6.

  Azren

  The cart slowly trudged along the dirty road, the wheels groaning softly. The swamp lay behind us now, its choking mist thinning at last, though the stench of rot still clung to my clothes and to Gut’s cargo.

  Gut, for his part, never stopped talking. Stories spilled from him without pause, one bleeding into the next. They were fragments of his life in the Underworld. Raelynn and I offered no answers, no encouragement, not even a hum of acknowledgement. It didn’t matter. He spoke anyway, voice rattling like loose bones.

  I’d stopped listening a long time ago. My gaze drifted upward instead, drawn to the sky. The red moon burned brighter again, its glow pushing back the deepest shadows, but never fully banishing them. This realm did not know daylight the way the Mid Realm did. Here, even light felt tainted.

  Near the red moon, something else hovered. I frowned and squinted my eyes. A dark silhouette in a half-circle, perfectly curved. Like a mirror to the moon itself. Its shadow, maybe? The sight tightened something in my chest as if something in my soul felt drawn to it. Beautiful, the voice purred. I sucked in a breath and forced the voice back into its cage.

  “…a little girl and they brought her to—”

  The words struck me like ice cold water. A little girl…

  “Woah wait.” I turned sharply toward Gut. He raised what remained of his brows, confusion tugging at his ruined face.

  “What girl? Where did they bring her? Who found her?” I asked.

  He huffed. “So many questions. If you’d been listening instead of staring off into nowhere, you wouldn’t have them.” He shot me a sideways look. “Don’t think I didn’t notice. Nobody ever listens to Gut.”

  A flicker of irritation sparked in me. Who could listen to someone who never breathed between sentences?

  “Can you answer the questions?” I said tightly.

  “Please?” Raelynn added gently, touching my arm. “Ignore his rudeness.”

  I clenched my jaw. Of course she would soften it. Gut sighed theatrically.

  “Fine. A Soulkeeper found her wandering. Thought she was an escaped soul at first. Easy profit since they trade in those, you see. But when he reached for her…” he clicked his tongue. “She had a heartbeat. Clear as day. Not many mortals stumble into the Underworld.”

  My pulse quickened.

  “Where did they take her?”

  “To Vael’Gorath,” he answered, lowering his voice. The word landed heavy as if it was a secret.

  “Where is that?” Raelynn asked, leaning forward. Worry carved sharp lines into her face. “And why would they take her there?”

  Gut turned fully toward us. For the first time, his gaze sharpened, as though truly seeing us. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.

  “It’s where our lord resides.” His voice was nearly a whisper. “And if you think I’ll take you there, you’re out of your mind. Nobody goes to Vael’Gorath by choice. It’s a place of utter despair.”

  “And yet,” I said calmly, “it’s exactly where you’re headed.”

  He stiffened.

  “Yes,” he admitted after a moment. “Unfortunately. I don’t have a choice. I work for him. I bring food to his pets.” His one good eye fixed on me. “But you can still turn back. Leave this place while you’re able.”

  “We can’t.” The words came out sharper than I intended. My palms were slick with sweat, fear and excitement twisting together until I couldn’t tell them apart. But one truth burned through the haze.

  Hazel.

  That girl with a heartbeat could be Hazel. And I couldn’t let her get into the hands of the Fiend.

  “You’re going to bring us to Vael’Gorath. Whether you like it or not,” I continued, voice steady now.

  “Az!” Raelynn pinched my side hard. I flinched and glared at her. What did she do that for?

  Be nice, she mouthed. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Gut.

  “Trust me, young traveller,” Gut said slowly. “That girl is lost. Forget her. Who is she to you, anyway?”

  “That’s not important,” I replied. “What is important is why you’re so afraid to take us there.”

  Gut pulled hard on the reins. The cart lurched to a stop. The undead horse snorted, stamping in agitation.

  “Look at me,” Gut said sternly. “You see this gash?” He pointed at his throat. Blood seeped freely now, pooling dark and thick in his lap.

  “I was mortal once. Like you.” His voice wavered, just barely. “I was stupid enough to make a deal and die. In Vael’Gorath, they butchered my soul. Pulled me apart and sewed me back together.” His gaze went distant, glassy. “I have never known pain like that. Even death was kinder.”

  A shiver wracked him.

  “I won’t condemn you two to that. Leave while you still can.”

  My throat went dry, my heart beating fast. I didn’t want to imagine what they might do to Hazel. My little sister.

