“Same thing, child. Living beings are all stupid and controlled by their whims.” He spins slowly in a circle, pacing in front of our shadowed hiding place.
“How do you get through the wall,” I say impatiently.
“Ahh, yes, the obstacle looks simple enough. The heat and crackle suggest it will simply sear the flesh from your bones, but appearances can be deceiving.”
I roll my eyes. “So, it’s worse than searing flesh? That’s good news.”
“Not worse. Not better. Only more complicated.”
“How?” I say again. “How do you pass it?”
“You walk.”
“And it won’t kill us?”
“Oh, it may. But it will not harm your body.”
I blink.
“This is spiritual fire, not literal. It will not burn your flesh. Instead, it scorches your soul.”
“Well, that sounds pleasant.”
“Oh, it is not. But, torture or not, there is a purpose to the pain. Fire is not meant as punishment, not solely. No, fire is a purifier, you see,” he says. “You pass through the fire, and it will measure your soul. It will show you how to live without the weight you carry. How to heal your wounds and clean your blemishes. You will survive if, after the pain and fear and anger—the darkness of your spirit—your soul is intact enough to appease the flames.”
My eyebrows pull down. “So, it... burns the bad out of your soul?”
“No, no. Not so simple. That would imply you will no longer have that weight once you pass. No, you must go through the process of healing yourself. It simply measures you. Judges you. It shows you your faults. And pushes you in the right direction. If you are not worthy, you will disintegrate into your own guilt. If you are worthy, you will continue no different than before—at least physically.”
“Worthy,” I repeat. “That doesn’t even make sense.”
“Of course it does.”
“No,” I say back stubbornly. “That’s where the Night Terror is, isn’t it? How did she pass through the fire? You’re telling me she has good in her?”
“Oh, no. Not at all. That creature is as evil as they come.”
I lift my hand, palm up.
“Haven’t you wondered why she hasn’t yet come to find you herself?”
I tilt my head.
“She’s sent wraiths after the living but has not joined the hunt personally. That is because she cannot pass through the flames. She is trapped in the innermost circles.”
My mouth falls open. I suppose that does add up. “So, is she trapped by the Wicked Gates or by the wall of flames?”
The wraith shrugs. “Both. Though, I suspect she could dismantle the flames if she was so inclined. Her motivation has been lacking over the years of her banishment. She has only recently begun moving again. Slithering inside the darkest places of this dark place.”
I bite my lip as I consider this new information. I wouldn’t have chosen to trust this wraith, but we’re here now. May as well make the most of it.
Finally, I drop the shadow veil. The wolf grins.
If his information is correct, then I wasn’t all that wrong in my guess that it’s not unlike the Black Gates, which makes one live through the feelings and thoughts of their death. Will this make me relive all of my regrets? All of the darkness in my soul? What if that drives me insane? What if there is nothing left when I pass through?
That will be worse than death. If my soul is disintegrated, I won’t even have the chance to become a wraith. I’ll be gone forever. I’ll cease to exist.
Regardless, I must try or let Rev face the Night Terror alone. Not an option.
The bad news is that this also means the moment we pass the wall we’ll be within reach of the Night Terror. I didn’t admit it to Rev, but I am terrified of the moment I face her. Will she be like the Night Bringer? Worse? A creature trapped in this torturous place for hundreds of years... I’m sure she’s not exactly pleasant.
I knew we were walking closer and closer to that reality. But something about knowing we are safe from her direct reach now but not once we pass the wall makes it feel more real. Will she be there waiting for us the moment we pass? Will there be an army of wraiths waiting?
“See for yourself if you do not believe me. Creatures will pass through the fire as they would pass through a smokescreen. There is no trick. There is nothing you can do to ensure you survive. You will either pass or you will fail. You will not know until you’re beneath the roaring flames.”
“Or you could just be telling us this to ensure we both die.” I place my hand on my hip.
The wraith tsks. “I have given you the knowledge I have of the judgment. You must choose your way for yourself.”
