Page 26 of Cursed Shadows

“What she needs is to know who she is and why she’s here. We all do. There’s no choice now, Dragan, we have to go,” elf boy argues.

“You’re forgetting one very important detail,” say Dragan an’ he eye the elf real narrow-like. “If we leave the Shadow Realm, Thoradin and I will turn to stone.”

“No, you won’t,” Eilish say. “Not if you’re with me.” Then she look confused an’ it’s almost like someone else was talkin’ an’ just borrowin’ her mouth.

“What do you mean?” ask Dragan as he turn to look at her, real confused-like.

“I… I don’t know why or how I know that,” she say, an’ her eyes go real wide again. She look like she hopin’ Dragan just gonna believe her, ‘cause she ain’t got much o’ a good reason why he should. “I… I just have this feeling that if you’re with me, you’re safe.”

These be big words comin’ from a chick who’s spent most o’ her time passed the fuck out. I’m pretty good at tellin’ when I’m ‘bout to get slapped, though, so’s I stay quiet this time.

Dragan’s eyebrows push together. “When we left Cambion’s in Geldingstock, I began to turn…”

“Because I was unconscious,” she answer. “But I’m awake now. And Cambion is right. We have to return to the Fae Realm. The sooner I have my memories back, the sooner I can answer all your questions and some of my own. Right now, I don’t even know what I know or why I know it.Maybe my memories hold the key to defeating Variant, once and for all.”

Dragan nod like he agree, an’ in that moment, I hate all of ‘em equal. “Last time I checked, in order to get to the Fae Realm, we gotta first cross throughthe mortal world,” I say an’ they all look at me like what be my point. “Um, the mortal world’s Anona’s playground!”

“So?” the elf king ask.

I glares at him. “Are none o’ you dimwits aware that we can’t do shit if we’re captured or dead?” There be a few alternatives before bein’ captured an’ dead that I ain’t exactly thrilled ‘bout, neither. Disemboweled, imprisoned, put in a stew… I ain’t one to doubt Anona’s creativity.

But, as always, no one care ‘bout the opinion o’ a sprite. Funny, considerin’ I’m the only one here who know the woman lookin’ for us. Maybe one o’ these pea brains’ll realize I might have some valuable information on the subject? No such luck, everyone start movin’ closer to the door an’ I’m left shakin’ in my boots an’ feelin’ all kindsa sorry fer myself.

Dragan help Eilish fix her cloak. How’s it that the girl is always buck-ass-nekked? I been nekked ‘xactly zero times since we started this mess an’ it ain’t been that difficult.

We leave the nice, warm room an’ make our way out to the front room again. Both the bald man an’ the guy from the cot aregone. Everythin’ is real quiet-like, all’s you can hear is the fire still roarin’ an’ cracklin’. Shadow Bat open the door an’ we file out; no one says a word. Not even me, which is difficult, ‘cause I got lotsa words to describe how I feel ‘bout this whole mess.

Outside, it be so dark, it hard to make out anythin’. I can barely even see my own hand in front my face.

“Dragan, I can’t see,” say Eilish an’ I hear the sound o’ him pickin’ her up. How romantic. Makes me wanna barf. The rest o’ us are left to fend for our own selves. I fly into the stone wall more than once but no one gives no shits.

Dicks.

Then, I gives up flyin’ on my own, an’ I float over to Eilish an’ take me a nice seat on her lap. Dragan glare at me but I just shrug. Ain’t my fault he can’t fit.

“This way,” say the vamp. I can’t tell which way we’re goin’, but the air feels all cold an’ stale-like. Wet, too. I don’t think we’re goin’ out the way we came in, ‘cause there’s no stairs, but I can’t see a thing so I dunno where the hells we are. My mind starts to wander an’ I start seein’ things in the dark shadows. A hand reachin’ out to grab me, a figure that look like Dravon standin’ in the corner, somethin’ crawlin’ on me. But when we walk by, there ain’t nothin’ there. Still, I’m sweatin’ like a pig in July just imaginin’ all that scary stuff everywheres. It don’t matter that I’m travelin’ with the four buffest guys in the three realms, I’m shakin’ I’m so scared.

“Keep your eyes on the ground,” the vamp say. “If you see anything… misty, don’t look it in the face.”

“Why?” I ask.

“I imagine you’d like to stay alive?” he respond, all sarcastic-like.

I jist gulp.

They walk for, like, ten minutes ‘fore we see a fire torch lightin’ our way. The more I look at it, the more I realize it bea street lamp, but lit by a flame, not by electricity like you’d see in the Mortal Realm. I fuckin’ hate this place. Monsters an’ life-suckin’ ghosts aside, I’m missin’ me a TV an’ a phone real bad.

We keep walkin’ along an’ still, no one’s talkin’. We ain’t seen anyone but we can hear all sorts o’ sounds. Some faraway screams, sometimes we hear one from real close, like jist on the other side o’ the darkness someone’s soul is gettin’ sucked up Satan’s straw. Sometimes, there’s scratchin’ noises, too. An iron bar bein’ dragged across the stone alleys. My heart’s beatin’ so fast, I wonder if it just gonna up an’ stop.

I think it’s weird that durin’ the day, this place is busy as a whore on ‘er back, but now there ain’t no one out at all. I decide ta get off the angel’s lap to inquire. I fly right up to the Vamp Bat King’s ear an’ talk real quiet-like, ‘cause I’m afraid o’ what’s out there.

“Where’d everybody go?” I ask him.

“Hiding.”

“Why?”

“Because they’re scared,” he answer in a whisper. He motion for everyone to come up to where he be standin’, an’ then he point to the right. Then, he start walkin’ agin.

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