“Look, how the hell should I know? Just bring stuff that’s functional and comfortable. If you need anything else, we have tailors and servants in no short supply. They’ll be able to attend to your needs.” He brushes me off in an exasperated and breathy tone. I frown. I know I have a butler, but the idea of being waited on by someone who’s being punished for having a good time while they’re alive makes me feel a little uneasy.
“Yes, Sir.” I salute him, stretching my arms above my head yet again before placing them around the leather cover of the book and hugging it to my chest. “Thanks for this.” I gesture to the book as I move my feet, causing Cerb to rise off my lap and thud onto the floor.
“That dog isn’t coming with us you know…” Xion looks between me and then Cerb with a concerned expression, causing his brow to crease and eyebrows to lift at the outer edges.
“Of course, he is! I can’t leave him here!” I bark, annoyed that he would imply that I’d abandon poor Cerb.
“Getting him in a carriage is going to be fun. He could practically pull the damn thing!” Xion complains, and I drop my arms in disbelief, letting the plaid blanket fall to the floor, crumpling in a heap around my ankles.
“If Cerb stays, I stay,” I retort, and Xion rolls his eyes.
“Fine. The damn dog can come.” He shakes his head, looking at me like I’m insane.
“This damn dog has more stealth than you any day, big foot.” I walk past him, sending the insult flying over one shoulder.
“And a less annoying bark than you,” Xion counters.
I should be offended, but instead, I just smile.
“I might be a bitch, but I’m your bitch now. So, deal with it,” I call back again, a warmth filling my chest as I walk towards my room to pack.
“Gladly.” I hear Xion laugh as I go.
I was scared I’d be alone, walking into a new world, a hellish one none the less. But I feel better with the weight of the book in my palm, the consideration it had taken for Xion to remember to bring it back for me on top of everything else.
I’ve always been alone. For as long as I can remember. I know I still am. I’m still an orphan without many friends, or a family. But maybe, the thought occurs to me, just maybe, I don’t have to be.
Chapter Fourteen
Boogie Wonderland
SEPHY
“Hey, uh, you think you can give me a hand with one of these?” I call down from the height of the staircase to Xion, who is waiting with an impatient look on his face, down in the lobby.
“Sephy, I said to pack light!” he complains, looking up at me and folding his arms across his broad chest.
“Hey, I might be meeting actual gods. Actual gods! I need more than one pair of shoes for that!” I complain, staring down at the two suitcases beside me. I’ve also got a cute leather backpack slung over my shoulders and a thick black overcoat with a large hood, just in case I want to disappear into a crowd. There’s something else, latched through one of my pant loops, but I’ll ask Xion about that after he’s helped me with my luggage.
“You can bring one suitcase. The smaller one.” He points to it and I sigh out.
“What? Come on! I’m a woman. I need… stuff!” I express, whining.
“Okay, I’ll do you a deal. You can substitute Cerb for one of the cases? How does that sound?” he asks me, narrowing his eyes, and I give him an irritated stare.
“Fine. One case it is.” I kick the case I won’t be taking aside, filled with my favourite outfits for formal occasions, and descend, pulling the smaller case behind me, hearing it clunk as it falls down each step.
“Also, there’s this.” I push back the outer hem of my coat, reaching back into the loop of my leather pants and pulling out the opal blade.
“You can leave that behind,” he advises, and I cock one eyebrow.
“What, why?”
“That blade held your powers once, it’ll suck you dry. No using it. You haven’t even bonded fully with your god half yet; we don’t need you powerless and being hunted. One is quite enough.” He’s deadly serious as he takes the blade from my hand and places it on the table beside the front door as we pass, heading out toward the lawn.
As we open the front doors, I grab Cerb’s black leather leash from the hook on the opposite side of the entrance before putting two fingers to my lips and letting a loud whistle emit throughout the vast emptiness of the estate.
I hear a bark in the distance and then the quick and heavy pounding of paws against carpet. Cerb comes blundering down the stairs so fast I wonder if he might not fall over his two front legs and cannonball the rest of the way.
