by Terry Reid
Once they had put some distance between themselves and the gateman, Hayley said, “I take it I was right. We’re nowhere near Glasgow, are we?”
“No, but please keep that to yourself. A lot of the workers here do not remember how they got here. Once they do they either disappear or have a breakdown.” She looked up at Hayley. “Neither of which is any good when you’re trying to run a hotel.”
Hayley had no answer to that, so they walked on in silence.
The grounds between the wall and the hotel were gardens. They were in full bloom with every colour and every flower imaginable. As they made their way along the grey, slab path, Hayley took note of the many gardeners who fussed about them. Many kept their heads down, their faces hidden beneath bonnets and flat caps that shielded them from the glare of the midday sun. Others glanced up as they walked by. A few gave a warm smile before returning to their work while others gave a friendly nod. But the look one of them gave chilled Hayley to the bone. The old woman lifted her head as they went by, but she seemed to look right through them as if they weren’t there. One of the other women noticed and put a hand on her shoulder, gently guiding her back to work.
“I take it they’re all as dead as we are?” Hayley whispered.
Jo kept her gaze firmly on the path ahead. “They are. But I’m not so sure about you.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Once we’re inside,” the old lady said. With that they spoke no more for the remainder of the walk to the hotel.
A low set of stone steps led to the wooden doors that served as the entrance to the tall, white building. Five women of varying ages and origin milled about on the steps, washing clothes in wooden tubs, gossiping. They paid Hayley and Jo no heed as they walked by. Jo ushered Hayley through the doors and up several flights of wooden stairs. They ascended floor after floor, each and every one bustling with workers. Many carried wicker wash baskets up and down the stairs, while others carried baskets of fruit and vegetables. They saw a young Indian boy sitting at the foot of one flight of steps, sewing a torn sleeve on a shirt. His work was unremarkable, but he sat there doing his task blindly as other workers tripped over him. A constant stream of curses was thrown his way. But the young boy just sat there, casually sewing like he didn’t hear them. Finally, seven storeys up, Jo took Hayley into a small, quiet room. Sliding the panelled door shut, Jo hobbled across the poky cell on her cane and opened a small window, letting the sunlight flood in.
“Take a seat my dear,” she said, propping her trusty cane against the nearest wall. She gently lowered herself onto a pile of cushions and crossed her legs. Besides the mattress and quilts at the far end of the room, a disused lantern hanging from the wall, and an empty mantelpiece, her cell was devoid of furniture or ornament. Hayley sat down on the only pile of cushions that remained. The old woman smiled. “Now we can talk properly. But maybe still keep your voice down, hmm?”
Hayley dove right in. “Where am I?” she whispered.
The creases around the woman’s thin lips folded several times as her smile widened. “This realm has many names. But many call it purgatory.”
“And why don’t you want the workers to know that?”
Jo leant back, allowing her back to rest against the wall. “It is like I told you outside and more. The hotel is only a part of it. We need workers. Workers who don’t know what’s going on make good workers.” She clasped her bony fingers together. “All of them are at different stages in their journeys. Some are living a personal hell while others are moving towards accepting their fate. Once they work out where they are and remember how they died, they leave this place and move on.” She shook her head and smiled. “Well, most of them do.”
“So why am I still here then?”
The smile vanished from her weatherworn face. “It’s like I said, I don’t think you’re dead.”
“How do you know that I’m not?”
“Do you remember dying?”
“No.” I think I fainted.
“Then you can’t be.”
Hayley shook her head. “What if I’ve forgotten it like all of them, out there?” she asked, her gaze flitting to the window.
“Ones like you never forget. Angels forget nothing.”
Hayley regarded the old woman suspiciously. “How do you know who I am?”
“I didn’t until you mentioned Alexander. I have met him a couple of times and you’re both famous for your exploits.”
“What do you mean?”
“A human doesn’t kill two fallen angels and no-one hears about it.”
“Does anyone else here know who I am?”
“No, and they won’t as long as we keep our mouths shut. That’s why I told Hans that your name was Evelyn and it will be for as long as you stay here.”
“And where exactly is here?”
The familiar smile returned to Jo’s ancient face. “Madam Kiki’s is a hotel of sorts. We provide rooms for spirits, angels and other creatures that can cross the realms. They pay us and it keeps a roof over our heads.”
“What about the people who work here? Do they get paid?”
“They are free to go whenever they like but most choose to stay,” she said, her gaze drifting towards the window.
Hayley’s eyes followed. “What’s out there?”
Jo looked back at her. The light and laughter had gone from her eyes. “You’re better off not knowing. It’s safe by day but by night…” she shook her head. “Have you got any other questions before we move on?” she asked, keen to change the subject.
“Yeah, why are you helping me?”
“Your angel helped me once a long time ago. Now I intend to return the favour.”
“And how do I get out of here?” Hayley asked, not caring what Alex had done. She wanted nothing more than to go home. The old woman slowly shook her head and Hayley knew her hopes were dashed.
“You can’t just leave I’m afraid. Souls move on once they find peace but you are not meant to be here. I’ve seen this happen before a few times over the years. I’m afraid the dislodged get stuck until they find a way to return to their body.”
