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He holds his hand out and I take it, leaving Kai so Belphegor can position me in front of the spike.
“That’s not stabbing into me, right?”
My grandfather looks up from the control panel, his eyebrows pinched. “Dear Lord, no. But as they say, eyes are the windows to the soul. In order to replicate it, the machine needs to see it.”
Kai steps closer, peering over Belphegor’s shoulder. Even with the deal said and done, he’s still the most protective man I know.
“Okay, Alice. Sit still,” Belphegor says as the probe extends, hovering just out of reach of my eyelashes. “See there?” he says to Kai. “That’s what a soul looks like.”
“Oh, that’s not fair. I can’t see,” I groan, trying to stay still. “At least describe it to me.”
“Well,” Kai sighs, “It’s blue like the bottles in Purgatory, and there’s some cool glittery stuff swirling in there. That’s really about it.”
The probe returns, moving away from my eyes, and my grandfather nods to me, telling me I can move. I rush toward the panel, hoping to see the image, but it’s already gone.
“How do we know when it’s done?” I ask as Kai wraps his arms around my shoulders.
“It already is.” Belphegor moves to a different part of the machine, retrieving a bottle. The inside of it shimmers blue with the flecks of silver Kai mentioned.
“It looked exactly like that,” he whispers, kissing the side of my head. “Now… To drop it in The Soul Well tube and let nature play its course.”
Belphegor tells us bye and leaves us alone, and the moment the door closes I turn around, holding the glass jar in my hands. “No. It needs to be right. This has to be born into the Elven kingdom. Or at the very least in Hell. I don’t want him to miss his chance.”
Kai chuckles, holding his hand out for me to put the jaw in it. “In that case, let’s make a deal with The Ferryman.”
***
ASMO
Two Hundred Years Later…
A quiet life for a quiet man. That’s been my motto since the war with Heaven. I did a stent in Hell Hold… Another in Solaria, spending far too much time with my aunts and Finn. I even traveled a bit and lived a nomadic life, visiting all the places in Hell I’d been deprived of for some time. Still, something brought me back to it all.
I stare at the old keep just across the shore from the Elven islands. When Alice and Kai told me I could have my own land, my own castle, even after I spent years denying my birthright, this was not what I was expecting. Yet, here I am, a forgotten keep for a forgotten prince.
Birds take flight out of the woods, as if something has stirred them. “Who’s there?” I shout, lacing power in my words. No one answers, but I catch a glimpse of dark hair, a shape of a head, peeking up through the bushes. “Answer,” I command.
The head moves as I pull my sword halfway from the scabbard. Rustling leaves and the sounds of tree limbs scrapping fill the air as a figure runs across the courtyard and scampers inside the crumbling keep. Even in the dusk of night, I can make out the shape of a woman and with a huff, I sheath my sword.
My jaw ticks as I look up at the triplet moons. “Leave it to me to be given a castle with pests.”
I should pop back to Hell Hold and demand something else, because this crumbling mess is not what I asked for and honestly, I didn’t ask for anything specific, but Alice has always done right by me. There was no need to until now.
Stomping inside, I weave through the decrypt halls, avoiding the chucks of fallen stone that litter the once glorious halls. This place used to be alive, and by far one of the prettiest castles in Hell. Now, it’s nothing more than a skeleton of its former glory.
I spot the tip of a shoe and I sneak closer. Drawing my dagger from my leg, I suck in a breath and pounce around the corner. And the woman squeals. Her hands fly up, her dark bone-straight hair splayed across her face. Full lips tremble as the tip of my blade lifts her chin.
“Who are you, and what are you doing in my new home?” My voice stays level and calm as her breathing slows, as if she’s finally realized she’s not dead yet.
“I didn’t know,” she breathes, her head turning away from me, trying to put more distance between the dagger and her skin. Her pointy ears peek through her hair and I pause.
“You’re a long way from home. In fact, there’s an entire sea between you and your kingdom,” I say, taking the blade away from her throat.
Her bright green eyes widen as she turns to me, surely getting a glimpse of my scars. At this point, I’m used to the reaction. “Who are you?” she asks, her voice clipped as if she’s the one in charge.
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll answer your question if you answer mine.” Her chin lips as she fights to still her breath, her shoulders straighten and her gaze becomes icy cold.
“I don’t owe you anything,” she jousts, a finger at my chest making me step back.
