The Burn of the Underworld

by Meg Xuemei X

  “You’ll make it, my queen,” she said.

  Together we pushed at the secret wall until the opening was big enough for a person to walk through.

  A dark staircase lay ahead, leading into a deep tunnel.

  My path to freedom stretched in front of me.

  Tears welled in my eyes.

  “How? How did you know?” I asked.

  “As I said, we’re the Thorn Rose,” Willow said proudly. “The Sváva don’t know there’s a secret underground city beneath them, but we’re the descendants of the natives, the builders of the Underworld. We’ll get our world back, and you’ll lead us to light and freedom, Queen of the Flame.” She turned to Octavia. “Hit me as hard as you can, then tie me up. The button to seal the wall is on the other side. I’ll manage to shut the closet.”

  “Why don’t we all leave?” I asked. “There’s enough room.”

  “Someone has to run the Thorn Rose and help you,” Willow said. “You’ll need us again. When the final battle comes, Queen Calamity, we’ll answer, and we’ll come—”

  Octavia hit her before she finished the words, again and again, leaving Willow with bruised eyes, split lips, and a broken nose. The mistress of the emperor’s courtesans never stopped smiling, despite my winces.

  I pricked my ears, and my superior hearing caught the sound of Elijah commanding the women to leave him alone and not to cling to him, then he demanded to know where I was and why the makeup was taking so long.

  I went to Willow, holding her steady hands in mine and kissing her bruised cheek. “I won’t forget this debt,” I said. “I might not be a queen, but I’ll fight for every one of you until my last breath.”

  “Go,” she urged through her swollen lips.

  I followed Lydia and Octavia into the closet, ignoring the sharp pang in my heart at leaving Elijah, at not being able to say goodbye.

  I’d tasted what it meant to be a woman.

  I plunged down the stairs and into the tunnel, and Octavia pushed a button and sealed the wall behind us, leaving our past behind.

  And we would make sure it didn’t catch up with us.

  Ahead, the darkness extended endlessly.

  CHAPTER 10

  _____________

  Octavia insisted on positioning me in the middle as we rushed through the dark tunnel, our way lit by a gleaming gem in her hand.

  “I was a digger,” I said. “I dug in the tunnel since I was eleven. I should go first.” I didn’t say that they hadn’t labored a day, as I didn’t want to hurt their feelings, but I believed I was tougher than any of them, so I should take the risk. “Besides, I just came from the arena. You ladies have seen how I fought.”

  “You fought well, Queen Calamity,” Octavia said with admiration.

  “Don’t call me queen, please,” I grunted.

  “Only in private.” She looked over her shoulder to wink at me. Her dark hair was tied in a sleek ponytail. The dim light cast a shadow on her face, shrouding her beauty. “And no, you cannot lead on unfamiliar ground. We’ve finally found you, and we’ll guard you with our lives.”

  “That’s fucking heavy,” I said, and she chuckled.

  My sensitive ears caught labored breathing behind me. Lydia, my other self-appointed guard, was obviously having a hard time in the narrow tunnel. She was trying her best to keep pace with us, but she was probably experiencing claustrophobia.

  I understood the feeling. Every time I went into that long, deep tunnel, my armpits were soaked in cold sweat. I never got used to it. I just never told Sebastian.

  I slowed down. “Lydia, are you okay?”

  “I—I’m fine,” she said.

  I went to her. “Walk with me,” I said, rolling up my sleeves and letting the radiating golden icon distract her. It also helped illuminate the tunnel.

  “There are four of them,” Lydia said. “What do they mean?”

  “No idea,” I said. “They appeared on my arm during my transition into adulthood. And then today—”

  I stopped in the middle of the sentence. I couldn’t tell her that one of the icons had lit like a beacon after Elijah and I climaxed during our wild night of passion. The glowing symbol had duplicated itself and imprinted on Elijah’s chest, right above his heart. He hadn’t minded it but had been awed at its appearance.

  He’d wanted to tell me about a bond and the mark of the Queen of the Night, but then the courtesans had come and interrupted us.

