want to split up again? She had two boyfriends who seemed to really care about her, and she fucked off to do what? Fall face-first onto an island with a butt-naked statue of her the size of a building? Her vagina was at least ten feet high, for Watcher's sake! 

Missy comes up beside her and starts to read. “A life may be bargained for, but the prices must be equal. The offering must be willing.”

Alice feels her face heat. “I can read. It just takes forever, and I know there are like methods that would help me, but…” she winces. “My mom is a scientist; she graduated top of her class at Foxbury. And my dad is a politician, so he reads a lot. And he’s great at speeches. Plus, my step-sister is perfect. Like, Olivia is just—”

“Oh, you don’t have to explain to me, Your Godliness.”

A skeleton she created would say that, because how could they disagree? It was their job to prop up her silly insecurities. Still, Alice can’t stop the word vomit. “Whenever something came up with me, my dad would just send me back to my mom, and then she’d be annoyed because he wasn’t even keeping to the court-ordered schedule. And I didn’t want to leave because I just knew Olivia was going to replace me.”

Missy startles. “That’s not…oh, you really don’t have to say—”

“I guess what I’m saying is that I’m stupid.” Alice tries to shrug it off. “It was easier to pretend I didn’t care than to admit that I couldn’t do it, so I never got help. And it was all for nothing because Olivia replaced me anyway.” 

The tears begin to build even though she’s had years to get over the Olivia thing. Maybe she’s just tired. A sound she can’t quite make sense of calls her over to the tree with the glittering ribbons. There’s another plaque. 

“The God of Death does not answer the desperate. They answer the Determined,” James reads.

“Did I write that?” Alice is skeptical. She glances up at the sky. The sound is a little clearer now. Less like someone calling her and more like a rustling. But what the hell was it? 

“Assuming so,” they nod. “That tree is in the mortal world. Mum says it's a door, but it don’t open for just anyone. You got to be granted access.”

Alice tries to wrap her head around that, but the sound tugs her towards a portal. As soon as she reaches for it, the doorway sparks to life. 

She hears the rustling again, but this time she can make sense of the sound: it’s pages, like someone was flipping through a book.  

“To call Them is to stand at the threshold—” Missy begins.

James clears his throat. “Missy, maybe we should—”

But Missy continues reading, like she’s compelled to do it. “To stand at the threshold is to risk being claimed.” 

Alice doesn’t ask what it means. She can’t. Her head is full of whispers. A name repeats:

Evan.

Evan.

Evan.

Evan.

“We have to go through this door,” she says.

“That might not be a good idea,” James replies softly.

But Alice can already feel it—a need rising in her. She turns back to them, her body burning with a bone-deep sadness that washes against her in waves. If she doesn’t go through the door, she’ll drown. 

James and Missy are hesitant, but does she have to stand here and suffer? Gods don’t need permission. And she certainly doesn’t need a fucking door.

This whole world is hers, and by the gods, it will bend to her will.