  “I can’t,” I said softly. “There has to be a way to get close without getting noticed.”

  “You can’t enter Vael’Gorath without his permission,” Gut said, shaking his head. “He knows everything that comes and goes.

  The words sank like a stone in my gut. How was I ever going to get Hazel out of there?

  “I won’t take you there,” Gut said firmly. I nodded once. I knew his mind was set and we had to find another way into this place.

  “Then take us to the nearest town,” I said. He studied me, nodded, then clicked his tongue. The horse lurched forward again.

  “We’ll find another way,” I whispered to Raelynn. She didn’t answer. Uncertainty clouded her eyes.

  Vael’Gorath. The Fiend’s castle. A place I had walked many times before in spirit. But if the Fiend knew all who entered and left…

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  Had he known every time my soul wandered there? Almost certainly. Then why hadn’t he acted? The question gnawed at me as the road bent left, and through the thinning mist, shapes emerged. Pointed rooftops. Smoke curling upward. Crooked trees clawing at the red sky like grasping hands.

  Karnyx.

  ? ? ?

  The cart rolled slowly into the dreary looking town. Karnyx felt tired. Not ruined, but worn. Like a place that had endured too much and simply learned to keep breathing through it.

  The village stretched wider than I’d expected, almost city-like in shape. At its heart lay a central square, marked by a vast pentagram worked into the stones. Once vibrant, perhaps even beautiful, the intricate web of coloured rock was now drowned beneath layers of grime, blood, and ash.

  Buildings of wood and stone leaned over the narrow street at uneasy angles, sagging like old men whispering secrets to one another. Some looked as though they might collapse if the wind so much as sighed wrong.

  The streets were busy. People walked openly through the square. My gaze stalled. People? I frowned and looked closer.

  They were mostly humanoid. Horns crowned their heads in a dizzying array of shapes: Spiralled, jagged, smooth, branching like antlers. Their skin ranged in hues from ashen grey to deep crimson and bruised purple. Long, pointed ears gave them an elven look.

  “Never seen the Nerathi before, young travellers?” Gut asked casually as he steered the cart toward a tavern stable. The building looked half-rotten, windows broken, one side sinking slowly into the earth as if the ground itself was trying to swallow it.

  I turned to him, momentarily ignoring the stares following us.

  “No. I always thought the Underworld was filled with demons, tortured souls, and devils.”

  Gut chuckled, a wet and broken sound torn from his ruined throat. Blood seeped freely again as he pulled the reins and halted the cart. With a grunt, he climbed down.

  “The Nerathi are devils,” he said. “Just the lowest rank. You two living souls weren’t wrong. The Underworld is full of tortured souls, demons, and devils.”

  Raelynn and I climbed down as well, helping him unharness the horse.

  “Among devils are the Fiends, or firstborns. Blessed by the darkest magic there is,” Gut continued as he led the undead beast toward a waiting stablehand. “Then comes the Zethari Magi. Devils who learned to wield magic. Often shapeshifters, priests and personal advisors of the last standing Fiend, our lord.” His tone darkened.

  “And the Nerathi? Do they possess magic?” I asked.

  “No magic. Although some are born with a spark. But they often mysteriously disappear,” Gut answered.

  “Do demons have ranks too?” Raelynn asked.

  Gut shook his head.

  “Demons aren’t born. They’re made and created by magic-users. They have no souls, nor a mind.”

  I exhaled slowly.

  “I never knew a society existed here.”

  Gut slapped a heavy hand on my shoulder.

  “Well, now you do. And this is where we part ways.” He gestured toward the inn. “I’m finding a place to sleep. You should too.”

  “Thank you, Gut!” Raelynn called as he walked away from us. He raised a thumb without turning back and vanished inside the tavern.

  “Nerathi,” Raelynn murmured, tasting the word. “There’s so much we don’t know about this realm.”

  “I suppose it grew and developed over the centuries like the Mid Realm did,” I said. “Creatures forming cultures, laws and hierarchies.”

  Somehow this made me admire this realm more.

  “Yes…” She fell quiet, then looked up at me. “So what now?”

  I didn’t hesitate.

  “We need to get into the Fiend’s castle. There have to be secret entrances. I've slipped inside before and he never stopped me.”

  The instant the words left my mouth, I knew I’d made a mistake. Her eyes widened, colour draining from her face.

  “You’ve been here before?” she whispered. “Inside his castle?”