  My thoughts kept returning to the golden archangel. Despite him being a Sváva, I’d never felt more connected to anyone than to him. I also felt the connection to Max and Ash, but it wasn’t as intense as what I felt for Elijah. Maybe it was because of the intimacy between us.

  It’d been more difficult than I’d thought to leave my first lover behind. The moment I let the door shut behind me and separate Elijah and me, I’d experienced a tearing pain in my chest. I’d ignored the agony and turned a deaf ear to the burning need to return to him. I’d prowled on, to pursue my freedom, and to live to fight another day.

  Born a slave, pain was part of my daily existence anyway.

  “Today, this icon was activated,” I said as I realized both courtesans had slowed their pace to wait for me to explain further.

  “It must be part of the prophecy,” Lydia said beside me, and I didn’t correct her. I didn’t believe in any religion or prophesy, but I knew how important they were to a lot of people.

  There had been this undercurrent of religion amid the diggers, too, about a queen coming to save them. I’d never believed that anyone could save us, but that hope had sustained many diggers and kept them going.

  And now Willow’s network had appointed me as the queen they’d been waiting for, which only made me trust any prophesy or religion even less.

  I kept my opinions to myself. Lydia was doing better in the tunnel with all the talk and the distraction of my radiating icon, which was what mattered for now.

  “So, tell me more about Thorn Rose,” I said as we kept moving. “What does it stand for, exactly?”

  I was exhausted, running low on adrenaline. I could fall asleep on my feet, but I fought to keep my eyes open. We’d need to put as much distance between the emperor’s court and us as possible.

  The air was stifling, but I pulled my mind away from the damp, mossy smell mixed with sulfur. Occasionally, a few rats or other strange creatures scurried by us, so we couldn’t risk resting inside the tunnel.

  “Thorn Rose was formed centuries ago, when the Sváva first invaded our world,” Lydia said beside me. “Our ancestors received a vision that one day the queen would come to them and shatter the shackles for them and their children. They passed on their faith to us, and we’d have kept passing it down, if you hadn’t come.”

  I’d once dreamed of rebelling against the Sváva demons, but now that it was staring me in the face, I felt that being a savior was too big a role for me to fill. It was an unbearable burden to carry. Could we—me with a few courtesans—really overthrow the tyranny of the emperor and his demon army?

  “I’m not a queen,” I said again. I needed to put a stop to this. I could get everyone killed if I let them keep pinning such an unrealistic role on me. “And I don’t want to be one. I don’t believe in any prophecy, either. However, I’ll do whatever I can to fight the demons.” I chuckled without humor. “I have no choice anyway. I’m a fugitive now, and the emperor will never stop hunting me.”

  Maybe Elijah would join the demon emperor’s pursuit. A pang speared my guts at the fleeting thought of the archangel.

  “You’ll see, Queen Calamity,” Octavia said, swishing her ponytail. “You’ve done more than you know. You achieved the impossible in the arena, doing things that no slave has dared to try. You’ve lit the fire, and the Underworld is going to burn!”

  “You made one hell of a speech in the arena, like the Queen of the Flame would,” Lydia said in approval.

  “I’ve gotten so many titles in just one day,” I said drily. �
�How did Lady Willow, who’s also the mistress of the emperor’s courtesans, become the leader of the Thorn Rose?”

  “On the surface, she leads and trains the emperor’s courtesans,” Lydia said. “She also selects the concubines for Cain. Some of us volunteered to be chosen, to be close to the emperor, in order to serve the queen-to-come. We’re an army of spies. We’re your secret blade in the enemy’s heart, Queen Calamity. Lady Willow carries a great burden and tries her best to protect us all, but we understand that sacrifices need to be made, so our children and their children won’t need to live this way.”

  “Lady Willow also used her position to inspect every girl before they are sent to the emperor,” Lydia said, pausing for a second to fight her grief. “Some luckier ones get to join us, but some have to be sent to the brothels. And the most unfortunate go to the worst brothels, run by the commanders. We cheered when Lord Elijah beheaded one of the butchers.” She laid a hand on my arm, her voice turning fierce. “The prophecy can’t be wrong. An archangel, the most powerful Sváva, would never slay a commander for a mere slave.”

