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Chen tore his eyes away from the witch when Sky huffed a few feet away from them. The necromancer was standing and readjusting his backpack on his shoulders.
“It’s not my fault,” the necromancer grumbled. “The last time I was here, Zalramon was dragging me into the underworld by my ankle. Hard landings are par for the course.”
Pushing to his feet, Chen dusted off his pants and lifted his gaze to take in his new surroundings, only to have his breath stolen away. The underworld was…enormous.
And modern.
It reminded him of Hong Kong at night. He and his brothers had spent much of their long existence exploring their country. Seeing the stunning skyline for the first time less than a century ago had been a breathtaking experience. The lights shone against the black night sky and danced on the waters of Kowloon Bay. There was no port here, but the underworld city stretched on and on in a fantastic glow in a rainbow of colors. The stars were the only thing. Overhead was unending, unyielding darkness.
Moon stood next to Chen, threading their fingers together and tightening his grip. This was more than a friendly, “I want to be close to you” handhold. This felt like a “I’m not letting anything steal you away from me” grip. Regardless of the reason, Moon’s touch brought a smile to Chen’s lips.
“Are you feeling okay? No tugging on your soul?” Moon asked.
“No tugging. Everything feels okay.”
“Good, but tell me if you feel anything weird. We’ll get Sky to rip us out of here immediately.”
Chen nodded, his muscles tensing to keep from swooping in and kissing the man. The relaxed blood witch was so adorable when he was being bossy and overprotective.
“Speaking of getting us out of here, Skylar.” Moon turned his narrowed gaze on his friend, who was currently arguing with Greg about the melting snowball. The plump black minion sounded distraught because the snow was dripping and growing smaller by the second. “Do you know how to get us out of here?”
“No,” Sky admitted in a singsong voice as he fluttered his eyelashes at Moon.
“What? Sky!” Chen and Moon shouted in unison, making the necromancer cackle.
“Relax. That’s why I have Greg.” Sky motioned to the horned creature beside him. “It wasn’t just to find you. He’s also going to lead us through the underworld to the spot where Zalramon first brought me. I figure that will be the easiest way to make sure that we open the portal inside of my house. We don’t want to risk opening a door and stepping outside into sunlight. But we need to get moving. Time moves a lot faster here relative to our world. Besides, Nolan is getting Greg a giant stuffie for all his hard work today.”
The minion squealed and tossed the snowball into the air, allowing it to splat on the dark ground as if it no longer mattered in the face of acquiring a new plush toy. Greg bounced, waddled, and wobbled along, leading them toward the city at a remarkable pace. Even with his long legs, Chen nearly had to jog to keep up with the minion.
After a few blocks, Sky cried out first. “Greg! Greg! Stop! I need a break.” He panted heavily and leaned on a building, trying to catch his breath.
Chen took advantage of the break to study the area. Red and brown brick buildings rose about them with interesting concrete ornamentation. The windows were nearly all black, making it impossible to peek inside. Old gas-fueled streetlamps dotted the street at regular intervals, casting a flickering light. There was just something about the style that announced it was from a few centuries ago.
Yet, in the distance, they could clearly see glittering skyscrapers of steel and glass.
Were sections of the underworld associated with different periods of time in human history? Would they find huts and pyramids somewhere within the underworld?
Despite the massive size of the place, they observed few creatures. The sidewalks and street were almost barren. Not to mention, Chen had yet to see a single plant. Not a tree, bush, flower, or clump of weeds.
“I thought I’d see more people,” Moon murmured as his thumb brushed across the top of Chen’s hand. “All we’ve seen are minions.”
“And demons,” Sky corrected. “We’ve passed a few demons, too.”
“Really?” Chen’s head whipped around, taking in the scenery anew. “How can you tell the difference? Everyone we’ve seen appears completely different. No two look alike.”
“Is it a size thing? Are minions all small like Greg?”
The creature at Sky’s side clearly did not like being called that word. Greg puffed up, but still wasn’t more than a large beach ball, and bounced over to Moon, chittering and waving his hands at the blood witch.
“Settle down.” Sky sighed. “He didn’t mean anything by it. You know you’re the perfect size.”
