Page 44 of Vexed
“Vuamo… what?” I ask, tilting my head to the side.
“The Underworld, darling. And this place, is Crimson Domain. Basically, a prison for reapers.”
Jesus. This feels like a dream. No, a fucking nightmare. I gaze around me, trying to find some kind of key or whatever unlocks this gate.
“Unless you have secret reaper power, you won’t get this gate open.” Vex states. He read my mind again. So much for trying to break old habits.
“But you do, why don’t you just open it?” I ask, but he lets out another defeated sigh.
“They took my scythe. Without it, I’m nothing.” He says, dragging his gaze away from mine.
I bite the inside of my cheek, and I get an idea. But I already know he’s not gonna like it.
“Where would it be?”
“Uh, probably in the Erebus Cathedral…wait, no fucking way! You are not going to just waltz in and get it. They will kill you.” He sneers, the anger evident in his voice.
“I thought reapers aren’t allowed to kill humans.” I retort.
“In case you haven’t noticed, you’re not in the human world anymore, darling. You’re in ours, andtheycan do whatever the fucktheywant.”
The air suddenly feels thicker and my heart starts to race. But I lock my gaze with his, swallowing the lump in my throat, “I’m going to get you out.” I say with finality before turning and start walking for the exit.
“Fuck, Lily. Okay, wait!” He yells. I stop in my tracks and turn to face him.
“If you get caught, or if you don’t make it in time before they show up—get out of there. Run through the Dark Planes—it’s the forest across from the Cathedral—there’s a bridge on the other side. When you cross it, hide in Colbat Cove. I’ll come find you. I promise.” His voice was strained, laced with an urgency that mirrored the frantic beat of my own heart.
Tears started to brim my eyes as I realized this might be the last time I see him. I quickly nodded my head, desperate to hold back the flood threatening to spill over, and wiped the tears that began to fall before making my way out of the building.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Vex
The cold stone bit into my wrists, raw from the arc reaper’s binding. Another twenty minutes in this cursed prison, and I was starting to think I’d take up knitting with the dust bunnies just for something to do. Then, the heavy iron door creaked open.
Adimus. My supposed friend. He looked just as miserable as I felt. His dark arc reaper robes seemed to hang heavier on him than usual, and his usually vibrant eyes were dull.
“Let me out, Adimus,” I growled, the words scraping against my throat. “This is ridiculous.”
He winced. “I can’t, Vexlorn. You know I can’t. Believe me, I wish I could.” He sounded genuinely sorry, and that almost made me angrier. Empty apologies from a friend who’s holding the key to my freedom. Fucking hilarious.
“Then do something!” I yelled, my voice echoing off the cold walls. “Lily’s here, Adimus. She made it through the gate. That stubborn little human is running around the Underworld right now, looking for my scythe. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?”
Instead of reacting with the expected disapproval, a ghost of a smile flickered across his face. “Lily? That’s... actually pretty impressive. I underestimated her. Getting past the gate wards is no small feat.”
I narrowed my eyes. “She’s going to get herself killed! She’s human, Adimus! A delicate thing in this nightmare.”
He sighed, a sound like air escaping a punctured lung. “Okay, okay, I get it. You’re worried. Just...” He hesitated, his gaze flickering towards the doorway. “She’s going to die, Vexlorn, if she stays here for too long.”
He was right. Lily was human, and humans didn’t have a tolerance for the Underworld. If she didn’t leave soon, the Underworld would kill her before the reapers would. “Then let me go!”
After what felt like an eternity, he reached into his robes and produced his scythe. The metallicclinkas he unlocked the cell door was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard. Then he rushed to me and undid the shackles.
“Find her,” he said, his voice hushed. “Get her out of here. And try not to get caught yourself.”
I didn’t waste time questioning his sudden change of heart. I could ask later, when Lily was safe and my scythe was back in myhands. I practically bolted out of the Crimson Domain, the air in the Underworld tasting foul after what felt like hours in that cell.
My first instinct was to head for the Cathedral, where I told Lily my scythe was usually kept. But as I got there, the vast hall was deserted, the only sound my own echoing footsteps. Something felt wrong.
