Chapter Five
Treycore gasped for air as he penetrated the water’s surface.
A few yards before him, Eilee crawled onto the shore of what seemed to be a swamp.
Thick trees surrounded the murky water, permitting a faint light that bathed over it.
From head to toe, Eilee was covered in black and gray grime. She’d worn a cap to cover her hair, one she’d put on before they’d passed through the spring in the mortal realm.
“Foul!” she exclaimed. She dropped her sword on the ground and rolled a camping backpack off her shoulders, equally drenched as her and Treycore. Treycore swam to the shore, crawled beside her, and rested his own bag and sword at his side.
It had taken them nearly a day to reach the portal, inside caves beneath the English countryside. Once they arrived, Eilee had followed through with her promise, and they now were in the outerlands of the Leader’s realm.
Eilee reached into her bag, pulled out a piece of string attached to what appeared to be a fishing hook. She reached behind her, caught it in her dress zipper, and pulled the string down.
“What are you doing?” Treycore asked as he sat up.
She ignored his question as she removed her dress and retrieved baby wipes and a hand mirror from her bag. Using the mirror to navigate, she carefully removed the grime with the wipes.
After over thirty minutes of washing, she surrendered and moved on to her hair. She unfastened her cap and tossed it aside, then reached into her bag and withdrew another dress, which she quickly slid on. As she adjusted the straps, Treycore realized it was identical to the dress she’d entered the outerlands in—a simple, ivory day dress that fell to just above her knees. She reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of heels, several inches high.
“No,” Treycore said.
He leaned toward her, snatched the shoes, and tossed them into the swamp.
Her jaw dropped as she looked at him, appalled. Shaking it off, she pulled another pair of shoes, flats, from her bag. “I was only going to wear those until the trek became more difficult.”
Treycore eyed her suspiciously, doubting her sincerity as much as he doubted her sanity.
Just beyond the shore stood a wall of black mud piled as high as a four-story building.
When Eilee finished putting on her shoes, she pulled a map from the bag and unfolded it.
“Where are we now?” Treycore asked.
“A ways from the forest. We just have to get through these caves and then it will be another two days before we reach the border.”
“If we reach it, that is.”
“Have a little faith in me, Trey. I have studied these areas, and I know enough about Hell to navigate us at the very least to the border. From there, we’ll just have to creep through the city to get to Vera’s, which shouldn't be a problem either.”
It was clear Eilee was not thinking rationally about their quest. When she had entered Hell in the past, she had been guarded by the Almighty’s best warriors. As much as she liked to believe she could handle any situation, it was only the privilege of her life circumstances that had given her such confidence. Even after having committed a heinous crime by the Almighty’s standards, she had evaded death, assuredly because the Almighty didn’t have the heart to destroy his most beautiful of creatures.
They withdrew lanterns from their bags and illuminated them with matches they’d packed to light their way through the caves. The lanterns were not maintained by any mortal substance, but with a heavenly wax that could burn flames for many years on Earth.
They began their trudge through the caves.
With only the glow of the lanterns Treycore and Eilee carried, the walls looked like oil dripping slowly toward the floor.
Treycore noticed something moving in the oil. Like worms. But as these intrusions reached out, he realized they were fingers. He moved his lantern closer to the wall so he could see what looked like different limbs—legs, elbows, feet—sticking out and then pulling back in.
“These walls,” Treycore said, “by any chance, do they eat higherlings?”
“They’re ferindore,” Eilee said. “They’re plants. Do you know the coral of Earth?”
He nodded.
“Ferindore is like that, a living creature that houses life within it. Most of these creatures that you see, which resemble the appendages of higherlings, are a long-forgotten draft of early creation.”
