The soul opened her mouth and shrieked. We cringed as she slammed her hands into the empty cradle. The women started crying again, all at once.
“Uh, V?” Torrent called.
“It's fine.” I took Trevor's hand, and we rejoined the others. “Let's get back to the palace.”
Silently—the wailing would drown out anything we tried to say—we hurried out of the first level of Naraka and up to the palace. Once inside, we sat down and stared at each other.
“What was that?” Trevor spoke first.
“What did she say to you?” Odin asked.
“She said, 'I've already been seen.'” I glanced at the door. “What does that mean?”
“Maybe she meant Ty tried to help her, but couldn't?” Torrent looked around at all of us.
“I don't think that's it.” Trevor hunched forward on his knees. “What did she mean?”
Azrael stood up abruptly.
“Az?” I asked.
He waved me to silence, his eyes unfocused. As I watched, his face became skeletal. Midnight, feathered wings folded over his head, becoming a hood, and his eyes sank into their sockets, replaced with the night sky. Then he blinked and returned to normal.
“Gone,” Azrael whispered.
“What's gone?” Viper asked.
“A soul was nearing. It was about to enter Naraka, and then it vanished. Just vanished.”
“Like it did with Hades.” I blinked. “Oh, crap! Hades wanted to come with us to Naraka. He's going to be pissed.”
“Yes, but it was because he wanted to check the souls here to see if any were his,” Viper said. “There aren't any souls, and Az just confirmed that they're being diverted away from here.”
Sighing, I stood up. “Yeah, I think we've done all we can for one day. Let's go home.”
“What about Ty?” Trevor demanded.
“Honey-eyes, I want him back too, but there's no trail to follow. At least we know he's okay.”
Trevor scowled, but nodded. “Fine, but I need to see my father. Tell him what we've learned. I'll be home later.” He headed outside.
“Do you want me to go with you?” I hurried after him, everyone else leaving with us.
“No, minn elska.” He stopped to grip my shoulders and press our foreheads together. “Go home and get some rest. I love you.”
“Be sure to tell Fenrir about Ty saving that soul.” I stroked his unruly hair back. “And I love you too.”
Trevor nodded and vanished. Naraka didn't have a tracing point. You could leave from anywhere as long as you were alive. The only exceptions were the palace and the levels of punishment.
I turned to look at the others. “Torrent, thank you for your help.”
“Anytime, V.” Torr pulled me into a hug, his baby-fine platinum blond hair tickling my face. “Just text me if you need me again.”
I nodded as he traced away.
With the wailing of childless women as a sendoff, the rest of us traced to Pride Palace.
Chapter Thirteen
