Hollow Earth (Hallowed Realms Book 2) Page 13

  “So what’s stopping him?” He looked up at me.

  The intensity of his anger took my breath away and made me falter for words. Hadn’t I asked that same thing? I knew Aed now on a personal level, though, which made it much harder to judge him. I understood the pressures he felt. But that didn’t make it any easier to stand by and watch him flounder under his father’s oppressive thumb.

  “He’s doin’ the best he can, Eivin. You and I are different. We are free to act, to run headfirst into danger, but if he dies…who will take his place? The queen? The gods know she would be worse than Baylor. Far too much relies on Aed livin’ through this mess.”

  “I understand that. Truly, I do, But I’ve lost count how many times I’ve come close to death myself, Ryn. It’s a sacrifice that has to be made for things to change.” He fell silent for a moment, and I let him fight to regain his composure. In all my life, I couldn’t remember a time he’d yelled at me. Now he’d done it to me twice in as many minutes. “Do ya remember how ya used to hound me with your conspiracy theories? About how the king was losing control of it all? How he knew the lorcan were breaching the Wall but never breathed a word of it to our people?”

  “Aye. I’ve got a few more to be sharin’ with ya now when we have a free moment.”

  He drew me close and pressed his forehead against the crown of my head. “You were right. About everything. I needed ya to know that.”

  I blinked. “Did you just agree with me?”

  “Aye. I know ya thought I’d be a wanker and try to take another jab at ya, but the truth is I’ve seen things here I canna explain. Changes in the lorcan that have done a number on my mind. I’ve seen them workin’ together, Ryn. Not only grouped together in attack but communicatin’ and everythin’. It’s almost as if they are being led by someone.”

  I nodded. “Aed said as much to me when we discussed it. The lorcan are acting outside of their normal nature,” I whispered. “I ’ave a bad feelin’ that whatever is goin’ on behind that wall is gonna bring a lot of pain to our people. We canna allow that to happen.”

  “Too right.” He gave me a quick hug and then moved away. “I’ll show ya to the tower, then. We can start there.”

  “No.”

  He turned back to look at me.

  “Lookin’ down from above is a mistake. If the lorcan are stealin’ the people of this town, there has to be an access point. We need to find it without delay. So we stay on the ground until we reach the sea. And if we canna find the hole, we look again. It has to be there.”

  Eivin grinned at me. “Ya were born of this life, ya know?”

  “Aye.” I smacked him on his bicep as I moved past. “I’ve been tellin’ ya daft men that all along.”

  Over the next several hours, we scoured the base of the Wall, following every crack we came upon. With each minute that passed, the sounds of the crashing waves grew louder, but we were no closer to finding the lorcan’s entrance.

  “We are too far from Odran,” Eivin shouted to be heard.

  My hair whipped into my eyes when I looked back at him. There was a distinct light in the sky against his silhouette. What was once an inky black had paled to a velvety blue. “We haven’t reached the end of the Wall yet. We canna give up yet.”

  Eivin looked weary as he trudged towards me. I wondered how much sleep he’d had in the past week. Or food, for that matter.

  “Taryn, I—” He cut off when he suddenly leapt towards me. I didn’t have time to react before he tackled me to the ground. As he pressed a finger to his lips, I went silent.

  His keen sense of hearing had picked up on the sound of footsteps seconds before it was too late. Fallen branches cracked in the tree line. Whoever was in the woods at this time of the night made no effort to mask their movements.

  When I raised my head, I caught the scent of decay and understood Eivin’s sudden trembling.

  Lorcan, he mouthed.

  The weight of him above me was suffocating, but I remained still as the bushes nearby rustled. The beast was close. Far too close.

  I wished I could reach my dagger, but my hands were trapped beneath Eivin. His own hand had slid down his leg. He was preparing himself for a battle.

  No. I shook my head to emphasize my message.

  His eyes widened, but he nodded and lowered his head, forehead against mine.

  The sounds following the lorcan were different than the beast’s footsteps. Almost like the slithering of a snake over dead leaves. Eivin tilted his head and I knew he was trying to decipher the sound as well.

