“We could take the clouds, but it’ll take longer,” Storm said, leaning closer as she peered into my eyes. “You are interesting. Anyway, how quickly do we want to get to Darkness?”
I muttered, dragging my feet as I followed them to the nearby shed. Nightmare held out his arms, and with a sigh, I stepped into him, burying my face against his solid chest.
“Wee!” Storm said, closing the door.
It opened almost as fast as she’d closed it and threw us out. I managed to stay on my feet, and somehow, I didn’t throw up.
“See!” Nightmare said, smiling. “I told you that you’d get used to it.”
I looked at him, but before I could say anything, the flashing and flickering lights in the sky drew my attention. Behind the black clouds was a blood-red sky.
“This has to be it,” Nightmare said, curling his finger.
“Where are we now?” I asked, looking behind us.
The shed we’d spilled out of was no longer there. A skin-prickling chill ripped through me as my eyes scanned our surroundings.
The vast expanse of the landscape unfurled boundless in every direction. The unforgiving terrain was covered with ashen, coal-like rocks, forming jagged peaks and steep valleys. Rolling black clouds billowed ominously overhead like turbulent tides of inky smoke.
“Is this your first time in the Underworld?” Storm asked, grinning from ear to ear.
“What do you think?” I mumbled as I stepped up beside Nightmare. I looked up at him and then back at the surroundings. “Now, what do we do?”
“Did The Oracle tell you anything else?” Storm asked.
Nightmare shook his head. “She couldn’t see anything else.”
I rested my hands on my hips as I turned and slowly walked in circles. When I turned to the north, the medallion pulsed with warmth against my wrist.
At first, I wasn’t sure I’d felt anything at all, but I took several more steps in that direction, and it pulsed quicker. Uncertain, I took three steps back, and the medallion grew ice cold. They both turned to me when I looked at my wrist and started heading north again.
“What are you doing?” Storm asked, her nose wrinkling.
“I think it’s trying to help us,” I said, continuing forward.
Storm released a sharp but rather heavy breath. “She’s going to get us all killed. It’s not safe here.”
“But the medallion is telling us he’s alive,” Nightmare said, hope brightening his tone. “It’s leading us to him.”
“How can you be sure?” Storm asked.
Nightmare combed his fingers through his damp hair. “I can’t be, but I think I’m right. It’s not like we have a lot of options.”
“Fine,” Storm said, hugging herself. “I hate this place.”
“Seems like you’d like the weather,” Nightmare remarked.
Storm blinked rapidly. “It’s too cold for my taste.” She groaned as she dragged her feet. “I can’t believe I’m putting my life in your hands.”
Our footsteps echoed a discordant melody over the rugged, stone-strewn ground as we were guided by the medallion. On our determined march, the sounds of rushing water surged around us, drowning the sounds of our feet.
“The river,” Storm said, swallowing hard. “Haven’t been this far since… in ages.”
“I never like being this close to the river,” Nightmare said, his voice muffled by the rushing water.
I chewed my cheek. “What’s so bad about the river?”
“You fall in, and you die,” Storm said. “And not a quick death. It pulls you in and plays with you before slowly sucking the life out of your lungs.”
“It’s leading us this way,” I said, gesturing toward a bridge.
Storm grabbed Nightmare’s arm and pulled him back. “Can we trust her?”
“Yes,” Nightmare said, jerking his head to the side. “We’re not alone.”
“There have been eyes on us the minute we fell into this place,” Storm said, balling his hands into tight fists.
“This is different,” Nightmare said, stepping in front of me. “I’ll lead.”
Storm chuckled. “Our hero.”
“Shh!” Nightmare hissed.
With each step, our caution heightened. Menacing shadows grew around us as the overhead clouds gathered, casting an ominous veil across our path. It felt as though something was trying to stop us from proceeding forward.
As we delved deeper into the hilly terrain, the medallion radiated with a searing intensity, penetrating my skin through the chilly, mist-laden air. Everything inside me begged me to stop… to turn back, but Darkness’s life depended on us pressing onward.
The sounds of the raging river intensified, causing my ears to ring. I couldn’t ignore the feeling of unseen eyes tracking our every move, which caused paranoia to set in like a leaden shroud.
