Chapter Six
Aldrastos
I don’t like it, and I have no idea what I’m going to do about it, especially since it looks like we’re going to be spending a considerable amount of time together.
It’s not a short journey to the castle. I know that Ignatius told Farren and Zev that his home was on the edge of the castle grounds, and technically, it is. It’s just that the castle grounds cover thousands of acres.
My gaze drifts to where Farren is wrapped in Khaos’ arms and talking to Hades, and my stomach twists with an emotion that I’m not familiar with. I’m going to be watching them closely. They could very easily be a threat to me, even if they don’t feel like it.
In fact, that could all be a part of it. They could somehow be lulling me into a false sense of security.
I frown. That thought twists something in my gut, and I don’t like the feeling. For now, I’m going to settle on being cautious and stop my mind from going around in circles.
More than anything, we don’t have time for it.
“So, we need to find a book, right?” Loki asks, as he looks around.
“Yeah, he just called it his grimoire. He didn’t describe it or anything because then he started talking about the Fal-thingy that I apparently need to get,” Farren explains, her eyebrows dipping down into a frown. She mutters, “Not that he explained why it was so important.”
As soon as the words leave her mouth, a book dislodges itself from one of the many bookshelves that line the room and floats its way over to Farren. She holds her hands out for it as the heavy tome drops into them.
“Well, that was a hell of a lot easier than I thought that it was going to be,” Reaper mutters. “I’m assuming that’s the grimoire that we needed to find?”
I don’t know if it’s just a him thing, but Reaper always seems suspicious, like he doesn’t quite trust what’s going on around him.
Farren nods as she looks at the cover, “Yeah, I think so.”
“What were we supposed to do with the book?” I ask, repressing a shiver as a cold breeze moves past me.
Zev smiles as he replies, “He said that we needed to get it before we went to the castle. The grimoire has the code that will help us to get down to the cell where they are all being kept. It has to be performed exactly right, or the place gets locked down, and even more spells are layered on top, which would cause us to waste time trying to break them, and I’m sure that they aren’t nice spells. ”
Farren shakes her head. “He said that the spells would make it absolutely impossible to get through.”
Kill’s eyebrows draw down, “You could do it.”
I frown. He sounds so sure that Farren could pick apart magic that is utterly ancient, and that’s surprising. It’s something else that I don’t know. Admittedly, it’s getting frustrating now.
Farren shakes her head, “He said, and I quote, because it stuck with me for obvious reasons, ‘not even the Spell Weavers, as rare as they are, would be able to pick them apart. They were designed against them.’
“Wait a fucking minute, are you telling me that amongst all the other crazy shit that you’ve got going on, you’re a Spell Weaver?” I ask with pure shock.
Farren smiles sheepishly, “Yes. At least that’s what we think it is. I mean, I thought I had Void magic until a couple of hours ago, so who fucking knows?”
“Good point,” Rival frowns.
I nod sympathetically. I’m not the only one who is having a lot of things thrown at them and having what they thought they knew turned on its head.
“We’re taught about Spell Weavers, they’re extinct now, or at least they’re supposed to be, and when they were alive, they were incredibly rare.
So the knowledge I have is pretty limited, but if you want to tell me why you suspect you might be one, then I should at least be able to tell you if that matches up with what we’re taught,” I offer.
Farren smiles, “Okay. So I haven’t come across a spell yet that I can’t undo, and when I undo the spell, it then becomes a part of my repertoire, I never forget, and I can use it whenever I need to.”
My eyebrows hit my hairline, and I clear my throat as I nod, “Yeah, I mean, yes, that sounds like what we were told about Spell Weavers. I guess they aren’t extinct after all.”
Farren smiles, “At least that’s confirmed. Thank you, Aldrastos.”
I try not to look surprised that she’s thanked me and smile, hoping that it looks natural and not awkward.
Zev smiles and seems to pick up on the fact that I have no idea what to say because he adds, “Ignatius also said that the grimoire will have the information in it in order to help us get past the creatures that now roam this realm, and even defeat them if we are strong enough.”
“The Abyss creatures?” Hades asks.
Zev nods, “I assume that’s what he meant.”
“Well, we already know that Farren can kill them,” Khaos points out with a proud smile.
“She shouldn’t be able to,” I can’t help but say, earning smiles from all of them. I add, “If that’s true about the grimoire, then it would be nice to be able to take them down as well, and it not just be left to Farren.”
“Agreed,” Kill replies.
I nod to the book, “What does it say?”
Farren takes the heavy tome over to the table in the middle of the room that doubles as a kitchen and sitting room, placing it gently on the table, and we all gather around her as she gingerly opens the cover of the book and starts to turn the pages.
“Erm, it’s empty. You guys can see empty pages too, right?” Loki asks, sounding unsure.
Mayhem smirks, “Don’t worry, they’re blank.” He looks at Farren and asks, “Can you see anything on it?”
A couple of hours ago, I would have been wondering why he was asking Farren if she could read the blank pages when none of us could. However, I’m already learning that when it comes to Farren, normal rules don’t tend to apply.
Farren shakes her head, “No, I can’t.”
I think we’re all more surprised that she can’t read it than we would be if she said that we were wrong and there were loads of writing.
“He didn’t say that we wouldn’t be able to read it, and I’m not getting anything that could tell us why we can’t read it,” Zev explains.
