9
The river was waist deep on me, but only came up to Irina and Erebus’s thighs. We trudged through the icy cold and climbed up onto the grassy bank on the other side. Behind us the beast men cackled before retreating further into the forest.
Our escort had been the perfect deterrent, and we hadn’t encountered any other creatures on our journey through the forest. Erebus pulled out the map tucked under his leather vest and studied it.
“Your friend has drawn a twisted tree as a marker,” Erebus said. He scanned the bank to our left and to our right.
The river was long. The tree could be either way, and goodness knew how far up. Why had I thought we’d just be able to cross the river and find it straight away? The sun was making an arc through the sky, and it would be dark in a couple of hours. We needed to hurry.
Closing my eyes, I exhaled and tapped into the power inside me. Come on intuition, gut instinct, something … and there it was—a tingling in my right arm.
I opened my eyes. “This way.”
“How do you know?” Irina asked.
“I don’t. Not for sure. It’s just a gut feeling.”
We walked for long minutes. No tree. Okay, maybe I’d imagined the tingle. But then there it was in all its twisty glory—a strange distorted thing with a small copse of similar trees surrounding it. Erebus cleared a path, and we ducked through, twigs and dry leaves crunching underfoot.
“There.” Irina pointed at the gaping maw set into the side of a mountain. “These must be the sewers. No longer in use, thank god.”
“I will lead the way,” Erebus said.
He dove in and I followed, with Irina taking the rear. The sewers may no longer have been in use, but the stench of shit still lingered.
“It reeks,” Irina said.
“Breathe through your mouth,” Erebus said.
Yeah, that was still gross. Damn it was getting dark in here. Irina muttered something, and the tunnel ahead lit up with an amber glow.
“It won’t last long, but it should get us to where we need to be,” she said.
It was sweet of her, because I knew she could see just fine in the dark, so could Erebus, but despite the power inside me, my body was still mortal, and my eyes had their limitations.
We turned left at an intersection and the sewer smell receded as the terrain changed to a dryer, less dank atmosphere. We were in the tunnels Brett had told me about, which meant …
“Up ahead,” Erebus said. “Above us.”
The dark djinn were being held in a chamber somewhere above us. Maybe we could do this without using the invisibility potion Caldwell had created. We were almost there, I could feel it.
Up ahead Erebus’s footsteps came to a halt. “Here.”
Irina and I hurried to catch up. Erebus stood with his head tilted, staring up through a grate in the ceiling. His chest rose and fell erratically.
“They are here,” his voice was a whisper. He laced his fingers through the square spaces between the bars and tugged with all this might. “It is solid.”
Was I the only one noticing how small the damn grate was? There was no way Erebus was getting up there. No way Irina would make it either.
“Here, try this.” Irina passed him a vial. “It’s a corrosive agent that activates when in contact with metal. Just use the applicator to dab it onto the bars.”
Erebus set to work, and with a hiss the bars began to dissolve. One tug and the grating came away. Dust and stone fell to the ground and we jumped back. We had an opening. Erebus stared at it, the reality finally clicking into place.
Irina cursed.
It looked like this mortal body would come in useful after all. “Hoist me up.”
Erebus shook his head. “We don’t know what’s up there.”
“If there were guards they’d be on us by now with the level of noise we just made.” I grinned. “I’ll be fine.”
Irina took out the other vial. “Take a drop of this, just in case.”
I stuck out my tongue and she squeezed a drop onto it with the pipette. My body tingled.
“Did it work?”
Erebus’s hand shot out to connect with my breast.
“Hey!”
“Sorry.” He quickly pulled it back.
Irina snorted.
I looked down at myself, but there was nothing there. “This is disconcerting.”
“Just give your brain a moment to adjust. It knows where all your limbs are. Just let instinct guide you.”
Erebus was staring at me, but not at me. Irina was speaking to me, but not to me. And I was here, but not here. It was all too weird, and I was gonna be stuck like this for two hours. The sooner we got this over with the better.
