Page 67 of Demonic Affliction

“It’s never lasted this long,” Dravik says under his breath.

“I know.”

“Do you think he’ll snap out of it?”

I gaze at Cin, the emptiness in his eyes. I haven’t told anyone, but a part of me worries Cin is gone for good. Like, a part of him broke when those things came out of the pit. I hope to all the gods that I’m wrong.

“For all our sake, I sure hope so,” I finally say.

He nods, facing forward once more, and we settle into a tense silence. I look toward Willow, watching her beam a smile at Rhune. I get a flash of jealousy, but then I remember how she looked on my cock last night, and the feeling eases. But not all the way.

Wanting to be closer to her, I quicken my pace. I stand on her opposite side, feeding my fingers with hers, and the bond thrums, relieved to be touching her.

But that relief only lasts so long.

Vhalthor holds up his hands, and his soldiers freeze. Dagny looks from her mates to Vhalthor, her brows furrowed in confusion.

“What’s wrong?” Malice demands, his one good eye glinting at Vhalthor.

“Up ahead.” Vhalthor’s voice is low. “I heard… something.”

“More creatures?” Dagny asks.

Vhalthor shakes his head, his expression hardening. “No… I don’t know what it was. But…” He shudders but doesn’t elaborate.

He continues the march, but I notice that he’s moving more cautiously, his eyes scanning the shadows in his paranoia.

What creature has the power to terrify Vhalthor with a simple noise?

I realize at that moment that I don’t want to find out.

We keep walking, the passage sloping steadily downward. Suddenly, the ice-rock walls fall away on either side, and the tunnel spits us out onto a ledge.

Vhalthor’s soldiers split, allowing us through them to the front of the line. I stand next to Vhalthor, looking out, and my breath catches in my throat.

The cavern opens up around us, so vast it doesn't read as a cavern at all. It's more like a miniature Far Place carved out beneath the real one.

I look up, trying to see the ceiling, but it seems to go on forever. Another passage to the surface? It’s difficult to say.

The whole space is cast in an ominous shade of red, emanating from the thick veining roots covering every inch of the walls. They writhe and twist, as if they have a life of their own, and I have the horrible feeling that they’re aware of our presence.

Hundreds of feet below, a Welwig forest sprawls across the cavern floor. Trunks packed tight together, drooping canopies tangled together so thick I can't see the ground beneath them, except, of course, for the pit.

It’s situated at the far back of the cavern, several miles from our current position. It’s just as wide as the one in Dagny’s lair, but unlike the other pit, this one isn't crawling with roots. In fact, nothing grows near it. The forest stops several feet short of the edge, leaving a bare ring around the gaping mouth. A shudder runs the length of my spine. I know, inherently, that's where we have to go.

For once, Vhalthor does not seem so fearless. “I do not like this place. I do not like it at all.”

I nod, sharing his sentiment. “The pit. That’s where the core is located. It has to be.”

“Indeed…” Vhalthor turns to his men, chin held high. “This is the last chance to turn back. I will not hold it against any of you should you choose to abandon this mission. In fact, I think it would be wise.”

His soldiers gaze at him, their expressions hard. One by one, they fall to a kneel, their heads bowed in respect. The one at the front is the only one to speak, though I know all of them share his feelings. “We would never abandon you, my king. Where you go, we follow.”

Vhalthor's cool eyes light with pride. “Very well.” He turns, schooling his expression back into one free of emotion. “To the core, we go.”

Vhalthor drops off the ledge, wings snapping wide, and glides out into the cavern's open air. His soldiers pour off the edge behind him in a dark wave, filling the space with the whoosh and crack of wingbeats.

As the last soldier steps off the ledge, they attack.