Gift

“Pallor?” I asked. “What kind of name for a horse is that?”

“'And I saw a pale horse, and the name of him who sat upon it was Death, and Hades was following close behind him.' It's in Revelation, maggot.”

I rolled my eyes, sitting stiffly in the leather-upholstered seat. We proceeded down a narrow, empty path, shadowed by the thick trees. I shuddered at the thought that they were suicides, hearing their gentle mourning played out across the breeze.

“Refreshment?” Samael asked to distract me, producing glasses of blood-orange liquid from the back of the buggy. It smelled divine.

“What is it?” I asked suspiciously.

“Nectar of the fireflower. They grow on the banks of the Styx, the river that moats the castle, and are pollinated by the quetzalcoatls you see in the trees. Here, watch this,” he said, handing me a glass. Samael hissed then issued a series of whistles. A gold and purple plumed serpent glided over, the skin of its underbelly flat like the gliding snakes of Asia. It c