“We tried to get close already, and my clothes began smoking.”
“Such exaggerations.” The wolf rolls his eyes. “The real trick for you will be passing through without falling into a trap. The Night Terror and her beast are waiting for you.”
I bite my lip. “I figured that much.”
“Well, I could possibly be persuaded to help.” The wolf begins to pace again.
“What would you get out of the deal?” Rev asks.
His smile spreads wide, exposing those sharp teeth again. “The satisfaction of knowing I helped to end the Night Terror’s reign.”
I narrow my eyes. “You told us you weren’t an enemy,” I say. “You didn’t say you were an ally.”
“Oh, well, I’m not, strictly speaking. I simply haven’t chosen a side. If I believe you capable of succeeding, I would love to align with you.”
And if he decides we are doomed to fail? What will he do then?
I glance to Rev, who’s watching my expression closely. “What do you think?”
We got as much information out of the wraith-wolf as possible, so we could run or fight or just tell him to shove off now. Or we could accept him as an ally. Because I do agree we could use help to ensure we aren’t falling right into the Night Terror’s clutches the moment was pass through the wall of fire.
“I think our next step is scoping out the wall,” Rev says. “He says wraiths and animals pass through the fire as simple as a smokescreen. Let’s see it.”
I purse my lips. A test. Or at least stalling. I suppose I can handle that decision. I nod, and for the first time, I drop my shadows.
“We’re going to journey closer to the wall,” I tell him. “To watch something pass through.”
“Well, what are you waiting for?” he exclaims. “Let’s get a move on.”
The wraith-wolf prowls forward, leading the way back through the mountain pass. I am not particularly confident in this wolf’s motives being so pure, but I will admit we needed information. If there is one thing wraiths seem to be good at—it’s information. How they seem to know everything, even about specifics outside the Schorchedlands, I’ll never understand.
“What even are you?” I ask as we walk slowly toward the wall of flames. Heat is already building. Sweat beads on my brow.
“Me? I am a wraith, of course. I thought you were smarter than that.”
I roll my eyes. “Why do you take the form of a wolf instead of a fae? Are you something like the zombie animals we keep seeing?”
“Those mindless creatures? No, certainly not. They are simply animals unlucky enough to have been trapped in this forest when the curse began. They were living breathing beasts once upon a time.”
I frown. They were regular animals when the Schorchedlands were created? I can’t imagine them being able to breed, so did they become immortal when they were trapped? I blink back those thoughts. I have more important things to consider right now.
“I take the form of a wolf simply because this was the form I died in.”
My eyebrows pull down. “What?”
“I was a shifter, child. From the Beastly Court. I took the form of a wolf as often as I pleased. It was a convenient form to take for battle. And that is how I died.”
“Interesting,�
�� Rev mumbles.
Finally, the roaring red wall of flames comes into view and I am reminded of just how uncomfortable it is to be near. “Why is it so hot if it doesn’t burn you physically?”
“It is meant to be intimidating, child. For living beings especially. It was not made for you. Though you can, of course, pass through it.”
“Of course.” I roll my eyes.
“You can believe me or not. That is a choice you must make. I am surprised though,” he drawls. “Why are your wraith allies not helping you in this challenge? Did you get them killed with your stupidity?” The wraith’s smoke swirls over his eyes in a strangely haughty way.
“They are both alive,” I say with no intention of expanding. There’s no telling if this wraith is a spy only seeking to gain information.
“They are not friends,” Rev says. “Both have abandoned us.”
“I wouldn’t be so certain about that. Kin have a way of sticking around, for better or for worse.”
“Reahgan was kin, the other was just a strange tag along,” Rev says.
“Ahh, so your mate has not yet told you?”
My eyebrows pull low in a grimace. “How do all of the wraiths seem to know so much?”
“Told me what?” Rev asks, his expression hard. “What didn’t you tell me?”
“Nothing important,” I say.
