Veronica's Fallacy

41.

-HER-

"Welcome to the Night Court," a robotic female voice said as the car descended underground. Two flickering lines of light embedded in the wall followed us in the descent.

"Ugh, I hate this," Karrson's voice echoed somewhere behind us, and I felt somewhat similar. The sudden descent was surprising, and it slightly made me nauseous. However, it disappeared by the time we stopped descending.

A red laser scanned our faces again, twice on my face.

"Protocol," Grim grunted but said nothing more. He was agitated beside me. I could feel it through his hand that had found its way back to my thigh. He was holding me for his comfort.

I wondered what exactly he was tensed about—seeing the Arch Lord or not being able to get any help from him. I wanted to ask him, but the way he clenched his jaw, I doubted I'd get an answer.

As soon as the red laser finished scanning our faces, the concrete door opened in front of us, and Grim drove inside an enormous parking lot. It was so vast that I couldn't see the walls on either side. Karrson was driving behind us closely as Grim drove through the empty parking lot towards the other end.

Finally, he parked in front of a lift and killed the engine. We got at the same time as Karrson was done parking his car beside us. The three of us silently headed towards the lift, and Grim pushed the button to the ground floor.

As we ascended, Karrson asked, "What do you think?"

"I don't think anything," Grim answered, almost snappish. I took a step closer to him and touched his arm gently. I wanted to ask him if he was alright, but the words were lost somewhere in my throat.

"That's concerning. Do you want me to go with you—"

"No," Grim snapped, and before Karrson could utter another word, the lift doors opened, and Grim almost dashed out of there. I followed him with Karrson into the grand reception area of the Night Court. It was furnished with dark mahogany wood, contrasted with a light marble floor, but to put it all together, a beautiful and huge chandelier hung in the middle of the room.

My eyes darted everywhere, trying to take everything in all at once.

"Grim, you're—" The receptionist tried to talk to him, but Grim was already walking down the winding hallway past the grand receptionist's desk.

"Let him go, Stella. It's urgent," Karrson said as he stuffed his hands in his pocket and looked around as if he was visiting for the first time.

"You know protocols are in place for a purpose, and who's she? Miss, please provide an ID," Stella said to me. She was the woman who had intercepted us and granted us access here.

My heart fluttered in my chest. It was not that I didn't have an ID. I had one stating that I was a member of the Council, and I wasn't optimistic about Stella's reaction if I showed it to her.

Fortunately, Karrson came to my rescue.

"She's Grim and my guest. That's all you need to know. Anyway, is Gerdrock still in the house? I need to see him for a second," Karrson said in his most charming voice. Stella didn't bat an eye at him but gave him a hard, nonchalant look.

"Gerdrock is in the Grand Library, but you must not disturb him," Stella cautioned.

"I'll keep that in mind. Veronica, darling, wait for me in the seating area, and Stella, don't pick on her. She's our guest." With that, Karrson disappeared down the same winding hallway as Grim.

An awkward silence stretched between Stella and me as we stared at each other.

"I'm Veronica Grant," I introduced myself quickly. My mind was in scrambles after what I had seen in the pit. And besides that, I had a long night. All the focus that my brain had required put all my social skills on the back burner.