“He’s not that original, I know,” Valeska said, sounding exhausted by the whole conversation. “But like I said, he’s charming, so he has tons of minions lurking around, always ready to take on anyone that will further their master’s cause.”
“Good thing we’re not going there,” Oona commented. Then, more tensely: “We’re not going there, are we?”
“I don’t know why we’d need to,” I said, swallowing back my own fear, and I pulled my gaze away from the darkness out the window and back to Valeska. “How do you know so much about Abaddon and She’ol?”
“Because,” she answered with downcast eyes, “that’s where my mother is.”
Oona gasped. “What? Why? Isn’t your mother an Alkonost? I thought they were divine, or at least neutral. Why would she have to live there?”
“She doesn’t have to stay in She’ol,” Valeska said. “But Zianna is full, with all kinds of divine beings on a waiting list to move in, but there are rarely any openings, since the divine don’t slip up enough to get kicked out.
“Most of the cities in Kurnugia are demon-owned and -operated, and while She’ol may be one of the worst, most of them aren’t that great.” She looked outside with a pensive expression. “Abaddon has a way of getting his tendrils into everyone, including my mom.”
“I’m sorry about your mom,” Oona said gently.
“Don’t be.” Valeska settled back on the bench and closed her eyes. “Everybody makes their own choices. My mom made hers, and I’ll make mine.”
A heavy silence fell over us, and none of us seemed eager to disturb it. I took a cue from Valeska, leaning back and closing my eyes, since I didn’t know when I’d be able to rest again.
My thoughts went back to Asher—the way they seemed to every time I closed my eyes since he’d been taken from me. But, being here in Kurnugia, the pain felt even more raw. The remnants of the dream I’d had still lingered, and I could feel him slipping away from my hand.
I squeezed my eyes more tightly shut, as if that would somehow stop the pain and the wave of sadness that rolled over me.
Eventually the sound of Kalbi’s hooves pounding against the ground picked up as we moved away from She’ol.
“We’re almost there,” Lyra announced sometime later.
The instant I opened my eyes, the bright white light hit me, and I realized the air even smelled fresher. Less musty, more clean and floral. I got up and looked, careful to hold on to the sides of the carriage so I didn’t tumble out.
And there it was, in the valley below us. It was surrounded by seven tall, glittering walls, and from our vantage I could see over them. A bright grassy field, with flowers and animals flourishing, and sparkling streams rolling through.
In the very center was a tall castle, but from our distance it looked more like a diamond shard—all sparkly and clear, with rough raw edges. It was from that palace that the light shone, bathing everything around it in its bright warmth.
“There it is,” Lyra said, sounding as awed as I felt. “Zianna.”
TWENTY-ONE
We waited in the long line of hopefuls who wanted to visit Zianna. It was one of the nicest cities in the underworld—with nice shops, delicious food, and a strict policy of no violence. Everyone wanted to get in. But there was also a definite limit on how many beings Zianna could comfortably hold, so the city had adopted a rigid entrance process.
The ones enforcing it were two hulking cherubim. They each stood with a fiery staff and four sets of wings sprouting from their backs. Their bronze skin glowed subtly, and despite their youthful, handsome features, their expressions were hard.
Before coming to Kurnugia, cherubim served the gods, and their number-one skill was spotting sin. Their vision was vastly different than that of humans. They could see auras so clearly that any stains left by evil actions or darkness in your heart would be visible to them.
All they had to do was look at us, and they would know whether or not our auras were pure enough for us to enter Zianna. Even for a visit.
“Why do you still look like that?” Lyra asked, joining us in line after returning Kalbi to a cabriolet waiting area along the wall.
“Like what?” I asked.
“I thought you had a way to brighten yourself up more.” Lyra motioned toward us, but she was already eyeing up the beings that stood ahead of us in line—angels, a fertility goddess, even a cuddly rainbow-colored bear of some sort. “It’s busy here today, and we’re going against some steep competition.”
“I have it,” Oona assured her. “I wanted to wait until the last possible second, because I’m not sure how long the effects will last.”
“We’re at that moment now,” Lyra told her.
Oona dug in the front pocket of her bag and pulled out three small tablets. They were heart-shaped and barely thicker than a piece of paper. Carefully, she handed one to me and one to Valeska.
“So, you put them on your tongue, and then we take each other’s hands and close our eyes while we wait for them to dissolve,” Oona instructed.
Valeska raised up her tablet in a faux-cheer and muttered, “Bottoms up,” before dropping it on her tongue.
I did the same, closing my eyes as Oona had instructed, and then I felt their hands taking mine. Already the tab fizzed on my tongue, tingling as a sugary sour taste spread through my mouth. A warm breeze swirled around me, lightly ruffling my hair.
Quickly, it was gone, and the only thing that remained was a slight bitter taste.
“That’s it?” I opened my eyes, preparing to ask if it hadn’t worked, but I instantly saw the answer. “Wow.”
Valeska and Oona looked like themselves, and even their clothes were basically the same, but there was this dramatic refinement and luxuriousness added, like they had been styled and dressed for a couture runway. Their clothes—which had been somewhat ill-fitting—now were impeccably tailored to their physiques.