“Great, I guess we just hope that it’s one of those things that explains itself in time?” Hades asks, and then adds, “And that it decides to tell us before it’s too late or we’re in the middle of the issue.”
“I bet Xerxes would know,” Farren mutters as she studies the book on the table more closely.
I raise my eyebrow but refrain from asking. My interest in her and everything to do with her is a dangerous thing, and I do not need to feed my need for knowledge about her.
“I’m surprised he hasn’t shown up,” Rival says.
“I’m sure he will if he is truly needed here. It’s how he works,” Khaos replies.
“Good point,” Farren replies. “What’s next?”
Storm’s eyebrows draw down slightly. “We need to get to the castle, but it has been a really long day for all of us. We need to get some rest, none of us wants to make silly mistakes in a place like this.”
Farren’s eyebrows furrow, and she looks at the floor, and before I can stop myself, I ask, “What is it?”
She glances up at me, surprise flashing through her eyes before she shrugs and says, “This place doesn’t feel like a threat to me. It really doesn’t. I know that there are things here that are a threat to us. I am not disputing that, but the actual place doesn’t feel dangerous to me, it feels sad.”
I don’t even try to hide the surprise that crosses my face. Up until the very last sentence, I thought she was speaking generally, like how it feels to her. I did not think that she meant that the actual realm itself was feeling things.
What the fuck do I do with that?
“The realm feels sad?” Hades asks for the clarification that we all want.
Farren nods, “Yeah. I don’t know how to explain it. Maybe it’s because I have always been connected to this place. Maybe it's because it was my safety for so long, but I can feel that it’s sad. It makes sense, it knows it's dying and that the end is very near if we don’t do something.”
“Well, that’s certainly unusual. The underworld tells me things occasionally, but it doesn’t sound quite like you’re describing,” Hades replies.
“It’s not a threat, and until it proves itself to be, I think we shouldn’t worry about it,” Farren replies simply.
Killian levels her with a look. “Are you going to tell us if it becomes something that we,” he pauses and makes a point of gesturing to the rest of us before he continues, “should know about?”
Farren tries to smirk and then sighs, “Fine. I will tell you if it becomes a threat and something that we need to worry about.”
“Thank you,” Kill smirks.
I’m sure that if Farren really wanted to, she would find a way around that without technically going against what she said that she would do, but hopefully she realises that we care about her and are only trying to protect her and keep her safe.
It’s only after the thought has formed that I realise that I included myself as one of the people who care about her and are trying to keep her safe.
Before anyone can say anything else, or I can make a fool out of myself and blurt something out that should definitely not be said out loud, the door opens, and Laikynn pads his way in.
I still can’t believe that these creatures that we were taught to fear and hunt so that they wouldn’t hunt us are actually pretty friendly.
They aren’t harmless. I would be a fool to think that they were. I have seen many a hunter taken down by them, but then again, I am not harmless either, and I especially wouldn’t be if something tried to kill something I love.
Memories try to push forward, and I savagely force them away as a cold shiver runs down my spine.
Not now.
“Laikynn, is everything okay?” Khoas asks, immediately ready to head out if there’s an issue.
Laikynn nods, “Everything is fine. I just wanted to let you know that we have set up a perimeter around the building. So you are safe for the time being.”
“Great, thank you,” Hades replies respectfully. “We were just discussing our next steps.”
“Yes,” Storm takes over. “As I was saying, it has been a long day, and we all need to get some rest.”
I hesitate, but there isn’t really another option, at least not one that I can see.
“We need to discuss whether we’re going back to the compound.
I was told that I needed to bring you back to them before I did anything else,” I explain.
As soon as the words leave my mouth, I feel the cold start to worsen on one side of me.
I frown as I glance back at the open door.
It must be getting colder out there. Ignoring the sensation, I add, “It’s not close.
This place is further out than I thought it was.
I wasn’t really paying much attention when I came here last time, and then I got attacked on the way back, so time was the last thing that I was focusing on.
I also can’t guarantee the reception that we’re going to receive. ”
I’m aware that it sounds like I’m trying to dissuade them from going to the compound, and quite frankly, that’s because I am.
“They were the ones who sent you to find us, correct? So why does it sound like you don’t want us to go back there?” Reaper asks, as always, looking suspicious.
Although, to be fair, he could very well actually be suspicious this time. I mean, I probably would be if the roles were reversed under these circumstances.
I nod, “Yes, technically I was. However, that doesn’t mean that they would be happy to see me back, or you, for that matter.”
“That makes no sense,” Rival points out.
“I know.”
“We’ll come back to that,” Killian says, levelling me with a look that says that we will be coming back to it, whether I like it or not.
The thing is, I get it.
I know why they want to know what the hell I’m rambling about, but I’m not entirely sure how to explain it in a way that makes them understand what I mean, and without sounding crazy or overly suspicious.
The only slight advantage that I have in this situation is that they have no idea what the compound is, how it is run, or who the people are who are in charge. That will hopefully mean that they’re more likely to believe what I’m saying.
I suppose that there is a part of me that’s uneasy.
I guess is what you would call the emotion I’m feeling.
I have been untrusting and suspicious of the compound and its leaders for years, but I could never prove anything, and all the people that I spoke to about it were happier to bury their heads in the sand rather than to rock the boat and admit that I may be right.
They didn’t really care, so long as they remained relatively safe because they all believed that what was outside of the gates and the lights was far more dangerous than anything that was within them, and for a long time, even though I had my suspicions, I agreed with them.