Page 11 of Darkening Truth
Hades frowns, “Yes, those are all good points. But if the new souls are aware of what’s happening to the Dragon Souls and that they aren’t all making it to the Underworld, then it might be enough to convince them to talk to us.”
“Especially you,” I point out. “If anyone is going to be able to help the Dragon Souls wherever the fuck they are, then it's going to be you, and surely the Dragon Souls will know that.”
“You make a good point,” Khaos agrees. “But it all hinges on whether the souls that are actually making it through are aware that there’s something going on. If they aren’t, they won’t believe us, or be willing to give us any information that they might have.”
“What about the list of missing souls?” Rival asks. “Were any of the Dragons that you know were in the Underworld missing?”
Hades frowns slightly, but his magic flares, and I’m guessing that he’s checking the list.
His frown gets deeper as he says, “I didn’t get to have a proper look at the missing souls while we were there, but the Hellier was wrong. It’s not just theDragon Realm souls that are missing. They are the only realm where only a couple of souls a day are coming through, but there is actually an eclectic mix of supernaturals from all the realms that have gone missing and not just new souls either. Most of the ones that aren’t Dragons are actually older souls that have been in the Underworld for a long time.”
My eyebrows hit my hairline, “So not only is someone or something getting to the souls before they make it to the Underworld, but they’re being taken from the Underworld as well?”
Hades' expression is grim as he replies, “That’s what it looks like.”
“This is not good,” Reaper states the obvious.
“No, it’s not. The souls shouldn’t leave the Underworld. It would have catastrophic consequences,” Khaos says.
Rival inhales sharply, “Well, we already know that they were planning on using the Wraiths. So it would make sense that they were taking some of the souls that had been there for a while to test how controllable they were.”
“Maybe that’s why the one that I dealt with was so coherent?” Storm questions thoughtfully.
“You think that being in the Underworld and specifically on the Soul Side makes the Wraiths more controllable?” Rival asks curiously.
Storm shrugs, “I mean, it’s possible.”
“I think the best way of figuring it out is to talk to any friends of the missing souls,” Reaper points out. “Don’t forget that the princes seemed to have a pretty strong following on the Soul Side. It may not have only been on the punishment side.”
Hades nods, “Yeah, that’s a really good point actually. I’m just not sure when we’re going to be able to get to it. The Goddess and Monty seemed pretty insistent that we should get to the Dragon Realm as quickly as we could.”
I frown, “We can’t just leave the Underworld in the turmoil that it’s in though.”
Before any of us can say anything else, Rival asks another question, “What about the In-Between? I know you said that it’s a rumour, or legend, but is it really? Or were you just saying that for the Hellier’s sake?”
“Good point, it hadn’t crossed my mind that you might just be saying it,” I reply.
Hades sighs, “I wasn’t just saying it. I have been around for a very long time, not since the beginning, not even close, but I have been around for long enough, and the In-Between has always been a rumour. There has never been any actual proof of its existence.”
Khaos raises his eyebrows slightly, “To be fair, there hasn’t been any proof because if the rumours are true, then no one has ever survived going there.”
“Well, that’s not true,” Loki says. “Someone had to have survived going there in order to tell the story.”
“He’s right,” Mayhem agrees. “Or that’s just proof that’s all it is, a story.”
“Which is the more likely of the two,” Hades agrees.
“Humour me,” Zev says. “What is the In-Between according to the legends?”
Hades studies Zev closely and then nods, “Okay, I’ll humour you. Supposedly, the In-Between is a prison.”
“A prison?” Killian questions, sounding as surprised as I feel.
I did not expect Hades to say that.
“Why do I feel like calling it a prison is an understatement?” Rival asks shrewdly.
“Because it is.” Hades sighs, “First, I will tell you the truth that most supernaturals no longer know. Before the realms existed as they do now, there was no order. The balance between light and dark was tipped in favour of darkness. The Underworld didn’t exist, it was created when the ancestorsfound the balance. The realms now exist on a knife-edge of balance. Every now and then, something happens that threatens to tip it one way or another, and if it’s not corrected, then we will fall back into those times of death, destruction, and pure survival.
