Horsemen's War (The Rebellion Chronicles #3) - Steve McHugh Page 0,65

have tried to kill them over the centuries.”

“We will succeed,” Isis said, leaving no room to suggest the outcome could be anything else.

I climbed up on my mount, Remy sitting behind me, and Isis, Selene, and Tarron each took a horse. Zamek shared with Lucifer, and we set off at a gentle trot, picking up the pace after we left the soft sand.

“What can we expect inside the mountain?” I asked Isis.

“The spirits roam freely inside,” she said. “My Osiris will be among them. It will not be an easy time to see those I have lost.”

I pulled up beside Isis. “You going to be okay?”

She shrugged. “I do not know, Nate. I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize,” I told her.

“Will they be willing to help us?” Remy asked.

“I do not know,” Isis repeated. “Maybe. Maybe not. Spirits are strange like that.”

Everyone was silent as we rode through the open plains of the realm. While there were plenty of trees and plants, there were no animals. No birds or insects, no sounds from their calls. The realm of the dead lived up to its name.

It took a few hours of riding, but we eventually reached the entrance to the mountain. It was a giant wound in the side of the massive range that stretched as far as I could see, the caps all covered in snow. The opening in the mountain was bright blue, caused by the crystals that were exposed to the light.

“That’s a bit ominous,” Tarron said, getting down from the horse.

“Can we take these in there?” I asked.

“It should be fine,” Isis said. “We’ll have to walk them, though; it’s too dangerous to ride.”

We all climbed down off our mounts and led them into the mountain, the blue light bathing us all in its glow as I took in the magnificent structure before us.

It looked like dwarven ruins, stretching high up into the interior of the mountain. Statues adorned the pathways, each one depicting a different animal.

“There’s no echo,” Selene said.

“Who built this?” Zamek asked.

“No idea,” Isis said. “It’s always been here. It’s not dwarven or elven or anything else that we recognize.”

“It’s magnificent,” Zamek said, running his hand over the stone of the path we were on and stopping to admire an archway as we walked under it.

We continued on down the long straight pathway until we came to a crossroads.

“I don’t know which path to take.” Isis frowned. “The gate I used to come here originally is to the east of here, I think. It’s hard to tell. It’s a gate close to the Nile. Or was. It was buried in the desert thousands of years ago.”

“Good job we went this way, then,” Remy said.

“We don’t have time to be running around somewhere the size of a small country to find one gate,” Selene said. “We need help.”

“A spirit?” Lucifer asked. “Isis, do you know where we can find such a thing?”

Isis nodded; her eyes closed. She didn’t want to do this, but she would anyway.

Selene placed a hand on Isis’s shoulder. “You are not alone here,” she whispered. “Our strength is your strength.”

Isis nodded slightly, and she pointed toward a set of steps that led down into a blue-tinged mist. “The mist is where they come from,” Isis said.

“Do we need to worry about Anubis?” I asked.

“He could be anywhere in this entire realm,” she said. “He moves around a lot.”

“And Ammit?” Lucifer asked.

“With Anubis, I imagine,” Isis said. “Neither are likely to help us, though; they care more for the dead than they do the living.”

“Sounds like they’ve been here too long,” Remy said.

“That might be the case,” Isis agreed.

I looked down into the blue mist and had a sudden urge to be anywhere but here. “How does this work?” I asked. “Are these random spirits? Will we see people linked to one of us?”

“Could be either,” Isis said. “Most likely, the second we step inside the mist, it will call those we knew in life.”

“You don’t have to do this,” I told her. “I can go down and get what I need from whoever turns up.”

Isis shook her head. “No, I have to do this. Otherwise, we’ll be here for too long. You can come with me, if you like. I’d appreciate the support.”

“No problem,” I told her.

Isis turned to the others. “Lucifer, you too. Everyone else stay here; keep the horses company.”

No one minded not having to go down into the spirit mist.

We descended the steps until the mist was above us,