by K. F. Breene
It was day seven and I hadn’t spoken for thirty-six hours. I’d lost my voice during day five from all the screaming and had no idea if it had come back yet. Darius was in the same condition. Guy code might’ve said they didn’t scream, but bonding code held no such reservations.
Part of me never wanted to do that again; another part wanted to do it at least once a year. I thought I’d die from pleasure if it happened more than once per day. Actually die. It was that intense.
We should get up, Darius thought. He hadn’t spoken out loud, other than the ululations of lovemaking, since day three. My power hadn’t receded, so I could hear him just fine. It is time to get going.
I felt his heart beating deep down, like a slow, comforting clock keeping time. I felt connected to him in a way that couldn’t be explained. Like our souls were holding hands. I didn’t feel his emotions, like I had thought I would, just the ease of knowing we were together. I felt responsible for him, deeply in love with him, and a pure light originating from inside because of him.
He’d been right. It had just strengthened what we already had. We might physically be apart in the future, but we would never be separated, something that would totally suck if our relationship went south.
Call me Mrs. Glass-half-empty. Or practical; take your pick.
“Yeah.” My voice had returned to hoarse and scratchy, like on day three, but at least it worked. “I might walk bowlegged. Don’t make fun of me. It’s your fault.”
I have heard that bonding is intense and enjoyable, but that seemed excessive.
I laughed and thought about rolling toward the edge of the bed.
Come, we need to go. He didn’t move.
“Who are you trying to convince, me or you?”
My body does not want to obey my head’s commands.
“Are you sure it’s supposed to be six days instead of seven? Because it certainly doesn’t feel like we should be running around at this point. I’m still exhausted.”
His body wiggled a little. I can do this. Finally he rolled to his side before swinging his feet over the edge.
I followed suit, hating every minute of it. I wanted to lose the entire month to him, lying in bed and reveling in his perfect body. He’d ruined my sense of reason. Absolutely destroyed it. I was not thinking rationally anymore. Callie would kill me.
A shot of adrenaline had me surging to my feet. “Callie and Dizzy!” My legs gave out and I fell to the ground. “Dang it, my legs are not obeying.” I crawled to the wall and climbed to my feet. A bit dramatic, but man, I was sore and tired. “Oh my God, how could I have forgotten to leave them a note? They’ll think I disappeared off the face of the earth.”
I pulled on my clothes and weapons and scooped my pouch off the ground. I dug out my phone. It had probably long since died, so I looked around frantically for a charger. The least I could do was text them.
“Moss will have seen to that,” Darius said, coming around the bed and placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. “I gave him instructions to pick up a letter from you and deliver it to them. I had thought we’d spend some time getting you comfortable with the next steps before initiating the bonding. There were a few things I wanted to do. As usual, of course, you unraveled my plans. He will have seen to it in our absence.”
“I hope he didn’t try to sign my name to it, because there is no way he could mimic me. They’ll know something is up.”
Darius went still for a moment. “You can send another before we leave.”
I took a deep breath. “Do you have a charger?”
He glanced at my phone. “For that relic? No. We’ll get you a new phone.”
“Just because I bonded you—” I had to stop myself for a moment. A rush of butterflies and inner girlie squealing blotted out all thought. I tried again. “Just because I—” I gritted my teeth, because this was getting ridiculous. “—doesn’t mean I want you to buy me a bunch of stuff. This phone is fine. I just need a charger.”
Two backpacks, a satchel, and a new, larger pouch awaited us downstairs, along with a new set of clothes and a handwritten note. Darius took up the note as I riffled through the backpacks. Each contained a scaly sort of suit made out of stressed leather and patches of hard material, rope, a Swiss Army knife, and other survival tools. Darius’s pack, the one with the larger suit, contained a lighter. Mine did not.
Moss was nothing if not thorough.
Within my new pouch was a color-coded array of spells, and a piece of paper identifying what they all were.
Extremely thorough.
I dropped my hand with the paper in it so I could see how much of the information stuck. “Oh crap.”
“What is it?” Darius asked, now looking through the backpacks.
I felt my eyes widen as I lifted the paper again. “I read the paper, looked away, and I remembered every detail. Holy crap.” I smiled. “That is awesome! Totally cheating at life with humans, but awesome.”
“You’re welcome.” His lips tweaked into a grin.
“Well, you’ll get to walk around the depths of hell with a bunch of horribly ugly creatures that want to do you harm. So you’re welcome.” I strapped the pouch around my waist as my stomach growled. My brow crumpled. “I haven’t eaten since we started the bonding. Is that normal?”
“For humans, no. For you? Who’s to say? That raises a good question, though. Do you need to eat? Demons do not, so I don’t assume there will be any restaurants down there.”
“If I didn’t need to eat for the last week, then…”
He nodded like he thought that was the case. “It will probably be extremely uncomfortable for you for the first few days. You will probably feel hunger again now that the bonding is no longer distracting you. There will be other physical discomforts. You’ll want to breathe, but there will be no air in places. Your thirst will go unquenched. To top it off, you’ll miss the sun.”
