Dicing with Death

by Beth Chambers

  ‘A liquid with life-giving powers,’ said Mopsus, pausing to suck the wax from his fingers with obvious relish. ‘The elixir could heal injuries, extend life and even bring people back from the dead. Recently something happened to make us believe that perhaps the elixir survived the library’s annihilation.’

  Death placed a bony hand on the table. ‘Days ago a soul that was due to be harvested regenerated itself.’

  ‘Perhaps you got the date wrong?’ Max suggested. ‘Or maybe there was a mix-up…’ He trailed off, aware the temperature in the room had suddenly plummeted. Another note to self, do not ever suggest that Death could make a mistake. Max shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

  Mopsus broke the silence. ‘There is no error. The elixir needs to be retrieved before whoever has it can use it again. Interrupting death disrupts the natural order. If the person who has the elixir keeps using it then we’re looking at a natural disaster on a grand scale. Not just for the Earth, but for the whole universe.’

  Not for the first time, Max wondered why he had been chosen. The suspicion that he was being manipulated by the Grim Reaper refused to go away.

  Death pushed back his chair and stalked up and down, electricity sparking from his robes.

  ‘He is not a happy bunny,’ Mopsus pointed out in a hushed tone. ‘Death never usually interferes with the affairs of man. But this time, it’s personal.’

  Chapter Nine

  ‘Why doesn’t he just go and zap whoever it is that’s got the elixir?’ Max asked.

  Suddenly he found himself up close and personal with Mopsus’s lengthy nasal hair. ‘The truth is,’ Mopsus whispered, his breath almost as potent as Cerberus’s, ‘he’s not allowed to interfere with what goes on in the Overworld. Even he’s accountable for his actions.’

  Death rejoined them and withdrew from his cloak a leather pouch. ‘Mopsus,’ he boomed. ‘Give the boy a key.’

  Mopsus crossed the room and unhooked a familiar brass key from a hook beside the fireplace. ‘Don’t lose this,’ he warned Max, ‘it’s not easy getting spare ones cut.’

  Max’s eyebrows shot up when he read the slogan on the machine-gun-shaped fob that was attached to the key: I like you, so I’ll kill you last.

  Death tossed over the pouch, which clinked when Max caught it. ‘The address of the house is in there. Use the key to travel to the Overworld. Insert it in to any door and a pathway will open between the two worlds. It will take you to the right place.’

  ‘You want me to find the elixir?’

  Death nodded. ‘Bring it to me as soon as you have it.’

  Max pushed back the chair, his mouth feeling dry. He needed a drink of water before embarking on his task. His stomach growled and he figured that while he was at it he’d look for something to eat that hadn’t been cooked by Liah.

  He had his hand on the door when Mopsus called his name. ‘We don’t have to remind you not to talk about this to anyone, do we?’ he said warningly.

  ‘Uh uh,’ Max said quickly, before stepping into the kitchen.

  Liah had a chopping board out and was attacking something that looked as if it had spent its whole life in a dark, damp environment. She flicked a stalk on to the floor where something dark and furry pounced on it and dragged it under a kitchen unit.

  Max’s appetite shrivelled. ‘Um, hey Liah, I’m just going to get some water.’ He looked around for a tap.

  ‘Over there.’ Liah pointed to a bucket placed on a rocky sill. Water dripped into it from the ceiling.

  Max set down his cap so he could scoop out a handful of the cold clear liquid.

  ‘So, what jobs does he have lined up for you?’ Liah frowned. ‘And why are you wearing a pair of curtains?’

  Max avoided the first question and looked down at the voluminous robes. ‘Like I don’t know they don’t fit me. But I’m stuck with them since they’re part of the job description.’ He had no intention of them remaining part of the job description once he was in the Overworld. ‘Do you have a bag?’

  Liah put down the knife and rummaged in a kitchen cupboard. ‘Here.’

  Max looked at the fluffy koala bear backpack. Was she serious?

  Liah shrugged. ‘Mopsus likes to bring back mementos from his trips to the Overworld.’ She pulled out a stool and sat down. Her green eyes coolly assessed him. ‘You still haven’t explained how you ended up being here.’