  She took a deep breath and touched her neck. I had seen bruises there, and my heart went out to her. I patted her hand to comfort her.

  “Lady Willow is responsible for examining every girl to make sure that she finds the queen among them,” she continued, “so we can hide our queen. When you showed your true gender in the arena in your show of defiance, we instantly knew you were the queen we’ve been waiting for. The mark of the Queen of the Flame on your breast is the final confirmation. Our wait has come to an end.”

  No matter what I said, they wouldn’t stop believing and calling me their queen.

  I sighed. We’d lived in different worlds, but now our paths had merged, united by a common goal—to fight the emperor and his demon army.

  First, we must focus on escaping and surviving.

  I trained my gaze on a ray of dim light at the end of the tunnel and let out an audible breath.

  “Where exactly are we going again?” I asked.

  “We’ll bring you to Nightingale, the hidden city,” Lydia and Octavia said at the same time, “to meet the Prophet.”

  CHAPTER 11

  _____________

  We came out of the tunnel five miles away from the emperor’s court.

  I surveyed the empty plain stretching under the endless ashy sky. Xavier once told me the story of another realm, where the high sky was streaked with millions of sparkling stars. He once filled my mind with dreams and hope, and then one day he was gone, blown to pieces.

  If Emperor Cain and his demon army had never occupied the Underworld, my father would have lived. After my father’s demise, I’d lived in fear that one day they would take Sebastian from me as well.

  I glanced at Lydia and Octavia, swallowing a question about their families. I wondered if they had any family left, but I didn’t want to tear their wounds open. I turned my gaze to the light grayness that would soon break through the sky and announce the coming of dawn.

  “Should we find a shelter and rest for a couple of hours?” Lydia asked.

  She had dark circles in the hollows of her pale green eyes. Octavia also looked exhausted, and her high ponytail was a messy thread in the wind.

  Despite both women’s determination to guide and protect me, they had never gone through this kind of harsh training meant for a warrior. They were courtesans trained as spies, and they’d thought they could take on anything.

  There was no need for them to go through any more hardship and risk themselves.

  “You two know how to find the way back through the tunnel?” I asked.

  Octavia blinked in displeasure. “You want to send us back?”

  “You’ve done enough for me,” I said. “I might never be able to repay such kindness. Being a fugitive is worse than you think. I don’t know how long I can stay alive. Coming with me, you two will have a slim chance of surviving. Why waste your lives? Go back and live, and I’ll manage to find this Nightingale by myself if you point me in the right direction.”

  Lydia’s face paled. “I’m sorry that I asked to take a break, Queen Calamity,” she said. “You battled in the arena and then ran for the entire night. I just thought it might help you to rest a little. I’m sorry for saying this, but you look like you can barely stand.”

  Octavia spat onto a small rock. “I won’t go back, ever! The life of a whore isn’t much of a life. My skin crawled whenever any of the demons touched me. I endured it all for this, for a chance to serve you, and you want to send me back?”

  “With me, you’ll probably die,” I said flatly.

  “I’ll die guarding you, which is an honor and a privilege,” she said. “I’ll die feeling joyful that I got to serve the Queen of the Flame. My ancestors will be so proud in the afterlife if I die a warrior’s death.”

  “Fine,” I reluctantly said. I hated the idea of taking advantage of her, but I didn’t want her to feel dishonored if I sent her back. “We stick together, in life and death.”

  “Will you be able to keep walking for a few more hours?” Octavia asked, her tone softening. She pointed at a ring of jagged hills over the horizon. “We need to cross those hills, and then we’ll be out of the demons’ patrol range.”

  “Let’s go,” I said, pulling the pack Lydia carried from her shoulder, despite her protest, and swinging it over mine.

  The three of us plowed through the field of wild grass toward the rocky hills.

  We didn’t talk much after that, since we didn’t have much energy. All I knew was that I had to force myself to drag one foot in front of the other and repeat.