I huffed out a laugh. “Of all the things you listed, I can handle no sun.”
“For a while, yes. But mark my words, you’ll notice its absence.”
I nodded, since he would know, and thought about raiding the kitchen for one last meal. Instead, since I should probably start the torture now so I could get used to it faster, I looked around for paper and a pen.
“Moss did not sign your name to the letter,” Darius said, slipping on his backpack. He nodded toward the note lying on the couch. “He kept it vague, telling them that you were sorry and making it clear that you would have written yourself if you’d had the opportunity.”
“He didn’t mention why I was unable, did he?”
“Just that you had to start your journey.” I stopped my search for writing implements, but my relief was short-lived. “You will need to tell them eventually,” he continued. “What we have will never go away, Reagan. You will be my darling for all of eternity, traveling the world by my side. We are one, you and I. They will catch on eventually.”
“Let’s just slow down with the dramatics, shall we? And ‘darling’ is something that can go, that’s for sure.” I pulled my hair up in a ponytail. “I think I liked you better when you thought I was a nuisance.”
“That is fear talking.”
“Pretty soon it will be violence talking, so you have that to look forward to.”
I looked back and forth between my older pouch and the new one. There was really no need to keep the old one, as beat up as it was, but it had been with me through a lot. I was a little sentimental. Besides, if something happened to the new one…
I emptied the older pouch of used casings and the few intact spells and stuffed it into my backpack. The pinch of hunger was starting to be a problem. Already. Though after a week, it probably should’ve been way worse. It was probably a mental issue.
“Are we waiting for something?” I asked, hefting my backpack. “And what does the suit do?”
Darius zipped up his backpack and slung it over his shoulders. “Let’s go. I’ll explain the suits at another ti
me.”
“I assume you know how to get into the underworld? I also assume it is nighttime out right now?”
“There is a gate into the Realm not far from here. We will enter that and head to one of the entrances to the underworld. From there, we will hope the demon’s map is correct.”
“I wonder if Callie and Dizzy called that demon again.” I let him direct me out of the front door. A shape moved off to the right, almost imperceptible. It took me a moment to realize two things. One was that the shape was indistinct because it had one of those camouflaged sheets over it, and I had noticed it anyway. The other was that my vision was crystal clear, better than my sight in daylight. The difference was like that between watching an HD TV versus a TV made twenty years before.
“A great memory, and better night vision. Awesome. And all you got was a key into hell.” I shook my head. “Sucks to be you.”
“I have received boons from you, I have no doubt. They will be revealed in time.”
I grimaced. I sure hoped so, for his sake.
“Shall we?” He started to jog, not worried about the lurkers, which meant he employed them. I kept up easily. When he sped up, so did I. Even faster, and I still kept pace. It wasn’t until he was at his top speed that I flagged. I was faster than before by far, but still not as fast as him.
One thing I hadn’t gotten was enhanced hearing. The words coming from his moving lips were caught by the wind and thrown away.
“Huh?” I yelled.
You do not need to shout. I can hear you just fine.
“Right. Sorry.”
Some of your enhanced traits might be the effect of your greater access to your power. I assume it still rages as it has been?
“Still powerful, yes. Both types, almost equally. You had the right idea in our practice sessions about getting me to the place where I thought I would die. It started when I thought you would kill me during the bonding.”
And your ability to work them? Do you feel just as dexterous?
“Not really, no. When I’m not thinking, and just wanting something, usually it happens. When I try to consciously re-create that, I can’t. None of it is complex, though. Not like that demon did.”
You are an apt pupil. You simply need a worthy teacher.
It was a little late for that. I would have to just try my best and hope I didn’t die. Or worse, get captured.
Chapter Twelve
The white zigzag line cut through the air above a small berm in a field. Darius stopped in front of it before shooting me a sideways glance.
“I will use words until I find it imprudent for me to do so,” he said.
“Sounds good. Do you want to go first?” I gestured at the gate to the Realm, the world solely inhabited by magical people.
“There is an echo of you having just been at the plantation house.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“An echo from you, letting me know where you have just come from. Some level-five demons have that ability—to know where someone has been moments before. The trait has been noted in a few exorcisms. It is not a vampire trait. It must’ve come from you.”
“It clearly didn’t, because I’ve never heard any echoes.”
“Yes. I wonder why.” He tightened his backpack. “This ability might be extremely useful.”
“It sure would’ve been when I was a bounty hunter. I wonder if you can shut it off, though. Most times it’ll be an annoyance. Like, why would you want to know someone just came from the restroom?”
His glance this time showed confusion. Clearly he hadn’t thought of that. Or else he was wondering why it had been my first thought.
“We can go through together.” He held out his hand and I took it. “There should be no danger on the other side.”
Should was the operative word.
The tear in the worlds whipped at us as we passed through it. With the amount of magic we were packing, the crossing was easy. On the other side, Darius checked his satchel. I tapped my various weapons to make sure all was ready.