“I’m ready,”
Erebus made a hammock with his hands. “Just get up there and find us a way in.”
Using the boost, I hauled myself up through the grate. “Fuck!”
“What is it? What do you see?” Erebus called up.
“The vine; It’s huge, and your people are tangled in it.”
Something clattered onto the ground beside the grate. The iron dagger. Hopefully it was the vine that was keeping them unconscious and nothing else. Hopefully once I cut it away they’d wake up and be able to walk out on their own steam, because if they didn’t we were fucked. But first I needed to find us an exit, and hopefully an entry point for Irina and Erebus. I scanned the room—covered in glowing vines and suspended unconscious dark djinn—and found a set of double doors hidden behind neon green plant-life. Cogs poked out from beneath the foliage, some kind of mechanism to open the door maybe? There was no escape that way. There had to be something else. Maybe another grate? Something larger? A circuit of the room had me thinking I was gonna come up empty, but then there it was—a circular hatch with a thick bar threaded through metal hoops to keep it closed. The bar slid out easily, and tossing it to the side I grabbed the hoops and hauled. Damn it was heavy. It fell open with a muted thud.
“What’s happening?” Erebus called.
A ladder led down into the dark. “I think I found something. Hang on.” I dropped down into the hatch and clambered into the dark. If anyone saw me … well they wouldn’t because I was invisible. Ha. My feet hit the ground, and I was back in the tunnel but tucked into an alcove.
“Kenna? Kenna?” Irina’s voice drifted down the tunnel to me. I followed her voice and found them huddled under the grate.
“I’m here.”
Erebus spun round, almost knocking Irina of her feet.
I held up my hands, and then realised he couldn’t see them. “Follow my voice. I found another way in.”
My hum led them to the hatch, and then we were back up in the vine room.
Irina made a circuit, her eyes wide. “Look at the door. I doubt anyone has been in here for a very long time.”
Erebus moved from djinn to djinn. “Give me the dagger.”
I handed it to him and he headed toward the dark djinn closest to the small grate. The huge djinn hung suspended half a metre off the ground, his body parallel to the floor, arms dangling so his fingers reached for the ground. One slice and the vine began to wither and blacken. Erebus made more cuts and the body dropped a little, and then the vine disintegrated and the djinn fell to the ground with a thud. A low hum filled the air.
“Kenna?” Irina said.
“It’s not me.”
Erebus dropped to his knees beside his brethren. The djinn’s chest rose and fell sharply and then he let out a soft groan.
“He’s coming to,” Irina said. “Give me the dagger and I’ll start on the others.”
Erebus handed it over, his gaze still on the djinn he’d just freed.
Irina set to work on the next djinn, but something was happening. The withering that had begun when Erebus cut into the vines holding the djinn was spreading.
“Irina, wait.”
Irina paused. “What is it?”
“Look at the vine. I think it’s dying. I
think we must have poisoned it with the dagger.”
Irina glanced at the blackness that was eating away at the glowing vines. “Erebus. We may have a problem.”
And then the djinn began to fall.
10
“Shit!” I dodged the huge bodies while Erebus attempted to catch them. And then Irina sent out a wave of energy which hit the remaining falling bodies and slowed down their descent. They kissed the ground and began to wake up.
I sagged against the wall. “We need to get the heck out of here.”
Erebus was busy helping the djinn to their feet. They chattered in a strange guttural tongue I didn’t recognise. This wasn’t the usual djinn language, because that one I understood fine.
Even Irina looked perplexed.
The dark djinn gathered together surrounding Erebus and blocking him from view. There were hundreds of them. My pulse sped up. Hundreds of powerful warriors to add to my army, to face off against Orin.
The djinn parted and Erebus strode through with a powerful silver-bearded djinn by his side.
Erebus swallowed. “Kenna?”
“I’m here.”
The silver-bearded djinn balked.
