24

Grace was just beginning to wonder if she hadn't, perhaps, lost her way, when she came at last to a familiar point she recognised: the place where she had first spotted the marketplace up ahead. There it was, even now, not as bustling as it had been yesterday, but still busy enough.

She paused a few feet away from the first stall; now that she was here, she was feeling rather nervous. What if she got on the wrong side of someone here? What if the shopkeepers tried to swindle her? How would she even find the art supply place Lucien had mentioned?

'Are you a fresh arrival?' asked a strange-looking woman who appeared suddenly behind her and startled her. 'You look confused enough! Haha!'

'Erm, yes, I, erm...' said Grace, wondering what to say.

'You look so innocent! Goes to show that looks don't mean nothing, ha! What are you here for?'

'No, I'm not here because of my deeds—' said Grace nervously, but the witch-like woman interrupted her.

'HA! Really? Guess you're here on vacation then, haha!'

'No, please, I–I...'

'You're fun to tease, you silly girl! Ha! Such a ninny!'

'Why would you say that?' said Grace sadly. 'I don't even know you!'

'Because it takes me a second to know who's who and what's what! And you, girl, are a ninny! But you're lucky, cause I'll still show you around if you like! Have you seen the gate to the Mainland, hmm? That's where the real ones go, you know!'

'N-no...' said Grace, backing away, her eyes widening in fear as the woman stretched out her bony hands to seemingly drag her by force with her. 'Get away!!'

'Oh, but we'll have fun, my dear...' said the woman with a horrid cackle that made her blood run cold. 'Do be a good girl and come with me now!'

'She's not going anywhere with you, you trottelhead!' barked a fierce voice that made the evil woman turn around at once and grin uglily.

'Ah, it's you, Mrs. Sauer...'

'Get out of my sight at once, you obnoxious excuse for a woman! – before I bash you with my rolling pin and bake you to a second death!' said Mrs. Sauer angrily, making the former run at once and disappear as fast and suddenly as she had appeared.

'T-thank you,' said Grace, who was both taken aback and rather frightened by what had just happened.

'Don't be,' said Mrs. Sauer, with a befitting sour expression. 'The only thing that woman got right was that you are, apparently, a freshly arrived ninny! You should have run away the second you saw the Seal of the Devil on her forearm!'

'I didn't notice it,' said Grace, feeling her heart beat faster as she realised the danger she had been in. 'And anyway, I thought this was Sheltered Hell and we're safe here...'

'Humans from the other side try to break through all the time,' said Mrs. Sauer uncomfortingly. 'There's danger everywhere, so look out! You'll learn with time, I suppose. Goodbye!'

'Wait!' called out Grace, barely recovering from the shock, but she had already stormed away into the distance.

Grace sighed. That had been close; she would have to be more careful from now on. It was quite clear that in Hell, terrifying surprises lay in every shadowy corner, and a moment's carelessness would be enough to uncover and unleash them. One thing that puzzled her was the way Mrs. Sauer, of all people, had come to rescue her! No matter what her way was like, could it be that she wasn't as unpleasant as she seemed? In any case, she would be grateful for quite a while for today's noble act.

She stopped in front of a stall that sold shoes and cleared her throat. 'Excuse me, do you know where I can find art supplies? Paints and stuff?'

'No.'

'Oh...'

She walked on and asked at another stall. Again, the answer was 'no'. She turned a corner and asked at five more shops and stalls, but to no avail.

'Bother, this was harder to find than I thought,' she thought aloud. 'Lucien said it would be easy, but it's not! Where am I supposed to go now?'

She started as she thought she saw a small shadow pass in front of her, but she had probably only imagined it. Had she? Everything looked more unsettling the moment she paid more attention to her surroundings; all the shopkeepers and vendors seemed to be staring at her or whispering maliciously about her, all the shadows seemed more intense, and the heat of the midday sun that glared upon the streets felt extreme and unbearable.

There it was again! The small shadow! Hadn't Lucien told her that there weren't any of those creepy sentient things around here? If there weren't, what was she seeing now?

'Do you need help, child?' asked an elderly man sitting at a book stall. 'What are you looking for?'

The whispering intensified as she walked towards him, looking back from time to time uncomfortably.

'I'm looking for an art supply place that sells paint,' said Grace, nervously side-eyeing the fruit vendor glaring at her from a distance.

'Ah, I see why you may be having trouble with that,' said the elderly man. 'There used to be one here, but it was taken down yesterday during a rather unpleasant row in the night. Some people just can't live in harmony...'

'Was the owner involved in it too?'

'Yes, unfortunately. Him and the other two people got banished temporarily to the Mainland for their bad behaviour.'

'Is that what happens to people who try to mess up the system in Sheltered Hell? Lucien – I mean, my friend, did mention some sort of penalty, but I didn't ask what.'

'You're new, I see. Penalties can vary, but getting sent to the Mainland is one of them, though the duration differs a lot. Sometimes it's a shopping ban. Sometimes there are other things. But it's always fair, and even the penalised can never deny that. Penalties are always fair and on the kinder side!'

'What if there's a mistake, though? Someone wrongly accused?'

'That doesn't happen. The angels can see through us, you know. You can't hide your sins here.'

'Well... So, about that paint... if the art supply place is gone...'

'Fear not,' smiled the elderly man pleasantly. 'There is another place, just beyond that hill! It's a wonderful store with all sorts of things you'd like. Go there, child.'

'Thank you so much for your help,' said Grace gratefully. 'One last thing: why is everyone staring at me like that? Why were they a bit cold when dealing with me?'

'That's because...' the elderly man paused and scrutinised her. 'That's because you're giving off energy that doesn't match this place. I don't know how, but you seem too alive, too good... too lighted, if that makes sense. So they're caught off guard, I suppose. Farewell, child.'

'Thank you,' said Grace, and she turned around, still puzzled by his words.

It made no sense. She was just an ordinary girl, so her presence shouldn't make such a difference – and yet it did. She trudged up the hill in the blazing sun, and spotted a winding street on the way down that led to a line of large stores with attractive, gleaming glass doors that offered a glimpse of the wares inside. Good. She was finally going to get what she wanted. Her short-lived happiness faded, however as she saw the shadow pass by again, absurdly large this time due to the angle of the sun – and very much real.
She was being followed. And she now knew who it was.