The deep merlot of Oona’s dress had a sheen to it, and the embellishments glittered with diamonds. Her hair had an extra luster, and the stain on her lips matched perfectly with her ensemble.
Even our bags had changed. They were roughly the same size and shape, but they no longer appeared as practical black gear and instead had become stylish but more handmade, like they could’ve actually been made here in Kurnugia.
I glanced down at my clothes, the gold now glimmering against my skin, but I didn’t have much time to admire myself because Lyra was pushing us along, closer to the entrance.
“Yes, yes, you all look amazing,” Lyra said as she herded us forward. “When we get to the entrance, don’t say anything. I’ll do all the talking.”
We fell in behind her, and I did my best to look good and meek. When we finally reached a cherub, my stomach was twisted in knots.
“Purpose of visit?” he barked, unmoved by Lyra’s smile. I could barely even stand to look at him—he glowed too bright, shining off the diamond wall behind him, so it was painful.
“My friends haven’t been here long, and I wanted to show them Zianna,” Lyra replied as honestly as she could. Lying to the cherubim would only get her dismissed.
The cherub looked over at us, his eyes blazing under arched eyebrows, and I held my breath as I forced a smile up at him.
“They must be really new,” he said finally. “Their aura is so faint. Go on in. Enjoy the city.”
“Thank you,” Lyra said, but we were already hurrying ahead, afraid he might change his mind.
The dirt path changed to smooth, opalescent cobblestones that led under the archways going through the seven walls, and went downward toward the valley of Zianna.
As we walked under the first arch, I felt a sensation similar to the one I’d felt when we’d first gone into the Gates of Kurnugia. A pins-and-needles sensation that went through my entire body. Based on the startled expression on Oona’s face, I guessed she felt it, too. In the Gates, only Quinn and I had been able to feel the mystical wall that shrouded it with protection—j
ust us Valkyries.
“What was that?” Valeska asked, her voice low but her eyes wide.
“It’s the protection from the walls that keeps the undesirables out,” Lyra replied simply as we headed toward the next archway—this one gleaming gold—several yards ahead of us.
“Undesirables?” Oona asked. “What qualities are considered undesirable?”
“You mustn’t have any darkness or evil in you,” Lyra said without slowing her steps.
Valeska faltered, and both of us stopped short. Technically, Valkyries were supposed to be neutral—neither impious nor divine, the same as humans. But I didn’t know how it was weighted, if my own personal character and actions could deem me as “undesirable.”
Based on what Lyra had told me, the cherubs scanning our auras had been our main obstacle to overcome. The arches and walls worked as both a magical and literal reinforcement to keep anyone from being able to break through.
I’d thought the seven walls were merely a fail-safe, not a further test. But with the tingling I felt—the cold sensation of an enchantment running through me, checking my blood and my heart for anything to deny my entrance into the city of the pure—combined with Lyra’s vague assertion about darkness, I got the sense that it might be harder for me to get in than I’d thought.
Lyra paused and looked back at us. “Why are you stopping?”
“How do we know if we have any darkness?” Valeska asked. “What happens if we do?”
“You wouldn’t make it through.” She arched an eyebrow as she eyed Valeska. “Shall we continue?”
Valeska nodded. “Sure. Why not?”
I looked back, beyond the line outside the archway and the cherubim standing guard. At the shadow of She’ol way off in the distance, over the ridge behind us. My thoughts turned to Asher, and my hand instinctively went to my chest, over my heart, where the last words he’d said to me lingered.
I hoped that he wasn’t in She’ol. I hoped that he was safe. That he was still alive. That he could wait for me a little bit longer.
Once I was done with this current mission, once we had Gungnir, I would send it back to the earth above, and I would find Asher. If I had to fight every monster in the entire underworld to save him, I would. There was nothing in this world or any other that could stop me from bringing him back to me.
TWENTY-TWO
We went under the golden arch, and the next three, with relative ease. The tingly sensation grew stronger, growing more painful with each arch. It was like being zapped with an electrical current, one that shot through me and left a burning ache in my bones.
Passing through the wall made of glittering blue garnet, I had to grit my teeth, but I made it. I took a deep breath and pressed on, heading toward the ruby archway in front of us.
“Are you okay?” Oona asked softly and touched my arm.
“I’m fine,” I lied and looked at her.
She stared at me, her black walnut eyes filled with concern, but with no hint of pain. No sign of the residual shock that had begun to make my eyes water.
“You don’t feel anything,” I realized and glanced over at Valeska, who appeared similarly unruffled.
“I feel a tingle, but nothing bad,” Oona admitted.
Suddenly, a few feet in front of us, under the shimmering red glow of the ruby arch, a man fell to the cobblestones, writhing in pain. I didn’t know what kind of immortal he was, since he had a basic human appearance, but we had been following behind him all through the gates.
It wasn’t until this one that it had become too much. He convulsed and let out guttural cries of agony, his face contorting with pain as his muscles contracted.
Finally, a cherub flew down and picked him up, pulling him away from the arch and its magic that was causing him so much pain. Then the cherub carried him away, back out of Zianna, back to where we’d come in.
