Hollow Earth (Hallowed Realms Book 2)

by Amy Miles

  I stared at her and felt the weight of her words land in my gut. What would happen to my parents if they lost their son so soon to losing their daughter? It would break them.

  No. I wouldn’t be saying goodbye to them. I would see them again. Somehow. I’d make sure we got out of Netherworld in one piece. Just in case, I decided to write them a letter they might find if the worst should happen.

  For several hours I crafted a fake note that Seamus and I had decided to run off to America. I went on and on about how Moneyglass reminded me too much of Alana and I needed a fresh start. I swiped his passport and packed a bag full of our clothes and took the wad of cash my ma knew I’d stashed away for art school. We’d bring our bags with us and hide them in the woods on the way. It was a piss-poor reason for leaving without so much as a word. Though, it would buy us time to get out of any jam we might find ourselves in. If we died as a result of our efforts…well, there would be no way to explain that one. I told them both I loved them, but it was time I moved on with my life.

  “Ya sure ya want to come with us?” Tris asked from behind me, noticing the tear that had seeped out of my eye.

  “Aye. Some things are worth risking everything for. And Taryn is that for me.”

  Tris gave me a small smile. I had a feeling she felt the same about Seamus, or she wouldn’t be risking the trip at all.

  The next few days passed like molasses. I went to Sunday brunch with my folks, closed down my studio, possibly for good. Not telling Ma or Da what I was doing was breaking my heart, but I didn’t see a way around it. There was a chance none of this worked and we’d be right back where we started. They’d never understand about Netherworld, so it was best to keep them in the dark.

  For two full workdays, I was at the shop finishing cars I knew I might not get back to. I was about to pull my own hair out with the waiting when I walked in that third night after work to a nervous looking Tris.

  "It’s time."

  My eyes darted across the room, and I saw a showered and fully upright Seamus.

  "Looks like you’re feeling better." I grinned.

  "Aye, thanks to my own private nurse," Seamus said, pulling Tris in close for a quick kiss. The gesture felt like a knife to the gut. I found myself jealous of their ability to be together. Would Taryn and I ever get a chance to be together like that?

  "What’s the plan?" I asked as Tris gestured for us to follow her outside.

  "Take hold of my arm. I’ll lead us to the veil. Once we cross, do exactly as I say."

  Seamus raised an eyebrow as I took hold of Tris’s arm.

  "Trust her," I said.

  "Oh, I do, mate. With my life." He took hold of her as well, and less than thirty seconds later, we were back at the falls where she first found me.

  "Bloody hell," Seamus said once we came to a stop and the fog lifted.

  "You haven’t even seen the best part," Tris said with a wink.

  "Yet," he replied, making his innuendo clear.

  "Enough flirting, you two. We have to focus. One wrong move and this whole thing is over.”

  Tris’s flirtatious smile disappeared into a more serious look. "You’re right. Listen to me. I need your full attention. Once we cross the veil, you will be between two worlds. It’s a right dangerous place to linger for a human. The last time I did this with Seamus, Taryn was there to keep the ferryman occupied. She made sure he wouldn’t pay attention to the fact Seamus was little more than a bloody carcass. We won’t have her skills this time around. I need ya both to walk in front of me. Act as though you’re unsure of where ya are, all right? And if anyone asks why I have two souls, I’ll need Devlin to call out for a lass named Erin.”

  "Who’s that?" I asked.

  Tris made a devilish face. “A banshee girl who thinks she’s the best thing since mashed Coltsfoot."

  "Okay, I’m going to pretend I know what Coltsfoot is, but I still don’t know how we’re doing this. We look confused, hop on the boat, and that’s it? Then we’re in the clear?”

  "I dunna have time to explain it all now. We have to go now if we mean to catch that ferry."

  I let out a deep breath, preparing myself for what I was about to witness on the other side of the veil. This was the place I’d been searching for the last two months. Now, I was finally going to get to see it.

  "Seamus,” Tris instructed, “all I need ya to do is be in awe of what ya see, okay?"

