He smirks. “Took you long enough. Come on.” And just like that, his ghostly ass descends through the grate in the fireplace. The rest of us have to physically move it out of the way to crawl in.
“Hey look!” Preston sounds excited as he points to something on the rim of the grate. “It’s the symbol. The scroll. Just like in the new tunnel we found.”
“Whatever that means, we know it’s significant,” Brax states. “I feel like we’re Hansel and Gretel being led to our doom.”
“Maybe it leads to our salvation, Demon,” I counter. “Ever think of that?”
Brax grunts at me and drops down after Preston. I enter last, closing the grate behind me, thankful that Layla and Aggie aren’t with us this time. Down below, nothing has changed, not that I thought it would in only a few quick hours. But I’d hoped it would.
All we need is one thing. One thing to get our Hadley back.
Karston is up ahead, waving and encouraging us to follow him. “It’s this way. Follow me.”
We knew we would have to come back. Hell, I’ve barely even seen the damn room that the others can’t shut up about. I was stuck being fondled by Saggy Aggie while I endured that fucked up premonition of Hadley and…and that other man.
Karston weaves us through the tunnels back to the familiar spot where we found the latch in the ground. After opening the secret passage, a blast of warmth tickles my skin, raising the hair on my arms. I flap my wings, dispersing the last of the rainwater—and hopefully the baby oil—and follow my brothers down.
To say I’m shocked when I turn the corner is an understatement. If anything, I’m disappointed, expecting so much more from how they talked it up.
“This is it?” I complain, waving my hand at the moss-covered walls and ancient stone. “There’s nothing here. Not a statue or carving. No ancient runes or books. Hell, there isn’t even, well, anything!” I throw up my hands then rest them onto my hips.
What a fucking joke this is. Here I was, trusting that Preston’s gut feeling was actually something important, and all this place is, is an empty rectangle.
“There’s this,” Preston cuts in, pointing to the back wall. Huffing, I stalk over to him, ignoring the fact that the ceiling is nothing but inky blackness thick enough to hide things like the Darkness.
“It’s a wall,” I jest.
“Not just a wall. Look.” Preston calls upon his scythe and mutters, “Luminesce,” causing the blade to glow a bright blue.
“Wow,” Karston chimes in behind me as more of the mosaic comes into view with the help of Preston’s magic.
“Is…is that us?” Preston asks, squinting into the darkness. “Okay, I’m officially freaked out,” Pres admits, backing up. “Why the fuck are pictures—no—a freaking art piece depicting us four displayed on the wall in the back of some ancient tunnel under the Academy? Anyone else think that’s a little weird?”
“You could say that again,” Karston says, rubbing his arms.
Could they be more dense?
It’s time to tell them what I’ve been feeling all along. The feeling I’ve been trying to ignore. “Don’t you guys see? Something is at play here. Something out of our control. Something destined.” I hold my arms out expectantly. “We were brought here with intention. Our death—”
My brothers groan in tandem just at the mention of our demise.
“Oh stop it,” I spit. “Don’t you think that our death was always meant to be? That we were put here at the Academy for a reason? A purpose? Don’t tell me none of you haven't felt it since Hadley brought us back together.”
There, I said it. The guys exchange looks that I’m far too familiar with.
“Have you ever seen another sibling pairing in the Afterlife, Brax?” He shakes his head, looking at the floor. “How about you, Pres? Know any other fucking quadruplets running around as souls in the Afterlife? Souls who, ironically, were divided into all four divisions. Well, have you?” Preston can’t even look at me, and instead, studies a crack in the ground. “I’m tired, guys,” I admit, running my hands through my hair, tugging on the ends. “Tired of running from it. Tired of chasing shadows and the feelings of mistrust. It’s time to put that all behind us to save the souls still at risk. To save ourselves. To save Hadley.”
“I’m in.” Karston walks over and lays his hand on my shoulder. “Ride or die. Let’s get her back.”
“Me too,” Preston says, grabbing my other shoulder. “Brax?”
Our broody Demon brother pauses, his dark eyes flashing as he passes a ball of fire between his palms.
“Come on, bro, we need you,” Karston implores. “Hadley needs you. We can’t do this without you.”
A smile pulls at his lips before he walks over. “I was always in. Just wanted to see you beg.” We all laugh as Brax brings his arms up, wrapping them around the shoulders of Preston and Karston.
The moment he does, when our circle closes, everything starts to change. The ground shakes, and the muted fires inside the sconces dotted along the walls now blaze with flames. My sight begins to blur, the telltale sign a vision is about to take place.
“He’s getting a premonition!” Karston yells. I can’t respond as I sink to my knees and the room before me exists no more.
My vision begins descending upon a familiar place. Lush green trees bump up against the long axis of the flying field. Opposite the foliage is a seating area with stadium style benches.
As I descend, the landscape comes into view. It’s dark and gloomy, with gray clouds scattered across the sky. This is so unlike the Academy I’m familiar with. Rain happens, but it’s always over in minutes. It’s like the Fates allow a sprinkling of water just to ensure the trees and grass can grow, then turn it off themselves.
This? This is different. There’s a wrongness about this place. As the trees morph from small dots to full size as I descend, I see that they’ve not fared well. Most of the leaves are yellow or brown, a sign that winter is coming.
Except the Afterlife doesn’t have winter…
I turn my gaze to the stands. It’s there I see a figure. Just one figure.
Hadley.
My heart stutters when I land in the center of the field. I stalk over to the stands, my fingers desperate to run through her sandy blonde locks. Her gaze is looking at everything and nothing, staring off into an abyss of places unknown to me.
I’m desperate to get to her, to touch her, hold her, tell her that I lov—
I put my fist into my mouth and bite, still unwilling to allow myself to admit my feelings for her yet, even now.
I don’t deserve a woman like her.
It’s only now that I realize I can control myself as my legs move me closer to her. Usually when I have a vision, I’m merely a viewer. I can’t participate with speech, actions, or anything else, left to hover above the scene and just watch.
But this time, I can partake in the vision and engage with the one person it’s centered around, the one person I can’t get out of my mind.
“Hadley,” I whisper softly, kneeling before her legs. She is totally unresponsive, her blue eyes remaining fixed on something no one else can see. “Hadley. Baby. It’s me. It’s Auston.” My words almost choke me, my hands shaking as they hover close to her body, wondering if it’s okay to touch her.