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I cleared my mind, hoping to get an answer to the burning question of the night. Though I didn’t want to speak with him, I knew he might be my one shot at figuring out how to get to the Underworld.
Balt? Tell me you’re here.I waited for a moment before I added, I need to talk to you. Please?
Finally, he answered. Hello, dear.
Balt! Hey. I know our last encounter wasn’t the best…and that was putting it lightly. He’d transformed from a shadow to a weird humanoid being right before me. Oh, and he’d also released Morgan from her cage and prevented me from going after her. Yeah, our last encounter was the worst. Was that your physical form I saw?
Yes. One of them. I have a few.
What did that even mean? How many appearances did this guy have? Was he even a guy? The first time we spoke, his voice had a feminine touch that made it sound androgynous. At least he didn’t claw at my mind as much anymore.
Unable to hold back any longer, I asked, What are you? You aren’t like any being I’ve ever seen. Or even heard of.
My apologies for what happened with Morgan that night.
Changing the subject. Really, Balt? Really? He was definitely a guy. Avoiding anything he doesn’t want to talk about, like a coward. Typical guy move. But if he wanted to talk about that night with Morgan, then by golly, we would. And I would start by chewing him out for what he did.
Speaking of which, I began, my voice raising in my mind to what would be shouting if I were speaking aloud. Why did you do that? Huh? Why the hell would you hold me back? Do you know how much that fucked everything up!
I expected him to get defensive or remind me that he wasn’t on my side or anyone’s but his own.
But he didn’t.
I had no choice.His tone was filled with despair, lacking the luster and humor it usually held. Samara commanded me. When she commands me to do something, I can’t stop it from happening. It’s like a curse.
Then why did you act like that? You told me you only cared about yourself! Is that true? I mean, you have told me on numerous occasions that I can’t trust you, but something in my gut told me to anyway. And then you do that?
Samara was listening! he shouted, for the first time since I’d first started communicating with him. I had to act uninterested, or she would’ve realized I’ve been helping you. She can’t know. It’s the only way to fix this. For you and me. It’s true, I’m not doing this for you. I want my own freedom, but we want the same thing. We both want to end Samara. In that sense, you can trust me.
I thought about what he said—really pondered it for a few minutes. It was silent, but he allowed me that silence to work through it, rather than forcing it on me.
He was working for Samara but against his will. Though he isn’t helping me to help me, we have the same goal, which means we are, in a sense, working together.
But it was strange because no matter how much my mind was screaming at me to stop believing in this… creature… I did. I believed we were on the same team, despite all the evidence pointing against it.
Could he be a spy sent by Samara to mislead me? It was absolutely possible. Had he proven to me that he is also working against me, even if it is “against his will”? Yes! So why did I still trust him?
And why did I want to trust him?
Can Samara hear us now? I asked.
No. She doesn’t know I come here. It’s my own little sanctuary, where I can be free from her reign.
Well, before you need to rush out of here again, I need to ask you something. He had a habit of leaving abruptly, so I figured I should get this figured out before he disappears again. How do we get to the Underworld? We were in the demon realm and Amon asked us to—
Don’t! He snapped, cutting me off. It’s safer if I don’t know the details.
I thought you said she can’t hear us in here.
She can’t. But if she found out, she would find a way to make me give up the information, even if I didn’t want to tell her. So for both of our safety, it’s better that I have no knowledge of your plans.
Okay… Then how do I get to the Underworld? I asked, saying nothing more about it.
You don’t want to go there. Trust me. It’s the realm for the dead. You think this place is bleak? This is like limbo. It’s nothing compared to the Underworld. The minute you step foot there, the dead will know. They’ll seek you out to devour your soul—anything to escape and be alive again.
The Underworld sounded like a shitty place. Was I scared? I was freaking terrified. But I couldn’t stop now. We needed Amon’s help and would do anything to get it.
Balt, please. Tell me what you know. I’m going either way, but some information would help immensely. Please.
