I didn’t respond for a moment. What he said was true. But I’d made a promise, and I was determined to fulfill it. Especially since Abel had helped me so much with the hounds and Lord Kenan.
“If it helps you feel better,” I said, “Mindy is going to stay around for a while longer. We’ve decided on two more months—just to help everything get going again. Do you think that would be enough time to find your mom?”
Abel leaned back against a log, clasping his hands behind his head and staring up at the sky through the trees. “I have no idea. Without knowing where she is . . . But we’ll give it that much. And if we can’t find my mom before Mindy’s two months are up, I’ll go on my own.”
He looked at me. “I’m serious about that. As much as I appreciate your offer to help, making sure you have a job to come back to is just as high on my list. Either way, if we can’t get it done in that amount of time . . . we probably won’t be able to do it at all.”
I didn’t respond again, instead staring down at the flames and the hot dog I was roasting. I hated admitting to it, but he was right.
We fell into a companionable silence. It had been a long time since I’d just been with Abel without anything paranormal or creepy happening around us.
Abel broke the silence as I was putting my hot dog in a bun.
“Tell me about growing up with your family. What was it like?”
And so we settled in together to talk. I first told him about the Christmases I’d shared with my family, the fun birthday memories, and the fights I’d had with my siblings. I told him about my first date and how my brother had punched the guy before realizing he hadn’t done anything to disrespect me. I laughed, thinking about that awful miscommunication and how the guy was afraid to talk to me again after that. He’d been my first crush in high school, and I’d wanted to kill my brother for a long time after that.
But as I got older and closer to my siblings, I’d come to recognize that family was more important than friends. Especially as I graduated and went on to college. The only friend who stayed consistent was Nicole, and I counted her as family. Apart from her, though, everyone else I’d hung out with had faded away and moved on. The only people who stuck around were family.
I talked for what felt like an hour, with Abel relaxed against the log next to me, his eyes closed and a peaceful expression on his face. I could tell he was enjoying my stories, but I hoped they—and memories of his own family—didn’t cause him too much pain.
I stopped talking after a while and gazed at my boyfriend, wondering at everything he’d been through and all the things that had led us to each other. And even though it had been the most stress I’d ever experienced, I was grateful for it. Because it brought us together.
Before Abel figured out what I was doing, I leaned in and kissed him. That got his attention.
Abel returned the kiss with enthusiasm, sitting up and taking me into his arms. Happiness and joy flooded me, making my heart pound and my body warm. Yes, we’d gone through some pretty awful times lately, but I had an amazing man at my side who loved me as much as I loved him. He was devoted to me and was ready and willing to protect me.
We’d only been kissing for a couple of minutes when we heard someone approaching. I grabbed the amulet, but it wasn’t warning me about anything. I hoped that didn’t mean the person was a non-supernatural threat.
Abel pulled me close, and we turned to face whoever was coming.
30
My heart calmed when Omar stepped into the clearing next to our fire pit.
“Sorry to interrupt you. I figured you’d want to know this as soon as possible, and I had to come quite a distance to get here.”
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Lord Kenan has reached America. He’ll be here in five or six days. Lizzie, it is time for you to prepare in earnest for his arrival.”
Abel and I glanced at each other. There was so much to do before I’d feel prepared.
“Thank you for letting us know,” I said. “How are you and Alexander doing?”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure. I vacillate between good and bad frequently. It wears me out, and I worry for when Lord Kenan comes close. I’m afraid I won’t be much help to you. That I’ll need to keep my distance.”
“Don’t hesitate to do what you need to—I’d rather you two avoid him and keep yourselves safe.”
He lowered his head. “Thank you. I will do my best to keep you informed. Forgive me if I’m not here often, though, as I fight my evil half.”
“Will do. Tell Alexander we said hi.”
He nodded and turned and left.
“What’s first on the agenda?” Abel asked.
“We need to go to the Russells’ dimension. They’ve already agreed to take us. We have to learn everything we can about Lord Kenan and how others have tried to stop him before we start making any real plans.”
“Sounds good. Shall we go now, then?”
I shook my head. “Let’s finish eating first. We can afford to relax a couple of minutes more.”
Abel sighed, leaning his head against my shoulder. “I knew I loved you for a reason.”
“Food is awfully important,” I said with a smile.
“Indeed it is.”
Once we’d finished, we put out the fire, cleaned up, and headed back to my SUV. Abel still hadn’t had the chance to fix his car after we’d taken hounds to Lehi from Wyoming in it, and the backseat was riddled with dark bloodstains and bullet holes. If I had any money left over at the end of my quests, I would buy him a new car. He’d definitely earned that much, if not more.
The Russells were waiting when we pulled up. I’d called them as soon as I had service again, and Mrs. Russell met me at my car door.
“If we’re to head to my dimension,” she said, “we need to do it soon. The way is more difficult to traverse in the darkness.”
I glanced up at the sky. The sun was close to setting. “Should we wait until tomorrow?”
She shook her head, leading us into her house. “There isn’t enough time. We sensed it when Lord Kenan stepped foot on this continent. We must help you prepare for his arrival as quickly as possible.”