“What happened to him?” Valeska asked.
“The magic grows stronger through the walls,” Lyra explained. “It must detect even the smallest impurities in your heart and blood to keep those who do not belong in Zianna out.”
Oona loosened her grip on my arm and let her hand slip down so she was holding my hand, and she whispered, “I will pull you through. No matter what. I’ll make sure you get through. We got this.”
I squeezed her hand gratefully, and we walked forward. The pain was much worse this time—an excruciating jolt that momentarily blinded me—but I made it through.
The final wall was made of black opal, and it was by far the most dazzling. The rich black stone was mottled with brilliant specks of gold, blue, copper, and red. The spatters of color against the darkness made it look like the stars in a clear night sky.
Lyra tried to pause, probably wanting to give me a moment to catch my breath, but dragging it out would only make it worse, so I trudged on ahead.
I walked under the arch side by side with Oona, but as soon as I was under the arch, I froze. The pain hit me so intensely and so suddenly my knees buckled and my stomach lurched. I could feel my teeth grinding as my muscles contracted, and I couldn’t breathe.
Then, dimly—almost as if it were happening somewhere else, like I was dreaming—I felt tugging on my arm, and my legs managed to take a couple lumbering steps.
But that was all I needed. As soon as I stepped out from under the arch, the pain stopped, and air filled my lungs. There was still lingering soreness, but it was nothing compared to the agony of before.
“You did it,” Oona said, squeezing my hand again, and I realized that she must’ve pulled me through before I collapsed.
“How was that possible?” I asked, looking over at Lyra.
“You have more goodness in you than bad,” she explained with a sympathetic smile. “There’s just more darkness in you than the rulers of Zianna would prefer, but they’re snobs. You made it through, so you’re worthy of being here.”
I rubbed my arms, which were stiff from the last arch, and muttered, “I don’t feel all that worthy right now.”
“You made it, and that’s what counts.” Lyra’s smile deepened, and she stepped to the side and spread her arms expansively. “Welcome to Zianna.”
And there it was, spread out before us. The rolling green hills of grass, so green and soft, with streams of crystal-clear water. Flowers of every color dotted the landscape, and I swear colors existed here that I’d never seen before. Shades of blue and pink and purple and white that seemed to change and shift and exist out of any spectrum I’d ever seen.
The impossible beauty of it all had a strange dizzying effect, because I couldn’t fully comprehend it. The lushness and loveliness went beyond my senses.
While I tried to take it all in, a herd of kirin ran toward us. They looked like white horses, but they were more a mixture of unicorn and dragon. Two dark gray antlers grew out before their ears, and one smaller horn grew in the center, lower on their forehead.
Dotted along their cheeks, foreheads, and all along their backs were iridescent scales that shimmered in the bright light. While their fur was white, their manes and tails had the slightest bit of color, tinged with pastel pink or blue. The tails were long and prehensile, like that of a spider monkey, but with long fur at the end, similar to a normal horse. As they ran, their tails curled up.
“They’re stunning,” Valeska intoned in awe.
The three of us had never seen a live kirin before. Because of their exquisite beauty, their horns and scales had been prized, and they had been hunted to extinction on earth thousands of years ago.
When they had been wiped out, that was when Odin called for Valkyries, saying that immortals were too powerful to be left unfettered and that they would ravage the earth for all living things. If even other immortals like kirin could be obliterated, what chance would mortals and other less aggressive immortals do with dragons, demons, and vampires controlling the world?
It’s because the kirin were gone, enduring only in the underworld, that I even existed.
Once they’d gone, she turned back with a broad smile. “This is all too much,” she said with another laugh that teetered on an overwhelmed mania.
“You really can get lost in the majesty of it all,” Lyra admitted, but her tone had an admonishing quality. “But you don’t really have time for that, do you?”
“No, of course not.” I shook my head, attempting to clear it of the overstimulation and regain my wits. “We don’t have much time at all.”
“So, where do we go from here?” Lyra asked.
“We need to find Baldur,” I said. “He has what we’re looking for.”
“Baldur?” Lyra thought for a moment. “I believe he lives in the palace, but that’s really a city unto itself. I can get you as far as the palace, but beyond that you’ll be on your own tracking him.”
“That will be good enough,” I said.
“You mean it’ll have to be good enough,” Valeska corrected me dryly.
TWENTY-THREE
It wasn’t until we got closer to the palace that I could fully appreciate its size. The central area of the building seemed to be a vast rotunda with a glittering dome in the center. Seven glass towers of varying heights rose up from it, and any of them would dwarf even the tallest building I’d seen on earth.
The palace sprawled out far beyond that, with white marble buildings extending out for miles. That didn’t even count the hundreds of acres of greenery that surrounded it. Vaulted terraces of all types of flowers, trees, and fruits created a pyramidesque garden encircling the palace.
We climbed stone stairs that passed over waterfalls and aqueducts, with wisteria dripping around us and vines climbing up the support walls of the terraces beside us. The air smelled even sweeter as we went higher, like peonies and roses and fresh-cut grass and rain.
From the Earth to the Shadows Page 10