Page 95 of Hades' Shadow
“I’m not so sure that it’s Jayden making them nervous,” Adrian says, running a hand through his hair.
“What do you mean? What is it?” I glance at Adrian.
He’s still holding on to Raven so we don’t get separated.
“I’m not sure that I should say. It might change how things happen,” Adrian sighs.
“We need to know what’s going on, Adrian. If there is some reason why the residents of Elysium are scared, we need to know about it.” I glare at him.
“Something dark has crossed into Elysium. Something dark and dangerous to all who reside here.”
Adrian’s ominous words make me shiver.
Of course there’s something dark in paradise, and whether we like it or not, we are going to have to try to remove it.
20
“Something dark? How does that even happen? Elysium is protected by the judges, right?” I ask, clenching my fists at my sides.
My mom is in Elysium and there is something dangerous here. Shit.
“Yes, but with my father weakening, it’s ruining everything.” Jayden kicks at the ground.
“We need to be alert and keep our eyes open.” I sigh.
We pass the houses and continue into a vibrant forest filled with chirping birds and tittering animals. Nothing appears to be amiss.
I don’t relax. If Adrian says something’s out there, then we have to be careful.
Why can’t anything ever be easy? Just this once? I nearly died when that demon attacked me.
A small town with more mini-mansions comes into view but no one is around and there are no flutters of curtains.
“Where is everyone?” I ask, shivering at the eerie silence.
“I don’t know. This is really creepy.” Jayden stomps up to the nearest house and knocks loudly on the door.
I play with the charm on my neck as I scan the area. It would be a cute little neighborhood if there were actually people, well, souls around.
“I don’t like this,” Raven whispers, adjusting the grip on her ax.
Jayden reaches for the doorknob, and it opens with a creak. What the fuck?
“Was there no one living here?” I ask, raising a brow and following Jayden inside.
“That’s not possible. Houses are created for the soul. No one just leaves their house because it is their own desire.” Jayden scrubs a hand over his neck.
“There’s no one here, Jayden, and it doesn’t look like anyone has been for a couple days.” I walk farther into the house, checking rooms but finding nothing.
“What the fuck is going on? Adrian, do you know?” Jayden growls, spinning on Adrian.
“I didn’t see exactly what it is or what it’s doing but from this place, I would say it’s long gone.” Adrian shakes his head and blows out a breath.
“One good thing,” Raven says, peering into the kitchen. “I don’t have to worry about getting stuck. I don’t want to be here.”
The ominous feeling doesn’t go away as we leave the house and check the others. It’s a fucking ghost town.
“C’mon, we need to keep moving,” I say softly.
