It’s amazing that Micah had the power—obviously fueled by hate—to call forth the Crimson River from the depths of hell and into his realm.
My gaze shifts slowly to the horizon from where the river is flowing, and it’s chilling to know the Underworld is just over that way.
Of course, I don’t need that knowledge to be chilled. Despite the amount of heat that the lava must be putting off, the wind is blowing steadily and it’s pretty damn cold. All of us wore cold-weather hiking gear, so I’m fairly warm except for my face.
Still, the desolate and barren place created from hate and betrayal makes me shiver hard enough my teeth chatter.
A hand comes down on my shoulder, and Carrick is there. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I reply with a smile. “Just… this place is creepy.”
He doesn’t reply because I stated the obvious. Instead, he dips his head so he can lock his eyes on mine. “No heroics, okay?”
“Correct,” I readily agree. We’ve been through this many times. I’m here to watch and potentially as a last resort to use my magic, but, mostly, I’m pretty much decoration.
“And if something happens to me—”
“—you’ll come back to me,” I finish.
“We’ll always find each other, okay?” he presses seriously.
“Yes, Carrick.” I bring a gloved hand to his face. “I love you.”
“Love you too,” he replies, then looks over his shoulder at his brother. “You ready?”
Lucien nods and moves our way. They’re going to be using the boulders for cover. Eventually, they’ll climb the rocky ledges to a place near the cave entrance to wait for Micah to exit. I expect the journey won’t take them long given their speed and strength, although they won’t use magic unless necessary. It’s the best way to stay under the radar.
Once more, Carrick dips his head down as his hand goes to the back of my head. He gives me a hard kiss, then presses his forehead to mine. I inhale, taking in his scent, and then he’s gone with the wind, Lucien right along with him.
“Guess that’s my cue,” Pyke says, once again startling me with that sweet voice coming out of the likeness of Charmeine.
I give him a thumbs-up and an encouraging smile. “Good luck.”
He winks at me, then starts walking around the left side of the boulder and disappears.
Titus is the only one who has a purpose somewhere other than here. He’s not going to follow Carrick and Lucien onto the mountain to reach the cave, but rather get as close as he can using the boulders to hide his approach. He’ll set up somewhere halfway between where Boral, Zaid, and I will wait at the veil’s rip and the cave entrance. His job is to attack Micah from behind if necessary once Pyke draws him out to the beach.
In other words, if Micah goes after Pyke, Titus is going to be the one to help fight him while Carrick and Lucien get the chalice and Blood Stone.
“You good?” Titus asks as he steps near me, his eyes going to Boral suspiciously. He doesn’t know their past because I didn’t think it was my place to tell him. But he can sense there’s something dark and sinister with Boral, and I suspect that’s all of his annihilator training.
“I’m good,” I say, then give him a quick hug. “Please be safe.”
“Always,” he replies with a grin, then takes off in a crouching run away from us. I look around the edge of the boulder to see him make it to the next one. He doesn’t wait long before he disappears around that one, and I can see him no longer.
Zaid goes to the side of the boulder Pyke went around, moving close enough he can look around to watch Pyke’s progress. I promised Carrick I would heed his wishes to remain safe, and because there’s nothing for me to do in the now, I move over to Boral and the rip he’s holding open with the relic.
“You seem unusually close to Carrick,” he comments casually. “You two haven’t known each other long, yet I’m sensing a very deep connection.”
I ignore his comments as I’m not about to share with him the beautiful and complicated love story I share with Carrick.
But I’m not standing near Boral strictly because I’d promised Carrick I’d be good.
I want information.
Throwing my thumb over my shoulder, I say, “The Crimson River. It’s flowing from the horizon to the mountain.”
“Weird, right?” Boral says in a sly voice. He knows about my sister and my interest in the Underworld.
“The myth says the river starts from a pit in the Underworld where evil souls are burned. I’m assuming… the Underworld is somewhere past that horizon?”
Boral grins, but, to my dismay, he shakes his head. “There’s still a veil that separates it. The river might come through it at Micah’s magical command, but you still have to get through a veil to go into the Underworld.”
“I can do that.” Boral’s eyebrows shoot upward in surprise, and I feel the need to qualify. “Well, I think I can do that. If I choose to believe in my powers.”
“Sounds a little wishy-washy to me,” he points out.
“No matter,” I say with a wave of my hand, not wanting to engage in evasive sparring with him.
I turn slightly to look at Zaid, who is peering around the boulder to watch Pyke. I ignore Boral, and I can sense he doesn’t like I ended the conversation as he shuffles in place as if agitated.
Finally, he confirms the information I’ve wanted to hear since I learned from which direction the lava flowed. “You can follow the river to the Underworld. But the veil is on the other side of the river, and you’d need a bridge to cross it.”
I turn back to look at him, unable to hide my excitement. “That I’m sure I can do.”
Because if we defeat Micah and kill him, and I can get back into this realm using the relic, which is now set to the rip that Boral is holding, and I can cross the river with a magical bridge, then I could rip the veil there to sneak into the Underworld and rescue Zora.
Boral studies me as if he’s trying to penetrate my inner thoughts. “You and Carrick are very close,” he muses.
“So you pointed out,” I reply, not deigning to elaborate and moving a little to the right of the boulder to see if I can make out Carrick and Lucien moving across the rocky ledges or Titus sneaking among the boulders. It’s too dark for me to see details.
“Carrick would take you to the Underworld to rescue Zora,” Boral says confidently. “So why all the questions about trying to sneak in a back way?”
I pivot and turn back to Boral, taking a few steps toward him. “It’s my backup plan. In case something happens to him today.”
Understanding dawns on Boral’s face, and his voice is somber when he says, “Then I’d like to offer my services to help you sneak in if something happens to Carrick.”
“Why?” I ask, not suspiciously, but genuinely interested to know why he’d ever want to go back to the hell he’d escaped from.
“Because helping you might help bridge the relationship with my son,” he replies simply.
This doesn’t surprise me. It’s been Boral’s motivation to help us from the start. Maddox and Carrick are skeptical, and Zaid is downright disbelieving of it.