“You risk much, travelling here with a mortal.” It sniffs. “Or is it a Fae?”
I squint, trying to pierce the shadows to see who speaks. Slowly, a figure melts out of the darkness and into the light of my candle. It’s a bulbous creature, slinking along the ground like a slug. It’s gray, mottled skin seems to absorb the candlelight, birthing more shadows around it. There are no eyes, and no mouth that I can see, and still its voice echoes around us.
“Old Friend,” Serus says, “I seek information.”
“And what would a glutton like me have to tell you, Old Friend?” It says, sounding almost amused. I feel its attention turn to me even though its strange body gives no indication. “And what is your name?”
I feel a prick of warning at the nape of my neck; old magic is the magic of names. “You can call me Tara,” I say, using my old best friend’s name.
Its body ripples grotesquely. “Ah, you bring one versed in magic, Old Friend. What is it you seek?”
“The Shades.” Serus lowers his voice, as if even saying their names could call them.
“Shades,” it hisses. “And what will you give a glutton like me in return for some knowledge of wicked Shades?”
“You will tell us as much as there is to know,” Serus demands. “In exchange, we offer you knowledge of curse-breaking runes.”
I furrow my brows, wondering if he means my runes. “What’s going on?” I whisper to him.
“Ah,” the creature sags, relaxing. “A glutton like me is pleased. The rune first.”
Serus turns to me. “Give it your hand.”
“Why?” Fear makes my voice tremble.
“It will take the knowledge of the rune from you, you won’t know it any longer after it does. This creature feeds off of knowledge, as I feed on memories. It must be done,” Serus says insistently. “Give it your hand.”
I bite my lip, but relent, knowing that the rune is still carved on Altair’s body if I would ever need to remember it again. I thrust my hand forward, dropping into a crouch so the ground creature can reach it. Fear twists in my gut as it inches forward, fleshy body roiling with the movement. It pauses just in front of my fist and two tentacles emerge from its body. They touch at my hand tentatively as if sensing it out. Suddenly, the creature lunges forward with surprising speed. Its limbless body sinks over my fist and I feel my hand plunge inside of it. I choke back a cry of fear and disgust as its flesh oozes between my fingers.
Suddenly, I feel a pull at the back of my mind. I stiffen, waiting for the sensation to appear again. It does, sharper and more insistent, and then suddenly its as if there are teeth gnawing on my conscious. I inhale sharply, pain throbbing in my skull. The creature shudders as it chews on my mind and I feel tears pooling in my eyes.
The creature releases my hand with a sickening squelch and oozes back into the shadows. Instantly, the teeth on my mind are gone, and I’m left with a dull ache. I probe my memories to search for the rune, to see if it truly did eat the knowledge. I remember taking my knife to Altair’s chest, but I can’t see the runes I drew on him. Instead, I’m left with a pounding headache and fuzzy vision for an instant. I stumble backwards, clutching my hand to my chest. It’s covered in a red rash, like all the blood vessels were burst by the creature.
It hums, satisfied. “This is good knowledge indeed, Old Friend.”
Serus dips his head. “And now you will fulfill your end of the bargain.”
"You will find the Shades deep in the bowels of the ether, if you seek to learn their machinations, you will find them there," the creatures say. "What else do you wish to know?"
“Weaknesses?” I spread my hands. “Anything that could stop them.”
“They have none,” it hums. “At least none that a glutton like me has learned. But to stop them, that is another thing. I have learned of a being with power like the dark god to free the Shades or trap them permanently. Find this being, and perhaps you will save yourselves from the Shades.”
Serus sighs, his eyes darting towards me and I curl my lips in a wry smile. Serus flicks his tail irritably. “How would the being do this, Old Friend?”
The creature is quiet, and it took another form, I imagine I would see an old man tapping his chin in thought. "If you go deeper into the ether than the Shades, you will find another being – one older then even I. She is trapped in a cobweb cage, the kind that can trap powerful creatures like the Shades."
“Your advice is to cage them?” I ask, feeling defeated.
“If they cannot be killed, and I am certain they cannot, then it is the best option,” the creature says, body rippling with offense.
“Damn,” I mutter under my breath. I lash out a nearby tree and kick it with my boot. “Damn, damn, damn!”
Serus shoots me a glare. “Control yourself.”
I spread my hands. “How can I? How can I when our enemies are unbeatable? If they can get out of the ether, why wouldn’t they be able to escape a cage of webs?”
"The mortal-Fae thing doesn't know of cobweb cages?" The creatures ask. "For more knowledge, I will give it to you."
“No, Old Friend,” Serus snaps. “We’ve heard enough.”
I stomp away from the strange, gluttonous creature, and Serus follows me. We walk in silence for a while before I realize I don’t know where I’m going. I turn to my companion. “What do we do?”
He shrugs. “We came here seeking answers, we found some, did we not? We should go back.”
I shake my head. “We didn’t find anything, we can’t prove anything.” My thoughts flash to the creature in the cage. “I want to see the cage.”
“If we go down there,