“And how do I do that?”
“Pray that Alexander finds you before others do.”
Chapter Sixteen
“I thought you were going to get some rest,” Christopher said as he walked into the hospital room. Alex looked up at him through bleary, bloodshot eyes. He had been crying again.
“I’m fine,” he muttered, turning away in his chair.
Christopher’s gaze drifted to the bed where Hayley lay unconscious with tubes and wires feeding into her. Her condition had not changed in the hours he had been away from Glasgow’s Southern General Hospital. “Brother, she is not going to be coming back anytime soon. You know that. You should get some rest.”
Alex turned on his brother. “I should be looking for her soul! I should be out looking for her, Christopher, but if I go, who’s to say Marli will not come back and kill her body?”
“I still do not understand why you will not go. I can guard her while you are away. Do you truly have so little faith in my ability?”
“You know that’s not true!”
“Then why, Alexander? Why are you not out there looking for the woman you love?”
Tears fell unbidden from his eyes. “Because I’m scared,” he whimpered, his head sinking into his hands.
Christopher took his brother into his arms. “It’s ok,” he whispered. “It’s ok.” After a few minutes of comforting him, he stood. “Take your sword and find Hayley. Bring her home. I promise you I will protect her until you return.”
Alex stared up at him, speechless.
“Go!”
Alex staggered to his feet. He took one long last look at Hayley. She lay there peacefully, oblivious to the horrific events that had unfolded beyond the walls of the hospital. Drawing a deep breath to steady himself he looked back to his brother. “Thank you.” Grabbing his sword, he ran.
Chapter Seventeen
It had been six days since Hayley had arrived at Madam Kiki’s and five since she had taken up work in the washrooms at the back of the strange hotel. Madam Kiki herself, who owned the establishment, had not been pleased when she’d found out about the Glaswegian. It transpired that the man at the gate the day she arrived, Hans, had been right. Madam Kiki had given out strict orders not to allow anyone else in who was looking for work. And Hayley and Jo had been swiftly summoned to her office.
Madam Kiki was a tall, slender woman of oriental descent, with long, straight black hair and a very loud voice. For the first five minutes of their meeting she did nothing but shout at Jo, questioning if the old woman had taken leave of her senses. It quickly became apparent that Kiki was worried Jo’s actions would inspire others to break her newly enforced rule. The hotel was fit to bursting with workers, following a sudden large influx of lost souls into the realm two months before.
To Jo’s credit, the little old lady just stood and listened calmly; the younger woman ranted until the point she had gone red in the face and had no more to say without repeating herself. Then, with a friendly smile, Jo began her bargaining. She took a long time to deliver her reasoning for why Hayley should stay and took no offence when Kiki interrupted. Ultimately it boiled down to the old lady claiming that it was not safe beyond the gates and that was reason enough for a stray soul to be given a place in their strange household. The fact Hayley had not lost her mind like so many other workers and thus would make a great worker was a point Jo reiterated several times.
Finally, after nearly an hour, Madam Kiki relented, more out of frustration than anything else. She agreed to let Hayley stay but in the days since she had watched the Glaswegian like a hawk. Hayley found it quite unsettling trying to mop or wash clothes when there was someone always staring at her back. She began to look over her shoulder constantly. She knew Madam Kiki was looking for an excuse to throw her out. So she kept her head down and did her work.
It was only when she lay in her bed at night and her four roommates slept that Hayley tried calling to Alex with her mind. But she never received a response. She had tried every night since she had arrived and every night she had only found silence. And every night she had cried herself to sleep.
“What’s wrong with you today?” Hayley looked up from the floor she was mopping to find one of her roommates, Lori, standing holding a wicker basket. It was overflowing with white and blue linen.
“Nothing.” She looked back at the floor and carried on.
“Come on now, I’ve seen that face on enough new people to know when they’re missing home,” the green-eyed girl with the straw coloured hair said.
“Yeah well, it doesn’t really matter does it? None of us are ever going home, are we?”
Lori sat the basket down and went to her side. “No, but it does help to talk about it. That’s what we do some nights, me and the other girls.”
Hayley saw the look of regret on her face. She misses her home terribly. “How long have you been here?” Hayley asked.
Lori snapped back out of her reverie. “Too long.” She laughed. “Really though, it’s been almost four years.”
“Do you enjoy it here?”
Lori gave an indifferent shrug. “It gives me time to think. Don’t get me wrong, it does get very boring. I slip off into my own little world sometimes.” She smiled. “I find that helps the time go faster.”
Hayley nodded again and returned to the task at hand. “Have you ever thought about, you know, leaving? Working somewhere else?”
“I have thought about, like going to Longtown down the road.” She shook her head as she pulled some linen from the basket. “But it’s a long way and you couldn’t make it there in a day and everyone knows it’s not safe to be outside the walls at night.”
“Maybe you could find someone to go with you? I’m sure not everyone here wants to spend the rest of their days mopping floors and washing dishes.”
Lori’s eyes widened. “Has no-one told you yet? The last three people who left here were never seen again!”
