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Early the next morning we set out, following the quickest path to the trod that Tilak had laid out for us. I could not shake the irksome feeling that we were always just a little too late. A day short of where we needed to be. We needed to get ahead of them, be in a place before they arrived, so I could find a way to make contact with her. Which meant getting to our next destination as quickly as possible was essential.
The Gnome had stayed behind to take care of the burial of his deceased Master. Sylos and I continued on through the marshlands toward the River of the Dead. I'd no taste to travel this particular path, but it was our best bet for intercepting Lorelei and Adrius. All the while the feeling lingered that we were being watched. Followed. Yet whoever it was left no trace of their efforts. As much as I looked for clues, using every magical tool at my disposal, I came up empty. A lesser being might have passed it off as an overactive imagination, but I knew better. Someone was tracking us; sooner or later they would slip up and reveal themselves. That was when the fun would begin.
We only paused once to make camp. We fashioned spears from willowy branches to use for fishing. The first few Sylos caught were anything but edible. Unfortunately, his luck amounted to several spike-crusted blowfish, whose flesh could kill you with one mouthful. The others were some sort of electric eel, with several rows of jagged little teeth.
When the next eel he caught was six feet long, wrapped itself around him, and prepared to make Sylos its meal, I intervened. My blade cut through the thick, black flesh and Sylos was freed.
He threw his spear to the ground with a grunt. "I am done. Perhaps we should hunt instead," he said, wiping eel slime from his sleeves.
"It wouldn't have been good eating, it was coated in slimy mold."
"It's an eel," he grumbled. "That was their skin."
I tossed both halves of the eel back into the river. We watched in a mix of horror and fascination as one half of the severed eel found the other and merged itself back together. It splashed murky water at Sylos before slithering off through the thick, dark waves.
"I'm in no mood to have to rescue you from our dinner again," I said. "At any rate, I've lost my appetite."
We reached the River of the Dead before nightfall. Crossing was no simple feat. The river was a rapidly moving, shallow current of dead bodies and bloated corpses...some recently deceased, others nothing but skeletal remains.
"This place reeks worse than the last." Sylos pressed a hand to his nose.
I covered my mouth and nose with the back of my hand but kept walking. "Be grateful we only need to cross where it’s narrow, and not the entire sea."
"Well, my stomach is grateful. There are only so many times I can throw up without eventually bringing up an internal organ." He grunted.
We pressed on, ignoring the way skulls and bodies snapped and crumbled under our steps as we walked along the shore.
This is madness. How much more of this can I endure? If I didn't find what I'd been promised at the end of this trail, heads would roll and I would gladly add more bodies to the count of this river. But somehow I knew what we'd find when we reached the other side. And after hours of slugging through black, coagulated blood and graying, decayed flesh, we found it.
It looked like pieces of things one would find in the human world...a broken and abandoned amusement park reclaimed by nature. Music still played from an unseen source, warped and eerie tunes certain to give children nightmares in their sleep. A giant wheel with vacant swinging seats, rusted and barely hanging by a corner. A merry-go-round, the horses long since dead, with only their skeletal remains harnessed to the fraying tethers, strangled by vines and choked out by weeds and bramble. Thick, gnarled roots invaded every open space, wrapping bony fingers around every inch of metal. The walls surrounding it were crumbled and fractured, plagued with moss. It looked haunted. But mainly, it looked sad. Forlorn. Dead.
"This is the place," I said, scanning the entrance to the former attractions. Two massive statues flanked either side of the arched entry. One stood upright and the other knelt on bended knee. Centurion Guards, the behemoth guardians said to have come to life in times of war to help protect their realm. Given that the big toe of the guardian to my left was twice my height, I am certain if the tales were true, they'd have done an impressive job.
Of course the realm had all but fallen into wasteland of late. The beings who used to inhabit it had long since moved to less aggressive parts, and those who'd moved in cared little for the old ways and ancient tales—a ragged bunch of miscreants who worked only to fill their own pockets and then spent it all on parties and ale.
What I hoped to find here was not the revelry for which this realm was notorious. I needed to find Poe. He was the last to have seen Lorelei and Adrius, and he was the first place I needed to start my search. Possibly even the sender of the cryptic notes. Venus's sight was strong, but it had only gotten us so far. With Adrius using every trick at his disposal to keep them hidden, even a seer would have trouble locating them. It meant two things. It was good in that he could keep them hidden and therefore safe. But it was a massive hindrance when what I needed was to find them.