The wraith chuckles. “No, nothing important at all,” he drones, clearly sarcastic.
“It isn’t. It changes nothing.” The fool wanted me to use his information to betray Rev, but that will not happen. I am here. I am trapped. I will not have the opportunity to put his information to any use.
“Caelynn...”
I toss my hands up. “Wraiths. Always have to make everything so difficult. The wraith was some great, great, great relative of mine, and he wants me to claim the Shadow Court’s heritage and make it strong again. Obviously, that’s not happening. So, again, it doesn’t matter.”
Rev is still examining me, his eyes narrowed, but he doesn’t speak. Yes, I’m withholding some information. I’m not yet ready to admit that I’m technically the true heir to the Shadow Court throne.
I’m not taking that throne. So, it doesn’t matter. I don’t even want to think about it.
“Who was he—the wraith?” Rev asks, his eyes darting to the wall and back to me. “Does he have something to do with the reason the Night Terror wants you?”
The ground rumbles beneath our feet. More of the magic of the flames?
I nod and cross my arms. “I didn’t even get his name, but he was the fae who placed the curse on the walls surrounding this place so that the Night Terror would remain trapped. They need someone of his blood to reverse the curse. Someone powerful.”
Rev searches my expression, but I won’t let him see the emotion beneath the surface. It was all their fault. My court was systematically weakened over the last several generations all because of the Night Bringer.
Another shudder runs through the mountains, stronger this time. Like thunder. It’s a quick boom, then it fades away.
“What is that?” I whisper, eyes shifting toward the flames.
“A powerful creature,” the wolf-wraith whispers, so low I almost don’t hear him. My heart hammers in my chest. His eyes are wide as he stares at the wall.
One more boom sounds, and we begin stepping farther away from the fiery wall, down the main road, wondering where we should move.
“So, that’s why they’ve targeted you. But it’s been centuries. Why now?”
I bite my lip. “The shadow fae have had their magic purposefully bred out so we wouldn’t be strong enough to reverse the curse.”
Rev’s eyes narrow. “Until you.”
“Perhaps we should take this conversation elsewhere,” the wraith says suddenly, for the first time sounding anxious.
I nod both to Rev and the wraith. I don’t know what’s making the thunder-like sound, but I don’t mind not finding out. We begin a brisk walk away from the magical wall, back down the main trail.
The wraith looks back then forward, his shoulder’s tight.
“Until the Night Bringer gave me some of his magic, yes.” That was what changed everything. I was as weak as anyone else in the Shadow Court. I couldn’t have broken the curse either. Until I made a bargain with the Night Bringer. I was tortured into agreeing of course, but part of the deal was taking some of his magic. That magic helped me to kill Reahgan, a fae much stronger than me otherwise. The Night Bringer didn’t expect me to succeed in the bargain—he wanted me to fail. I’d have his magic, but he’d have control of it and therefore of me. I’d be his slave. And I wouldn’t have had any choice but to obey his every word.
Then, I would have had the power needed and I’d be under his control. Win-win for the evil being.
But because I did succeed and killed the right fae, I have his magic and I’m free from his torture and influence. Now, they have to find a new way to use me.
The wraith wolf freezes mid-step. “Wait... what did you say?”
I turn to face him, noting his slacked expression. Honestly, it’s sad that I’m becoming accustomed to reading the smoke bodies of the wraiths. They have no real physical form, it’s entirely magic pretending to be physical. But I suppose I should get used to it. I’m going to be here for a very long time.
“What?” I have no energy left to play games with him.
Something I’ve said has fear coursing through him now. His chest pulses with it. “You have the Night Bringer’s magic?”
“I thought you wraiths knew everything?” I roll my eyes. “Yes, he gave it to me in exchange for a bargain. But he only did it because he needed me to be strong enough to break the curse.”
The wraith slowly backs away. “If the Night Bringer’s magic is inside of you... then, you’ve already lost. It will control you. Strangle you from the inside.”