  He looked down at Tris and lifted her chin.

  "That will be easy. All I need to do is look at you."

  I could see that Seamus’s words were melting Tris into a puddle, so I gave him a slight shove.

  "Let’s go, Romeo."

  Reluctantly, he held fast to Tris’s hand and walked ahead of her as instructed. I took her other hand, more than ready to cross the veil and find Taryn.

  "Right up here," Tris said, so low I almost missed it.

  "Here? Are you sure? There’s nothing—" That’s when the world I knew disappeared and evolved into a landscape unlike I’d ever seen.

  "Welcome to The Hallowed Realms," she whispered. “Or at least the entrance. There’s way more to see.”

  I had to stop walking to take it all in. This couldn’t be real. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t the likes of this. The colours here were almost muted against the vividness of Moneyglass. Shades of greys, browns, and green stretched in rolling hills, lined by forests thicker than I’d ever seen. It was like we’d stepped back in time.

  At the bottom of the hill, there was a winding river with a single boat on it. One look at the ship and you knew you were no longer in the same reality. As we got closer, I could see intricate carvings etched deep into the hull of the ship. They looked like an ancient language. A large man stood at the helm as banshees and reapers alike boarded the open-roofed vessel.

  “Breathtaking,” Seamus said beside me.

  "Yes, it’s really somethin’, but we need to move," Tris said, pushing us ahead. "We need to get to ferry. Now."

  As we walked through the misty terrain, I couldn’t help but notice how dark this world appeared. Glancing at the sky, there didn’t seem to be any sun to speak of, just lots of dark clouds. I shivered against the cold air as Tris pulled her cloak tighter. I now understood why the banshees wore them. It was colder than a witch’s tit here.

  “Unfold your arms,” she whispered. “The dead can’t feel the temperature the same way we can.”

  I brought my hands to my sides as Seamus continued his gawking at his surroundings while Tris led us forward. We were here. We were in Netherworld. Taryn was finally within reach. My thoughts were a wash of excitement and fear.

  “Hurry.” She tugged on our hands as we folded into the mix of other banshees and their souls. I did my best to stay in character, but this was all so overwhelming.

  “But…he’s blind,” I whispered. There was literally nothing where eyes should have been. “How can he see where he’s going?” This did not make me feel warm and fuzzy.

  “He sees all. He doesn’t need eyes for that. Which is why ya have to remember to try not to act human. Act confused."

  "Aye," I said with more confidence than I felt. I was a fish out of water, and as much as I wanted to stay on task, there was so much to take in.

  "Cutting it a wee bit close, aren’t we, Tris?"

  A man sitting at the front of the boat said as we approached.

  "I’m only late ’cause I had to wrangle up Erin’s soul.”

  I felt a kick to the shin as the ferryman turned to me.

  "Erin!" I shouted, remembering my cue. I searched the horizon for good measure.

  "It’s not like Erin to leave her soul behind." The ferryman lowered his head as though to inspect me while inside the boat, a reaper stood up and took a step closer to us. He placed his hand on the hilt of a dagger he wore at his side. It was hard to tell if the gesture was one of habit or suspicion.

  "Sure it is," Tris said coolly. "Especially on days wh
en Patty O’Malley is also missin’." She wagged her eyebrows up and down even though the blind ferryman couldn’t see the gesture. Her gossipy tone conveyed her meaning easy enough.

  The ferryman sniffed the air behind him as though to confirm the missing man. He then grunted something because his lips were stitched shut! Who was this freak driving the boat?

  Tris waved her hand away, seeming to understand what he said. Seamus continued to play his part and look around at this new world while I flexed my fists in case this came to blows.

  "It’s fine. She owes me a favor now," Tris said as though that settled it.

  The ferryman stepped aside as we boarded the boat. The reapers, however, didn’t seem to be as fooled.

  “O’Malley isn’t missing, Tris. He’s home healing from a lorcan attack, as you right know. Why did you lie to the ferryman? Why do you really have two souls?" One of the reapers, a tall guy with blond hair and a thick beard, stood up as well, ready to inspect her catch.

