by T. F. Walsh
The man had short, dark hair, over-emphasizing his square face, but his eyes… were deep and piercing.
“Luna and Axel,” his voice carried a heavy, worried tone. “You’re no longer safe in a cell. We’re under attack, and the enemy has broken into the compound. We leave now.” He fiddled with keys in his pocket and unlocked our prison. The floor shook, softer this time, but when a chunk of the enclosure fell down behind us, we raced outside the open door.
“What attack?” I asked.
“My name is Stepan Sergey, a council leader for Kutia Hollow.” The moment he reached out and stroked my arm, my world faded. I drowned in his pale brown eyes. Something stirred behind them as if he recognized me, which was insane because I’d never seen this person in my life. Yet, in his presence, a calmness washed over me and my heart warmed.
“Do I know you?” I asked.
“We’ve met once.” His gaze dipped to the binding insignia on my inner wrist of the twelve black rings and a red one.
With his response revolving in my mind, the mountain might as well have swallowed me because reality engulfed me. “Are you fucking screwing with me?”
Axel’s eyes widened as he stared at us with a wild expression. But Stepan gave me a quick nod, drew my hand into his, and guided us both through the corridor at a fast pace.
My brain was a whirlwind, rattled and confused. Stepan, a council leader, was my binding partner? The truth buzzed in my bones, and the way my body responded was unlike anything I’d experienced before. Was that why vulsines attacked me after tasting my blood? Why they said Axel and I were the keys… so did that mean we were each matched to a leader? My head hurt making sense of it because this was about Axel and me saving him.
We raced down the marble tunnel with warm cinnamon infusing the air. Stepan dropped his hold and sped up in front of us.
Axel closed the distance between us, standing so close his heat leaped over to me. “He’s your binding partner, isn’t he?”
“I think so.”
He guided his hand to my lower back. “We’re in this together, all the way.”
“Thanks.” Not sure why it hit me so hard, bothering me. Maybe it was that I’d always considered myself the helper, the one needing to get Axel to the compound. I was an instrument to others… not at the forefront or connected to a council leader. Shit! If by some miracle we survived, would we be allowed to return to our normal lives? On the bright note, no way in hell could PPD kick me out of the force now!
We entered a grand hall with marble columns running the length of the long room. No furniture, just emptiness. Fire torches tossed shadows across the murals on the wall of the ancient realm. I’d seen photos of these paintings in history books. One showed Queen Rasha back in the realm filled with greenery. She wore a flowing white gown and was defeating the evil fae, Acura, with bolts of electricity sparking from her fingers. In another image, Rasha stood amid thirteen shallow graves, representing her daughters, her expression solemn and distraught. I hadn’t seen the last depiction before. It was Acura being absorbed into the ground, the black energy lines seeping toward the princess’s graves. Part of the evil had remained when our world was formed. Had Acura’s evil freed the vulsines in Kutia Hollow when the leaders held the ritual to raise the princess?
“This way.” Stepan waved for us to hurry.
Axel and I rushed, my boots tapping the floor with each rapid step. Who else lived here? Just the leaders and guards? If it were me, I’d add decorations and a skylight. Maybe an indoor pool.
Stepan pushed open a heavy door studded with metal bolts.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Stepan, talk to us,” Axel added.
“We’re almost there,” Stepan said.
I’d had my fair share of surprises lately and would rather sit this one out, except we’d come so far and faced death too frequently. Besides, Axel marched onward, his arms swinging, not showing a hint of hesitation.
The white marble tunnel wound left and right, but up ahead, a stunning bright light waited. Before long, we crossed an enormous platform with passages threading out in several directions. My sights were set on a tunnel leading to a balcony at least fifty feet away, glowing in the natural light.
The air carried the fetid stink of death, and I gagged.
“What the fuck is that?” Axel growled.
I halted, staring at the balcony, unable to make sense of what I was seeing.
A clawed bloody foot scraped over the edge of the balcony.
