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“Yes, and it works the other way around, too,” the Ferryman answered. “The spirit realm is always in movement, in a constant state of change.”
I turned to Chloe. “I don’t think we have a choice but to trust him. We need to get those Wands and bring them back to Octavia Falls, so we can reunite the coven.”
The Ferryman laughed. “I’m afraid the Earthly realm doesn’t work the same as the others. You cannot go back once you have died…”
He trailed off, eyeing us curiously. “Except… you have not died. How is this possible? You shouldn’t be here.”
“We came in through a portal, and we’re not leaving until we find what we came for,” Lucas stated firmly.
The Ferryman looked down at the remnants of sludge on Lucas’s shoes. “It is not my job to ferry the living.”
“But we need your help!” I begged. “You said the Abyss is the furthest region from here. How far will we have to walk?”
The Ferryman frowned. “You said your purpose here is to help your coven?”
“Yes,” I said desperately.
He nodded kindly. “Then I will help you. But since you are living, you will have to pay a fee.”
“I knew there was a catch,” Chloe protested. “You want a piece of our souls, don’t you?”
“A piece of your magic will suffice,” the Ferryman stated. “Consider it insurance, to assure me of your intentions.”
“Will this work?” I asked, conjuring a small crystal infused with my magic.
The Ferryman nodded. “This is enough to grant you passage, but I will need one from each of you.”
Everyone conjured one of their crystals and handed them to the Ferryman. He pocketed each one into his cloak, then stepped aside to welcome us aboard. The boat wasn’t very big, but it had two slabs of wood nailed across the top that served as benches. We took our seats, and the Ferryman used his staff to push us away from the bank. Whatever magic this boat was made from kept the heat of the lava from touching us. We began to float down the lava river, past the geysers and volcanoes.
The river flowed into a boiling lake of lava, and the screams around us intensified. I heard the harrowing cry of a baby wailing in the distance, as if crying out for its mother. The mere thought of a child being out here all alone shattered my heart into a million pieces. I looked around for the source of the voices, but I saw no one.
I turned to the Ferryman behind me. “Where are those screams coming from? We can hear people screaming, but we can’t see them.”
“That is something you wouldn’t understand,” he said ominously.
“How can a baby be trapped here?” Chloe wondered, shifting uncomfortably at the sound of the child’s cries. “Children are innocent. They don’t belong here.”
“There are many ways to end up in this realm—and not all of them by individual choice,” the Ferryman stated. “Some can be condemned here by the evil choices of others.”
I shuddered to think of who would condemn a child here. The priestesses were able to make deals with demons for the souls of the coven, because the coven is their kin. I assumed the same could be true of others. It disgusted me that there were people in this supernatural world like the priestesses who would do such a thing.
My heart seemed to shrink, shielding me from the disturbing nature of the realm. I leaned into Lucas, and he pulled me tighter to his chest.
We passed by an island filled with all kinds of monsters. “This is the realm of monsters, where all demons and ghastly beasts are born,” the Ferryman explained. “From here, they crawl out from the Pits and venture onto Earth.”
From this distance, I could make out various humanoid demons with devilish features, along with animal-like monsters with twisted limbs and leathery skin hanging off their bones. The monsters fought one another, using sharp teeth and deadly claws to slice each other to bits, while other demons cheered for their slaughter.
A man on the back of a horse lifted a canine-like monster and threw it into the boiling lava. The pained screams of the monster echoed across the lake. The lava began to bubble upward, and large, heavy paws clawed at the surface. The canine emerged from the lava larger than before. It was at least a thousand pounds or more, roaring as it climbed back to the island and aimed its razor-sharp teeth at the horse rider.
I looked closer, until I realized the man and the horse were one and the same. The horse’s head had only one eye. The entire creature’s skin appeared to have been peeled off, revealing the raw flesh underneath and black blood coursing through its veins. The arms of the human half were spindly and long, with knuckles that dragged on the ground when he walked.
The Ferryman shuddered. “A nuckelavee. Vile creatures. Should one ever escape this place, they will bring drought with them and destroy crops with a single breath. Keep your cattle away, for the poison in their lungs can also kill living beings. Many epidemics have been attributed to these creatures. They are shapeshifters of the sea and terrified of fresh water, so if you ever cross one’s path, it’s best to find yourself to the nearest stream.”
The canine leapt for the nuckelavee, slicing its claws across the face of the horse. Blood spurted across the blackened ground. The human half of the nuckelavee caught the canine around the neck. The nuckelavee opened its mouth to breathe into the canine’s face, and the massive monster fell to the ground, gasping for breath as it was poisoned.
“Let’s hope we never run across one,” Grant said in a shaky tone.
The Ferryman gestured ahead of us. “We are now entering Aiya Nocshun.”
