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“In the church?”
“You’ll see.”
He walks off and I look at Solon for explanation as we follow.
“The red world is hidden to the naked eye,” Solon explains. “It takes some effort to see. Like one of those paintings that were big in the nineties.”
“Magic Eye paintings?”
“They were absolutely atrocious. No magic at all.”
We follow Kaleid around the back of the cathedral, onto the street. There’s a long wall between the cathedral and the road, and in the wall is an ornate gated door.
I point at it. “Doesn’t seem so hard to see.”
“That’s a door for humans,” Solon says.
We walk along the wall a few feet until Kaleid stops and gestures to the wall.
“There’s nothing there,” I say.
“Keep looking at it,” Solon says to me quietly. “Try to block out any thoughts.”
Easier said than done. But I do as he says.
And suddenly a door starts to appear in the rock, just the way that one would appear in the Black Sunshine. Flames create the outline until a black wooden door with a gold latch and handle appears before me.
“So you see it,” Kaleid notes. He steps toward the door and pulls the latch to the side, opening it. I see nothing but red down a long corridor that disappears into darkness, and in that darkness I sense danger.
“Welcome to the Red World,” Kaleid says, gesturing for me to step through.
I glance at Solon. Are you sure about this?
He shakes his head. Not even a little.
But he’s not stopping me. So that says something.
I step into the red.
Solon comes in behind me, closing the door on the world outside.
I look down at myself. I’m totally crimson, like the place is done up with red lightbulbs, except there are no lightbulbs at all. It’s just…red.
Kaleid eyes me. “You okay?”
I nod. “Just takes some adjusting.”
“You’ll get used to it,” he says. “You’ll soon appreciate it.”
I don’t know about that. I went from being a girl who gets squeamish about blood to someone who drinks blood on a semi-regular basis, but I don’t like it enough to want to live in a world that looks like it.
Kaleid starts walking down the hall, and I follow, Solon staying close behind me. His presence is both comforting and intoxicating at once.
Our footsteps echo on stone floors, making sound a feature here compared to the silent world of Black Sunshine. It’s also cold and smells dank, and as we turn a corner, the ground starts to slope like we’re going further underground.
Finally, we come to a stop outside one giant crimson door, and Kaleid knocks rapidly on it, as if he’s a guest here.
He catches what I’m thinking because he looks at me and explains, “You never know what’s going on in here. Vampires don’t like to be ambushed during periods of, uh, exertion.”
Sounds a lot like the Dark Room back at home. I brace myself.
The door opens, and a pale woman with high cheekbones and dark, straight hair that hangs to her waist stares at us with a blank expression.
“Natalia,” Kaleid says warmly. “Just the gal I wanted to see.”
She ignores him, turns her stony face toward Solon. “Absolon,” she says, in what sounds like a Swedish or Norwegian accent. “What a surprise.” Though she doesn’t seem surprised at all.
Then she fixes her eyes on me. They must be a very pale blue, because here they’re so red it’s unnerving. “And you must be the witch.”
“Half-witch,” I correct her. I hold out my hand. “I’m Lenore.”
She eyes my hand but doesn’t move. Looks back to Solon. “When is the last time we saw each other?”
“Long time ago,” he says gravely. “You’re looking well.”
I frown, taking my hand back. Their relationship already seems strange, I have to wonder if they were lovers at some point. I hate the fact that I’m getting jealous over this already.
“We’re family,” Solon says to me in a reassuring manner, either hearing my thoughts or picking up on my vibe.
“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” Natalia says, a hint of sarcasm coming through.
“Don’t get used to it,” Kaleid says. “He’s grumpy as fuck.”
“And you thought he would be any different this time?” she asks him.
“How are you related?” I ask her.
“Daughter of Skarde here,” she says, raising her hand briefly.
“Oh,” I say, feeling dumb. “I didn’t know Skarde had any daughters.”
“There are a few of his direct heirs left,” she says slowly. She eyes Solon, raising a brow. “You really haven’t told her much, have you? Tried to erase us from your memory?”
“You do that when your family is trying to kill you,” Solon explains.
“Okay, enough with the chitchat,” Kaleid says. “We’re here to see Valtu. He hasn’t left, has he?”
“No,” she says carefully as she steps aside and gestures for us to come inside. “Come on in. You’ll find him in the back room.”