“Come on, boy. We’re taking a little trip,” I whisper to him, latching the leash onto his black leather collar and feeling my arm partially ripped from its socket as he jerks forward.
“Hey uh, would you mind taking the case? I kind of need two hands to keep him under control.” I shove the suitcase at Xion who sighs out.
“Bodyguard and luggage boy. Jeez, I can’t believe I’m getting a promotion already. And what, exactly, were you intending to do with two suitcases and the dog?” he asks me, and I give him a sly smile.
“Hey, you claimed the title luggage boy, not me, dude.” I step out onto the mocha coloured stone of the front of the manor’s steps, letting Cerb pull me across the pristine grass and onward towards The Hollow. It’s almost as if he knows where we’re going, like he knows that it’s where I need to be too.
As we approach the root laden ground in front of the gnarled, charred tree, we pay the blood toll and walk, side by side, into Mortaria. As we emerge, I step into the enormous gilded half-cage which surrounds the tree and suddenly find myself curious.
“Hey… if this is a portal to the mortal world… shouldn’t it be, oh I don’t know, guarded or something?” I question Xion as Cerb begins to leap upward. He’s growling, and I wonder what he knows that I don’t.
“Oh, it is guarded. The guards are up in the trees.” Xion points up into the bloody canopy of leaves, and I squint amongst them, trying to see who it is he is speaking about. After a few moments, I give up, not able to spot even the slightest flicker of movement or shadow.
“Well, they’ve got the subtle thing down. Maybe you could ask them for a few pointers,” I quip as he begins to pull my case through the ruddy earth. I cringe as the wheels catch blackened stones and scarlet leaves, bouncing over natural mounds in the soil.
I keep a good few paces behind him as he stalks, taking me a different way than we had walked previously.
“Hey, wait, don’t we need to go to the river?” I ask him, confused and anxious.
“You think you’re going to get this luggage, plus you and me, and the monster dog into a gondola? Do you want to drown?” he looks like I’ve just suggested the most stupid thing possible, and so I give him a pissed off glare.
“Well I don’t know; I’m not exactly local.”
“We’re taking a carriage. Now come on, we don’t want to be out in the open all day. Not with me and my big feet.” He brings the conversation back to my earlier comment, and I smirk. At least I know he secretly finds it amusing, even if he doesn’t want to admit it.
Cerb sniffs the earth as we walk, his panting and wet nose hitting the ground the only sound as we move, swift as ghosts, through the forest. I feel myself looking around, slowing up too often, and find myself thinking that this forest is really kind of beautiful, even if it is soaked bloody.
Eventually, we reach a stretch of black road; it’s empty, and Xion halts.
“Now, we wait,” he informs me, stoic in his expression as usual. I look down the road to the left, sure I can see an ocean horizon off in the distance.
“Wait… is that the sea?” I ask, confused, and he nods.
“Yes, it’s how we bring in materials, livestock, food, that kind of thing. Stuff we can’t get around here.”
“So, the sea leads to… earth?” I feel ridiculous saying it, but he doesn’t make fun of me
, which I probably deserve after all the grief I give him. Instead he continues to enlighten me.
“Not exactly. The devil’s triangle… it’s another portal. Luce set it up so we could have a better quality of life. Those sinners who were sailors, pirates, in their lifetime, meet with the mortal merchants on the horizon and then bring back the stock.” As I listen to his explanation I shift from foot to foot, mouth twisting with curiosity.
“And demons don’t try to attack there?” I ask him, and he frowns.
“Of course. Leviathan’s Demon Lord, Kraken, resides in those waters. But our ships are fast, and their residents un-killable. Besides, Kraken has been notably distracted lately. Nobody knows why. No doubt something to do with the Circle of Eight and their Kindred. We don’t really get involved.” He shrugs, kind of like he read this in his morning paper.
“The Circle of Eight?” I state the name, curious even still and also getting bored of waiting already. At least I can learn some more to pass the time.