  We waited in our hiding spot as silence lingered in its wake. I released a breathy groan when oxygen flooded back into my lungs and the pressure of him shifted away.

  “What was that noise?” I asked in a hushed tone. My cousin had a far-off look in his eye when I lowered my gaze from the dense brush to look at him. “Eivin?”

  “It was dragging a body. I saw a tangle of brown hair.”

  I was on my feet and moving before he could stop me. It was to my benefit that he couldn’t yell at me for being reckless. As I was about to reach the edge of the forest, he yanked hard on my arm.

  “Taryn, no.”

  “Why the hell not? We dunna know that the girl is dead. There might still be a chance.”

  He lowered his head. “I didn’t see her moving. Her eyes…they weren’t right. They were lifeless.”

  I swallowed hard. That didn’t help my case. “She could be in shock.”

  “Aye. I suppose that could be it, but that doesn’t change the fact I won’t be havin’ ya runnin’ out there to get yourself killed. I made a promise to keep ya safe.”

  “Your promise to Aed is more important than that girl’s life?”

  “No.” He stared hard at me. “But my promise to myself is.”

  I started to speak but closed my mouth. Eivin was doing what he always did. Protecting me.

  “I understand your fears, cousin. Trust me, I’m sharin’ them with ya, but I canna stand by and do nothin’. I don’t have it in me to live with myself after.”

  He closed his eyes but finally nodded. “Aye. Leave it to you to turn this into a battle I canna win.”

  I smiled and allowed him to lead me along the path the lorcan had taken. It wasn’t an actual path. More like broken branches and trampled brush, but it was easy enough to spot.

  “We have to be gettin’ close,” he whispered.

  I sank down behind him when we reached the final bits of the forest. The undergrowth was still thick and twisted around us, offering some coverage as we surveyed the areas. The near constant sea spray felt cool against my face. I knew the ocean was there, but the sunrise hadn’t progressed fast enough to make it visible yet.

  “There.” He pointed.

  At the base of the wall, I saw a hulking shape moving. Behind it, dragged by her ankles, was the girl. Her white nightgown was soiled and riding high around her waist. Her back must have been a mess of scrapes and wounds. The spilled blood would only increase the lorcan’s need. So why was it dragging the girl along instead of stopping to feed?

  “Have ya ever seen a lorcan do that before?” I whispered into Eivin’s ear.

  “Never.”

  We moved as close to the beast as we could without stepping downwind and alerting it to our presence. There was no way of knowing if there were more of them in the area. Even with the two of us, that battle wouldn’t easily be won. Eivin was exhausted, and I’d been softened by rich food and days spent riding in a carriage instead of training.

  “What the—” Eivin’s mouth gaped open when the lorcan suddenly leapt into the air.

  My eyes spied its intended target before it dug its nails into the bottom of a hole scratched out of the Wall nearly twenty feet up.

  “Well, I’ll be blown.” Eivin brushed his damp hair out of his face. “I guess we know how it got in. You were right.”

  “Ya sound surprised by that, cousin.”

  I’d known there had to be an acc
ess point. This one was located less than ten metres back from the water’s edge. A spot no reaper was likely to search. Most, like Eivin, would have thought it too far from town.

  “Did ya know they could jump that high?” I asked.

  Eivin looked pale when he shook his head. “I won’t be underestimatin’ that again.”

  “Aye.” I ducked low to look through the brush to see the lorcan haul itself through the hole. It then dragged the girl behind with no regard for her welfare.

  “Bastard,” Eivin muttered under his breath.

  “Come on.” I ran full-out towards the wall, keeping in line with Eivin as he raced for the shoreline.

  The first sound of splashing was our only advance notice that we’d reached the water. A strong current pulled at my legs as I waded in waist deep. My teeth began chattering within seconds of entering its murky depths. There was no way we could make it up through that hole, not without a rope or ladder, so the sea was our only option.