“All right. I’m sorry—if I’d known, we wouldn’t have gone up the canyon.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. Mr. Russell and I both know how stressed you’ve been. We’ll just hurry even more now.” She turned to Mr. Russell. “Ready?”
“As ready as I can possibly be.” He glanced at me. “I really despise traveling this way.”
Traveling what way?
I didn’t get the chance to ask before Mrs. Russell had turned to what I’d always assumed to be their coat closet and opened the door.
A gaping tunnel greeted us. And not an ordinary one—this one was mushy looking with slimy walls, floor, and ceiling and tons and tons of moss and roots growing in it.
“Where on earth did that come from?” I asked.
“Not from earth, my dear,” Mr. Russell said. He sighed. “I suppose you want me to lead the way, Mrs. Russell?”
“Naturally.”
“Let’s go, then.”
I put my hand on his arm. “Wait! Should I change first? And if so, into what?”
He and Mrs. Russell glanced at what Abel and I were wearing. They both shook their heads.
“No change necessary,” Mrs. Russell said. “Your sneakers look sturdy, and long jeans are definitely a great idea.”
“And tees are okay?” I asked. “Should we get sweaters or something?”
“Again, that won’t be necessary,” she said. “You’ll be fine in what you’re wearing.”
And with that, Mr. Russell wished us luck and entered the tunnel.
31
I’m not going to lie—my first step into the tunnel almost made me puke. The ground or floor or whatever it was beneath me was fleshy feeling. Squishy, soft. I didn’t sink into it, but it definitely wasn’t firm.
“I really hate this,” Mr
s. Russell said.
“Hate the tunnel?” I asked.
“Oh, it’s not a tunnel.”
I wanted to ask just what it was, but couldn’t form the words.
The farther we walked, the damper it got and the more rotten the air smelled. I ended up pulling the collar of my shirt up and over my nose in an effort to breathe in less of the disgusting fumes.
At first, I thought I was imagining it, but my skin had started burning all over. Just a light irritation, but it was enough to distract me and make me want to scratch everywhere.
“Scratching will make it worse,” Mr. Russell called back. “Resist the urge as much as you can.”
I shoved my hands into my jeans pockets to help resist the temptation, but it was almost impossible. I noticed that whenever I walked through a section that was more humid than the previous one, the burning intensified.
Trying to figure out what sort of tunnel we were in, I took to staring at the walls as we walked. They glowed a pinkish gray, and I startled when I noticed they’d become translucent.
I cringed when I saw a massive worm writhing on the other side of the see-through wall.
“What the heck is that?” I asked.
“Glad you brought it up,” Abel said. “I’ve been watching it, and I’m worried my suspicions are correct.”
“What do you think it is, Abel?” Mrs. Russell asked.
“Intestines.”
“What?” I shrieked. “Are you serious? Tell me that’s not what it is.”
“Your boyfriend is smart,” Mrs. Russell said.
“Ew! Gross! Where on earth did you find intestines that big?”
“Again, not on earth.” Mr. Russell said.
Okay, I needed to stop using that phrase while traveling with these two. Especially if it distracted them from answering my questions. Neither of them did, and I didn’t have the guts to ask again. Ha ha. Guts. Ew.
And then it occurred to me. “Um . . . if that’s an intestine . . . what are we walking through? Please don’t tell me what I think it is.”
“It probably is,” Mrs. Russell said. “Though, it’s best not to think at all while in here.”
That pretty much answered my question. We were in some sort of gigantic creature’s insides. And the burning and moist feeling had to be a digestive chemical of sorts. And the spongy floor was tissue. Oh, gross. Disgusting.
“Are we going to get eaten?”
Mr. Russell gave an abrupt laugh. “Not if we hurry.”
I growled. “Then why aren’t we running?”
“Do you really want to trip in here?” Mrs. Russell asked. “I personally wouldn’t.”
“Okay, what’s going on? Why are we inside of a creature?”
“I have a theory,” Abel said. “It’s a shortcut from the Russells’ house on earth to their dimension. The creature’s job is to prevent anyone not welcome. If they’re not turned away by the disgusting tunnel, they’d end up getting devoured as they walked.”
“Again, your boyfriend is smart,” Mrs. Russell said. “And cute, too. I’d definitely keep him if I were you.”
I rolled my eyes, but yes, I was grateful for Abel. He’d obviously figured it out, and I appreciated knowing.
We finally reached what Mr. Russell said was the end. To me, it looked like an impenetrable black wall. He tapped the inside of the tunnel five times, then stepped back to wait.
The wall opened, revealing a massive tongue and sharp, spiky teeth over a foot long. The jaws continued opening until the mouth was at least fifteen feet wide. Holy cow. On the other side, the skies were gray, the ground covered in chalky bones, and a huge castle rose into the sky, constructed completely of bones. Totally creepy.
“And now, my least favorite part,” Mrs. Russell said. “This, my dears, is why we don’t travel to our dimension very often.”
I watched in shock as Mr. Russell gripped the sharp teeth one by one, using them for support as he walked along the tongue, finally jumping to the ground on the other side.