“Yes, run by Poseidon. They manage the weaknesses between this dimension and the oceans of the mortal plain. Demons get through all the time. It’s a big issue. I guess Poseidon is your Uncle, technically.” He adds this in casually, and my eyes widen.
“So… I’ll meet him?” I wonder immediately what it would be like to meet blood family who are also gods I’ve only ever read about in stories. Will they have expectations of me? Will they hate my mortal side?
“No. Zeus and Poseidon, most of the gods and goddesses live in The Higher Plains. Where they belong.” His explanation doesn’t make sense, but shortly after the words leave his lips a carriage appears as it turns a corner onto the long stretch of road, being pulled by two enormous black mares. I feel my next question is more pressing than any other so don’t let it go as Cerb stands.
“So why isn’t Haedes there?” I enquire, voicing my confusion.
“Haedes… the gods here, they’re different. You should read the story in that book I gave you. It’s called Haedes’ Descent,” he instructs me, and I nod. “You did bring it, didn’t you?”
“Of course I did!” I snap, hating feeling like the idiot in all this. Like a child again. I just wish I had a grasp of the history of it all, the bigger picture, then maybe I’d feel safer in some way.
“Alright.” Xion doesn’t add any more to this, and I worry I’ve upset him. I don’t have time to make up for my loss of temper though as the carriage reaches us, and Cerb backs away from the two enormous black Percherons with a wary eye. The driver looks down from his high seat behind the horses, eyeing my dog with a disapproving and depressed stare as Xion moves around the carriage, securing my luggage to its roof with provided chains.
“Get in.” Xion opens the door for me, and I step inside, handing him Cerb’s leash as I take off my backpack and place it onto the seat next to me.
Watching Xion begin to wrangle Cerb into the small carriage, I take in the interior. Almost everything is black, and tiny indigo lace curtains frame each window, offering privacy if one should require it. The seats are made from leather, dimpled throughout with enormous silver buttons, and are a similar colour to the curtains. The walls of the transport are covered in crushed black velvet, giving me the feeling I’ve walked into some gothic scene from a horror movie set in Victorian England.
Once Cerb is inside, Xion steps up into the carriage, and the entire thing tilts sideways under his bulk. I think about making a comment, but before I can come up with a witty one that’s riddled with sarcasm, Cerb decides he’s a puppy again.
Xion shuts the carriage door but is given no relief as the second his ass touches the dimpled leather of the upholstery, Cerb decides he is the perfect lap to sit on. Xion can barely see over his shoulders as he climbs all over him, and instead of scolding the dog, I simply watch on in amusement.
With a crack of a painful sounding whip, the carriage lurches into motion, jostling to the sound of horse-shoes clipping the road.
“Sephy, uh, can you get Cerb off me?” he pleads, but I shake my head.
“You have been chosen. You can’t shrug off the chosen-ness.” I shrug and let Cerb settle on Xion’ lap. Sitting upright and looking out of the window, he doesn’t realise there’s glass and smacks his face trying to get his head out of the non-gap. I can’t see Xion’s face, but I can imagine what it looks like and it makes me chuckle.
“So how far is it to wherever we’re going?” I demand, realising I have not even an inkling of our destination.
“Uh, not too far, maybe an hour, hour and a half. I’m taking you to the Exilia Multum, which is where Luce, Thane and Haedes live. It’s the best protected place in the city.” I feel my heart drop in my chest at the thought of being in close proximity to Haedes. I don’t want to deal with any of that, I just want to focus on staying alive.
“I guess that’s for the best then.” I sigh, relinquishing the course of my life once again to his judgement and wondering if things are ever going to start going the way I want them to.
For a long time, all I can see out of the window is the long and unending black sea, Xion says it’s called The Sea of Shadows, which I think is totally unoriginal, but then again what do I know. I probably would have called it The Scum Sucking Demon Abyss of Doom, which surely does have a ring to it but doesn’t quite slip off the tongue.
