“Yeah, but it doesn’t mean you have to go,” I pointed out.
“Yes, it does.” He grabbed a hold of my hand, my fingertips buzzing electrically. “Now let’s go.” I took another deep breath, concentrating as I placed my hand on the Ira. It was shocking how much energy radiated from it. Between Alex holding my hand, and the power flowing off the Ira, I felt like I might burst from the energy zooming through my body.
The first thing I saw in my mind was the lake.
Panicking, I quickly shoved the image out of my mind, and tried to focus on the tunnel I was in during the vision. The dirt walls, the damp air, the darkness. I hadn’t expected it to be easy. Maybe Alex’s touch had given me the extra boost or something. Or maybe it was just my unique Foreseer ability that had made it so that when I opened my eyes we were there.
The tunnel was as dark as I remembered it being.
The damp air caused my clothes to cling to my skin.
The ceiling and walls dripped with water, and emptiness haunted all around.
“Do you know which way to go?” I asked Alex, still holding onto his hand.
He glanced up and down the tunnel. “I’m not sure…
didn’t you see where we went the last time?” I shook my head. “No. The only reason I found the cave where the vision took place was because Nicholas and I had been running from a Water Faerie, and I can’t remember which way we went…I don’t even know if we’re in the same place.” Alex let go of my hand and dragged his fingers through his hair. “Okay, left or right?” Just as he asked it, a scream rang out from down the tunnel from our left side, sending a spasm of shivers though my body.
“Right,” I said quickly.
He nodded, and we headed down the tunnel to our right.
The Underworld is not a welcoming place.
Obviously. With everything I’ve told you about it, I’m sure you fully understand that a place where the dead walk and torture punished souls could not be in any way welcoming. But to be there, for real, and not in vision form, was about as frightening as being chased by a bunch of glowing-eyed Death Walkers, and a man who wants to freeze over the world with ice.
As we crept down the tunnel listening to the horrific screams that seemed to be shooting at us in every direction, I couldn’t help but wish I could leave—run away where it was safe and warm and scream free.
But I knew I had to be stronger than that because this is where my mother had lived for the last fourteen years, and I only had been here for about five minutes.
I stayed close to Alex as we walked. Before we left, he had tucked a knife in his pocket, which brought some sense of security, but not much. Our shoes hit the moist dirt floor and created soft pitter patters up and down the tunnels. Water was dripping in my hair.
But these were all mild things. The real problem started when a white, floating figure appeared in the tunnel, just a little ways in front of us.
“Alex,” I hissed, pointing at the Water Faerie.
He put his finger to his lips, shushing me, and kept walking. We kept getting closer and closer to the Water Faerie. My heart thumped louder and louder in my chest. My legs shook, and my breathing faltered.
Then it was there, right in front of us, a ghost-like figure of a Water Faerie. Its eyes were two empty holes, its white fabric body trailing on the ground, and when we passed by it, it opened its gaping-hole-of-mouth, and let out a breathless scream. I clutched onto Alex’s arm as the Water Faerie turned and followed after us. It didn’t try to touch or communicate with us; it just trailed behind, tormenting us with its presence.
Then came another one, then another, and suddenly Water Faeries were everywhere, flying around us like freakishly large butterflies, only they weren’t butterflies but undead fey. Pieces of them kept swinging in my face, and I wanted to shoo them away, but my pulsating fear stopped me from doing so. We just kept walking and walking, further down the dark tunnel, and I prayed to God that it was the right way, because turning back meant we would have to endure the faeries’ torment even longer. It was as if they got some sick pleasure in my uneasiness, swirling and dancing over my head—they were probably laughing on the inside.
And just as I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, the tunnel opened up into a room. Well, not a room but a cave. The cave. The rock-shaped throne was in front of us, but the Queen wasn’t sitting in it. It was then that I realized something was wrong. We weren’t supposed to enter the cave ourselves, but be brought in by a faerie. I froze and Alex tensed up beside me.
“What is it?” He gave me a quizzical look. “What’s wrong?”
“This isn’t how it works,” I said, fear skyrocketing in me, which seemed to be causing chaos to rise among the Water Faeries. “We don’t come in here by ourselves. We’re brought in by a Water Faerie.” Someone cleared their voice from behind us and we both turned around. It was the Queen. Her long white hair draped down her back, and her hollow eyes were tinted with a spark of delight.
“Well, it looks like I have some unexpected visitors,” she said. “Coming here willingly to be tortured in my world—let the Fey take you as they will? I have to say you two are brave little souls”
This was all wrong. This was not what I had seen.
Something had shifted.
And Alex and I were screwed.
Chapter 33
Back during my first visit to the City of Crystal, Dyvinius had explained to me how visions work. He said that if a vision wasn’t read correctly then the world as we knew it could shift. I never considered that we just might be playing with fire when Nicholas and I had been bouncing around in and out of visions.
And the vision where I took Nicholas and myself to The Underworld had never really been finished.
Nicholas had freaked out and made me take us back to Adessa’s before I was able to see the entire outcome of the vision. I have been so stupid not realizing this, and now I have dragged Alex into a mess he hadn’t known he was getting dragged into.
Crap. I couldn’t believe this was happening. What other things had changed because I hadn’t been careful? Playing with visions was such a risky thing.
And now I had no idea what was going to happen.
“I have to say,” said the Queen. “It isn’t every day that someone voluntarily enters my world. Usually, it’s with much force and fussing. And yet you two are here, entering it on your own free will. Tell me, what has brought you here?” She wasn’t being kind; she was taunting us—I could hear it in her voice.
“We came here to get something,” Alex told her in a firm voice.
“Ah, I see.” She eyed us over with her empty eyes and then turned around and motioned to us to follow her.
While she had her back turned, I leaned over and whispered in Alex’s ear. “This isn’t right.” He gave me a look like I was insane. “What isn’t right?”
“This isn’t how I saw the vision go,” I whispered, and his eyes widened.
We followed the Queen back down the tunnel, past the cluster of floating Water Faeries, and up a set of marble stairs, which led us to a room that had a long antique table trailing down the center, and a massive chandelier hanging from the ceiling. There were no crystals decorating the chandelier, but pieces of thorn-covered wire that were bended and turned in every direction. Covering the dirt walls were twisted pieces of vines that looked like seaweed.
“Have a seat,” the Queen told us, gesturing to the chairs trimming the table.
Alex and I did what she asked, and then she took a seat at the head of the table. There was a long pause while she sat, watching us.
“So you’ve come here for something, have you?” she finally asked.
“ Someone, actually,” Alex told her. “Her name is Jocelyn Lucas.”
I could tell right away that the Queen knew who we were talking about—you could see it in her face.
“Tell me boy, what is your name?” the Queen asked.
“Alex Avery,” Alex said with some hesitance.