  “We have to get around the Wall to see what’s happening.” Eivin’s call was almost lost to the strong sounds of the tide surge.

  I lost my footing several times, but Eivin appeared each time to yank me to my feet. I checked to make sure my dagger was still with me and then took his offered hand. Together we fought against the tide.

  “There!”

  I looked at where his finger pointed and saw the lorcan bent low over the girl’s prostrate form. Its deformed back hunched low over her. The muscles in its back rippled.

  From this distance, I could not hear the pop of its jaw as it prepared for the death kiss, but I knew it happened. We sank low, keeping our heads above the water.

  “We canna just sit here and watch,” I argued. Every part of my being felt this was wrong. The death kiss could only be performed on a living soul. I’d been right. That girl wasn’t gone yet.

  “She’s as near death as possible, Ryn. I doubt we could save her even if we could reach her in time.”

  “What if you’re wrong?” I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the beast or the girl as the glowing form of her essence began to pull away from her body. The lorcan’s kiss had begun.

  “Then may the gods forgive us.”

  Somehow I doubted the gods gave a shite about us.

  With each inhalation from the lorcan, the girl’s soul dimmed. The outline of her body began to look shrouded in shadow, despite the appearance of pale colours in the sky all around.

  “Have you ever seen this before?” Eivin asked, pressing his lips to my ear to be heard.

  I nodded. It was not something I would ever forget.

  Within minutes, the girl was gone, reduced to ashes that would be washed away with the next wave. I wanted to close my eyes and mourn this loss of life, but I couldn’t look away. Something odd was happening.

  “Look.” I pointed to the lorcan to bring Eivin’s attention back.

  It now lay writhing on the ground, its body trapped in violent spasms. Its jaws gaped open. All colour had vanished from its eyes, replaced by a milky white.

  “We have to get closer.” I didn’t wait for Eivin’s agreement as I surged ahead, digging my hands deep into the sand to pull myself along. I felt the waves breaking beside me and knew he was following.

  In the time it took for me to reach the shallows, the lorcan’s bones had shattered and begun to mend. Though the beast had been tall before, it now rose to a height far greater than I could have expected. It stood over three metres high. I watched as new muscle wrapped like vines around its torso, expanding its breadth.

  The muscle was quickly covered with a thick armor of black scales that pushed through its flesh. Black blood seeped from the wounds but healed over seconds later. When it raised its hand, I stared in awe as the razor-sharp claws elongated by sixteen centimetres.

  “Get down!” Eivin shoved me from behind so hard he thrust me under the water.

  The sudden plunge didn’t give me time to close my mouth, and I took in a great gulp of salt water. I came up spluttering, but Eivin cupped his hand over my mouth to conceal the sound while he beat on my back.

  “Breathe, Ryn,” he said in my ear, holding me close. “But stay silent. It’s coming our way.”

  Shite. Eivin was right. It was heading straight for us.

  “Can it swim?” I gasped, flailing to fight the tide pulling us towards shore.

  “I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but the lorcan had to reach Alana’s boat somehow. The bodies we found washed up after her shipwreck were proof that they couldn’t handle the salt. It makes them dry out, like aged leather, but these new hybrids...they are capable of so much more.”

  “Then why the bloody hell is it walking into the sea?”

  Eivin didn’t have an answer for that. Finally on my feet, I tapped his arm and together we moved into deeper water. The waves rolled over us with a steady rhythm. As the lorcan’s feet splashed into the water for the first time, Eivin seized a huge wad of seaweed and held it in front of us for added cover.

  I watched in horror as the beast moved to knee height in the water in a matter of seconds. There was no sign of pain or screeching from the beast. There was no sizzling or smoke rising from its burning flesh. The water appeared to have no effect.

  “It must be that armored plating that’s protecting it,” Eivin said as the lorcan turned at the sound of a whistle and headed for the beach once more.

  “Aye.” When I nodded in agreement, I got another mouthful of water and spat it out. “Well, now we know how they are gettin’ out. The Wall is useless now.”

  “Not just that, Ryn. Did ya not hear the whistle? It’s being summoned.”

