this freaking place. But as uneasy as I feel, Orion’s face is the calmest I’ve seen in a while. Before the shade told us about seeing his brother in the Underworld, I think Orion had started to lose his way. Now with a clear path in mind, I hope that some of the man inside of him will start to come out again.
Life might not be short for us, but it still has value. And If I do anything for the remainder of my days, I want it to be that I finally make Orion happy. He saved me, after all. He deserves nothing but goodness.
Even if we are heading toward a monster of legendary cruelness.
4
Orion
The swamp air holds moisture that dampens my skin, and the mucky water hides creatures of a sort that I don’t typically deal with. But my hand is steady as I steer us through it all, looking for the fork in the river. For so long I’d felt lost, wondering if I was crazy for thinking my brother wasn’t really dead, at least not in the traditional sense. I’d spent far too long with his body, which never changed the way dead bodies do, and I told myself the “twin connection” that was begging me to listen wasn’t there, but the nagging feeling wouldn’t go away.
The Elites of the gargoyle community had promised me that if I killed enough monsters, if I did as I was told, they would eventually give me the information about how to reach the Underworld. But slowly, I realized that they were never really going to give me what I need. That they were hoping to keep me busy long enough that with time I would forget all about what I want.
And when I realized the truth, I’d flown around aimlessly, for how long I don’t know. I’d come across Blaise and picked a fight with him, knowing that phoenixes are our natural enemies. He’d fought ruthlessly, but I hadn’t. My sword had been easily knocked away, and I’d bowed down and told him to take my head.
I was ready to be done.
I was ready to be with my brother.
But Blaise seemed to realize this wasn’t a fight, it was an execution, and he refused. We fought again until, standing on that cliff, the rain pouring around us, I’d just begged him to kill me. My tears had been concealed by the storm, and he’d asked me why. Why I wanted to die. Again, I’d bowed my head, but I’d told him over the storm that raged.
He had made me a deal. If I allowed him to join my sad and lonely Brotherhood, he would stop at nothing to help me to save my brother. We had clasped hands that day, then worked together to try to kill enough beasts to get the information from the gargoyles. I owe him everything, including my life. And yet, a tiny part of me worries that as we get closer to our suicide mission, he might change his mind. The fact that he still hasn’t wavered...it makes that something inside of me...that love that is akin to what I feel for my twin brother, even stronger.
“We’re going to find him,” Blaise says.
I look at him and realize he’s watching me. “I know.”
His eyes glow gold for the briefest moment before they turn dark one more, and then he looks back over at the swamp, his back rigid. I smile, despite the dark hole of misery I seem unable to climb out of. This place is Blaise’s nightmare, but damn if he isn’t trying his hardest to hide it.
He lifts a hand and points ahead. “The fork!”
I nod and slow the boat, easing it in the direction the man had told us.
“What if he was lying?”
I had considered that. “Most men tell the truth when they’re faced with death.” I don’t say that I know that firsthand, because he had been there for my soul-destroying confessions.
“I guess we just prepare ourselves for anything.” Then he grins at me. “Although I doubt there would be anything worse than the actual monstrous woman we’re trying to find.”
“Probably not.”
He looks back ahead and inches to the side of the boat. I’m studying the water. It’s getting harder to tell the areas that are too low for us to get the boat through. If we’re not careful, we could get stuck out here.
I mean, we could fly away, but then we might not find the woman. And right