  ‘I offered to play Death for my little sister’s life,’ Max said. ‘He offered me the job instead. How about you? What happened exactly?’ He remembered she had said she was down here for a similar reason.

  Liah circled her finger on the table. ‘My fiancé. He was in a duel – fighting someone else over me. He lost a lot of blood. Death turned up and…’ Her voice wobbled. She took a deep breath. ‘You know the rest.’

  Max blinked. Her fiancé? She couldn’t be more than a couple of years older than he was.

  Liah stared past Max, clearly caught up in her memories. ‘I really thought I could play him and win,’ she said softly. ‘When I lost, both my life and Tom’s should have been taken… but Death offered me a job instead.’

  ‘So you saved Tom’s life,’ Max said.

  Liah sniffed. ‘Yes. Just like you’ve saved your little sister. You must be a really good brother.’

  Max suddenly wished Liah would go back to being her usual self – the girl who would sooner chew her own arm off than part with a compliment. He felt his cheeks turn hot. He wasn’t a great brother to Amy.

  Liah pushed back her stool, her eyes suspiciously moist. ‘I need to get some beans from the stores. I’ll be back in a minute.’ She hurried away and Max decided now would be a good time to leave. Tugging off his robes, he stuffed them into the backpack before heading over to the nearest door. He opened it and discovered a cupboard full of brooms and dusters. Closing the door, he inserted the key Mopsus had given him and turned it. When he opened the door again, the cleaning materials were gone. A winding staircase took their place.

  Max’s mood lightened with each step he took. He was leaving Death’s kingdom behind, even if it was just for a few days.

  At the top of the staircase was another door, which he pushed open.

  Bright sunlight made his eyes water. Traffic roared, people chattered and in the distance a horn sounded. Max turned his face up to the sky to feel the warmth of the sun on his skin and took a deep gulp of fresh air.

  He turned to lock the door and was surprised when it burst open, forcing him to take a step back.

  Framed in the doorway was Liah.

  Chapter Ten

  ‘What is this place?’ Liah shrieked. She pointed a shaking finger at a bus rumbling past, before covering her ears with her hands and cowering against the door.

  The wrong side of it, Max thought grimly. ‘Liah, you have to go back!’ he cried. She was acting crazy. Too much time spent in Death’s kingdom clearly wasn’t good for a person. He snapped his fingers in front of Liah’s face, trying to get her to look at him instead of the traffic whizzing past. ‘Earth to Liah? Hello? Listen to me. You need to go back. You can’t stay.’

  After a few minutes of trying to get Liah to focus, he gave up. He gripped her arm and towed her along the pavement to the nearest café.

  He pushed Liah into a chair. ‘What is wrong with you? It’s like you’ve never…’ He broke off when a dark-haired man with olive skin approached them.

  ‘What can I get you?’ the man asked in a heavy accent.

  Max ordered the first thing he saw on the menu and turned his attention back to Liah. He finally had an inkling of what might be wrong. ‘Liah, what year was it when you went down into the Underworld?’

  There was a long silence. ‘1842,’ said Liah, at last. She took a deep breath. ‘How long have I been down there, Max?’

  Max did some quick calculations in his head. ‘About a hundred and seventy years.’

  Liah eyes brimmed with tears. ‘He’ll be dead,’ she whispered. ‘All this time he’s been i
n the Underworld, while I’ve been working in Death’s kitchen.’

  Max realised she was talking about Tom. He tried to think of something positive to say. ‘At least when you go back you’ll be able to find him.’

  Liah blinked rapidly, her expression suddenly becoming like flint. ‘I’m not allowed to mix with the dead.’

  ‘Well,’ said Max, racking his brains for anything that might sound helpful, ‘at least you can move on now. Find someone else?’

  Liah’s eyebrows shot up.

  ‘Listen, I’m not on a short-term contract like you. I’m in the Underworld for the duration. And FYI, I’m not ready to “move on”. It doesn’t feel like a hundred and seventy years since I was last with Tom! It feels like we’ve been apart for months, not over a century…’ Her voice wobbled.

  At that moment their food arrived. Max finished his margherita pizza in record time before eyeing Liah’s. She’d only nibbled at one piece so far.