It was immediately evident why we’d need to walk on the tongue. It was the only part of the mouth not covered in sharp teeth. I felt like I’d entered some sci-fi lover’s horror story. This was insane. This was crazy. How was I supposed to touch those teeth and walk on a tongue without falling and killing myself? And how did I know the beast wouldn’t drop its jaw on me?
I tried to keep my panic to myself, tried to be brave and show what I was made of, but it was tough.
Rather than waiting for everyone else to cross first, I stepped onto the tongue almost as soon as Mr. Russell had exited it. Time to see just how deep my stores of courage went.
The tongue held perfectly still, and for that I was grateful. The teeth were moist and slimy, but I refused to think about that. I’d definitely need a long soak in the tub and a shower after this was over, though. As long as I didn’t fall to my death while balancing on the tongue.
The farther along I walked, the harder it was to balance. The teeth became shorter and shorter until I reached the front of the jaw, where they were suddenly longer, growing to at least two and three feet long. I swallowed, pausing for a moment. Naturally, the tongue was thinnest there, where the teeth were most dangerous.
Thank goodness I’d been a dancer in my previous life.
Oh, and thank goodness for the amulet. I nearly forgot I had it around my neck.
Please give me grace so I don’t fall and die.
Will do.
And then I continued forward.
32
I reached the tip of the tongue and nearly shrieked when it moved upward, lifting me over the massive spiky teeth. But once it got me there, it was up to me to jump down. Luckily—and probably due to help from the amulet—I did so gracefully.
And then I was out of the beast. I dropped to the bone-covered ground, not caring about the chalky stuff I was touching, and breathed deeply. The air on the outside of the beast was much better—fresher, cleaner.
I turned and watched as Mrs. Russell came through, followed quickly by Abel.
Then Mr. Russell tapped the inside of the monster’s mouth and jerked his arm back when the jaws started closing.
Instead of revealing the monster when the huge maw was no longer open, all I saw was a starry night, vast expanses of bone-covered hills, and a small snout that looked to be attached to nothing.
“Where did it go?” I asked.
“It exists between our dimensions,” Mr. Russell said. “Only the mouth remains on this side and the creature’s insides on the other, hidden by our closet door. Keeps it safe from casual explorers.”
“How do you find it when you want to return to earth?” I asked.
“We’ve memorized the patterns of steps we must take to get here,” Mrs. Russell said. “It’s not difficult.”
Abel helped me to my feet, and I was grateful to find that my skin no longer burned. Thank goodness. The Russells turned and led the way to the castle.
“Why is this place covered in bones?” I asked. It would have creeped me out more had it not been for what I’d just traveled through.
“It’s an ancient graveyard,” Mr. Russell said. “These bones are thousands of years old. Once the entire surface of the planet was covered in dead bodies, the old ones stopped using it as a graveyard and moved on to another planet.”
“When did you start living here?”
“We always have, dear,” Mrs. Russell said. “It’s our planet. No, we didn’t like that it was being dumped on, and that’s one of the reasons we’ve traveled to earth so much, but when the old ones decide, no one fights them.”
“Are the old ones the same as the Great Ones Nicole fought a while ago?”
“Sort of. The Great Ones Nicole fought were like, say, Greek gods. Whereas the old ones are Titans. They came before the Great Ones.”
“And we don’t need to deal with them in any way, right?”
“Of course we won’t have to. Not even Mr. Russell or I have ever met
them.”
Great. I could handle a little good news at that point.
We fell silent, and I turned my attention to the castle. Abel walked alongside me, and I could tell he was just as fascinated by it as I was.
All along the top of it, sharp bright-white bones rose imposingly against the dark sky. They formed turrets and towers and had little windows carved in them through which I imagined archers would protect the castle.
All of the walls were created by massive thirty- and forty-foot-long bones. Holes for doors and windows had been cut in them. The front doors themselves were magnificent—also made of large bones, though not as wide or long as the ones used for the walls. They had cool designs etched into them, stained green and red and blue. They slowly opened as the Russells approached.
I saw a total change come over my elderly neighbors as we walked. They still looked like their human selves, but their bodies stood straighter, their spines erect and their heads held high. Mr. Russell extended his arm to Mrs. Russell, and she took it, looking elegant even in her elderly woman clothes. They totally and completely took on their status as royalty.
Guards stepped out from inside the castle doors and waited. I don’t know what I’d been expecting, but humanoid wasn’t it.
“Are they really humans?” I whispered, still not close enough for them to hear.
“No. We had the castle prepare for your coming, and they’ve been given the ability to temporarily take on a human’s appearance.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. I was grateful, but a little sad too. It would have been cool to see their real forms, but it also might have distracted me from my purpose for being there.
The Russells led us inside the huge front entry. We crossed it—took what felt like several minutes—and went through double doors at the other end into a massive hallway, which we also crossed. We went up a set of stairs, down another hallway, then up another staircase.
Finally, the Russells paused outside a third set of double doors. Mrs. Russell turned to me.
“We store our information and knowledge here,” she said. “We’ll get help and find everything available on Lord Kenan. He’s existed for a great many years, so it might take a while.”
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