I glanced up at the burnt-orange sky, then moved my hand through the air, watching the dancing filaments of gold swirl around my fingers. A bench sat off to the side for those who could barely make the crossing and had to sit down and rest afterward. Fragrant flowers of pink and yellow crowded around it, outlining a clean cobblestone walkway.
“We will walk through the Realm. I don’t want to raise suspicion by hurrying. I don’t want to be stopped.” Darius didn’t let go of my hand as he started forward.
“Who is going to stop us, number one, and two, don’t you think a vampire holding a girl’s hand will raise suspicion?”
“The elves would take interest in an elder hurrying.” He dropped my hand. “And yes, you are correct. It seems I have lost my wits in regards to you.”
“I know how you feel.” My power surged and blossomed, opening up and dancing a jig. My skin felt stretched, like it could barely contain it. “The Realm always helps my power.”
“Yes. Magical people are always stronger here. If not for your unique situation, I would advise you to spend as much time in this world as possible to develop your power.”
“We’ll probably realize that’s also true of the underworld,” I said with a little shudder.
“Indeed.” Darius chose the way, clearly knowing where he was going.
“You’ve heard what we’re walking into. Is this a world Lucifer created, or just embellished, do you think?” I figured I should stop calling him Father. All I needed was for one nosy parker to overhear and spread a rumor.
“Embellished. Much like the elves are constantly doing within the Realm.”
“Only the elves? No one else tries to magic up their homes?”
“Their actual residences, sure. But the elves are similar to the Brink government—they fix the streets, the travel ways, and public places like the gates. For their trouble, they’re paid taxes. Even if a being wanted to do large improvements, magical or otherwise, they would need to petition the elves to do so. When I arranged for the addition on your house, I had to get permits from the city. It is the same within the Realm.”
“Huh. But the elves weren’t elected to that post. Or do I have that wrong?”
“They are the ruling party, yes. Like monarchs, their power is passed down through birth. Originally, they fought for their authority; every so often there is a bloody war to usurp them. The last was about five hundred years ago. So far, no one has succeeded. They have the allegiance of the fae, and the elementals, not to mention other such magical creatures to aid their cause.”
“Like the shifters?” I grinned as his lips thinned. “That’s an awfully long time to go without being challenged.”
“Indeed. There is no such democracy in the Realm, and the lack thereof is starting to be noticed.”
“Then a war is brewing.” I paused just before the magical fog.
“It seems that way, yes. And our goal is not to set it in motion.” He must’ve caught my staring. “As we walk through, keep your focus forward and don’t make eye contact with other beings.”
That was easier said than done. Not having spent much time in the Realm, I often saw creatures that surprised me with their appearance or their abilities. The first time I saw a faerie, for example, I gawked something awful and followed her around, staring. She was about a quarter my height, really super pretty, flying, and so closely resembled Tinker Bell from Peter Pan that I figured a magical person must’ve created that children’s story. She even shed a reddish sort of dust as she flew.
Another time, I made eye contact with a half-man, half-bull-looking dude. That pissed him off something fierce. He got the idea that we needed to fight it out. I was more than willing, of course. Because really, when didn’t I want to rumble? He started his charge, but when I started forward to meet him halfway, he lost interest at the last moment, content to huff at me and wander away. I didn’t know what his deal was, but it should’ve reminded
me that it wasn’t polite to stare. The lesson hadn’t stuck, of course. I was the worst.
Darius likely knew that, and maybe it was a small part of his motivation for choosing a fast track, one of the magical paths in the realm that seriously shortened a person’s travel time. The land beside us flashed by even though we were walking. Cute little dwellings came and went, a large community off to the right. To the left were fields growing rows of a plant I didn’t recognize.
My stomach growled.
Almost there, Darius thought, picking up the pace.
“Can you feel my hunger or something?”
I heard it. Now you will dwell on it, and that will be painful.
He knew me too well.
It was night, but shadows still fell across the path, magically created, casting it into more darkness. The colorful flowers beside the path lost their vibrancy and began to wilt, and a couple of supercharged steps later there were large holes in their rows that screamed death. The farming community disappeared, as did the lush green fields. There was barren land on both sides, deep pockets of black pooled in hollows.
“Well, there goes the neighborhood.”
As I said, we are close now.
I didn’t like the look of this. It looked exactly as I had feared it would, and we weren’t even there yet.
Great boulders rose on either side of the path, jagged and blackened with fire. The temperature dropped, though the Realm was known for always being the perfect temperature for everyone. The burnt orange of the night sky darkened until it was almost black. That didn’t bother me, since I was used to it in the Brink, but the lack of stars was suffocating. Like a cover had been thrown over the world, snuffing out all the light.
Up ahead, over the massive rocks, rose a giant metal trellis. Words twisted through the scrollwork, but I couldn’t read them. We moved another step closer, and I saw a jagged line in the air, this one black and surrounded in blood red fire.
To get through this tear in the worlds, you must have a certain type of magic, Darius thought. Vampires have it. Trolls, gargoyles, and a handful of other creatures do, too. They are welcome in the edges, the outskirts of the Dark Kingdom.