“The vulsines followed you here.” Stepan spoke with haste. “They’ve merged and released the evil essence into our world. A piece of Acura, the fae who attempted to destroy the realm so long ago, lives inside this being. And now, the darkness is spreading. If he kills the princess, Kutia Hollow shall wither, and everyone on the planet will die within days.”
A monstrosity crawled onto the balcony made of sludge that resembled a bloody massacre, just like the dead bodies I’d once found in a house in the Outlands. One human gang had butchered another, not caring for the faes they also killed. I still had nightmares of the scene… and now it flooded my thoughts.
“Our barrier was lowered when we allowed you to enter the compound,” Stepan said. “And that’s when it got in.”
A flash of regret stabbed me, and the leader’s words haunted me. I’d failed the council, the princess, everyone. “This is my fault,” I stammered. “I forced Axel to come here. What have I done?”
Sweat drenched me, and my heartbeat thumped in my ears. I recoiled, bumping into Axel.
Cold fingers wrapped around my arm, and I was wrenched backward by Axel. He yelled something, but I couldn’t concentrate. My legs moved in violent motion, but I kept glancing over my shoulder at the fiend that held no specific physique, but resembled lava spreading, devouring everything in its path. Globs of phlegm oozed from its bubbling surface.
A sickness swirled in my gut, the kind that promised to bring up not only the food in my stomach but every organ.
Another bloody limb slapped the platform and its congealed form looped over the railing, swarming outward like a pregnant arachnid bursting with a thousand babies.
Fear ate my confidence. We had to defeat that thing?
Our path descended sharply and seemed to coil in on itself, but we weren’t stopping. Only the quickened strike of our boots and our gasps for air resonated. I’d lost sight of the darkness, but that didn’t mean shit. It was coming for us.
Once we reached a portcullis doorway, we encountered several guards gripping spears, white knuckles declaring their dread. Stepan mumbled a whisper, and the grilled iron door lifted vertically into slots in the ceiling. We fell into step behind Stepan in a room with white marble walls and flooring. No windows, but the single candle on the table against the wall flickered when Stepan locked us inside, setting in motion an eerie dance of shadows.
Fire singed my mind. Hell, everything we’d faced up until now was child’s play compared to this. The room closed in around me, and as selfish as it sounded, I craved my simple life in the city.
“Look, tell us what’s happening,” Axel said. “How can we be safe down here?”
Stepan nodded fast. “I’d normally introduce myself properly, but time isn’t on our side. We’re here to resurrect Princess Kutia, and we need you to participate in the ritual.” He walked toward a shadowy corner. The squeaking cry of a hinge had us closing in. He opened a door. “This way, quickly.”
I grabbed Axel’s elbow. “What do you think?”
Uncertainty played in his gaze, and the bridge of his nose pinched. “Considering the monstrous thing outside, I’d rather take my chances in here. We’ve got each other.” He took my hand, and his warmth filled me with possibility and strength. Together we crossed the expanse and entered another marble room lit by a single candle mounted on a wall. A hole lay open in the center of the floor, gaping and revealing a metal ladder. Axel didn’t wait and climbed down. So I did the same a
fter Stepan.
I landed on soft ground and inhaled the musky scent of dirt. Several more candles were cradled by the soil, but they barely illuminated the path snaking away from us.
A figure stood farther ahead. With the lack of light, I couldn’t make out the features, but my legs refused to move closer. Everything happened too fast. Were we walking into a trap? The council leaders were elusive, and no one had knowledge of who they were, what they did at the compound or anything. Right now, I felt as if we’d just offered ourselves as sacrifices to the vulsines.
Chapter 31
Loose soil sprinkled down from the trembling ceiling. Honestly, with the vulsines attacking the council compound and shaking the place to smithereens, underground wasn’t the best location to hide. A stale reek blanketed the air, but my sights fixed on the figure standing across the chamber. The stranger made a beeline toward Axel and me, taking wide strides, arms stiff by his side.
