Sky? Black. Ground? Black. Guess the color of the trees?Surprise, surprise… It’s black. The entire realm is empty except for a distant hill with a few sheds. One of those is where our target is hiding.
The Forgotten Realm is straight out of a horror movie. At every turn, things behind you disappear into a dark abyss of nothing.
The only splashes of color are on the houses where the prisoners of this realm live. The magic pulsing here is so strong that it’s made them forget where they came from.
As we hike up the mountain, Angel does a head count every three seconds, making sure no one strays. I’m grateful for his hyper-vigilance because I have utmost faith in myself that if he weren’t holding my hand, I’d be the first one to get lost.
31. Knock-Knock, little Death’s here
Nevaeh
Isquint, peering through the dusty window of the rustic two-story log house perched at the mountain’s peak.The thick grime makes it almost impossible to make out the layout, and with my Divine currently taking a nap, sensing anyone inside is a lot harder than usual.
I almost pity the warlock. We still have our senses and strength, but without his precious magic, he’s toast.
Hazel steps right into my line of sight, blocking my view of the cluttered house. She stares at me expectantly, but I have no clue what the siren wants… then she waves a thick pair of fingerless gloves in front of my face and rolls her eyes.
So much sass from such an innocent face.
I take the gloves, expecting her to turn and leave, but she surprises me by staying. We do this a lot now—just sitting in silence. I think it comforts her to know someone understands the mess in her head and doesn’t expect her to hide it.
Harvey comes back from scouting the area, confirming we’re not walking into a trap. The time crunch is bad enough, but the real problem is how little we know about this place.
We have no idea what kind of creatures are trapped here or why. Staying quiet and moving fast is our best bet to leave in one piece without crossing paths with some ancient species that’s been stuck here for thousands of years and is now looking for a snack.
We finally march toward the house like it’s our cousin’s vacation cabin. I’m about to kick the door in when Harvey shoves me aside and crouches in front of the keyhole. A soft click rings out, and I realize my best friend—even if a complete dumbass—picked up a few tricks from those sly humans.
Hazel’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “And here I thought you were just a walking wall of muscle.”
“Can we leave her in the ocean before we go home?” Harvey asks Angel, who shakes his head with a sympathetic smile.
The soul siblings start fighting over who’d win in some random ass scenario that has nothing to do with our reality.
I want to go home sooner rather than never, so I shove them apart and head inside.
“Come out, come out wherever you are!” My voice echoes through the house… followed by a crash.
I whirl around and find Seiji tiptoeing over the mess he made with a sheepish grin. In the two seconds it took me to step inside, he’d somehow crashed into the door—I don’t even want to know how—and broken the vase sitting beside it.
Why? Because he was too busy enjoying his milkshake.
Angel exhales through clenched teeth, swallowing his anger as a nerve near his hairline twitches. I’m scared that one day, it might explode if he keeps surrounding himself with the likes of us.
Angel takes Hazel’s bag, pulls out a thick cloth, and throws it over the shards of glass and what was left of Seiji’s milkshake on the floor before anyone slips and breaks their neck.
We each swat the back of Seiji’s head before Harvey hauls him upstairs. They move as quietly as August on nights he sneaks into my room to climb between Angel and me after something spooked him.
I still can’t fathom why Micah picked this place instead of running to his many allies, who would’ve helped him simply because they hated the Horsemen.
It’s not long before Micah is dragged to me, kicking and screaming. I would’ve loved a chase, but with the clock ticking, this is the next best thing.
Harvey straps him to a chair, throwing the first few punches without hesitation.
When Micah lifts his head, blood trailing from his cracked lips, his eyes find mine. His face loses all color like a man whoknows his time is running out.
“Don’t look into her eyes, or that’s where she’ll start,” Seiji warns, dropping onto the white leather sofa, his mud-covered boots perched up on the arm.
Micah made the mistake of decorating this place like the pearly gates of Heaven with white furniture and spotless walls.