“We should be getting close soon. Or at least, that’s my guess. It would help if I could actually see though…” his voice comes, muffled from behind Cerb’s thick fur.
My dog, bless him, remains glued to the window, watching this new world pass by as we finally turn away from the black sands of the shoreline and begin to move inland.
I lean forward in my seat, staring out of the window as the city of Mortaria moves closer and closer. It’s the oddest architecture I’ve ever seen, with a ghostly white nervous system as the River Styx runs through its heart. Into the sky, a smoky quartz shard rises, unmistakable as the focal point for the city. It is surrounded by slightly shorter sky scrapers which rise in what looks like bone.
“Hey uh, those sky scrapers… the weird spine looking ones? What are they made of?” I ask, and Xion chuckles.
“I know what you’re thinking, but it’s Cinnabrite, a stone we have a lot of here,” he replies, and so I exhale, feeling relief flood my gut.
“So, the sinners… they live in there?” I ask and his reply comes from behind Cerb once more.
“Some do. It depends where they’re assigned,” Xion explains, and I don’t reply, not wanting to ask any more questions.
I continue to stare out at the sickeningly twisted spine-esque architecture of the buildings, looking down to the path as we move closer and closer, only to find black stone speckled with what appear to be garnets, causing the ground to look like it’s been spattered with blood. The red sky above reflects in the many facets, giving the city the impression it’s on fire. I mean, it explains a lot because when you think about depictions of hell, flame is usually the first thing that comes to mind.
“So, the Exilia is…” I ask, staring at the shard of Smokey quartz which gleams high in the sky, hoping it’s not that. It seems far too daunting, too intimidating, to call home, even temporarily.
“The large crystal building in the middle.” His reply causes me to sigh as we move over a slight pothole and the entire vehicle jostles, causing Cerb to growl.
Dammit. I cuss internally, now a little afraid of what living in such a place might mean.
“Don’t worry. You’ll have your own suite. Your every need will be met, I have no doubt.” Xion doesn’t understand that I don’t want my every need met. I want my freedom, and even though I’m being hunted, this place looks more like a prison than a sanctuary.
“I see.” I wonder if he thinks I’m materialistic or spoiled. I mean, I can see why he’d think that; I have billions of dollars at my disposal. But in all honesty, I’ve never really put much stock in money. Not really. Time, and living my life to the full, being happy, hav
e always seemed like the most important things. Then again, perhaps I only see things that way because I actually possess wealth. “You know, I wasn’t expecting a suite. I thought we’d be in a cave or something… or maybe your apartment. I didn’t know you’d arranged something so fancy,” I admit, and his voice turns surprised as he responds.
“What… did you think I was going to just keep you hidden away all to myself down here?”
“No… but you know I would’ve been just as happy with that, or a cave. I don’t want you to think I’m high maintenance,” I confess, feeling vulnerable.
“I’m shocked you care what I think. I’m just a bodyguard and part time luggage boy.” He sends the reply flying back like a boomerang.
I smile, glad he’s finally recovered his good mood.
“It’s not that I care exactly; I just have a reputation to uphold. Being a spoiled brat isn’t exactly how I want to come off.” I save myself, and I wonder if he’s smiling behind Cerb’s fidgety gait.
“Well, you don’t need to worry. I don’t think you are high maintenance,” he replies, like he’s doing me a kindness, but I believe his response.
Continuing to stare out of the window, we fall once more into silence. The carriage journeys beneath enormous pillars at last, and I gaze out as we pass multiple sinners wearing simple black armour, stationed at various posts, presumably as security.
The vehicle halts, and I hear the snort and pacing of the horses as the door is pulled open on my side before I’m ready to step out into the Mortarian air. I have no choice, slipping my backpack over both shoulders as I hear whispers coming from outside, presumably about me.
I duck beneath the black ledge of the doorway leading out onto smoky quartz flooring. The place I’m standing in, which has both roads and river running through it, is enormous and airy, with no walls, only pillars supporting the crystalline building above.
The Opal Blade (The Ashen Touch Trilogy Book 1) Page 20