  ‘You don’t sound like you’re from Victorian England,’ he commented, thinking that changing the subject from dead boyfriends could only be a good thing.

  Liah shrugged. ‘Mopsus often comes in to chat while I’m working; he’s not so bad once you get used to him. He’s always spying on what’s going on up here. He picks up the lingo and I suppose some of it must rub off on me.’ She paused. ‘Where do you think we are?’

  ‘I think we may be on one of the Greek Islands,’ Max replied, jabbing a finger at the café’s address on the menu. ‘Heraklion. I’m pretty sure that’s in Crete.’ He pushed back his chair. ‘Come on. We need to get you back before Death finds out you’re missing.’

  Liah stared up at him. ‘I’m not going back. I’m staying with you.’

  ‘You can’t.’ Max was firm. ‘I’m on a job and I’m supposed to be doing it alone.’

  Liah folded her arms. ‘I’m not about to let you try and find the elixir all on your own. If you fail and the universe implodes I won’t get another chance to come above ground, and Death owes me a hundred and seventy years’ worth of holiday leave.’

  Max sank back down into his chair. ‘You know about the elixir?’

  ‘Of course.’ Liah waved her hand dismissively. ‘The only thing that stops me going insane from boredom is being able to listen to what goes on in Death’s private quarters.’

  They were interrupted by a waiter coming to clear their table.

  Max discovered some money in the pouch Death had given him, and handed over several coins.

  ‘What kind of money is this?’ The waiter turned one of the tarnished gold coins back and forth, looking confused.

  Max’s heart sank. Whatever he had handed over certainly wasn’t euros, and he didn’t have any other money on him. ‘Uh…’ He hesitated before suddenly bolting towards the door. ‘Run!’ he yelled to a startled Liah.

  He darted down a nearby alleyway and ducked into a doorway. He thought of his baseball cap and how useful it would be right now, but stupidly he must have left it behind in Death’s kitchen.

  Minutes later, Liah strolled up. ‘I don’t know why you’re hiding,’ she said calmly. ‘Those coins you’ve just paid him are enough to buy his entire café, never mind a couple of pizzas.’

  Max felt his cheeks turn red. He fumbled in the pouch and withdrew the address Death had given him. ‘We’ll get a taxi. You know, pay someone to take us to the address.’

  Liah shrugged. ‘Whatever. Just make sure that this time you get change.’

  * * *

  The house was a ten-minute drive from the town. Set on a hill in a secluded position, it had far-reaching sea views and was surrounded by sprawling grounds full of olive trees.

  ‘Whoever lives here has money,’ Max commented, staring up at the red-roofed two-storey building.

  Liah nodded. ‘Lots of it.’

  She had been subdued during the car journey as she’d brooded over the previous hour’s revelations, but when they arrived at the house she had set off up the drive looking determined. Max had trailed a few feet behind, trying to work out who exactly it was that had been given the role of Death’s assistant.

  ‘You need to see if anyone’s in,’ Liah told him.

  ‘Brilliant,’ Max said sarcastically. ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’

  ‘And if they’re not,’ Liah continued as if he hadn’t spoken, ‘you’ll be able to break in and find the elixir.’ Her gaze slid away from the house and she stared up at the sky, a frown denting her brow. Before Max had a chance to see what it was she was looking at, she shrieked and ran toward the nearest tree. Throwing herself down on the ground she tucked up into a ball, her head covered by her arms.

  ‘What’s the matter now?’ Max called, feeling exasperated.

  A moment later a plane screamed overhead, making Liah screech in terror.

  Max’s lips twitched. He went to join her, crouching down as he said reassuringly, ‘It’s a plane. I forgot to tell you about them. People travel in them – like cars.’

  Liah peeped through her hands. ‘But it was flying. How could it stay up in the air?’

  ‘That’s a very good question,’ Max said. He didn’t want to admit that he didn’t really have a clue. ‘It’s all to do with balancing the ratio of velocity with the shape of the wings,’ he hazarded.

  Liah frowned as she mouthed what he had just said.