  My jaw flexed as I saw the wheels spinning in Tris’s head to come up with a believable lie.

  The guy with the beard pulled out his blade. The sound it made coming out of his sheath was deafening. This was not going to end well. We’d been in Netherworld a grand total of three minutes, and we were already goners.

  "What’s that big black thing?" Seamus asked.

  "Where?" barked the blond reaper.

  Seamus raised a hand and pointed, tilting his head like a dog with curiosity towards the edge of the forest.

  "Over there. It just went into those trees. Jesus, it was massive. Twice the size of any bear I’ve ever seen. Are there bears here, too? Cool!"

  The reapers ignored Seamus’s apparent pleasure with all the new things to discover in Netherworld and brushed past us.

  "Lorcan,” they hissed.

  The blond reaper motioned to the other warriors aboard, who jumped off the boat.

  "Get this ferry to the Transition Centre as fast as you can," he said.

  The ferryman nodded, taking hold of one of the oars. Instantly, the intricate carvings on the boat began to glow.

  Tris pulled us both towards the end of the boat where the reapers had been a moment earlier. I followed her gaze to where they were heading.

  "Did ya really see a lorcan?" Tris whispered, her eyes wide with fear.

  "No, but I was hoping against hope they’d want to check it out," Seamus said, leaning back in his seat. A satisfied grin spread across his lips.

  "That was a pretty risky gamble," I chided, watching the reapers disappear into the forest as the boat pushed away with incredible speed.

  "Aye, but I know a good bet when I see one," he replied, sneaking an opportunity to squeeze Tris’s knee.

  "We’re not out of the woods yet." Tris scowled. "I still need to get ya safely hidden once we depart until I can get you two disguised."

  "Disguised?" I asked.

  "You canna walk around like this," she whispered, gesturing to my jeans.

  "Why not?" I didn’t see anything wrong with my clothes. They weren’t dressy, but I didn’t look like a slob either. In fact, we didn’t look any different than any of the other souls aboard the boat.

  Tris looked across the boat towards the other banshees, who all seemed to be busy chatting with their own souls before she went on.

  "Deceased souls get cleaned and changed once they are dropped off at the Transition Centre. They are given proper garments."

  "And these aren’t fancy enough?" Seamus asked.

  "Not for the Isle of Glass. Look, no soul stays in the garments they crossed over in, so ya canna stay like this. End of story.”

  I nodded. This was her world. We needed to do whatever she said to blend in. Seamus, however, seemed stuck on this one element.

  “What’s the plan then, steal some clothes from off a clothesline when we come ashore?” Seamus asked.

  Tris bit her lip. “No. I have a way worse idea than that.”

  Chapter 8

  Alana

  So much had happened since I ran into Eivin a few months ago…and yet, things had stayed the same. Tracking down Aed or Taryn had become complicated. What started as a simple message sent to the prince at the castle had turned into a catastrophe. By the time Eivin’s message reached the castle, the entire royal family had left on their Grand Tour. I was still trying to figure out what that all meant, but all the town was buzzing about. As best as I could follow from Eivin’s rushed explanations, the prince had saved Taryn from a public beheading by saying he would marry her. His parents, who weren’t keen on that idea since they’d ordered her head off in the first place, had now forced their son on a tour of Netherworld to visit the eligible, and apparently more suitable, women for their son’s hand. That meant Taryn was travelling with the royal family. They weren’t in one location for long enough for a message travelling by horse to reach them. What would have taken minutes to do in Moneyglass on a mobile phone, took months here. It was maddening!

  In that time, the tiniest details of my life before Netherworld were returning. Nothing solid, but little things like remembering what mobile phones and cars were. It was like living in two worlds at once.

  While we waited for word to finally reach Taryn, Eivin was able to find me a place to stay and earn my keep. That proved to be more cumbersome than either of us had anticipated. We seemed to just miss them at every location.

  Today was the day, though. The day we had both been waiting for. Eivin received a message that the prince had finally arrived. They would meet us tonight. In fact, they skipped a city on their tour to get here faster.

