The Mark of Mortem

Chapter 3

"Here is your room. I've put you in the grand suite because I know if I did anything less Mortem would freak out," she laughs. "The bath is right there if you need it. I'll be back in the morning to take you back up there."

"I can just go by myself," I tell her.

"If anyone here saw a human walking around they would go ballistic. I should go with you so they know not to kill you," she explains.

"Oh."

"Anyway, I'll be back tomorrow. Don't go anywhere," she says sternly. I can hear the threat behind her voice.

"I won't," I promise nervously. 

She leaves and closes the door behind her. The series of clicks from the other side tells me that she locked it, too. I sigh annoyed but enjoy that I'm finally alone. I walk around the room and find that it seems like a hotel suite. There is one large bed in the middle of the room and bookshelves, a desk, a closet, and a kitchen around it.

I start a bath and let the water get warm. The aroma of lavender floats around with the steam as I undress and step in. I let the water wash away all the craziness from the day and close my eyes. My wavy, black hair floats through the water. I sit in the water letting the bubbles rise until I have to get out of the heat. I finally step out and wrap myself in a towel. I drain the water as I get dressed again.

I look through the bookshelves finding that each shelf has a different type of book. One has only Latin books, another has books about Deliverers of Death and one even has just for fun books like Harry Potter.

I pick up one about the Deliverers of Death and find that the Deliverers of Death are the people who are here. They "take" souls when it is their time and send them to After Life. Humans are not able to see them coming or see them at all. I smile at the irony when I read that part. When a person is stabbed by the knife of a Deliverer, they will die in anyway that the Deliverer chooses. It also says that the Deliverers are immortal, once you become one you are immortal and stop aging. 

When I finish reading I realize it's almost 12 a.m.

I put the book down and go to bed, my mind still reeling from the day.

.   .   .

I wake up to knocking on my door and I hurry to answer it while still rubbing my eyes. "Hello?"

"Oh my gosh you aren't even awake yet," Malli rubs the space between her eyes. "We've got to hurry."

She hands me a stack of clothes and sends me to the bathroom to change. I put on all black clothes matching everyone else but with a blue mark around my wrist instead of the other colors. I come out of the bathroom to find Malli waiting.

"What do the colors mean? More specifically, what does blue mean?" I ask showing her my wrist.

"The colors symbolize ranks and jobs for everyone here," she says leading me out of the room.  "Red means a Deliverer, Green means a messenger, Purple means a very high ranked official," she holds up her arm showing me her purple stripe, "Gray means an injured or retired Deliverer, Orange means a Deliverer or worker in training, and blue means someone who doesn't work here and is here for private reasons."

We cross the large open space of the floor and climb the stairs to the private hallway. Malli leads me back to Mortem's office and knocks on the door. "Corinne Dorsey is here, sir!" She calls. "I know you've asked him to call you Cori but he doesn't say anything but someone's given name," she whispers to me. 

"Good. Send her in," Mortem's voice answers.

"Good luck, Cori. I'll be back soon to show you around," she tells me. She pats me on the back as she turns and disappears down the hall.

I take a deep breath as I step through the doorway to Mortem's office. Today he seems more relaxed and smiles warmly as I enter. He is wearing a white, dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and blue dress pants. He sits on his desk with his elbows on his knees in deep thought.

"Hello Corinne," he says hopping off the desk.

"Mortem," I say bowing my head in greeting. "What do you need from me?"

"Let's start with my biggest question. Have you always been able to see us? Do you remember ever seeing anything like you witnessed yesterday?" He asks.

I think back throughout my life. "No. Yesterday was the first time I've seen anyone... well, die."

He nods. "I have an idea. Please follow me."

He hops off the desk and out of the office. We head downstairs and people stop to stare. Mortem raises a hand as if to say "As you were". Most nod and lower their heads in embarrassment.

He leads me down the stairs and down one of the hallways labeled Mind Studio in beautiful cursive writing. There are three glass doors in the hallway and Mortem leads me into the second. Two older women sit at their desks working and gasp when we enter.

"Mortem!" One exclaims.

"With a mortal," the other scowls looking me up and down.

"Hello ladies. Geranin and Forenta, meet Corinne. I need you to... erase some stuff from her mind," he says.

I look at him in shock. "Wait, what?! I didn't-"

"What is this about, Mortem?" Geranin asks. "Obviously she doesn't agree with your idea."

"I need to see something," Mortem explains. He turns to me, "We need to do this, Corinne, I need to figure out what is going on."

"Sure seems like you need a lot," I mutter angrily. 

He meets my comment with an angry glare. 

"Fine," I spit the word out like a piece of moldy cheese. I give him a look that says I'm still not ok with it.

Geranin and Forenta look at each other and stand up. They walk over to me and place their hands on my temple and head.

"Somno aperiam mentem," Forenta says gently.

Everything goes black and I feel myself fall.