  Wanting to avoid any more questions, Max strode toward the house. ‘I’ll knock on the door,’ he said when Liah caught up with him. ‘If anyone answers we’ll pretend that we’ve got the wrong address.’

  They climbed the steps to the veranda and Max pressed the doorbell. Nervously, they waited.

  The house remained silent.

  ‘I can’t see anything through this stuff.’ Liah pressed her nose against the frosted glass door.

  They walked around the veranda and spotted a small window that had been left open. Max managed to get his head and one arm through the cramped space but when it came to fitting his other arm through the gap, he struggled.

  ‘Twist,’ Liah advised. She took hold of his feet and pushed hard.

  ‘Stop shoving,’ Max yelped, feeling the window frame bite into his chest.

  ‘I don’t know what you’re making such a fuss about,’ Liah retorted. ‘If you can get your head through then the rest of your body should follow.’

  Max finally dragged his second arm through the gap, and was now dangling half in and half out of the house. ‘Go around to the front door and I’ll let you in,’ he panted.

  Liah had only been gone a moment when he heard a soft click. He strained his ears to hear. A second click followed the first.

  It was the front door closing.

  Max frantically wriggled, but his belt caught on the latch and he couldn’t move in either direction. Stranded, he raised his head as the owner of the house walked into the living room.

  The man dropped the bag he was carrying and looked across at Max.

  Max couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

  For what felt like ages they stared at each other. Finally Max spoke.

  ‘Hello, Dad.’

  Chapter Eleven

  ‘Max?’ Dropping his shopping bags, Max’s father strode across the room. He reached up, grasped Max under the arms and pulled him through the window.

  Max’s mind raced. This was his dad’s house? Suddenly pieces of the jigsaw puzzle seemed to slot together. So this was why he’d been selected as Death’s assistant. Because he’d be able to get close to the person who had the elixir. His eyes flickered nervously to the opposite door. He wondered if Liah would have the sense to stay out of sight. It was going to be hard enough to explain his own presence, never mind hers.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ Max’s father asked.

  ‘I … er … wanted to find you. It’s not unusual is it, for someone to want to know where their dad is?’ Max looked past his father. Having walked in through the unlocked front door, Liah stood in the living room doorway. She didn’t look
at all surprised by the revelation that they were in his father’s house.

  ‘How did you find me?’

  Max was speechless. He couldn’t come up with a plausible explanation for how he tracked down his father. It wasn’t like he could tell the truth – a seven-foot skeleton gave me the address. ‘I… um… could I have a glass of water?’ Making his voice sound weak wasn’t difficult. ‘I’m not feeling good.’

  ‘Of course! Go and sit down and I’ll bring it to you,’ his dad said. He turned around and caught sight of Liah.

  ‘Hi,’ Liah smiled. She smoothed out the wrinkles on her distinctly cobwebby black dress. ‘I’m Liah. I’m Max’s… friend. He can’t go anywhere without me.’ She lowered her voice. ‘He has phobias,’ she whispered conspiratorially, ‘and severe abandonment issues.’

  ‘What a joker,’ Max countered hurriedly, looking daggers at Liah. ‘Always making up funny stories!’

  Max’s father threw a confused glance over his shoulder before moving into the kitchen to fill a glass with water.

  ‘Get a grip,’ Liah hissed, dragging Max over to the sofa. ‘You’re going to blow this big time if you carry on acting so weird.’

  Max scowled at her. ‘Because of course, you’re always totally in control,’ he said sarcastically.

  Liah’s cheeks flushed. ‘Whatever.’

  Max rubbed his fingers against his temples. He couldn’t believe he was in his dad’s house. What’s he been doing all this time? Why’s he never been in touch? He forced himself to smile as his father headed over carrying a tray.

  Max tried to focus on explaining away his sudden appearance. ‘Things aren’t great at home,’ he said, deciding to stick as closely to the truth as possible. ‘I needed to get away for a while so I came here. I thought we could spend Christmas together.’

  ‘The three of us?’ Max’s dad glanced worriedly at Liah, who gave him an encouraging smile. ‘Uh, there’s something moving in your hair,’ he told her.

  Liah reached up and plucked a spider out of her hair. She casually flicked it away and it scuttled under the sofa.