Page 102 of Trapped to Tame
‘Of course you don't,’ he called over his shoulder, ‘but the fact is that you are the only one who can get me to the Light Realm. My many agents have failed to bring back my property, so I must go myself. You will open the portal for me.’
‘But you just …’ Eve gestured to where Gerling had been pulled through the portal that Ceres himself had made. ‘Or even my Father could have—’
‘No, my sweet girl. You aren’t thinking,’ he said, punctuating his words as if he was speaking to a child while he sat back at his desk. ‘I cannot go to the Light Realm … A binding pact made long ago that is enforced by the oldest magicks. Ergo, I cannot make a portal there nor travel through one from the Dark Realms. Your father, being fully fae, was Dark Realm through and through. He could create such a bridge, but I would not have been able to pass through it as more than a shadow. I need you. With your father's brand of magick and your mother's ties to the Light Realm, I’ll be able to cut through the barriers that keep me from that place.’
His gaze fastened on someone behind her. ‘Take her to one of the cells until I’m ready for her.’
Strong hands grabbed her, turning her, but whatever held her could not be seen. She struggled, giving a cry, but an invisible hand over her mouth silenced her.
Ceres smiled as she was dragged backwards, her slippers gaining no purchase on the smooth floor.
‘Finally, after so long, it's almost finished,’ she heard him murmur.
* * *
Fie
The portal beganto close and he, Priest, and Drax had to run for it, barely getting through before it shut completely. They stayed behind the other soldiers, their heads down, hiding behind their armor as they pretended to be Gerling’s men and hoped they were close enough not to get hit by any stray bolts from the breach as they were now without their amulets.
Eve was in the carriage with her father, but gods only knew where the bridge had brought them. None of them had ever been to such a dark realm as this one, but they’d all heard the stories of those who got lost in their inky depths.
‘Stay with them,’ he whispered.
They kept up with the carriage, staying as close as they dared while keeping in the formation of the other troops. All around them was blacker than the darkest night and though some of Gerling’s men had torches, the light didn't permeate more than a step or two ahead. They couldn't even see the ground though it crunched like rock and Fie was unable to examine it further without giving them away.
They trekked by the side of the carriage as they marched over the pitch-black terrain. They could hear noises, howls and screeches, rustlings. Some echoed from the distance, others were much too close for comfort, but none of the guards deviated from their course, and nothing came for them.
Fie assumed that the carriage or even Gerling himself was magicked in some way to either be invisible to the Dark Realm’s occupants, or perhaps they were protected by an object as their amulets usually protected he and his Brothers.
The carriage drew to a halt and the soldiers’ steps ceased. He watched as Eve, dressed in the finest fae fashion, was helped down and set on her feet. Gerling wasted no time. He drew her forward and said a word. A doorway opened. He pulled her through, and it closed behind them. Only then did the men begin marching again, going forward, and leading the carriage away.
Fie, Drax, and Priest held back, waiting for the men to disappear into the darkness and hoping no one looked back. Standing exactly where the door had been, Fie nodded at Priest who, without being prompted, said the word that they’d heard Gerling utter.
The door appeared and Fie threw his torch away from them, only to see another creature’s many, many gleaming eyes watching them just off the path, silent and unseen, just for a second before the flame of the torch flickered and died.
‘Fuck!’ he exclaimed, pushing his Brothers through the door, and sealing it behind him.
‘Did you see that?’
Priest and Drax grinned at each other.
‘Finally saw one of the beasts of the ink realms, did you? There was a time that you couldn’t evenbea Dark Brother until you’d fought one and survived.’
They both chuckled, drawing their swords and moving forward, leaving Fie gaping. He belatedly drew his own weapon and followed after them.
They found themselves in a sparse but well-lit hall. It was made of stone and looked older than the ancient temple where they’d found the fae children.
‘Where are we?’ Fie whispered and Priest looked around, considering.
‘I think it's a fold.’
‘Like the Underhill?’
‘Yes, but smaller. A perfect place to hide.’
‘What fae can create such a thing?’ Drax asked.
Priest looked back at his Brothers. ‘There aren’t any fae that could make this. Only a god has the power.’