"Are you sure this is the place? It looks vacant."
Moss and vines grew over the chipped and cracked statues. Their once gleaming finish was now worn and crumbling, stained with the blood of countless wars. Wars that had help fill the River of the Dead. It looked abandoned, in ruins. If I didn't know better, I'd guess it had long since been vacated. But within its broken walls and overgrown vines was hidden a living, breathing city full of merchants and dwellers. We just needed to find them.
The rasp of metal filled the air as a blade was pressed to Sylos's throat, and another to mine.
Sylos cursed under his breath as we were disarmed.
A voice laughed. A female voice. "Well, well, what have we here?" she asked, sounding more amused than alarmed. "A Shadow Faerie and his companion, so far from his Shadow Court?"
I still could not see who held the blade to my throat, but I decided not to fight back until I knew who we were dealing with.
"Nothing to say? Hmm...I'd heard the Fey were more hospitable than that. Oh well." I felt her breath on my neck, and she let out a silent laugh. "If you come with me quietly, I can assure you your life will be ended swiftly. You will die with honor."
"Sorry to ruin your plans," I said, "but I have no intentions of dying this night."
For a few breaths neither of us moved. Then she jumped over my shoulder and kicked back, slamming her boot into my chest. Before she could get a second kick, I twisted out of the way, catching her by the leg. She stumbled off balance and I swept my leg out, catching her other knee and knocking her to the ground. She landed on her side, rolled away from me, then sprang back to her feet with cat-like grace. Again we faced one another, motionless.
"You can fight. I see that now."
"If you knew who I was, you'd feel foolish even making a statement like that," I said evenly.
"Perhaps." Her defenses lowered and she stood upright, her battle stance abandoned. "Very well," she said slowly. "You have my attention. Who are you?"
"I am Zanthiel." I felt Sylos's gaze widen. I seldom used my true name. Especially when so far from our home in the Faery Islands.
Her lips pulled into a smirk. "We have a prince in our midst. How auspicious. And how about your little friend?"
"Call me little again—" Sylos snarled, but I leveled him a look.
"This is Sylos, my fellow Unseelie Knight. Remain calm and gracious, Sylos. We are guests in these parts and must not be rude."
She laughed again, this time out loud, then handed back my sword. The woman behind Sylos stepped out, lowering her blade as well.
At last I could gather a closer look. Spirit Warriors. I had not yet encountered them, though I'd heard much about their conquests. Strong, dauntless, fierce in battle. One would not willingly cross swords with these women unless absolutely necessary. And even then, you had better have powerful magic on your side, or you would surely lose.
"Shara," she said, extending her hand. It was marked with black ink, symbols that ran up the length of her arm and across her chest and back, from what I could see around her metal corset and chainmail. Several piercings were studded with large silver rods and balls: one through each eyebrow, another through her nose, and a third skewering her ear like a strip of meat on a spit.
"I have others that are not so visible," she said. Her eyes danced as she watched me. "Perhaps I'll show you sometime."
"Perhaps." I forced a smile. "We are here looking for a being who goes by the name of Poe."
Her brows shot up. "Poe? Our Poe? You must tell me how beings of the far east like yourselves would ever come to know of our little Poe."
"It’s a long story. And we've been traveling for some time. Suffice to say he has information that we require."
Shara exchanged a look with the other warrior woman. "Is this about his encounter with the Mythlandrian guards? Because I believe we had that situation completely sorted."
My stomach clenched. He'd been consorting with Elven guards? On what terms? "Again, I'd rather discuss the details at a later time," I said.
Shara seemed taken aback. I doubt many had the courage to say no to this woman. Then she smiled, stretching the tanned skin between her piercings.
"I second that," Sylos added. "I, for one, would like to wash away the River of the Dead."
She glanced over her shoulder at him briefly. "Of course. Of course. You must come. We will find you shelter and food. Then you will join us for the festivities this evening. Our new arrivals normally sign up to run the gauntlet. However, since you are not planning on relocating to our humble home?" She paused.
I shook my head.
"Then you will come as our guests. I am certain you will find Poe there. He never misses an event." She leaned in, pressing her chest up against my shoulder. Her lips moved in close next to my ear. "And I do look forward to hearing all about your long story," she whispered.
I gave a stiff nod, but managed a charming smile. It seemed to work, for she beamed and motioned for us to follow her and her companion into their secluded village.