“I wish our meeting were under more desirable circumstances,” he said. The man was dressed in a black, collared shirt and pleated pants, something I’d expect from Eduard. But if the leaders were out of the public eye, why would they wear such formal attire? Damn, if it were me, I’d hang out in my pajamas all day.
“I’m Yakovich.” He stretched a hand to Axel, his eyes piercing and wide. The moment they touched, Axel quivered, and his brow pinched. The same reaction I had with Stepan.
These two stared at each other. I rarely believed in coincidences, but right there, cruel, twisted events had drawn Axel and me together. And all the while, we were matches to the council leaders. Well, fate had played a part in the arrangement.
“Axel, it’s been a long time coming to meet you.” He hugged Axel in a strange, awkward way. Axel didn’t seem sure where to put his arms.
When Yakovich swung my way, his eyes smiled, and the candlelight illuminated his pale blue irises. Across the front of his neck curled a green swirl, the repetitive flow of waves, each crest deep violet in color, almost glowing. The hard lines at the corners of his mouth softened, and it drew attention to his small nose that somehow didn’t belong on his round face. When he gripped me in a hug, his fingers felt iron strong and frozen.
I inhaled his manly perspiration, and Yakovich’s body trembled ever so lightly. He wasn’t as calm as he’d first appeared, but then who would be when Acura’s darkness attacked the compound.
“Come,” Yakovich said and waved for us to follow him. Stepan brushed past me and marched ahead.
Axel cut me a side glance, one brow arched. No words. He had the same hesitation as me. But we kept in step, following the curve of the crypt down a long tunnel comprised of dirt and stone walls. Nothing else. Under any other circumstances, I’d say this location made the best wine cellar, except Stepan had explained that Princess Kutia lay asleep here. And that thought alone had me bouncing on my toes. I’d been so caught up in surviving, I’d forgotten that I was meeting the princess of Kutia Hollow! Hell! And I was wearing dirty clothes. What were the correct words to say to royalty?
I struggled to inhale or exhale, to do anything. The reality of actually meeting her, seeing where she slept, left me speechless.
“Hurry, please,” Yakovich called out.
“You all right?” Axel asked.
I nodded, battling between conflicting emotions. Excitement to meet a goddess, and too terrified that we’d die.
The scuff of Yakovich’s boots led the way, and we followed until we emerged from a bunker at least fifty feet wide and deep. Shadows bounced across the walls from candles dotting the ground.
Toward the rear of the room, Stepan and Yakovich kneeled to either side of a closed fresh grave. Was this Princess Kutia’s burial chamber? I gasped. Jagged edges of broken stone peeked out from the dirt. In the far corner, I saw chunks of marble stone, which I assume had once covered her grave. Why wasn’t she in a glass coffin or even a golden one?
“Axel, you stand at her head. Luna, the feet.” Stepan pointed at our divided positions. Part of me toyed with the idea of brushing aside the loose dirt to see the princess beneath the ground.
I licked my dry lips. “I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do.”
“And I don’t have any powers to help,” Axel explained, his gaze scanning the bump covered in fresh dirt. Had they reburied Kutia once their first attempt to awaken her had failed?
Unease rocked me because I was unprepared. I’d never trained with magic, and the leaders were renowned for their craft. Even the human leader was gifted with an enchantment ability. What could we offer? I exchanged a glance with Axel. He wore the same concerned expression as if somehow we would fail the leaders. I didn’t want to voice my worries, but doubt circled my head as if it were a vulture about to pick at the carcass of my skeptical brain.
What if we weren’t strong enough? A large bang sounded above. More rubble rained on us.
While the vulsines penetrated and attacked the compound, the mountain shook as if it would collapse. We’d die, buried alive! A memory of Nyx touched my mind, how she rolled up her sleeves and disassembled whatever she was constructing to better understand how it worked. Nothing stood in her way. I traced the pocket of my pants, feeling the slight bump of Nyx’s folded photo. I’d follow in her footsteps and make this work, so I claimed my post. Axel did the same.
