crossed her arms and threw Edge Darkmount a suspicious look. ‘You make it seem all too simple. Why do I get the impression this is going to be harder than it sounds?’
‘Oh, it will be difficult. More than difficult. The Stubborn Citadel is one of Bane’s strongest fortresses. Its walls are thick and impenetrable. The soldiers that garrison it thrive on brutality and the lust for blood. Once past these soldiers there will be Shades and perhaps worse within. Yet getting past these obstacles will be easy in comparison to what lies within the lower dominion. The denizens that inhabit it are full of guile and poison. Pah! Little girl, retrieving the vessel will be difficult in the extreme! But once my god is returned to me all things are possible.’ A look of hunger flickered across his face. ‘With the vessel in my hands the guards, the soldiers, the things that scurry in the darkness of the lower dominion will tremble before us. So all you have to worry about is getting in; everything else you leave to me.’
Charlie’s eyes had been growing wider as Darkmount described the danger. ‘Hang on a second. You want me to break into an impenetrable fortress that is guarded by insane-sounding soldiers and Shades …’
‘I do.’
‘And then head past more creepy-crawlies to find a door that leads to a dominion full of wackos …’
‘That is correct.’
‘Where I have to hunt around, no doubt while I’m being chased, grab your “vessel”, which incidentally holds a god, and then make it back past these nut-jobs who probably won’t be happy to see me leave.’
‘Yes.’
‘And you want someone of my height and shoe size to go there?’
‘What needs to be done, needs to be done.’
‘You’re joking, right?’
‘I do not joke.’
Charlie eyed the grim-faced Stoman up and down. ‘No, I guess you don’t. One thing I don’t understand: what is a “lower dominion”?’
‘It is what you would call a hell.’
Charlie’s mouth wobbled, she laughed nervously then went pale. ‘Look, I know you don’t joke … but you’re joking, right? Hell’s not real. Not really.’
‘What?’ sneered Darkmount. ‘There are many hells in Bellania – seven of them to be exact – and if you don’t believe in hells on Earth then be assured that ours are very real.’
‘With daemons and everything?’
‘Of course. Do you think Bane would entrust the guarding of a god to furry rabbits, jovial cherubs or pretty unicorns with ribbons wrapped round their horns? Bah! It is the Daemon Kindred who Bane made a deal with and it is the Daemon Kindred who guard my god.’
‘And you think I’m going to go anywhere near a place with daemons? You’re crazy!’
‘Do you want to find the answer to that which lies round your neck?’
‘Yes, of course I do, but …’ Charlie stumbled to a halt. She stared around at the depressing walls and remembered all that she had seen and done, all that she had experienced within Bellania. The magic, the sights, the smells, the sheer adventure of it all. She had accepted it, acknowledged this wonderful world so different from London and Earth, yet what was now being asked of her seemed unreal, almost ridiculous. She was sure the task ahead of her was beyond her abilities. ‘You really want me to go to this hell? Like, for real?’
‘Enough of your weak-minded blather. Young you may be, but nonetheless you are a Keeper. Your blood ensures that you carry the burdens that Bellania delivers your way. Only your family has the ability to open the gates that stand between me and my god, and this is the price I demand for deciphering your pendant. If you want me to help you escape this city and move forward on your journey then this is what must be done, no more no less.’
With those words hanging between them Charlie knew he was right. Not a nice person, not a fair person, but still right in what he said. She wanted – no, she needed – to unlock the secret of the pendant. If she was ever going to stand a chance of defeating Bane, of seeing her parents again, then this was what she had to do.
As soon as she had acknowledged this, the calmness of responsibility settled once more upon her shoulders. She would do this, she would succeed and she would do the right thing. ‘So I get you your god, you give me my answers.’