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If we got home.
This mine was full of people who were beaten down, people who’d lost all sense of hope, and it was easy to see why. We were trapped miles below the surface, and there didn’t seem to be any easy route of escape. Sure, with his tattoos gone Vas should be able to teleport, but most warlocks could only transport a handful of people before they ran out of juice.
No, the only way for these poor souls to escape was to get organised, outnumber the demon watchers, fight them off and travel up the mine shaft. But then, what happened when they reached the surface? They could never live freely in Treyu, not unless there was some kind of revolution.
These thoughts ran through my mind as we reached a row of ramshackle wooden stalls that were handing out bowls of steaming broth and bags of nuts or seeds. It was an odd combination but this was another dimension and their food was completely different. Vas handed me a bowl of broth and I peered down, seeing herbs and vegetables I couldn’t identify. I’d eaten the dairy roll only hours ago, but after so much physical labour I yearned for more buttery carbohydrates.
There was no spoon. Instead people tipped the bowls to their mouths and drank the broth directly. I copied their movements, aware of Vas’ gaze on me the entire time. I didn’t bother asking him what he was staring at because I was too hungry to speak.
“Tell me about this great-grandfather of yours. The one who taught you our language.”
I peered up from the bowl. “Roman? He’s my great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He’s about five hundred years old, and his family came from India.”
“Is he powerful?”
“Very. He’s also quite eccentric. I don’t see him much. You never know when to expect his visits.”
I finished the soup, which tasted a little like seaweed and wasn’t half bad. Or maybe I was just so starved that anything would taste good right then. Returning the bowl to the stall, I opened the bag of nuts and popped one in my mouth. It had an unusual, grainy texture and tasted slightly of olive oil and honey. It took me a while to get used to the taste.
“What are these called?” I asked.
“Noomie seeds. They’re cheap and plentiful in this realm. Do you like them?”
“They’re not too bad, just unusual to my palate. I’m a little thirsty though.”
He produced the flask I drank from earlier and handed it over. “Thanks,” I said before taking a long gulp. “Where does the water come from? I haven’t seen any rivers or lakes. At least not any containing water.” An image of the lava rivers glowed bright in my mind.
“That’s because there are none. The water comes from underground, a little like the wells in your dimension.”
“Oh,” I said, again fascinated by the strange workings of Oreylia. “How do the wells get water? It doesn’t seem like it ever rains here.”
“There is rain but it comes in the form of dangerous electrical thunderstorms. Most remain inside their homes until they pass. You won’t have to worry about that though, deep as we are below the ground.”
I tried to envision the storms he described as I handed the flask back to him. I imagined they were far more terrifying than the thunderstorms back home. Vas was staring over my shoulder. I turned and spotted a group of miners headed our way. Vas shot Sven a look and he immediately gathered Ren, Maya and Demi, herding them away from the food stalls. It all happened so fast that I barely noticed Vas’ arm winding around my waist.
“Keep quiet and let me do the talking,” he whispered in my ear, sending a shiver tiptoeing down my spine.
“Who is that guy?” I asked, eyeing a muscular man with large, dappled horns, dark hair and eyes as red as rubies who approached us. He gave off an air of authority and power, with five equally intimidating looking men surrounding him.
“Jalio. He’s part demon, part shapeshifter. Most people here fear me, but they fear him more.”
“What does he shapeshift into?”
Vas’ eyes met mine. “I think they might call it a minotaur in your realm.”
I gasped. “Seriously?”
Before Vas could say more, Jalio had reached us.
“What do we have here, Vasilios? Fresh meat?”
Vas squared his shoulders, meeting the demon shapeshifter’s gaze steadily. “She is my ensnared, Jalio. So, please do take your beady eyes off her before I knock them out your skull.”
I blinked, shocked by his threat. What was he trying to do, flash a red rag at a bull or something? Was Vas going to fight this guy, or was this just the way people spoke to each other in the Blaze? Also, what did ‘ensnared’ mean?
Jalio folded his beefy arms across his broad chest. “Ain’t no High Demon. I could give two fucks about your mating rituals,” he shot back and I guessed the ‘ensnared’ thing had something to do with the mark.
