Chapter 31

31

“ T he Abyss will try to trick you. Or rather, the path to reach it isn’t clear. You have to be strong and keep your wits about you. This might not be the only way,” Onyx insisted.

His face scrunched as pain wracked through him.

“If this place is as terrible as everyone makes it out to be, then why is it so difficult to get to? No one in their right mind should want to come here.”

“The Abyss keeps what it is given. It’s less that it wasn’t to keep people out, but more that it wants to make sure what it has taken stays with it. Which is probably part of the reason why the connection always stays there.”

I glanced back in time to watch Onyx rub his heart.

“It’s not a good place, Tavi.”

“So why did Uncle Will banish the journals there? Why didn’t he just destroy them?” I muttered. “There are less extreme ways to deal with this.”

Not like it made a difference. The reason was personal and the act in the past, but curiosity would always get the better of me.

We wound our way through the tunnel of stone with the ceiling growing lower with every step. Small sconces of fire burst to life where we stepped and promptly guttered out once we made it several feet past them.

The tunnel circled around on itself but there were no other options, no side branches to tease us. Only an endlessly dark expanse in front and behind.

“William did it because he hates me.” Livvy sounded small and far away. “He has always hated me and my kind, and not much has changed since we first met. I suppose he did it to punish me, not knowing what truth was hidden inside those pages.”

I couldn’t imagine hating someone so much to go to all this trouble.

Even Persephone and Arlyss, who had both made my life at school a living hell. Bullies .

Uncle Will never struck me as a bully but I guessed he possessed the tendencies. Because here we were.

The hallway grew tighter, the stench of must and wetness assaulting my nostrils and burning my lungs with every inhalation. I stooped down until my back ached and panic pressed close.

This was what it must feel like to be buried alive.

The moment I thought about it, hysteria set in and the sweat seeping out of my pores took on an acrid stench I couldn't ignore.

Shit, I definitely shouldn’t think about being buried alive. Or what might happen if the tunnel closed in on us, like the staircase disappearing.

Onyx breathed heavily and behind me Noren whined.

Did I make a blanket statement that it was going to be okay? Even if we knew it was a lie?

Someone swallowed loud enough for me to hear.

At once, the tunnel opened up and I heaved a sigh of relief as I straightened, clenching at the walls to steady myself Only to lose the plot when the sconces showed nothing but a firm wall of granite ahead of us.

“What the fuck?” The curse came out before I could stop it. “There has to be something else.” We couldn't go back, and forward was a dead end.

The gravity of our situation pushed me down into a pit of shock and pathetic denial. The panicky kind that causes horses to bolt when there is nothing wrong.

Reality swept in, kicking my ass along the way, and then settled.

“I don’t remember any of this. I never had to come this way,” Onyx said with a frown.

A strange jittery twitch settled in my veins. “You said you knew where we were going.”

“I remembered the path to get here, but the insides must change because when I was in the temple, it wasn’t a cavern. It was an actual ruin. Like something you’d find in a desert or something.”

Onyx pushed his hand against the stone and waited for something to change. When nothing did, he jammed his shoulder to the granite, Livvy moving to help him while the rest of us stood by.

“A real dead end,” he offered unnecessarily.

My gut sank, feet rooted to the floor and my knees locked to keep me upright.

“Impossible,” I blurted. “You said this is the way in. You couldn’t have come out of the Abyss through rock.”

His brows screwed together. “It’s a little blurry. The details. But you’re right. I didn’t come out this way.”

“Did we take a wrong turn somewhere?” I asked. “I mean, did we miss something?” I turned too fast in a circle and the dizziness sent me back against the wall.

“We don’t have time to waste retracing our steps.” Livvy fumed and stalked forward. She swept Onyx back with one arm. “We’re going to blast our way through. I refuse to let this stop us. We’re close.”

I barked out a laugh. “Come on, Livvy. We’re not strong enough to bore through granite.”

“You are capable of so much more than you think. Both of you. I know you’re tired and afflicted. I know you think the pain is never going to stop, and you’ll never be normal again.” She bit out the words, then shoved a hand through her hair, smearing sweat and blood and dirt across her skin. “We’re doing this together. Now give me your hand.”

She held out her palm for me to take and I stared at it.

How would it feel to actually work together on this? To do something with my mom that would make a difference? Her resolve was implacable.

I took her hand before I thought of the thousands of reasons why she was asking for the impossible.

“We’re getting through this,” she repeated for my sake.

Magic sparked where our skin touched. The connection between us, the tether not just with power but with blood, burst to life and dissolved through the wall keeping me separated from my own power.

Finally.

I had my access back. Mom’s energy gave me strength to fight against the blood sickness.

The part of me that came from her, the fae side and the inherent magic of my history, twined together with hers and sharpened into focus. Livvy directed the beam at the wall and our fingers slid together. One unit. One force and unstoppable.

