Page 114 of The Spark that Ignites
“We both know it’s neither of those things.” Her hands balled to fists as they both sat in silence, staring into the crackling flames. Chest heavy, Emmery clutched her pocket watch, grateful the water hadn’t whisked it away. “Let’s get to the mausoleum. I want to go home.”
Home.
She glanced at Vesper.
Was that what Castle Dusk was? Her body vibrated with all the emotions she wasn’t ready to deal with. She refused to process falling into the water. It was like her mind rejected it or it was saving her from reducing to a withered lump.
He watched the fire. Dark bruises circled his eyes—evidence of their long ride and his sleepless night. And swimming in his gaze was intensity and something else. Something potent and inconsolable. Maybe he was thinking about Izora. How it would feel to hold her again. How close he was to success and possibly failure.
Maela’s bright smile consumed Emmery’s thoughts as she stood to check her clothes. “I’ll change ... and then we should get going.”
“I’ll be here.” Vesper shoved the bread into his mouth as if it could stifle whatever words clawed up his throat.
EMMERY EXPECTED A GRAVEYARD—ORwhat Vesper had called a boneyard
But she hadn’t expected it to be abandoned.
Vesper wrenched the rusted gate open with a sinister creek, and they slipped inside. Long shadows branched the crumbling gravestones, carelessly strewn along the untamed muddy ground. The last flickers of sunlight had Emmery scurrying along the dirt path as a shiver snaked up her spine. This was the last place she wanted to be at nightfall.
“Do people still bury their loved ones here?” she asked. “This place is rather run down.”
In the mortal lands, it was common to bury the deceased in graveyards, but it was never a place she visited. It seemed twisted to have so many bodies packed tightly in one place. So, she had buried her mother in the woods and carved a pebbled headstone that was surely long lost.
“It’s illegal per Asaella’s law.” A bitter rage laced Vesper’s tone. “Was before my father died too. We buried him at Castle Dusk.”
Emmery bumped his hip, and he gave her a half-hearted smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
She squinted at the illegible name on the aged tombstones shrouded in moss and eroded by time. “Can you hear these souls?”
Vesper’s brows creased. “No, only those in the mausoleums. Unfortunately, they’re obnoxiously shrill and not overly creative in their demands.” He strolled to the tombstone and traced a finger over the name. “These souls have been claimed by Deimosand brought to the Hollow for eternal rest.” Continuing on the path, he added, “Iz was never so lucky.”
Crookedly, a weathered stone building, with the same sharp architecture as Castle Dusk, waited at the end of the boneyard. Moss and unruly vines climbed it, tugging it down as if the earth attempted to reclaim it. Two hound statues guarded the entrance, seemingly watching as they approached. Emmery peered into their too-real eyes and shivered. Vesper threw his weight into the iron door, stamped with a blood-redcavae, and creaked open with disdain. A revenant wind escaped, laced with rot and grave dirt.
“Odd choice of guardians,” Emmery said, swallowing hard and gesturing at the hounds. “Don’t most mausoleums have divine figures guarding the door?”
“Well, most crypts don’t house evil creatures.” He shoved his face in the hound’s, daring it to move. “Legend claims they’ll come to life if any corpses escape.”
As Vesper heaved the doors closed and plunged them into darkness, the air constricted in Emmery’s lungs. This was too close to being buried alive. Panting, she summoned her flame to her hand for some semblance of comfort.
They descended the narrow steps and passed several heavy stone caskets. Though nothing flickered with movement, the heavy iron chains binding them did little to calm her racing pulse. What could they possibly be for if whatever was inside was dead? The hair on the back of her neck stood on end.
“Deimos trapped them here as punishment,” Vesper said. “Their souls can’t rest. They linger. Forever stuck in unending stasis.”
Emmery eyed a gold box displaying a horrifying creature with the fangs and horns of a demon carved onto the lid. “Seems unnecessarily cruel.”
His arm circled her waist as they skirted a tower of coffins. “Trust me, you don’t know what they did.” And honestly, nor did she want to.
They rounded a sharp corner, and an impassable wall blocked their path. Vesper growled a curse. “No! This isn’t supposed to—”He pounded his fist against the wall and dust coated his hair. “Zyphira said it washere. It can’t be anywhere else.” He searched the dead end frantically.
“Are you sure?” Emmery sank her teeth into her lip, glancing behind them for answers. “Is there anywhere else? Can you ask her? Maybe we can—”
He leaned his forehead against the wall; his hands braced on either side of his head. “We’re out of time.”
Emmery’s chest constricted. She’d never seen him so dejected.
Vesper lingered for several heart wrenching moments, and a tiny broken sound slipped from his throat. “Izzy—I’m sorry.” A quiet plea into the void.
Emmery placed a hand on his back, his muscles bunching beneath her touch. “It’s alright. We’ll figure it out.” She willed her flame brighter to look for any possible solution. “Maybe, it’s—”
