Page 91 of Darkening Truth
“Awesome,” Loki grins, wriggling in his seat like he’s just been given the best news ever.
“You should pack bags, and I’ll meet you back here in twenty minutes,” Aldrastos says.
“No need. I have them here,” I comment as I open the pocket in the Void that holds the go bags.
“When did you put those in there?” Storm asks.
“As soon as they were repacked that first morning,” I reply. “This morning? Or maybe yesterday morning? The days are blurring together. I was supposed to tell you, but I forgot.”
Before anyone else speaks, my creatures all appear, and I smile.
“I guess they’re coming with us,” Reaper grins.
To my surprise, Aldrastos just nods and doesn’t question it at all. Which is good because there is no way that I’m leaving them behind unless they want to be left behind. Hades clicks his fingers, and his and Khaos’ bags appear.
“Let's go,” Aldrastos says.
“Before we do, we need to tell you what we know,” Zev says. He looks at me, “It’s important in order to save the balance.”
I nod.
Aldrastos looks between us and asks, “What else do you know?”
“Under the cells of the castle, there is a single cell. Inside this cell are around a hundred people who were sealed in there by your king. We spoke to Ignatius,” I start to explain.
“Impossible,” Aldrastos mutters, his eyes wide as he studies me closely, no doubt looking for signs of deception.
I shrug, “I’m just telling you what we’ve been told. Ignatius told us that in his grimoire, there is the information and the spells needed to free them, and that there are also spells in it to help defeat what he called the creatures that roam the realm and halls of the castles. I’m assuming he meant the Abyss creatures, possibly the souls that have escaped the punishment side.”
Aldrastos nods, but I can tell that he still doesn’t quite believe me, “Where is the grimoire located?”
“In his home, which is at the edge of the woods that surround the castle, it’s called Eolas,” I reply, resting my hand on Poca’s head. I know that he’s invisible right now, and yet Aldrastos’ eyes keep darting to him. I’m going to have to ask him about that, but not right now.
“Fuck, okay. I don’t see how it’s possible that you have that knowledge, especially since Siorraidhians speak a language that has been forgotten over time, but there’s no denying the truth of your words,” Aldrastos replies, seemingly confused by the whole situation.
“He was very insistent that we were to get the grimoire before we came to rescue them,” Zev adds.
Aldrastos nods, “Okay. While the situation does perplex me, the Seer said that you would know the first steps. Fortunately, I know where Ignaitius’ home is, and it’s not too far from where the compound is. I have no idea what condition it’s in anymore. There is a good chance that it has been looted. Possibly even destroyed. It could also have succumbed to the deterioration of the realm and have disappeared completely.”
“Let’s hope that’s not the case,” Reaper says as he swings his bag over his shoulder. “Let’s get going then. We were told that they only have a month, maybe two, left if they’re lucky.”
Aldrastos nods, “That is correct. Everyone, remember that as soon as the portal appears, we all need to jump through it. I don’t want to risk it closing and leaving someone behind. There’s no other way to get in.”
Oryn snorts slightly, and my eyes move to him just in time to see him roll his.
I want to question him, of course, but there isn’t time, as Aldrastos mutters a spell. The strength of his magic surprises me as he calls on it to help strengthen the spell.
It looks like we weren’t the only ones who were hiding our true strength. I still have absolutely no idea what kind of supernatural he is. Other than the fact that he is now the Ferryman too. Which I also know nothing about. I feel like there’s a lot more to that title than he has told us, and I hope that he’s going to feel comfortable enough to share more with us soon.
It feels important to me.
Of course, we’re also going to be spending a long time together while we try to free Ignatius and the people in the dungeon, and then there was the thing that he told me to get from the vault in the king's throne room, the Fal something or other. He said I would recognise it when I see it, which I hope is true because I can’t remember what it’s called. I didn’t tell Aldrastos about that, and I’m not going to, not yet at least.
There’s no more time to contemplate as the portal opens and we all rush toward it, jumping through with milliseconds to spare as it closes up again as quickly as it appeared.
“Sound off,”Storm says through the bondlines, and thankfully, we all reply that we’re here and safe.
“Stay very still, I wasn’t expecting us to be brought here,” Aldrastos says, his voice hushed.
