Page 12 of Darkening Truth
“It wouldn’t matter if the balance tipped in the favour of light or dark, too much of either one would be very bad. Entire realms would be lost, they were lost, and have now been forgotten to time. It’s said that the realms before the Ancients found the balance were filled with the worst of the worst, creatures that held no moral compass, vicious and bloodthirsty, they would destroy everything that they could get their hands on. So the Ancients had a place called the In-Between created for them. A similar concept, I suppose, to what most people think the Shadowlands is, but although we know that the Shadowlands are a place for the supernaturals to escape the oppressive and controlling rule of corrupt kings, the In-Between is really filled with the worst of the worst. It’s a prison. There are supposedly guards, but the prisoners are pretty much put there and left to their own devices. According to the stories, there are towns and factions, territories ruled by certain species.”
My eyes widen, and I mutter quietly, “So it really is like it is here then? There are territories in place, and you can go to different rulers for help and to pledge loyalty.”
Hades nods, “Yes, but the rulers here still work together when necessary and communicate. They also offer protection. It is said that the ones in the In-Between don’t do that,. There are wars and fights that break out all the time. Death is a constant companion. If you were born into one faction, you wouldn’t be able to go to a different one, you would be killed on sight. There is no escape. The land around each town, or territory, is barren and filled with the creatures that were there before the Ancients commandeered the realm for their own purposes. It’s a true hellscape. At least, that’s what the stories say.”
We’re all silent for a moment as we absorb everything that he’s told us.
Oryn, who has been curled up in the corner with Poca, snorts, a sound that sounds suspiciously like a laugh, and then I swear my peculiar bat-shaped friend rolls his eyes.
“You don’t agree with that?” I ask him.
“Don’t agree with what?” Loki asks, sounding confused.
“Oryn, he seems to think that Hades' description of the In-Between being a hellscape isn’t true,” I explain.
Oryn nods, confirming that I’m thinking the right thing and understanding his body language correctly.
There’s a moment of silence while they look at me really confused. A lot has happened since I brought Oryn out of the Void, and to be honest, they couldn’t see him anyway, so I guess that it’s not that surprising that they don’t immediately remember him.
“Oh, wait,” Reaper says, as his eyes switch to Ryu’s and he inhales deeply. “He’s the creature that you saved from the Void, right? His scent is so intertwined with yours that I completely forgot about him.”
“Oh, I remember,” Storm says. He asks with surprise, “He’s still with you?”
“I still have no idea who or what Oryn is,” Khaos points out with one of his eyebrows raised slightly.
I grin, “I found Oryn in the Void, he was dying, and I healed him,” I say, and Oryn flaps over to me and lands in my lap. I move my hand from Rival’s hair and start to stroke him.
“What does he look like? Remind me?” Rival says as he turns around to look at what I’m stroking, not that he can see him.
I nod, “He’s purple, covered in fur. He has an adorable little snout nose and fangs. He sort of looks like a bat from the Earth Realm. He has big, leathery wings with sharp claws on the tips that he uses extremely well ina combat situation, and he’s not entirely solid. Well, I guess he is in a way because I can stroke him, and he gives kisses and things, but to look at his edges, they look wispy if that makes sense? Like he’s made of smoke.”
“I have no idea what kind of creature that could be,” Khaos says with a confused frown before adding, “and I’ve been around long enough that I thought I knew most creatures.”
Hades nods, “Those were my thoughts exactly.”
“I’m guessing he showed back up when Poca and Meri did?” Loki asks me.
I shake my head, “No, as soon as I broke the spells, I could see him again, but he had been there the whole time. I couldn’t see or sense him at all. I had absolutely no idea that he was there. He experienced everything that I did.”
“He felt what you felt?” Mayhem asks, his eyebrows high on his head.
“Yes,” I reply, sadness saturating my tone.
Rival studies me closely, but I don’t think he’s actually seeing me. I think he’s probably thinking through all of the possibilities, and desperately wanting to go to the library and throw himself into research.
“If he experienced what you did, then that would suggest that he is intrinsically tied to you,” he summarises.
I nod, “Yeah, that’s what I figured too. Especially since I asked him if he wanted to go back into the Void after I realised that he was there, and he looked at me like I was nuts.”
Chapter Five
Farren
“Did he come to the God Realm with us?” Hades asks.
Again, I nod, “Yep. He comes everywhere that I do, sometimes he disappears with Poca and Meri, but if they are with me, then he is too.”
“Did you ask Xerxes about him?” Kill asks.
