I snatch the other coin from the table and say, “We have to go to her before Adaro figures it out.”
I suit up in my sternum harness.
“What about tonight?” Thalia says. “What about when the merrows come?”
“Sunset isn’t for a few hours,” Frederik reminds her. “This gives us time to prepare the shore while Tristan finds his oracle. We should reconvene at the aquarium. It is our emergency stronghold.” And then Kurt and I are back out in the gray summer storm. The wind is forceful, like hands pushing us, until we break into a run.
The door Comit showed me is simple and black with a II above it. The psychic stand is lit neon pink and purple beside it, red velvet curtains drawn to reveal the session going on. The psychic is my English teacher, Ms. Pippen, and she’s holding an eager young woman’s hand. When she sees me, she gives me the dirtiest stare, meant to make me feel guilty for nearly kidnapping her last week. The door isn’t locked and Kurt is the first one to push it open.
The entrance is pitch-black. I’ve closed my eyes to adjust to this new lighting when a hand emerges from the dark and braces against my chest. Two torches light either side of the entrance. The man steps forward, dressed in a black suit and black tie. His hair is buzzed close to his scalp with a design etched on either side of his head.
“Comit sent us,” I say.
He holds his hand out. “Entrance.”
We each give him a coin. He motions to the wall in front of us.
It opens in half to reveal a winding stairwell.
Beside me, Kurt has a possessed glimmer in his eyes. He takes the steps two at a time, which is something he just wouldn’t do. He’s usually all calm and collected in the face of danger. Who knows what this oracle will ask for? Another promise? Maybe this one will ask for a body part or a year’s subscription to Vogue.
“Slow down, Kurt. We don’t know what this actually leads to.” I know something is wrong when I’m the voice of reason.
The stairwell coils around a dozen more times. When we hit the last step, Comit is waiting for us. “Hope you aren’t too dizzy. It’s a long way down.”
“No worse than tumbling away from a sea dragon,” I say.
Comit introduces himself to Kurt. They lock eyes, and instead of shaking hands, they dip in tiny bows. Comit’s getup makes me feel underdressed. His suit is pin-striped black and blue with a neat golden handkerchief in his pocket. His bow tie is also gold, which matches the chain trailing into his pocket where he pulls out a watch. His fingernails are incredibly neat and painted black, gripping the head of his walking stick.
“I thought you’d have found your way sooner.” He sharpens his mustache into a finer point.
I stuff my hands in my pockets. “Took me a little while to figure it out. It was Kurt who noticed the mermaid on the other side of the coin.”
“Must always look both ways.” Comit seems pleased with himself, tapping his cane on the floor with a happy click. “Ah, Madame Mercury, these are the gentlemen we were expecting.”
At the top of the double grand stairs is a lady dressed from another decade. She’s saying good-bye to a man and a girl in a long white gown. When the girl in white walks away, I notice the wings at rest. As that couple walks slowly up the steps, another man comes down. He’s also wearing a suit. His hair is disheveled and there are fresh bites on either side of his neck. He nods only at Madame Mercury and disappears the way we came in.
Madame Mercury turns to us. I think of Frederik saying, “Madame Mercury’s not so bad,” and I can see what he means. Her corset is crimson satin, pulled so tight at the center I could circle her waist with my hands. Her skin is pale, except for the scarlet blush of her cheeks. Her skirt is a long black trail that looks like rippling water. Her movement is delicate, from the way she traces the air around my face to the way she turns her black eyes and bats extremely long eyelashes at Kurt.
“What is this place?” I ask.
“This is the Second Circle.” Madame Mercury looks at me from head to toe. “A place where the heart’s deepest desires can come true.”