“It’s all right father. Kenna is under the effects of an invisibility potion. She is also Ibris’s only surviving heir and our queen. Kenna, this is Baronus, leader of the dark djinn tribe and my father.”
The man, Erebus’s father, inclined his head. “Your majesty. We are honoured that you came to liberate us.”
“I couldn’t let Erebus have all the fun.”
He blinked rapidly, as if surprised by my response, and then his silver eyes, so like his son’s, lit up. “In that case, maybe we can have some fun during our escape.”
I let out a bark of laughter. “I was thinking more of a stealthy getaway. But trust me when I say we will get vengeance for what has been done to you.”
He inclined his head once more.
“We should go now, before our luck runs out,” Irina said.
Erebus began herding everyone toward the hatch. Irina slipped down first to lead the way and then the djinn began to descend. Around us the vine continued to die, blackening and withering. There was only a small expanse of glowing plant remaining. My gut twisted in warning.
“Erebus, hurry it up.”
He looked over his shoulder with a frown.
The final glowing vine died, and my heart skipped a beat in foreboding. and then the room was filled with an eerie high-pitched scream.
“What is that?” Erebus asked.
“The plant, I think the plant is setting off some kind of alarm.” The low hum in my ears made sense now. “I think the alarm may have started going off as soon as we infected the vine.”
“Hurry!” Erebus ushered the final djinn down the hatch.
The vines were dead, but they clung to the walls and ceiling where they’d become lodged like ivy. The entrance shuddered with an impact from outside as Twilight guards attempted to open it. The only thing holding it closed was the vine. But the vine was dead … how long before it gave way?
“Kenna! Get down the hatch.” Erebus scanned the room widely.
I took a step toward it then stopped. Once the guards got into the room they’d know for sure the dark djinn had escaped. They’d follow us down the hatch and into the tunnels, and any chance of us all getting out would be severely diminished. We needed to keep them out of the room. Keep them focused on getting in while the dark djinn escaped. My gaze slid to the mechanism by the door. A quick examination showed that it could be jammed. I just needed a metal rod or something.
“Kenna, come on!”
The bar that had been holding the hatch closed! The door shuddered, and I ran toward the bar I’d chucked to the side of the room.
“Go! I’m right behind you.”
“I’m not leaving without you.”
I slotted the bar into the mechanism.
“What are you doing?” He asked, his voice laced with impatience.
“Stopping them from opening the door.”
“Good plan, now move.”
I released the bar and stepped away. The door shuddered and held. Yes! I was almost at the hatch when the bar clanged to the floor. Shit. One more shove and the crusty vines holding the entrance closed would surely give way.
“Kenna, we need to go now!”
“Go. I’ll be right behind you. I need to reinsert the bar.”
“Dammit, woman.”
“Not woman, your majesty. I’m your queen and I’m giving you an order. Go. Now!” I picked up the bar and slotted it back through the mechanism to jam it. Shit, I was gonna have to hold the damn thing in place.
“Go, Erebus. That is a fucking order from your queen.”
Erebus looked down the hatch and then across at the door, torn.
“I’m invisible and resourceful. I’m Fearless.”
“Dammit Kenna. I’ll be back for you.”
He dropped down into the hatch and the door shook. The vines tore and slid to the ground. Shit, now I was the only thing holding this door closed. The bar slipped, but I pushed it back, holding tight as another shudder shook the doorway.
Irina and Erebus should have cleared the sewers by now. Just a few more minutes to make sure and then I’d—
The door exploded inward, throwing me backward. I hit the ground hard and guards swarmed the chamber. The hatch … I needed to get to the—
“No, this cannot be!” A figure strode in, dressed in fine robes, his long silver-blonde hair falling down his back in a silken sheet.
“The tunnels!” The liveried guards jumped down the hatch.
“Your majesty.” One of the guards inclined his head. “My men will find them.”
This was Orin? Twilight’s king, who hoped to take over Lindrealm and the fifth dimension?