  My throat went dry.

  “I… Soul-wander here.”

  “You—”

  “I don’t work for him, I promise Rae,” I cut in quickly. “I just wanted to see my father.

  Her shoulders slumped, though tension still clenched her jaw. I ached to touch her, to reassure her, but maybe it would be better to give her some space.

  “Okay,” she mumbled. “Then what’s your plan?”

  “I’ll ask around. Someone here will know more about Vael’Gorath.”

  “You think they’ll talk to strangers?” She challenged, folding her arms. “Even Gut whispered when he mentioned it.”

  “Trust me, Rae. I’ll get them to talk,” I said.

  And as I spoke, darker thoughts stirred. The voice that had been contained in its cage unleashed stronger than before. We know how to loosen their tongue. We know how to inflict pain and fear.

  I saw her shiver. My jaw ticked, my brows knitted together and the corners of my mouth lifted. Heat pooled low in my abdomen. Oh how I liked to see her react to me like that. The things we could do to her, the voice whispered. That voice that sounded so much like mine, but darker, heavier.

  I closed my eyes and turned away, forcing the voice back into its cage.

  No.

  Wanting her afraid, begging on her knees. That wasn’t love. That wasn’t the love I wanted from her.

  I’m glad I found you before you could act on those thoughts, Az.

  A new voice slid into my mind like a gentle breeze of the wind. I spun around and my eyes locked on two golden wolf eyes. Raelynn yelped and darted behind my back. Good girl. I would protect her from…

  “Artemis?”

  I knew him instantly from the stories my mother used to tell and the sketches she’d made when she thought no one was watching. Which begged the question…

  “Did my mother send you?” I asked, teeth grinding together. The wolf regarded me in silence. Then his head tilted slightly, just enough to feel almost human.

  Yes and no, he started. But I’m glad she called for my aid. You are even more troublesome than she was at your age.

  “Troublesome?” I snapped. A soft laugh sounded behind me. Raelynn. My sweet, naughty little raven. I turned sharply.

  “You can hear him too?”

  She nodded, amusement dancing in her eyes.

  “Great,” I muttered.

  “Oh, don’t be like that, Zuzu,” she said gently, stepping closer. “Your mother loves you. She wants you safe, so she sent the most powerful being she knows to help you.”

  Her fingers slid into my hair, stroking slowly. I leaned into the touch despite myself, eyes closing for just a heartbeat as her nails scraped my scalp in a way that sent warmth spiralling through me. Hells, she was good.

  Then I pulled back.

  “It’s not so much her love for me as her fear I’ll choose the wrong path. Like my father. And it’s not just her, it’s everyone,” I said, crossing my arms. My voice dropped. “I’ve seen that look in their eyes.”

  They are concerned, indeed, Artemis replied calmly. But I have faith you will walk the path that is meant for you. And the first step is knowledge. We must confirm Hazel’s whereabouts.

  “She’s likely been taken to Vael’Gorath,” Raelynn said, moving around me to my side. She wrapped both hands around my arm, leaning into me as if the world might tilt without contact.

  “A Soulkeeper found a girl with a beating heart,” I added. “That has to be her.”

  Artemis inclined his head.

  Let us be certain before rushing headlong toward the Fiend’s domain. His gaze sharpened. He does not yet know you are here and I would very much like to keep it that way.

  “Agreed,” I said. Then hesitated. “But you should stay outside. Wolves aren’t exactly common here. Neither are…” I grimaced. “Dogs.”

  A low growl rumbled from his chest.

  Are you calling me a dog?

  I pressed my lips together to stop a grin and nodded.

  “You’re small. And you look like a wolfhound. The kind farmers use to guard their flocks.”

  He huffed and turned away, clearly offended.

  I will adapt into something more fitting, he said stiffly. White mist coiled around him, thick and luminous, swallowing his form whole. When it thinned, a new shape stood before us. A rather small, shadow-wrought wolfhound.

  Its body was forged of darkness and sinew, shadows weaving where flesh should’ve been. Its paws ended in talons, its maw held too many teeth, and golden eyes burned like twin suns trapped in a void. Saliva dripped as he growled low.

  Better?

  I grinned, pulse quickening.

  “Much better.”

  Without another word, I turned and tugged Raelynn along beside me, heading for the tavern’s entrance. Artemis followed close behind us.

  A thrilling sensation settled in my stomach. The game had begun.