Chapter Eight
Farren
We turn a corner, and both freeze at the sight before us.
A castle, one that puts even Hades’ one to shame, commands our attention.
It’s enormous, with giant towering turrets and more windows than I could ever hope to count.
It has to be the biggest castle I have ever seen, which is saying something because I’ve seen quite a few castles.
The Fae Realm is so full of them that after a while, they become pretty boring.
This one though, could never be considered boring. It is absolutely stunning.
It’s made out of some kind of black stone, which makes the whole place look even more imposing than it would anyway, thanks to the sheer size of the place.
There are openings high up in the towers and along the walls that were obviously made for something that flies, most likely the winged creature that I saw flying around earlier.
However, I haven’t seen it again, so it’s a bit strange that there are so many places for them to enter, which would suggest that the spaces were used by a lot of them at some point.
Of course, this place seems to be deserted, so there’s a good chance that there were once more of the creatures flying through the skies.
As I look up at the castle, my mind struggles to wrap itself around just how big it is. It’s mind-boggling. Thousands of people could live here comfortably, with no problems whatsoever, and there would still be space.
Even though the grounds are overgrown and nature has clearly been taking it back for a while, you can tell that it was once an amazing and beautiful place.
Marring the scenery even more than the overgrown state of it are the bodies that are scattered everywhere, and there’s no way of knowing what kinds of supernaturals beings they were when they were alive, since they’re now just piles of bones, tattered clothing and weapons.
That’s not the only thing that’s been left behind.
Sitting in front of the once opulent main entrance are several rows of carriages.
All of them have some kind of damage. Some are missing wheels, some are completely caved in, and a few of them are just burned-out shells of what they once were.
Arrows are sticking out from them, and the bones of some kind of animal are piled at the front of most of them.
“I wonder what was happening here when they got attacked?” Zev says as we carry on walking up to the main doors of the castle.
“There are a lot of carriages here, and not simple ones either. These are all ornately decorated, which means they were owned by high-ranking people. Which would suggest that there were a lot of important people here when the place got attacked.”
“I have no idea. Do you think they knew that the attack was coming?” I ask as we make our way closer.
“Maybe that’s why they were all here?” Zev muses. “They could have all been coming to help defend the castle from the attack?”
“Yeah, that’s a possibility,” I reply thoughtfully. “Maybe these were the carriages to evacuate some of the people that lived here, and they arrived too late?”
So much life was lost here, and sadness washes over me. I can’t help but wonder what prompted such a massive attack.
We start to make our way up the stairs and toward the giant black doors, which, on closer inspection, are made from wood.
As I reach my hand out to open them, Zev stops me with a hand on my arm.
“Careful, Farren, they could have put protection spells on the doors to stop whoever was attacking from getting in. Even though they appear to all be long gone by this point, their magic could still be active,” he warns me.
I nod, and instead of reaching out with my hand, I reach out with my magic. Now that he’s mentioned it, I’m unsurprised when my magic immediately identifies some spells woven into the door.
“You’re right, there are some spells still active on the door,” I tell him. “Give me a second, and I should be able to pull them apart.”
“Really? Are you sure?” He asks. “I know you’re fucking amazing at this kind of thing, but these spells are very likely ancient, and that’s magic that you don’t come across anymore, not even in Hades’ castle, with the princes.
It’s most likely going to be infinitely more difficult to pull them apart, and I don’t want you to get hurt. ”
My eyes narrow slightly, “How do you know that they’re ancient? I mean, we know that the people here have been dead for a long time, but we don’t know that they’re ancient.”
Zev’s eyes widen, “Shit, you're right. I’m not wrong though, I can feel that, my magic is telling me that, I just didn’t realise.”
I nod and smile, “I thought it might be. My magic won’t let the spells hurt me.
I want to try to pull them apart, even if it is ancient magic.
If we can’t get in through this door, then we can either find another way to get in or explore more out here.
This place is absolutely huge and I’m sure that there are a lot of interesting things to discover out here.
I mean, we could probably explore for months and not see everything that there is to see out here. ”
Zev nods but still looks worried as he says, “Okay, just be careful. Even though this is a dream, it doesn’t mean that you can’t get hurt here, and I’m not sure if I will be able to manipulate it so that you don’t.”
I pause and turn to look at him, “You can manipulate dreams?”
He nods, but looks around cautiously. I can only assume that he’s seeing something that I can’t.
“Yeah, but this one is different. I don’t know if it's just because it’s you that’s having it, and nothing you do seems to play by the rules, or if there’s something else at play, but it’s not behaving like it should, and my magic isn’t responding to it like it should either.”
“I think I might be offended,” I say with a grin, so he knows that I’m not being serious.
He chuckles and pulls me close, kissing me once, as he says, “Don’t be. I love it.”
I grin, “Smooth, nicely done.”
He shrugs, “I thought so.” Becoming serious again, he adds, “Just be careful, please.”
“Don’t worry, I have no intention of going through everything that I did, only to die in my own dream,” I say seriously.
He nods and watches me with even more worry than before as I move back over to the door. Maybe reminding him of my most recent near-death experience wasn’t the best idea.
It seems like kissing him in the woods unlocked his affection, and I really hope that he carries on kissing me at every opportunity when we’re awake too. I also kind of hope that it prompts the others to do the same, because apparently I’m greedy, and I want all the kisses from all of them.
And more.
But for now, I’ll settle on kisses.
Refocusing, I reach my magic toward the door. I try to convey through my magic that I’m not a threat, and I just want to learn what happened here. It surprises me when the magic guarding the door reaches for me as well, and it doesn’t attack like I assumed it was going to.