I shake my head. “I’ve had his magic for over a decade. It once had a mind of its own, sure enough, but since I completed the bargain, it hasn’t so much as whispered to me.”
The wraith’s eyes narrow. “He wouldn’t have given it to you if he didn’t intend to use it against you.”
“I am certain he intended to use it against me, yes. But that doesn’t mean he succeeded.”
The wolf crouches, baring his teeth. “You think you’ve won? That his plans aren’t much larger than all of this? No. No, I hadn’t chosen an allegiance before now. But I will not pick the losing side.”
The flames flash black then back to golden-red. The wolf’s eyes grow wider.
“Wraith!” a voice echoes over the flames. The very ground rumbles beneath my feet. The mountains tremble, and my soul along with them. “It is your time to choose.”
The final word echoes over and over, bouncing off the stones towering over us.
The wolf crouches, baring his sharp fangs. The terror in his eye matches mine.
“No,” I whisper. Because I know that voice. It’s different than his, and yet, the same. The stone recognizes these creature’s dominion. The world quakes with their voice.
I know I should run, but my muscles are frozen. My mind is clenched with fear—memories echo through me.
Night Bringer.
Master.
It was so long ago that I’d faced him. So long ago that his talons carved through my body and spirit. But I can feel it. The echo of wounds long since faded.
I barely even register as claws and fangs fly straight at me. Instinct takes over, and I fling shadows at the wolf, but panic constricts my breath, and my magic flickers weakly. The wolf easily dodges my attack and reaches for me. His claw slashes through my forearm, and a cry of pain escapes my lips.
Then, a wall of light stretches between us. The wolf roars in pain and rage as he slams into the glistening whiteness. I, too, shrink back at the bright light, eyes searing.
Rev roars as he swings his arms, and his magic mimics the motion, sending the wolf flying toward the cliffs. The
wolf’s smokey magic slams into the stone, and he falls limp to the ground.
The ground rumbles beneath us, louder and stronger. Faster.
“He’s coming.” The wolf whimpers.
I find myself on my hands and knees, unsure how I even got there. My fingers dig into the soft clay-like muck. I can’t breathe, can’t think. All I can hear is his voice.
The Night Bringer.
The rumble of eerie distant laughter pulses through me, and I can’t tell if it’s real or memory.
I dig deeper, fingers curling into the soft ground. I close my eyes, frustrated with myself for my reaction.
It’s just a voice.
But then—half a mile away—the fire shifts, exposing a creature three times the size of an elephant. Its skin is thick and scaled, with a mane of thick black fir around its head and shining horns darker than the blackest night curl over its ears. Its eyes glow red. What the hell is that?
Strong but gentle hands grip my waist and yank me to my feet. I stumble, trying to follow his guidance, but my shaking legs rebel, knees buckling. Rev tugs me into his arms as he sprints away from the beast and the wild flames.
Rev races down the trail, carrying me. We curl around the side of the mountain, rushing down the first path we pass. I cling to Rev’s shoulders and focus on his sharp breaths. His heart hammers into my side.
Several minutes later, Rev slows to a walk. That creature—whatever the hell it was—didn’t follow us. I’m fairly certain we could hear it coming for miles.
“Can you walk?” Rev asks as we find a smaller pathway. I nod, and he gently sets me on my feet, his arm still curled over my back. I hold onto his shoulders for a moment longer, our chests touching.
I swallow.
My cheeks burn red. I’d had a panic attack right there as a wraith was attacking me. Good timing, Cae.
I swallow. Maybe that was the point. Maybe they knew the moment I heard her voice, I wouldn’t be able to cope. I’d fall apart like a little china doll. Pathetic.
Rev’s hands rest on my waist, nose grazing my hair. He waits for me to pull away.
I breathe deeply, taking in his comforting scent of sage and cedar. How he still smells good after nearly a week in this place is beyond me.
Soul of Thorns (Wicked Fae Book 3) Page 4