Page 29 of To Dwell in Shadows
Borias waved his hand. Instantly, the soul disappeared.
Slowly, minute by minute, Sam began to feel lighter. The physical pain he experienced was starting to fade, and the emotional pain dwindled, too.
He began to use the breathing exercises Eldridge had taught him, then focused on the feeling of his cheek pressed against the cold stone floor. The strands of hair clinging to his forehead. The feel of his feet inside his boots. Soon, Sam was able to fully sit up, and after a few more moments, stand.
“That was a rough one,” Borias said. “My apologies—I didn’t mean to start you so intensely.”
“That was nothing like I expected,” Sam said hoarsely.
“I’ll be honest, your reaction was… unusual. Being in the Sanctum is exhilarating for most Vengeance demons.” Borias paused. He rubbed the back of his neck, then said, “Prince Samael, I know it’s none of my business… ”
“What is it?”
“Do you have a vengeance that’s unfulfilled, perhaps? One from your own life?”
Sam considered his words.
Do I?
It was difficult for him to think clearly. Yet after a moment, the image of Zaybris’s face flashed through his mind. The shame Sam had felt when the vampire disappeared with Selene from the cave in Aurelia made him swallow hard.
“Yes.”
“Is this person still living?
“Sort of. He’s actually here… in the Underworld, but… ”
Borias’s head reeled back. “You have an unvanquished enemy in this realm? Why haven’t you addressed it?”
“I just got here,” Sam said defensively. “Wouldn’t it be best to hone my skills before delivering?—”
“No, no, no. You need to do it as soon as possible. Vanthee can lead you to where he’s kept.”
Sam looked down at his hands, which were still trembling. “I’m not ready.”
“You must be,” Borias said. “It’s blocking you.”
Sam’s vision was still hazy as he met the demon’s eyes. The truth of Borias’s words cut through him to the bone. It was a comfort to have a potential reason for why he failed so thoroughly, yet reliving all his own pain, as he had just done with the pain of others, was terrifying.
“I will prepare myself to face him. But not today. I cannot bear any more today.”
“Rest up, then. Refresh yourself and we will train again tomorrow.”
Chapter 15
Selene was relieved to find the Underworld’s library in a familiar part of the palace. Nestled at the bottom of a short staircase in the royal wing, it was only a short walk from her and Sam’s chambers. The arched doorway, reminiscent of a Gothic church, was well kept and clean. But when Vanthee pulled the door open, Selene was shocked by what was inside.
Instead of a beautifully organized space, the Underworld’s library looked as though it had been rampaged by a herd of elephants. Thousands of books were strewn across the floor in a haphazard mess. Broken bookcases leaned against the walls, their splintered shelves spilling volumes onto the ground. Some books had been stripped of their covers, their pages crumpled and tossed into heaps. Others were stacked in precarious towers.
To someone who had always relied on libraries as refuges of order and peace, Selene was appalled.
“What happened here?” She asked.
Vanthee toed away a book covered in mold with her boot. “What do you mean? It’s always been like this.”
Selene looked up at the vaulted ceiling, full of broken lights and peeling paint. “How does anyone find anything?”
Vanthee shrugged. “How should I know? No one ever comes in here.”
