Page 8 of Run Like the Devil

“Does he go to Earth?”

“No. He dislikes Earth nearly as much as he dislikes the Chasm.”

I let out a long breath when the only option became clear. “So it has to happen in the Plains?”

Gorrin nodded. “That is the only option. However, you going there is a larger issue.”

“Can’t I just go through that nifty little arch in the meeting room?” As I said that, I recalled the way Azael had passed through it, the light that had come through it, the strange desire to follow.

“No. Because you sold your soul, that path is blocked to you.”

“There has to be another way.”

Gorrin said nothing, and his expression suggested it was bad news.

Yazmor spoke up, his voice soft. “There is another way.”

Gorrin swung his gaze over, narrowing his eyes. “No.”

“It’s the only option.”

“It isn’t an option—it’s suicide.”

“Perhaps—perhaps not. That’s up to Loch, isn’t it?”

The two stared at one another as if they had their own private conversation with that look. The tension said they knew exactly what the other meant.

“You care to let me in on this?”

Gorrin sighed and yanked his gaze from Yazmor, staring instead at the floor, making it perfectly clear he didn’t intend to answer but also wouldn’t stop Yazmor from doing so.

“There’s another way to the Plains. Just like the Forgotten Caves exist outside of our reality, like little pockets, there’s another route that anyone can take. We call it the Path.”

“And, given Gorrin’s reaction, I’m going to guess it isn’t a flower-lined road with bunnies and shit, right?”

“I’ve heard there are bunnies,” Yazmor said, “but the bunnies are carnivorous and only eat prey while it’s still alive.”

“Are they still bunnies then?” Hale’s expression had twisted into disgust.

“They’re actually cuter than regular bunnies, believe it or not. Fluffier. I hear you can make sweaters from their fur!” Yazmor tapped his finger against his chin. “Maybe we can shear a couple on the way…”

“Focus,” Gorrin snapped as thought entirely over Yazmor’s nonsense. “The Path exists at the far end of the known Chasm.”

I looked over at Tyrus. “You said there was no end, that anyone who went that way either didn’t come back or came back mad.”

“I’ve heard rumors of the Path, but I know of nothing specific or reliable.”

Gorrin went on, each word slow as though he had to fight himself to get them out. “The Chasm isn’t endless. It exists here, and at either end, there is a walkway in the rock wall. One goes to Earth and one goes to the Plains. If the Path were easy to traverse, damned would constantly attempt to make the trip and go to the Plains. Instead, the Path is perilous. However, if a person can survive it, they will arrive in the Plains no matter the state of their soul. At least, that is the story.”

I considered that, the story sounding like some bullshit fairytale where to get through a forest a person had to stay on the road.

Then again, I’d learned that every fairytale, every legend came from some kernel of truth.

“So we have to go through that Path to make it to the Plains, then attack Hubis when he isn’t expecting us? Well, when can we leave?”

“Not yet,” Gorrin said. “Hubis will come to the Chasm in the next few days to deal with the aftermath of Azael. If you are not here at that time, he’ll know something is wrong. Instead, we have to set things up so he won’t miss any of you. This will not work unless we can take him when he isn’t expecting it.”

“Still, we have a plan, right?”

---