Our power collided against the cave wall.

The sensation was there and gone before our beam of light burrowed through the stone. A crack spread from the point of impact and the wall rumbled once in warning before the pieces splintered apart.

The blast brought massive boulders tumbling down, and Noren and Onyx barely managed to step out of the way before the opening widened enough for us to walk through.

But it took the two of us working together to achieve.

“That’s one way to do it,” Onyx said breathlessly.

Livvy smiled in triumph. “As I said, there’s always a way through.”

“You never said that.”

“I meant to say it,” she corrected.

On the other side, a river of black water snaked through the cavern, cut only by the harsh line of a wooden dock. A thick rope tethered a small boat to the side.

An unnatural sight.

We picked our way over debris toward the dock. Sconces of fire glowed the closer we got to the river.

A small divot on the wooden piling gleamed in the unnatural light, rounded at the edges and about the size of a quarter.

“It’s a place for a coin. To use the boat,” Livvy explained. Her hand went to her hips and she studied the divot. “It’s similar to the myth of Charon. Do you know that one? He’s the boatman on the river Styx who requires coins to give safe passages to souls.”

My heart flipped painfully in my constricted chest. “I have no money for the fare, then.”

“I do. One of the perks of owning a restaurant and serving tables. I’ve always got change.”

Livvy dove a hand into her pocket and when she pulled it out, there were multiple coins shining clean against her dirty skin. Without wasting time, she placed a coin in the divot. The boat vibrated and the rope untied itself from the mooring.

She dropped another coin in place for good measure before gesturing for us to board.

Laina eyed the small boat skeptically. “There isn’t room for all of us. You go ahead. We’ll wait here for your safe return.” The way she emphasized safe made me gulp.

I looked to Mike, who appeared to hate the idea of us being separated. But there was nothing for it. The boat simply wouldn’t hold all of us. I took his hand. “Take care of Laina and Bronwen.”

He gave a curt nod but said nothing. What was there to say?

Bronwen gave me a fierce hug and swiped at her eyes, but she put on a brave face. Laina simply smiled as if this would be a piece of cake and over soon. I wanted to absorb her courage because I was afraid my own wouldn’t be enough.

Onyx was the first one in, and we had to help him onto the wooden seat. Then Noren, me, and finally Livvy.

The boat set off without a ripple on the ebony water.

If Charon existed, then hopefully our payment was sufficient to get us to our end destination.

The boat glided through the cave and I saw no break in the walls. Stone fit together seamlessly.

The others were as nervous as I was. Onyx gripped the side of the boat with white knuckles. Noren breathed heavily with his mouth open and his tongue hanging out to the side. Livvy was close enough to touch but seemed a thousand miles away, lost to whatever thoughts occupied the space in her head.

I tried to think of this as a chance to get to know my mom better but we were all too focused on survival to make the most of any given moment.

What would happen once we had the journals?

With my powers unlocked, would the enemies of my past come back not as ghosts but as flesh and blood obstacles? Would I somehow come face to face with Claribel, or Dorian Jade, or even Tywin and Cosmo Foxfall and be able to defeat them?

The boat jolted and I lurched forward in my seat.

“What’s happening?”

The moment I spoke, the water churned, the boat moving faster over some rapids. The bow dipped forward and sent us all out of our seats. Noren tumbled, off balance and heading toward the side. I let go of the seat to grab hold of him when he almost flew off.

No amount of magic would stop us now and I halfway wondered if any attempt would increase the rapids.

We slammed against the rock walls, sending loose pieces dropping into the rapids. They hurtled against us like missiles before disappearing into the swirling whirlpools.

Water sprayed, soaking through our clothing, chilling me to bone. Worse than being caught in a rainstorm. Worse than a wild ride because there was no stopping or getting off.

I clung to Noren, my foot locked against the seat in front of us. Please let us make it .

Please, please, please.

But who was I praying to?

Who was out there to listen to me and stop this?

We’d made a choice to come this far. The boat careened again into the cavern wall and the wood gave a groan underneath us.

Water sloshed in and around us.

Livvy had said Faerie was a real being, and had called her a goddess. I focused on that concept, conjuring up a clear image of Faerie in my mind. Help us, please . If the goddess existed then we needed her. We weren’t going to make it off this boat alive.

The front caught in one of the whirlpools and sent us spiraling in a circle. Heading along the river backwards. My stomach flipped and my heart jumped into my throat.

The bitterness of fear filled my mouth.

Noren growled and the sound vibrated through his body and into mine. I lost feeling in my arms and fingers.

Please, goddess, get us out of this .

Something had to give. The ride had to stop so we could get off because we weren’t going to get to the other end if the rapids got any worse.

Please!

The boat crashed again and wood splintered as the front end tore off. Behind me, Onyx and Livvy were screaming, their cries suddenly swallowed by the water. Still clinging to Noren, I went into the water, and didn’t resurface.