“Take each other’s hands,” Yakovich began, and his fingers slid against mine, as did Stepan’s. All four of us kneeled around the fresh grave, our arms stretched out around the princess’s burial ground. Every molecule in my body squeezed tight, waiting, expecting fireworks… something.
“We’ll use the raising ritual again. Our power should be stronger.” Stepan rolled his shoulders. “Close your eyes and don’t resist the force when it touches you.”
I nodded, unsure what to expect, but not holding back now. With a last look at Axel, who winked my way, I smiled and shut my eyes.
The sound of my pulse swooshing in my ears resonated, disturbed by another crash from overhead. Focus. Concentrate on the princess.
Both council leaders broke into a hum, soft at first. The tune escalated in volume, flowing to a fast beat, reminding me of crickets. Both their grips tightened, squeezing.
The moment their song ended, a zap of electricity snapped up my arms, engulfing me, filling me. Shoving against my insides, I swayed on the spot.
An inferno… it burned across every inch of my body, boiling me from the inside out. I screamed, loud and intense. Nothing else registered, just the scorching odor inundating my nostrils.
Panic twisted my gut, and out of an instinct to survive, my eyes fluttered open.
Across from me, Axel writhed and groaned, convulsing, reddening as if he might detonate. The fae leaders’ lips pried open. A river of golden light cascaded from their mouths and poured onto the soil.
Still, the issue was Axel. I had innate power, but Axel didn’t. He gasped for air, and his body thrashed. He was dying.
I yanked myself free, and at once the electric sparks ceased. Everyone expelled loud exhales and shot backward as if an invisible force had thrown them. I scrambled to my feet and rushed to Axel’s side as he lay on his back. I cupped his cheek when he gulped air, his gaze wild.
“Fuck, fuck!” Articulating wasn’t possible, not when I thought I’d lose Axel.
“What have you done?” Stepan screeched, his voice deep, and he reached for me.
I knocked him aside. “We do this again, but leave Axel out.”
“L-Luna.” Axel pushed himself to a sitting position, his posture curled forward. “This isn’t about me. It’s about saving everyone.”
My head spun with a desperation to make him see sense. “Are you crazy?”
I faced Stepan and Yakovich, both breathing heavy, shadows sliding beneath their glares. “There has to be another way.” I choked on my own breath.
Yakovich, the fae leader, nodded. “Your power is fierce, Luna, so you take my place.”
I flinched at his suggestio
n. “What are you talking about?”
A sudden boom exploded overhead.
“We have little time left. I’ll drive my entire life force into Kutia,” Yakovich said. “Luna, you can be the second strong anchor to draw Kutia to freedom. Axel will join us.”
“No! You’ll die and then so will Axel. We try this again the same way, just the three of us. I’ll try harder.” I didn’t know the fae, but I wouldn’t sit back and agree to his ridiculous plan.
“Time is running out,” Stepan said, already kneeling, ready to go. Did he have no remorse for losing a friend, a companion who’d spent his life inside the compound? Or had they always believed their lives were inconsequential in the greater scheme of things?
Both took their positions again without a word. They might as well be robots, barren of emotions. “This time,” Yakovich began, “focus on driving your energies into me. I’ll be the vessel that restarts her life force.”
I couldn’t move because everything happened too fast, too fuckin’ fast, and my mind refused to keep up. Sacrificing anyone wasn’t an option, but they were the leaders and knew more about Kutia than me. It didn’t mean I had to agree with their decision.
Axel sat on his heels, silent, his mouth downturned. I spun around to face Yakovich, “You’re his binding partner, so you’ve got magic to protect him, and he won’t die even if you do, right?” I held my breath. The leaders remained safeguarded if their partners died, so it had to work in reverse, too.
Yakovich’s eyes glistened, revealing a trace of his despair for a split second as if he’d trained himself to never show feelings. “Sweet dear, that only works one way… to protect us. If we pass away, so do our binding partners. We are all vessels. Our lives don’t matter compared to the millions who will perish if we don’t do this.”
Fuck, no! I kept staring at Axel, who lifted his head, his eyes gleaming in the candlelight.