My immediate answer is no, I am very much not ready to die, and I would appreciate it if you could let us go immediately, but I'm not that response would go over well with the girl who has just entered the room. 

       She's tall and slim, and can't be more than fourteen or fifteen, though in the Mirror Realm it's often hard to tell. She appears mostly humanoid, which again doesn't tell me much. Her smooth skin is pale olive green, marked by a splash of darker freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her light brown hair falls nearly to her waist, thick and wavy and woven with brightly colored flowers that open and close at will, revealing pointy teeth. The girl smiles at us, her eyes solid pools of murky green.

            Spencer is not impressed. "Who the hell are you?" she snaps. The girl frowns. "Your tone isn't very nice."

        "Yeah, well, you just asked us if we were ready to die, so I'm not feeling particularly friendly toward you at the moment," Spencer replies drily. 

       The green girl's frown deepens. "I don't understand. You're about to die, so I was simply asking if you were prepared. I don't see how that could have offended you. But no matter," her smile returns, brilliant and blinding. "I'm Skip. You can call me Skip." 

       "Good to know," Spencer mutters sarcastically. Skip either doesn't notice or chooses to ignore her. "Oh dear," she says, her gaze moving to Kitty. "Is she alright?"

      Before either of us can respond, Skip kneels next to Kitty and places a hand on her forehead. "Wake up," she whispers. Kitty's eyes fly open and she bolts upright, then squeaks at finding herself face to face with an unfamiliar green person.

       "Uh... hi," she manages, shooting a frightened and confused look at Spencer and I. She's green, she mouths, as if we might not have noticed that ourselves. 

           Skip straightens up, still smiling brightly. "Now that we're all awake," she says cheerfully, "We can move right along with your deaths! Come with me, please!"

              *****************************************************************************

      Our feet are unbound, but our hands remain tied as Spencer, Kitty, and I are led out of the small dirt room (right through the wall, may I add) and down a winding corridor of root and stone. Skip leads the way, and we are flanked by three of those vile magic-suppressing creatures. 

        "So... where are we, exactly?" I ask, hoping that having more information will help me figure out how to get out of here. 

       "We're in the Midnight Court," Skip announces. I curse. Spencer raises an eyebrow. "The Midnight Court? Can't say I'm familiar."

      I sigh. "We are lucky enough to have been taken captive by the Midnight Brotherhood. They're a sort of gang, you could say, made up of thieves and murderers and the worst the Mirror Realm has to offer."

        "So... like Antimony?" Kitty ventures. I shake my head. "Antimony is at least civilized and willing to make a deal. These guys... not so much."

       "So we're screwed," Spencer clarifies. "Damn. I thought we would at least make it to that maze before we died in agony." 

            "Oh, there's a chance you might not die," Skip informs us helpfully, "It's just not much of a chance."

        "Ok, that's good!" Kitty offers. "Right?" I admire her optimism. Spencer and I share a look, silently arguing about what our plan of action was. 

We should run for it, Spencer seems to be saying, we can take them. I shake my head ever so slightly, trying to project with my eyes exactly how terrible I think that idea is. Spencer looks like she's determined to fight her way out of this no matter how impossible it is, but she backs down.

            Soon enough, the corridor we are heading down opens into a wide, round arena.  The floor is sandy and peppered with jagged rocks, which of course have eyes. There's a thin river flowing down the center, thick and dark and... blood. Definitely blood. A river of blood. Yay. 

       The cavern ceiling seems to be much higher than it should be, considering that we are still underground. Stone walls rise up around us, smooth and topped with vicious metal spikes. Just above the stone, carved directly into the cavern walls, are rows of ledges like bleachers, filled to the brim with creatures of all shapes and sizes. But there is one figure that catches my eye immediately.

        Maybe it's the massive throne of twisted, molten metal that he's perched on. Maybe it's the fact that he's surrounded by an army of the thin, lanky beings that captured us earlier. Maybe it's the crown. On second thought, it's definitely the crown. A circle of sharp metal spikes, glistening with blood, seem to emerge straight from the figure's head, rupturing the rotting flesh. Oh, did I mention he's a zombie? That's the best descriptor I can think of for the mass of writhing maggots, dripping ooze, and visible skeleton that I see before me. 

            The being that I assume is the king of the Midnight Court leans forward, making a sound that is somewhere between a creak and a squelch as he does so. I shudder. 

        "Humanssss," he hisses, his voice like the crackle of fall leaves underfoot. "I love humansss. They break sssso eassily..."

        "What do you want with us?" Spencer calls to him, defiant to the end. The king focuses his... well, they're not eyes. They're worms. Worms poking out of his eyes sockets. Yep. I am going to throw up. 

        "Thisss one'sss a brave one..." The king smiles coldly, which looks more like his face is tearing apart than anything else. "Well, human, what I want isss to sssee you break. I want to watch your bonesss sshatter, your sspirit dissssolve, your blood ssspilt upon the floorss of my arena. It will be quality entertainment."

         I feel sick. I barely even notice as Skip unties our bonds, even when she whispers in my ear "Don't worry, they're coming for you," I don't know what she means. All I know is that I'm about to be murdered in front of an audience for a zombie king. And not only me, but Spencer and Kitty too. My fears resolve even further as a gate opens across the arena, and three of my favorite long-limbed gray beasties crawl out. The gate slams shut behind them. Skip and our escorts have somehow disappeared. 

          Spencer looks to me, her eyes steely and determined. "We won't break easily," she promises me in a whisper, as the monsters charge.