  He was right. In my awestruck horror at realizing no one was safe behind the Wall now, I’d missed the relevance of the whistler. I lifted my gaze to the dunes, searching for the whistler. It was a barren wasteland of sand, rock, and scorching sun. Humans would call this place hell. For all intents and purposes, it was.

  “Look. There on the ridge.” I pointed. “I see movement.”

  As the lorcan’s heavy footsteps dug deep into the sand of the dune, five heads appeared. I held my breath as each stopped on the ridge. Not a single one stood shorter than the approaching lorcan. But it was not the number of the group that bothered me the most. I’d already suspected they were working together based on the things Eivin had told me.

  What I hadn’t planned on was the lorcan standing at the front of the group. The one whose sheer size went beyond that of its companions. Whose eyes shone a brilliant red in the coming dawn rather than white. Whose gaze was fixed only on me.

  Chapter 11

  Alana

  From the moment I stepped into the manor house last night, the life I had lived in the dress shop vanished. I was in a whole new world, yet again.

  “This woman is my honored guest,” Aed had said when we arrived, taking my gloved hand and presenting me to a severe-looking woman. She wore all black, save for a long, crisp apron that almost touched the floor.

  “See to it that she has a room prepared and that servants assist her with her gown for tomorrow.” He handed the gown to the woman, who looked at it as though it was on fire.

  “Right away, your majesty,” she’d said with a grim expression.

  She seemed to suspect I was an outsider who had no right to be among royalty. I wasn’t comfortable in the role I had to play either. I prayed I wouldn’t be here long. This seemed to be the only logical way to get me to the Isle of Glass.

  Aed had turned to me and gave my gloved hand a kiss. It sent shivers through me, even though I knew it meant nothing. It was proper manners. That’s all.

  “Until tomorrow,” he said, smiling at me.

  That was the last I’d heard from either of them in twenty-four hours. That was partly my fault. I didn’t dare leave the room for fear I’d mess up the plan I knew nothing about. Instead, I sat and watched people coming and going from my window and tried to listen to the gossip of guests. I wanted to acclimate myse
lf to my new surroundings.

  When the servants came in with warm water for a bath, I readily accepted it. Bathing was not a luxury I got very often at the dress shop. Water had to be carried from the lake, then boiled, and by the time you got in, the water was already running tepid. It took several hours for something that only lasted a few minutes. It was delightful not to have had to do the hard work to make this bath happen. However, something niggled at the back of my mind. When I first arrived, the water temperature didn’t faze me because I couldn’t feel it. Lately, I seemed to be gaining the sensation back. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

  The servant ladies seemed surprised when I asked for them to leave me alone while I washed. While I wasn’t prudish, I couldn’t let them see what was happening to my hands. They would know for sure that I wasn’t supposed to be here. That was something I couldn’t risk. I had no idea what the punishment for a deceased human walking around Netherworld was.

  I removed my outer dress and then my shift. Finally, I slipped off my gloves and I nearly screamed. What had once only been a slight transparency on one pinky finger had now merged to the tip of my ring finger. The vanishing was spreading. I could literally see the bath water below me through the areas where they had faded.

  “This is not good.”

  I bathed as fast as I could, trying not to panic about my growing condition. I’d finally see Taryn at the ball and perhaps she would have some news about how to get me back. Still dripping from the bath, I slipped into the shift that had been laid out for me as well as the long ivory gloves. I was suddenly quite relieved that Betha had opted for the opulent accessories. I had no idea how fast this invisibility would take over my body. Maybe I would be in need of these longer gloves sooner than I thought.

  I did have to break down and ask for help when it came to putting on the gown. Lacing a corset is something you can’t do alone. Thinking about the ball and seeing Aed again made my foolish heart flutter. I chided myself for the feelings. He wasn’t interested in me. He was being kind to me. That was all. Being polite was how a prince was raised. Besides, he was Taryn’s betrothed…Taryn, who was, unfortunately, in love with my brother back on Earth. Oh, how very complicated it all was.