“Then what?” Orin asked. “You will find them and then what will you do?” His lip curled, and his eyes flashed. “Fools. Useless fools.” He touched the signet ring on his finger. “Find them and bring them back to me.” His tone was velvet soft, almost seductive, and the guards backed up, eyes wide with fear.
The temperature in the room dropped. I picked myself up and padded stealthily toward the open hatch, but it vanished behind a veil of smoke.
“Majesty, please …” The guard pleaded.
“Hush. There is nothing to fear. The Hunt rides.”
Shit. Where were they? Not here. Then outside? In the tunnels? It didn’t matter. Erebus would have made it to the forest by now.
I’ll come back for you.
Shit.
I had to warn him. The fog was thinning and the hatch was visible again. I took a step toward it, and a shiver ran over my skin.
“What do we have here?”
I turned my head to find Orin’s gaze on me. Right on me as if he could … Shit. He could see me.
I was so screwed.
Orin’s gaze lingered on my face and his eyes narrowed. “Arrest her.”
An icy wind blew the remnants of fog toward them, warding them off. Hands gripped me around the waist.
Baal.
“I’ve got you,” his voice was tight with anger.
I’d take it, and the tongue lashing that was sure to accompany it, because we were out of here.
11
We landed on the outskirts of the Black Forest. “What the hell were you thinking?” Baal snapped.
I threw my arms around his neck and pressed a hard kiss to his angry mouth because this was a conversation reserved for later.
He exhaled shakily. “We will discuss this later.”
“Fine. But right now we need to get to Erebus. Orin released The Hunt to go after the dark djinn. We need to warn the others.”
Baal was instantly on alert. “They’re in the forest, heading for the fifth dimension as we speak.”
A howl drifted up out of the woods, and icy fingers clamped the back of my neck. “It’s inside the woods. The Hunt is going after them. We
have to do something.”
Baal wrapped me in his arms and took to the night sky. The vortex of air that surrounded us made it impossible for me to see anything. Were we close? Had The Hunt found Erebus and Irina yet? And then we were descending. My feet touched ground, the cocoon of air died, and my ears were assaulted with howls. The sound was coming from up ahead, and then it was joined by a united battle cry. Baal gripped my hand and we ran.
The Hunt had found the dark djinn.
We stumbled into the clearing, the same one where the wisps had accosted us, except this time there was no sign of the wisps. Instead, dark djinn swung their swords to ward off dark shadowy figures that slipped and morphed and attacked. To my left a dark djinn exploded into ash and to my right another froze and then imploded.
The Hunt was a pack of wolves, then a pride of lions, and in the next moment it was a giant bear. The djinn slashed and stabbed, but their weapons were useless against a force that couldn’t be maimed. Orin had asked The Hunt to retrieve the dark djinn, but they were killing them. It made no sense.
For now The Hunt’s attention was on the dark djinn. Erebus and his brethren were the ones in danger. Baal and I weren’t the target. Orin had ordered them after the dark djinn and they were here to collect. There had to be some other way to get rid of them aside from salting the earth. Could Irina’s magic help? Shit, where was the battle mage?
“Baal? We have to find Irina.”
We spotted her on the edge of the clearing, lying prone, head to one side. A large bruise the size of an egg bloomed on her forehead.
Baal gently lifted her into his arms. “Irina? Irina, can you hear me?”
She moaned and opened her eyes and stared up at him blankly, and they her gaze filled with comprehension. “The Hunt!”
Baal set her on her feet, keeping his arm around her to steady her. “Is there anything you can do?”
“No. I tried. This is something beyond my comprehension.”
Another djinn vanished in a spray of ash. We were fucked. The Hunt wouldn’t stop, not until they’d achieved their objective. My hand went to my everlight sword and Baal grabbed my elbow.
“No. Your life is too valuable.”
Under Twilight: an Urban Fantasy Novel (Fearless Destiny Book 3) Page 6