Page 71 of Alien Prince's Claim

Then a face emerged from the shadows.

It was not the pure white mask of terror I had expected but the large open face of a Shiax.

It squinted at me before turning to peer back down the tunnel in the marauding Goblars’ direction before turning back to me again:

“Get in here! Hurry up!”

I just blinked, unsure I was seeing what was right before me.

I turned to Emily, who had stepped out from behind me, her eyes locked on the creature in the darkness, before snapping back toward me, her eyes wide with the same sense of wonder I felt.

That proved it, I thought.

The face was real and it wasn’t just a figment of my imagination.

It was real.

I led Emily toward it and began to wonder if perhaps we were mistaken and this was in actual fact the face of Death.

It was said in my culture that it morphed its face depending on the person it addressed in order to lure innocent souls into the underworld.

Although there was no arguing the face was real, there was no way to know if the face was the same for both of us.

Either way, if it was death — and that was the very worst-case scenario — then at least our deaths would be clean and painless.

The screeching horde became so loud I could hardly think.

As the first of the Goblars appeared around the corner, I took Emily by the hand and led her into the darkness.

I still clutched the handle as I was not fool enough to confront Death without a weapon to defend myself with — no matter how foolish that might sound.

When Death came to tap you on the shoulder, the very least you could do was meet it with a weapon in hand and heat in your heart to not let it take you without a fight.

Such was the way of the Krev.

I saw no reason to betray those teachings now.

And so we headed into the darkness to wherever it might lead.

24

EMILY

The darkness was so dense I couldn’t make anything out inside it.

I held on tight to Yaltah’s hand as he led me into it.

Slowly.

With his vision, he could likely see as well as if it were daytime.

I was blind and shuffled along, feeling at the floor with my toes before taking each step.

The Goblars hammered at the door with steady rhythms that reminded me of a dance remix.

A million thuds but they were soft and distant and I felt confident they wouldn’t manage to break through it.

At least, not right now.

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