“What do you think happened to them?” Hayley asked, her interest genuine. Since the moment she arrived her co-workers had harped on about why she should not go outside the walls after dark. But no one had told her why.
Lori shook her head as she pulled a stool up to one of the large, metal washtubs. She dunked in a large blue sheet and started scrubbing. “I don’t know what happened. All we heard was that they never reached Longtown.”
“Who told you that?”
“A bird. Madam Kiki sends them all the time to Mike in Longtown. He owns another hotel there. It’s on the outskirts of town and it’s tall enough that you can see the city gates from it. Mike always keeps an eye out for people who head his way and Madam Kiki always sends birds asking after them, they’re both really kind like that.”
Hayley rinsed her mop. “Maybe they did get there and he just never saw them,” she said, setting about another patch of floor.
“What makes you say that?”
“I don’t know how busy Longtown is but he’s not going to see everyone from here if the streets are busy, is he?”
“Yeah, but other people would have seen them.”
Something within her warned caution. Looking into Lori’s eyes Hayley could see the woman believed what she was saying whole-heartedly, like a naive child believing everything they were told without question. Jo had warned her not to ask too many questions. The old woman had said none of the workers remembered how they died or if they did, they thought of it as only a dream. The gaps in their memories they filled with illusions, often happy ones. Hayley knew Madam Kiki would not tolerate her destroying the imaginings of one of her employees. They would break-down, crumble, cry - she had seen it happen two days before. Broken workers did not work. Hayley would be kicked out if she caused one of her colleagues the same grief and she would have to face the nameless monsters beyond the walls. She did not favour the prospect, not without Alex. Changing tact, Hayley nodded and said, “You’re right, someone would have done.” She looked back at the wet floor. “It’s a shame though, what happened to them.”
“Yeah, we’re all better off staying here where we’re safe.”
Are we? Hayley was not so certain. She had seen some of the guests who came to the hotel; the best of them had been ghost-like apparitions with fierce blue eyes like ice while the worst had been terrifying, grotesque, misshaped beings of indescribable features. Fortunately for Hayley she seemed to have a dull sense of what some of the species were. She did not shock as easy as her co-workers as a result. Often Hayley did not know how she knew the name of their race or how she knew their face but sometimes, just sometimes; there would be a vague memory, stirred by their presence. Alex’s memories, she reminded herself. It was comforting to know that he was still with her in some small way. Her thoughts wondered to her soul. If I no longer have a body, why do I feel exactly the same as when I was alive? The question had gnawed at her since she had arrived. And why haven’t I rejoined Alex?
“Evelyn! Lori! Janet!” It took her a couple of moments to remember her fake name and look. Madam Kiki was standing in the doorway to the washroom. Everyone had grown still and silent at the sound of her voice. “You three will be serving from the kitchen tonight. We have a lot of guests and not enough chefs.”
Janet’s face turned ashen as she abandoned her washing and stood. Suds covered her tanned arms up to the elbows. “But…I…I don’t know how to cook.”
“None of you will be cooking, you stupid girl!” Madam Kiki snapped. “I said that you’d be serving from the kitchen not cooking! All you have to do is keep your mouths shut and take the food to the right people!” She glared at the trembling young girl, who could not have been any older than fourteen. “Do you understand?”
She gave a meek nod, unable to speak as the corners of her mouth twitched and tears filled her eyes.
“Do you?!”
&nbs
p; “Yes! Yes Madam Kiki!” she screamed. She crumpled to her knees and began sobbing into her hands. Three of the younger girls went to her then, offering silent arms and cuddles of support.
“You’ll be expected in the kitchen at seven.”
Everyone went back to their work, lowering their eyes and busying themselves for fear of provoking the fearsome wrath of Madam Kiki once more, all except Hayley.
She caught her looking. “What are you staring at?” She glared.
Hayley held her gaze for a long moment then shook her head. “Nothing.” She lowered her head and mopped the dirty floor.
Chapter Eighteen
“No! No! No! Don’t!” But it was too late. The demon vomited and in a heartbeat Hayley was soaked head-to-toe in a sticky, translucent fluid like stringy snot. She looked up at the eight-foot tall, bulky monster. His large bat-like ears folded down and his black beady eyes fell to the floor. At least Hayley thought they did. She found it hard to see his tiny eyes through all his shaggy black fur.
“Great,” Hayley said. She flicked long strings of sick from her sleeves.
The other three demons, who had been sharing a table with their ill companion, had all stopped eating. Six of the kitchen staff descended on the scene, fussing over the sick guest. A mop bucket appeared - seemingly out of nowhere - and a man and woman set about cleaning up the colossal mess.
It was Lori and Diane, the waitress, who saw to Hayley.
“Are you ok?” Lori asked.
Her question was met with a wide-eyed stare. “Something just threw up on me, how do you think I feel?”
“Come now, it’s not that bad,” Diane said. “At least it doesn’t smell. We once had a demon here that was sick in Madam Kiki’s private dining room. The whole building reeked to the high heavens for weeks. It didn’t matter how many times we scrubbed the floorboards or how long we left the windows open, it lingered something horrible.” Diane scrunched up her nose at the memory. She led them through the back of the kitchen and out into the night.
