Page 58 of Can you take it?

“I had no idea you were such a jewelry hound,” I said to her.

“Well, I’m not, but my dad is. Kaohs has been looking for a few new obsidian pieces and I thought I’d get him something for when he retires.” She said her last words with a hint of fire.

Before walking out the door, she set her plate and bowl in the large stone sink of the old woman’s kitchen. The back half was a cozy living space, while the front was a clean and tidy shopping area.

“Right, now that she’s gone, let’s get down to business,” said the old woman.

I let out a chuckle, surprised by her sudden change in tone. She stood and looked out into the shop before closing the door to the kitchen. Immediately, I knew something wasn’t right. “All right, listen,” she said, “in the forest, just past the circle of dirt that you arrived on, there is a patch of berries.”

I looked back at the door, feeling lost and confused. It was an abrupt reminder that I was in the tiers and not in the kitchen of a sweet old woman in the middle of a perfect town. How had she known we’d arrived on the platform?

“Pay attention,” she scolded. “Behind the platform is a patch of berries; these berries are poisonous. Remember that; it’s important.”

“Okay,” I said. Every thought I had was about wanting to run and find Anna. Was she actually next door? Had the fae here done something with her?

“Behind the berry patch, you will find a door that leads to nowhere,” she continued.

“Okay,” I repeated. “Just a door—a door that leads to nowhere.” My brain began working faster, filling with questions. I got the feeling she was helping me. “Does the door lead us out of this tier?”

A smile pulled at her lips, causing wrinkles to form around her wise eyes. “Not in the way you hope.”

Something stalled inside of me. For half a second, the sil- liest thought I’d ever had occurred: What if I stayed here? Was there a possibility that this was nicer than the Elysian Fields with my family? Would it be ridiculous to get everyone else out and…stay?

She let out a hoarse laugh before a cough cut it off. “Only one of you may enter the door and leave.”

“At a time,” I said.

“At all,” she corrected. “Only one of you will leave this tier while the rest of you remain here. Forever.” My heart began to race. “Only one of you will be moving to the next tier. In order for the door to work, you must each agree on one person to leave. Only then will the door open. You may not pick your- self, only another person.”

“What?” I said, standing up. My wooden chair screeched as it slid against the floor. “But we will never agree on one person collectively!”

She shrugged and turned, collecting dishes off the table and continuing on as though she hadn’t dropped that barrel of sea monkeys on me—and not the human ones, the horrible fae ones. “Anyway, if you and your friend”—her voice was sud- denly light again—“are interested, there is a beautiful garden and walkway out past the village. The two of you would love it. I doubt she would be able to leave this place if she saw it.” She moved her head and the candle on the table lit her eyes unusually.

“Thank you. I have to go,” I muttered. My heart pounded in my head, and even amongst the pleasant atmosphere and scent of savory stew, instinct told me to get out of that room and get to the others as quickly as possible.

I stumbled out the door, falling into Anna with such force, I had to catch her so I didn’t knock her down. “The woman— the old woman told me there is a door⁠—”

“In the forest, and only one of us can leave,” Anna said. We looked at each other, neither of us knowing what to say.

“We have to find Walter, Eletha, and Bexley,” I said urgently. “We know where Walter and your sister are, but how the fuck are we going to find Bexley?”

My eyes darted around chaotically and landed on a large sign for a tavern down the road. “The tavern! I’ll check for Bexley.”

“We need to meet back at the platform,” Anna said as she grabbed my arm. “I’ll go get Eletha and Walter. I’m sure they’ve just been told as well.” She looked a little shook up, as if she just realized that the prospect of her leaving without the pendant was real.

“Anna, are you okay? Did anything happen in the jewelry shop? Does anyone need to be killed?” I asked. I wasn’t joking. If someone had hurt or scared her, they would regret it.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Everything just happened so fast, it startled me,” she said as she raised her hand to show me a ring on her thumb with an Asscher-cut black stone. “I got him a tourmaline ring. He’s going to love it,” she said proudly.

We quickly parted ways. She took off to tell Walter and Eletha, while I made my way into the surprisingly clean and welcoming tavern. Sure enough, sitting at the bar was a dirt-covered Bexley with a brown bottle sitting in front of him. He bent his head and stared at it with a look that held a bit of disgust. He looked like he was really going through something and for a moment I hesitated. I didn’t really know him that well, but I knew him enough to help if I could. A part of me felt saddened by the fact that he had chosen to stay in the tavern, instead of enjoying this incredible place. Maybe he couldn’t help it though.

I took a breath and moved to him. As confusing as it was, I wouldn’t want someone to walk away if I was in need of a friend, and he looked in need of a friend. Besides, I needed to bring him back to the platform had he not heard and I needed to make certain that he voted for me to be the one to leave.

“There you are,” I said, sitting down next to him. The tavern lighting was dark and moody and it smelled like mead with a hint of seared fish. “Bexley,” I said, hoping to draw his attention away from the death stare he was giving his drink.

Slowly, he raised his head. “Hey, Eli, right?” “Yeah, call me Eli.”

He nodded and took a drink from the bottle. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “This shouldn’t be your part.”