It seems to be studying me and my magic intensely, trying to determine if my intentions are pure.
It’s strange, but there is something familiar about the feeling of it, and even stranger, a part of me seems to recognise it.
It takes me a moment, but I think I know why it feels familiar.
The magic feels like my house, the one in the Shadowlands that I’m restoring.
At least, I think that’s where I recognise the magic from.
I’m guessing that means that this castle might be sentient.
Without me having to pull any of the spells apart, they simply retreat, and the sound of the door lock clicking open echoes around us.
“Wow, that was quick,” Zev grins, looking slightly surprised.
I shake my head, “I didn’t have to pull any of the magic apart, it just opened for me.”
“That’s odd.”
“It’s been alone for a long time, I think it’s possible that it just wants some company,” I say, as I put my hand on the door handle.
“You’re speaking as if it’s sentient,” Zev says as the door swings open without me doing anything. “Never mind, I think that answers my unspoken question. This place definitely appears to be sentient.”
As we step inside, all of the lights come on, lighting up the space in front of us, and the four fireplaces, two on either side of this huge entryway, burst to life.
“Yeah, I don’t know to what extent, but I’m pretty sure that there’s magic still left in the castle,” I reply needlessly. Looking around, I add, “Thank you for allowing us entry.”
Nothing happens, but I know that it heard me. It’s always important to say thank you when magic is involved.
Unless you’re dealing with certain types of Fae, but that’s a whole other issue.
It is strange to me that this place feels like the house in the Shadowlands to me, but maybe that’s part of the dream. Even if this isn’t a typical dream, like Zev said, I might still be pulling things from my awake life and transferring them here.
That’s going to be my theory until proven otherwise, anyway.
“There aren’t any piles of bones,” Zev says with a frown as we move further into the massive space.
Everything is covered in a thick layer of dust and grime, but he’s right, there aren’t any bones. There’s no sign of a fight at all, nothing is damaged.
“You’re right,” I start, and then freeze.
A boy, around the age of twelve, suddenly appears in front of me. His edges are wispy, and if I didn’t know any better, then I would say that he is very clearly a ghost.
“Hello, miss,” he greets me with a warm smile.
He shouldn’t exist, and he shouldn’t be coherent.
At least that’s the way he appears to be.
All of the dead go to the Underworld. They can’t stick around, and on the rare occasion that they do manage to stick around, it causes massive problems that have to be dealt with swiftly.
The fact that he is here, and not trying to eat us or behaving like he is crazy, is completely baffling.
“It must be part of the dream, right?” I say to Zev. “He can’t really be a ghost, that’s impossible.”
Zev nods, “It’s the only thing that makes sense, I suppose. It doesn’t sit quite right though, like I said, this isn’t a normal dream.”
Before we can discuss the improbability of it any further, the boy continues to speak.
He grins cheekily, “It’s good to see you, miss. They’re this way.”
The kid takes off through the halls.
I share a look with Zev, who is only just lowering his sword.
“I guess we follow the kid?” He asks, sounding unsure.
I shrug, “It can’t hurt. We might actually find out what happened here, although that depends on the kind of ghost that he is.
Of the very few that have actually managed to stick around, I have heard that there are a couple of different kinds.
He might just be an echo of the past, reliving the same moment over and over again.
He said that it was good to see me, which suggests some kind of familiarity, but I’ve never been here, in my dreams or real life.
We could have just been standing in the right place at the right time.
He might always greet someone here, regardless of whether anyone is actually standing there. ”
Zev nods, “Yeah, that’s a pretty good theory, although it doesn’t explain how he’s a sane ghost.”
I nod in agreement, “Yeah, I’m not sure we’re going to get an answer to that. I’m not convinced that it isn’t just part of my mind adding to the dream.”
“Well, I guess there’s one way to find out.”
“It would be really handy if we had Hades with us now,” I comment as we jog after the kid, who is rapidly disappearing from our sight. “Maybe he could tell us what’s going on, and how it’s possible that he’s here and hasn’t deteriorated.”
“It shouldn’t be possible,” Zev says. “But I don’t think that it’s just you creating it in the dream. I’ve just got a feeling.”
I nod, “Okay then. Maybe we can look into it when we get out of here? One of Hades’ books or even Hades himself should know if it’s possible or not.”
Zev frowns, “In theory, that’s true.” Looking around distractedly, he adds, “Where’s he gone?”
We stop in the hallway. There are doors spread out really far apart on either side of us, stretching as far as I can see in the limited light provided by the candles that the castle has lit. It makes sense, the castle is huge, so it’s unlikely to have small rooms.
“Do we call for him?” I ask. “Or just wait until he pops back up and scares the shit out of me again?”
Zev smirks, and I raise my eyebrow at him.
He holds his hands up, still holding his sword.
“Alright, he may have made me jump as well,” Zev admits, and I smile triumphantly.
He shrugs, “You don’t expect it. Ghosts don’t exist, at least they aren’t supposed to because of the whole balance thing, and the fact that the few that have managed to stick around for whatever reason are known to go fucking crazy and become incredibly dangerous if they’re out of the Underworld.
” He looks around, “This definitely isn’t the Underworld.
Yet he seems to be pretty coherent, even if he is just reliving a memory repeatedly. ”
“Rival is going to fucking love looking into this,” I say with a grin.
Zev nods, “Oh yeah. I don’t think we’re going to get him out of Hades’ library for as long as we’re there. He’s got the Dragons to look into, Oryn and now this place. Plus some other things I’m sure I’ve forgotten.”