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Her mouth turned down as she looked at me. “You’re alone? That’s stupid.”
She shoved off me, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. I sagged against the wall, grabbing at my throat as it healed. Samkiel had told me of the blooddreams and Dianna’s ability to rifle through memories once she had consumed someone’s blood. Would she be able to see the way Samkiel missed her?
She turned her back on me and stepped to the edge, looking down into the dark cavern. “What are you? A scout?”
“No, I’m looking for Neverra,” I replied, rubbing my throat as I came to her side.
“Still?” She snorted. “Won’t give up, will you?”
“You’re here for the same reason I am. Because of someone you love.”
Her head swung toward me, and I stepped back. Power rippled off of her, making my skin crawl. I had faced monsters of all shapes and sizes, but she made me want to hide.
“And Samkiel would let his strongest and most trusted ally search alone?”
I swallowed, the pain in my throat nearly gone. “He doesn’t know.”
Dianna tipped her head and folded her arms as she regarded me. She clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Look at you. All grown up and disobeying orders. I’d be impressed if you weren’t in my way.” Her eyes darkened, and she grinned, revealing the sharp and deadly edges of her canines.
“In the way of what?” My question seemed to catch her off guard, and she paused in her attempt to intimidate me.
Instead of answering, she stared at the dead below, who stood frozen. Before I could push at her for answers, the room erupted. Every dead mortal lifted their head in unison, a thick hollow scream vibrating from their throats. I covered my ears, and Dianna’s face grew grim. Her hand shot out, hitting me in the chest and pushing me away from the edge of the cliff.
“Time to go home, Logan.”
I ignored her, and she pushed me deeper into the shadows until we could just barely see what was happening below. Finally, the screams stopped, the cavern falling so silent you could hear a pin drop.
“What was that gods awful sound?” I whispered, my voice sounding overly loud.
“A beacon,” she whispered. The floor beneath the mortals shook. Particles of dust, iron, and embers spun, forming a perfect circle. It slammed against the stone wall, the outer rim bursting into flame as the middle coalesced into darkness.
“A beacon for what?”
“Not what. Who.”
As if on cue, a man stepped through. His energy felt ancient and unmistakably Ig’Morruthen. His dark hair was cut close to his head, and his ebony skin gleamed in the light of the fire. He wore a buttoned-up black jacket with silver studs at the collar. A long drape of light fabric cascaded over his right shoulder, seemingly out of place against the tough, thick material that made up the rest of his outfit. I knew what that garment represented—royalty. This was a King of Yejedin, and I recognized him from Samkiel’s description.
He was known as Tobias on Onuna, but on Rashearim, we knew him as Haldnunen.
Now I knew what that swirling portal was and where it led. I knew without looking at Dianna that she knew as well. This had been her plan all along. She would wait until a portal opened and find a way in. She did not know about the realms or how the portals worked. If she went down there, she would be stuck, or worse.
The portal widened, and terrifying clawed monsters squeezed their way through. They mantled, announcing their presence with sharp cries before launching into the air. Their thick, leathery wings beat, carrying them higher. Rows and rows of teeth snapped above the heads of the mortals.
Dianna grabbed my arm and shoved me against the far wall. She raised her finger to her lips, and I felt the world shift slightly. A dull, hazy film slid over the world as if we stood just beyond it, looking at it through a warped window. She kept her hand on mine, and I saw what looked like waves of darkness circling first her and then me. She faced the cavern and pressed her back against the wall beside me. One of the massive creatures landed right where we had been. It walked on four taloned feet, lowering its nose to the ground and sniffing.
Its nostrils flared as it focused on the spot where she had been standing. It wasn’t just sniffing out of curiosity. They were still looking for her. It folded its enormous wings against its body, its long powerful tail swishing behind it. Its head snapped up and toward us. My hand flexed, ready to call an ablazed weapon forward and cut it in half. Dianna’s hand gripped mine, and I looked at her. She shook her head. I felt the air move, and suddenly the beast was in front of us.
Its elongated snout and turned-up nose pressed to the ground, sniffing inches from our feet, and I could smell the hot, heavy scent of the creature. Its jaws opened, and a long, thick, dark red tongue swiped at the ground. The whites of its eyes shone, tasting something it liked. Its head jerked up, and it exhaled in our faces.
Since the moment of my creation, I had been trained not to fear. I had seen monsters that could swallow cities, but Dianna’s hand tightening on mine and her single step forward were the only things that kept me in place. The creature stood upright, towering over us and walking a few steps closer, its tail dragging behind it. It stopped and leaned forward, its head tipped to the side as it sniffed the air above us. The hollow curved ears flickered as if listening for our heartbeats. I grimaced, its breath smelling of flesh and blood, the sour stench making my stomach churn. I felt Dianna’s talons elongate and press into my knuckles. She was ready to kill it, but to do so would only alert the others. I squeezed once, and she took a step back. She didn’t glance at me, but she didn’t advance either.
A whistle cut through the air, and the beast turned toward the sound. It spread its leathery wings, and with a powerful downward thrust and a gust of air, it flew up and over the chasm. Dianna let go of my hand, but we remained in that shelter made of smoke and shadow. I stayed close to her side as we moved to the edge. The dead mortals and all the iron were gone, and Tobias was nowhere in sight. The last few beasts shot through the portal, and it started to close.
I blinked as the world suddenly cleared, the haze over my vision disappearing. I turned to ask Dianna what was happening, but she was no longer at my side. Frantically, I searched for her and saw her sprinting toward the slowly closing portal. I leaped from the ledge, landing in front of her so hard my knees felt the impact. I gripped her shoulders and shook her, probably harder than I should have.
“Are you insane?” I whispered, unsure if they were still close enough to hear us. “You can’t go in there. You don’t know where it leads or what happens once it closes.” And Samkiel would kill me if you disappeared forever. I didn’t speak that last part aloud.
Dianna glared at me and groaned in frustration before rolling her eyes. She grabbed my wrists and hissed, “Go home, Logan. She is probably dead anyway.”