  We would have to meet under the cover of night. I suspected if word got out about the lorcan…about how the ships going to the Isle of Glass were no longer safe, there would be chaos. What mattered most to me, however, was that I would finally get to see Taryn. She had to have the answers about what had happened to me, and more importantly, how I could get to the Isle of Glass.

  I paced inside the shop where Eivin had found me work and lodging. When he said he’d help make sure I was provided for, I had assumed it would be for a day or two. I hadn’t anticipated the fact I would need to take on a job for several months as an apprentice sewing dress patterns.

  Eivin knew the shopkeeper and got my foot in the door. Though, it was clear it wasn’t me she wanted to be taking care of, but rather the Greek god asking her for the favor. It was quite amusing that Eivin seemed blind to her desires, which endured me to him that much more.

  For the first several weeks, I was an abomination to every garment I touched. Under the disapproving tutelage of Ms. Mirabelle, I slowly figured out how to stitch together the patterns and hem petticoats. My skill was nowhere near good enough to touch the outer silks and satins of the dress. That didn’t seem to matter because I was able to do the grunt work while she focused on the fine details of the gowns.

  It seemed so odd to me that a town that was so poverty stricken would have a shop like this. It was only after some time that I realised it wasn’t the town’s people who frequented the shop, but rather the ladies of the manor. Or those from the surrounding cities. The sale of one gown would cover the needs of both of us for a month. With the Grand Tour making a stop here, the shop had been busier than ever. As a result, my sewing fingers, however pathetic they proved to be, were much needed.

  The longer I was in Odran, the harder it became for me to remember a life beyond this new normal. While I still understood I had once been human, the vague memories were still that…vague. The colour orange, however, resonated in my mind as being important. I brushed that aside as having a memory of my own flowing carrot-coloured hair.

  Now, at long last, Taryn would be here and a plan for my return could finally begin. It couldn’t come soon enough. Something terrifying had been happening ever since I’d shipwrecked. Something far more unsettling than the lorcan.

  I was starting to disappear. Not in the figurative way, but in the very literal way. The tip of my pinky f
inger, on one hand, had become translucent.

  When it first happened, I’d completely freaked out. I actually left my duties at the shop to search out Eivin on the Wall. A thing he still scolded me for. He assured me, though, that Taryn would know what it meant. As a banshee, she must have seen this sort of thing happen before. In the meantime, I wore gloves to hide it, which slowed down my stitching, but I couldn’t reveal my freakishness. I had no idea what it meant, but I had the sinking suspicion that, whatever it was, it was not a good thing.

  “They’re here,” Eivin said from the window of the darkened shop. We had to meet under the cover of darkness. Our actions might be considered traitorous. After all, according to the king, there was nothing to fear about the lorcan, so we had to have enough proof first. Eivin was relying on Aed’s knowledge of the Wall to help him see the real danger. He wanted to prove to Aed they were changing into beasts the king’s reapers didn’t know how to combat. Having Taryn come as well was an added benefit solely for me, which was why Eivin suggested we meet here at the shop. Ms. Mirabelle wouldn’t come into work until at least ten the next morning, so we had several hours to play with if needed. A human arriving on the steps of the manor house they were staying at would likely raise more than a few eyebrows. They had to come to us.

  I took a candle from off the table to stand next to Eivin.

  “Get the light away from the window, lass. Do ya want the entire town to know we’re ’ere?”

  “Sorry,” I said, backing away. “I’m just anxious to see her.”

  “Aye. As am I.”

  A moment later there was a slight knock at the door. Eivin unlocked the latch, and a man wearing a black hooded cloak entered. I couldn’t make out his face, but I could tell from his posture that he must be the prince. He turned around and I saw two massive swords sticking out from slits in his cloak. That sent a shiver through me.

  “Is the survivor here?” Taryn asked as soon as the door closed. “I want to hear what happened from the horse’s mouth.” She came all the way into the shop and into the light. She pulled down her own dark cloak, exposing the light-coloured gown underneath.