“I’m going,” I say. My voice falters at Serus’ warning. “If it truly is the only way, I need to know now.”
“They will kill you. You are the only one strong enough to trap them here forever. If they see you, you’re as good as dead.” His eyes are serious and I know he isn’t stretching the truth to frighten me.
“Then let’s not let them see us,” I say, twisting my fingers together nervously.
Serus shakes his head, but he walks forward. I follow him away from the copse of bent and broken trees, deeper into the shadows. The air grows colder and I wrinkle my nose against the rank smell of rotten meat that fills the air. I tug my hood on against the chill. I rub my fingers together, they’re slick with grease that seems to hang in the air. I grimace, sickened, but trudge behind Serus. Although all I can see is darkness, I know instinctively that we’re going down.
Serus pauses and I glance up from him to see that we’ve stopped in front of a massive arch, carved out of obsidian. It sparkles in the candlelight, looking menacing. I swallow thickly, nerves tingling with fear. Instinctively, I know that when we walk through that arch, we’ll be in the Shades’ territory. Serus’ tail curls and he takes a hesitant step forward. I inhale deeply, filling my lungs with greasy, stinking air. Darting around him, I make the first steps into dangerous territory.
He follows, hackles raised and ears pressed flat. We walk side by side through the shadows, but they’re growing lighter as we walk, taking on a red tinge like sunset. I look around curiously. It’s almost light enough now that I would be comfortable without the candlelight. I can see that beyond the arch, the ether is a land of tall cliffs and gray soil. Dead trees dot the landscape, some even growing out of the sharp cliff faces.
“How is it light here?” I ask quietly.
“There are levels to the ether,” Serus whispers. “Three in total. This is the second, and we just left the first.”
“And these are the bowels?”
His eyes lock on mine for an instant. “This level is called the bowels because it is the deepest most creatures dare to go. Your dark god preferred this level for the light before the Shades grew so powerful.”
I swallow hard. “Oh.”
Suddenly, a haunting wail drifts towards us. I stop short, the hair on the nape of my neck rising. The sound echoes again, like a pained cry. Fear coils in my gut. Something about the sound makes me want to turn and run back to the arch and into the black shadows of the first level. Serus paces anxiously at my feet.
“What is it?” I ask him.
“Likely a trap,” he says. He glowers at me. “Which means they know we’re here. We need to turn back.”
I bite my lip, a breath away from agreeing with him. But the wail sounds again, and I hear a familiar note in it. “It sounds like my mom,” I say uncertainly.
“Then it’s definitely a trap,” Serus hisses.
I step forward. “What if it’s not? What if they have her?”
“Stop being such a fool,” he says angrily, claws poking out of his paws. “We’re going. We’ll share what we learned. But we’ll go no further.”
I nod hesitantly, eyes still searching for the source of the cries. I turn my back on the haunting sounds, but freeze as my eyes fall on the arch. One of the Shades is waiting in front of it, its too-wide mouth split into a gleeful grin. Serus spits, hackles raised and back arched with fear. I feel a wave of nausea hit me as I realize the Shade has likely been waiting there since we first entered into its realm.
Suddenly, it darts forward, moving with sickening speed towards us. “Portal, portal,” Serus hisses, panicking. He throws up an illusion in front of the Shade but it tears through it like paper.
With shaking hands, I pull out my knife. I don’t waste time worrying about the pain before I thrust it into my arm. I close my eyes, picturing Altair in my mind. The world tips upside down as Serus and I magic ourselves out of the ether. I feel the Shade’s cool, shadowy tongue brush my bloodied skin, tasting it, before we escape.
I yelp, fear coursing through me like a bullet. Voices, shouting – anger and fear – reach my ears. Pain sears in my arm and it’s almost impossible to move. When I open my eyes, the first thing I see is my dagger in my forearm, plunged all the way through until the tip juts out the other side. I gasp, voice choked and wet sounding.
“Verity?” I hear Thal’s voice echoing towards me and I glance up.
He drops to his knees in front of me, gently wrapping his arms around me. I pant, fear and the reality of my narrow escape overwhelming me until I can hardly breathe. Serus is nearby, looking shaken. My shoulders tremble and all I can think of is the Shade’s slick tongue on my flesh. I turn my eyes away from the dagger stuck in my arm, plunged too deep in my panic, and find Altair’s gaze on me.
His hazel eyes are pained and filled with worry. “Are you alright?”
“Yes,” I say shakily, voice soft.
“What happened?” Thal asks, studying the dagger in my arm.
I hiss as he lifts my arm gently and blood drips thickly onto my legs. “The Shades, they can’t be killed,” I say breathlessly.
“Great,” Erzur drawls.
“But we might be able to trap them,” I continue, cutting my eyes towards her.
“You might be able to trap them,” the old Bloodbane says, her eyes glimmering. “Only you.”
I stare up at my companions, fear clear in my eyes I’m sure. Thal cradles my injured arm carefully, but I’m hardly
