I ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED A DUNGEON

"I can’t. It was Sara’s last wish, and I’m not going to let her down." Jackson held his eyes steady. "You can like it or not. You’re keeping it."

Felix held the gaze for a moment, then looked away. "Bring me another." He called it toward Galagar, who came back and poured the drink.

Felix drank it down, then looked at the box for a while. "Fine. But don’t expect me to use it."

"As long as you don’t throw it away." Jackson finished the rest of his own drink and caught Felix glancing back at the table where Mira and the others sat. "You changed a lot, Ephraim."

Felix pulled his gaze back to the counter. "People always do. And I’d be more comfortable if you called me Felix."

Jackson’s brow creased for a second, then he broke into a short laugh. "Everyone calls you that? Felix?"

"Is there a problem with that?"

"Not really." Jackson turned his cup slowly on the counter. "It just reminds me of the expedition, back when we were strangers." He let the memory sit for a moment before shaking it off. "I won’t call you by that name again. Ephraim Socrates, that’s who you are."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Yeah, and how’s the old man doing? I brought an interesting book for him too."

Felix took a moment before the words came out. "He’s gone."

Jackson’s lips parted, but no words came out at first. The sentence sat there for a moment before he found his voice. "I’m sorry to hear that. When did it happen?"

"Six months ago."

Jackson looked up at the ceiling for a moment. He’d known the old man well, always smiling, always the first to offer a hand. "Hard to believe." He shook his head once. "And how’s big Anthony doing? I heard he’s been working for some noble family."

"He’s doing good. Makes a visit once in a while, but we’ve got our own ways now."

Jackson nodded slowly. "I should pay him a visit while I’m here." He tapped the counter with one finger. "I also heard you joined an adventurers’ guild."

"Yeah, a while back. Pays the bills."

"Why? You could’ve had a better life than this. Come to the capital with me, I know a few good people there."

"I’m doing fine here."

Jackson thought it over, cracked his knuckles, and leaned forward on his elbows. "I’ve got a job too. Might need your help with it."

"No."

"Why not?" Jackson’s brow furrowed.

"Just no." Felix stood from his seat and grabbed the box off the counter. "Good seeing you again." He looked over at Galagar. "Put tonight’s tab on my friend here."

"What? I’ve got nothing on me." Jackson pushed up from his stool. "I’ll be around for a while. You know where to find me if you change your mind, Ephraim."

Felix walked out of the washroom after cleaning himself off, and Dune was standing in the hallway, waiting.

"Clean yourself up and sleep," he said. "We need to find work tomorrow too."

"Yes," she said, and turned toward her room.

Felix nodded and headed into his own bedroom. He dropped onto the bed, and his fingers found the box beside him. After a moment he opened it and pulled out a card, the two of spades. He turned it over in his hands, checking the material. It felt weightless, and the edges caught the light like cut glass, nothing like the cardstock he was used to. He bent it between two fingers and let go, and it snapped back straight, quick as a rubber band.

"Probably fetch a good price with the right buyer," he muttered, laughing under his breath. He pinched the card between two fingers, channeled a small trickle of Numen into it, and threw it at the wall. It hit flat and stuck there.

"Not bad." He watched it a moment longer. Then the card twitched against the wall and shot back toward him, and he caught it out of the air on reflex. He stared at it in his palm. "That’s strange. Did it move on its own? I barely put any Numen into it." He turned the card over once more. "Better not touch it again tonight." He set it back inside the box, crossed the room, and slid the box into the wardrobe. "Now sleep."

The door creaked open behind him. He spun around, and Dune stood in the doorway, freshly washed. Felix’s mind went blank for a second. He’d shown her which room was hers earlier that same evening.

Dune crossed the room and lay down on his bed. "Come sleep."

"What? This isn’t your room. Go sleep in the one I showed you." He walked over and stopped at the edge of the bed.

"We should sleep together. It is what humans do after marriage."

"No. No, we’re not doing that." He caught himself picturing it, sleeping beside a centuries-old dungeon in the body of a girl, and shoved the thought down. "Humans do that. I don’t."

"You are not human?"

"I am. What are you talking about?"

"Then why do you not want to sleep together?"

"Because—" He looked at her, and the truth sat there plain and unhelpful. She was beautiful. Everything she said was true, technically. And the whole situation pulled at him in a way he didn’t want to admit. "We don’t have that kind of relationship. All right?"

"We are married."

"Yes, we probably are, technically, because of some old evil ritual. But that’s not what it actually means, not the way you’re thinking."

Dune watched him, her face blank with confusion.

"Let me put it plain," Felix said. "We’re still strangers. I don’t want you, or anyone else, getting the wrong idea. Like that Hakimi guy this morning."

"We are strangers."

"Yes." Felix nodded.

"We are married. You completed the ritual inside the chamber. We are bound together now by a spirit contract."

"Yes. But." Felix dragged a hand down his face. He had no idea what to do with any of this. "I’m exhausted, and I’m not feeling well. Can we postpone this conversation a few days?"

Dune considered it for a moment. "Yes. Whenever you say."

"Thanks for understanding." He watched her climb off the bed and walk out, the door clicking shut behind her.

A few days passed without a single job worth taking. Then one evening at the guild house, Felix spotted a man cornering an adventurer near the request board, hands wringing together as he pleaded for a favor. The adventurer barely glanced at him, shoved him aside, and walked off toward the counter without a word.

Felix crossed the room and held out a hand to help the man up off the floor. "You seem to be having some trouble."

"Thank you." The man took the offered hand and straightened his coat once he was back on his feet. "I’m looking for someone to help me with a job."

"I can spare a minute," Felix said, leaning against the nearest table.

"You will? I’m very thankful." The man’s face brightened, and the words came faster now. "I have a house on the west side of the city, close to the edge. I’ve been trying to sell it, but every time I do, something goes wrong inside the house."

"Something goes wrong? I don’t follow."

The man glanced left, then right, and leaned in closer, lowering his voice. "A ghost."