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“Why do I feel like something plowed over me?”
“Been riding a while, slung over the saddle.”
Huffing a deep breath, he finally rolled back to face the mountain, and his eyes widened. “We’re here?”
“Yes. Obsidia,” I answered, as if that’d been the plan all along. The calling practically burned in my pocket, as I turned it over and over in my palm. “I suppose we should get on with it.”
“Wait.” The angel swallowed a gulp, his gaze still directed toward the cave. “You’re certain this witch will be any help?”
“No. I’m not certain of anything anymore. I only know that I am willing to walk through Hell for Farryn, if necessary. And if you are suddenly too fearful, then you are welcome to stay here.”
Grumbling, the angel pushed to his feet. “Fearful. I am not fearful. Elysiumerians are not afraid.”
I rolled my good eye at that and checked the dagger at my hip. “We are on the edge of Eradye. I don’t know how many creatures inhabit the cave of this mountain. All I will say is, should you come upon a creature that looks more animal than anything, do not waste your time studying it. Run.”
“Noted.”
The two of us strode toward the mouth of the cave, and I looked up to see the sky darkening, the moon disappearing behind the blackness of a clouded and starless sky. We breached the cave, and my sight adjusted to the tenebrous surroundings. Shiny black stalactites hung from the ceiling, which looked like teeth hanging over the stalagmites. An ice-cold chill clung to the air, creating mists of breath every time I exhaled.
Poised for a threat, I held my dagger clutched in my fist and took careful steps. Sounds echoed through the cave, like the long creak of an old rocking chair.
“This place is pure evil. I can feel it deep in my bones.” Soreth spoke low, trailing behind me.
“Perhaps it’s just that fear you claim not to feel,” I said over my shoulder.
The narrow cave opened to a pool of water, the black surface of which reflected the teeth overhead, and I caught a flicker of movement on the rocky ledge behind us. Pausing my steps, I scanned the surroundings, to find no further movement, at first.
A shadowy figure prowled behind Soreth in the water’s reflection, while the angel unwittingly glanced around as if unaware of its presence. As it neared, creeping up behind him, with no eyes and ghost white skin, it bared its fangs. As subtly as I could muster, I tightened my grip of the blade’s hilt, muscles poised for attack. The creature advanced, crawling over the rock toward the angel.
“Are we just going to stand he–”
I threw out my dagger, inches from Soreth’s cheek, and pierced the open maw of the creature that appeared seconds from biting into the unwitting fool.
Soreth’s gaze followed the path of the blade, and on a gasp, he jumped back when he caught sight of what had tried to attack him. “What in the unholy scriptures was that abomination!”
“There are times when the Lord grants acceptance of the wordfuck, and I’m certain this is one of them.” I slid my blade from the creature’s throat, and it fell into a pile of white flesh onto the cave floor.
“I believe you’re right. What in thefuckwas that?”
“Must you scholarly types give everything a label? It’s ugly, and it likes to bite. What more do you need to know?” I twisted back toward the pool, scanning the surroundings for any more of them.
“Quite a bit more, in fact,” Soreth argued. “This could be a completely unknown species.”
“Well, then, feel free to stay and study it.” I sheathed my blade and stepped in the opposite direction.
“I think not.”
We kept on, rounding the water to the other side, where black moss hung draped over an entrance that, on closer examination, appeared to be the underside of an enormous jaw. I stepped back further to see actual teeth, confirming that it was some sort of colossal-sized animal which must have died there centuries before, given the decay of bone and the way the rocks had begun to form around it. The entrance was no more than long strands of black moss, through which I took the lead. As I pushed the moss to the side, it hissed, and I turned in time to see tiny insect-like creatures scampering up its leaves, making the moss appear to move.
The interior of the skull opened onto an illuminated room that hugged a colossal pyre, which burned black at its base. Crudely carved, stone furniture decorated the inside, where a number of objects hung about from the ceiling, tethered by strings, reminding me of those used by Farryn’s father to ward off The Infernal.
I turned to see Soreth’s wide eyes trailing over the room, his mouth gaping with what I imagined was horrified awe.
“Who goes there?” a raspy voice called out, but when I scanned over the interior, I saw nothing but broken dolls hanging from twine, their limbs removed, alongside small pots filled with gods knew what, and symbols chalked into the stone. Drawings that stood out in stark clarity against the black surface of the wall.
“I wish to speak to Venefica.” I held up the Calling and caught only a flash of black in my periphery, as something swiped it out of my fingertips.
When I turned back to face the flame, a hunched figure stood before it. Long white, straggly hair framed a wrinkled face and long nose, beneath a black hood.
