Page 132 of Visions of Darkness

They ran farther and deeper than they ever had before, twisting through the gnarled desolation and into the nothingness that went on to eternity. Darkness somehow both crackled and glowed as they raced.

Aria suddenly fumbled to a stop, unsure of what it was that had halted her. Pax threw a glance at her from over his shoulder, urging her forward. “This way, Aria.”

She blinked, confused.

“What is it?” he asked.

Her head shook, uncertainty pulling through her consciousness as she searched for what she’d felt. A disorder amid the depravity. Something bigger than she’d ever felt.

A gravity that tugged at every organ inside her body.

Turning to her left, she stretched out a palm as if she were reaching for it.

The air shifted where she dragged her fingertips through the vapor. It felt as if she could step through the rippling air and disappear into the haze.

So similar to the way it felt when descending into Faydor from Tearsith. An energy calling to her.

“Aria?” Pax moved to try to peer at her face.

Confusion clutched her in a vise.

Then she froze when she heard it.

It was the faintest intonation in the distance. On the opposite side of where she’d been turned. It was a Ghorl’s thoughts, echoing from far away. The one demanding her demise.

It was farther away than they could ever travel in a night.

The intonation was vague.

So obscure she wondered if she were making it up.

“It’s her fault that Aria escaped. She’s weak. Pathetic. Punish her.”

Her father’s face flashed through Aria’s mind, one moment before the back of his hand struck her mother’s face.

The image was smoke. Mist. Gone in an instant.

A shiver rolled down her spine.

A second later, Pax had her by both shoulders. “Aria? What is it? What’s going on? You’re scaring me.”

“Did you hear it?”

Uncertainty slashed across his fierce brow. “Did I hear what?” Blinking, she shook her head as if she could clear the image. Pax hadn’t heard it. She had to be making it up. Hearing things that weren’t there.

So she whispered, “Nothing.”

He hesitated, then urged, “We need to push on.”

She swallowed hard, nodded, and took his hand. She only glanced behind once before she raced with Pax into the depths of the night.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Pax

The barest traces of light flooded in from the crack in the heavy drapes that covered the window, nudging me from sleep. It was always fucking disorienting, going from asleep to awake. From the battle of Faydor to the quiet calm of a room. From the howls of the depraved to the lapping shadows that played in a deceiving peace along the walls.

Heart still beating a manic pace when I woke up alone in bed.

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