  And then, like a miracle, we climbed over the hills before we allowed ourselves to pass out.

  The landscape shifted on this side of the hills.

  I gazed down at the distant stream across the meadow and swallowed a sob. For the first time, freedom felt like more than just a dream.

  I looked at Lydia and Octavia over my shoulder. Tears glinted in their tired eyes as well, despite the wind tussling their hair in the dawn’s gray light.

  “After we pass the meadow and cross the dark river and a few more mountains, we’ll reach the first watching station of Nightingale,” Lydia said. “The scouts will come out from their hiding place to meet us and send word to the Prophet. A small group from the rebel army will then escort us to the hidden city. Once we reach Nightingale, you’ll be safe.”

  I would never be safe. I knew it in my bones, but I didn’t say that to them. There was no reason to make them worry.

  I had no idea where my path ahead lay, but I knew this: I would never stop fighting the demons, and I needed to find my brother first.

  “Tell me about this Prophet you constantly bring up,” I said, and then I stopped cold. My superior hearing had just picked up the sound of flapping wings in the wind, and my blood turned icy.

  The sound of wings didn’t come from a pair, but from many. I wondered if Elijah had led the party to hunt me and if he’d punish me for escaping.

  “The Prophet—” Octavia started.

  I turned to them with a sharp look. “Lydia, Octavia, the demons have found us.”

  They darted their eyes around wildly.

  “They’re in the sky, hidden by the gray clouds,” I said, pulling the angelblade out of the bundle. “They’ll be upon us soon.”

  “There’s no shelter here,” Lydia cried in dismay. “How did they find us so soon?!”

  My throat felt parched, as if hot sand was stuck in its passage.

  My glamour might hide me from the demon army, but it couldn’t shield my companions. I’d stumbled upon the magic by chance. I must try to conceal them and lead the demons away, so at least my friends would live.

  I threw up my hands and cast my feeble glamour on them. I sensed a magical wind stirring, but it didn’t stick to them. I swallowed the bile in the back of my throat. I didn’t have time to practice it and make it work.

  “What was that?” Ly
dia cried out. “I felt something strange pass by me.”

  I’d failed them.

  My glamour magic had failed me when I needed it the most. However, I couldn’t let Lydia and Octavia know that I had this magic, or they’d beg me to use it to preserve myself.

  “They’re coming,” I said. “We can’t outrun them.”

  We would only have an advantage over the demons if we were inside the tunnel. Their wings would hinder their movements in the narrow space. But we’d left the tunnel far behind us. We couldn’t make it back before the attack came.

  Then a thought occurred to me—Lydia and Octavia would probably make it.

  “Listen,” I said. “You two run back to the tunnel. I’ll distract them as long as I can. If they catch you, you blame all this on me. Tell them that I knocked out Willow and forced you to lead me here. Shed a few tears while you tell the tale. You’ll make it. They want me. They don’t want you.”

  “We all swore a blood oath the first day we joined the Thorn Rose,” Octavia said ferociously. “We live and die to serve the Queen of the Flame. Lydia, preserve Queen Calamity at all costs! If she dies, our hope dies.”

  Lydia raised her dagger before her chest, brushing her red hair from her pale face. “Queen Calamity, we have to go. We have to leave Octavia to fend off the demon army.”

  “As your queen,” I said, pulling the fake rank, “I order you to abandon me and return to Willow.”

  “No way,” both Lydia and Octavia said.

  The flapping of the wings grew louder. Now both Lydia and Octavia heard the unnerving sound too, as massive red and gray wings bolted from the clouds into the faint light of dawn.

  “Run for cover!” I shouted.

  The three of us broke into a dead run down the slope, toward a few dead trees at the base of the hills. They wouldn’t provide any cover, and the trees wouldn’t cause trouble for the demons’ wings, but it was better than being so exposed here.

  Just as we reached the dead trees and a cluster of thorny shrubs, a dozen or so demon sentinels landed, surrounding us. In their claw-like hands, their angelblades flashed with wicked, dark runes.