Chapter 394: The Gatekeeper

Victoria looked at the mark and saw it was already moving. Already counting down.

One hundred sixteen hours.

Less now.

One hundred fifteen hours and fifty-eight minutes.

Fifty-seven.

Fifty-six.

"How do I find Thalia in the middle realms?" She asked.

"Follow your tracking magic," the guardian said. "Blood calls to blood even here. Especially here. Your cousin’s signature will lead you to her."

"And you?" Victoria asked. "Are you coming with me?"

"I guided you to the Underworld," the guardian said. "My obligation is fulfilled. You walk the rest alone."

It began to dissolve back into water.

"Wait!" Victoria called. "How do I get back? When I’m ready to leave?"

The guardian’s voice came from the water as it disappeared: "The same way you entered. Call for passage. Pay the price. But witch....the exit price is higher than the entrance. Be prepared to pay more than you expect."

Then it was gone.

And Victoria was alone in the grey nothing of the Underworld’s outer territories.

She pulled out her tracking compass with shaking hands.

Activated it.

The silver wire glowed...brighter here than in the mortal realm. The hair twisted. Pointed...

Deeper. Toward the twisted structures in the distance. Toward the middle realms where Thalia was hiding.

Victoria looked at the mark on her wrist.

One hundred fifteen hours and forty-three minutes remaining.

Not enough time to waste.

She looked up and started walking.

Toward the twisted buildings. Toward the middle realms. Toward Thalia.

And hoped she would survive long enough to find her.

***

The Underworld did not have distance the way the mortal realm did.

Victoria had been walking for what felt like an hour...following the compass needle deeper into the grey nothing, but when she looked back, the entrance point where the guardian had left her was still visible. Not far away. Just there. Like she had only walked a few steps.

But when she looked forward, the twisted structures in the distance seemed closer. Much closer than they should be.

Space was wrong here.

Time was wrong here.

Everything was wrong here.

Victoria checked the mark on her wrist again.

One hundred twelve hours remaining.

Three hours had passed since entering the Underworld even though it had only felt like one.

Don’t lose track of time, the guardian had warned.

She forced herself to walk faster.

The grey stone beneath her feet was perfectly smooth. Too smooth. It felt like walking on glass. And the cracks, the ones the guardian had warned her not to step on.....glowed brighter as she got closer to the middle realms.

Victoria looked into one of the cracks as she passed.

Darkness inside. Absolute darkness. The kind that seemed to pull at her, trying to make her fall in.

She looked away quickly and kept walking.

The twisted structures were close now. Close enough to see details.

They were buildings of a sort. But not like anything that existed in the mortal realm. Walls that curved in impossible directions. Windows that looked into spaces that should not exist. Doors that opened onto nothing or onto other doors or onto screaming.

And standing between Victoria and the structures....

A gate.

Massive. Made of black iron that looked like it had been forged from darkness itself. Twenty feet tall and inscribed with symbols Victoria recognized from her darkest research.

Binding runes. Containment symbols. Warnings in dead languages.

And standing in front of the gate...

Was a creature.

Victoria stopped walking.

The creature was vaguely humanoid but wrong in every way that mattered. Its body was too long. Its limbs bent in too many places. Its skin....if it could be called skin, looked like shadow made solid.

And its eyes.

Red. Glowing. Fixed on Victoria with an intelligence that was absolutely predatory.

"Witch," it said, and its voice sounded like breaking bones. "You seek passage."

Victoria’s hand went to her magic defensively. "Yes."

"Passage must be earned," the creature said. "This gate separates the outer territories from the middle realms. Only those who prove themselves worthy may pass."

"How do I prove myself?" Victoria asked, though she already suspected the answer.

The creature smiled. Teeth like shards of glass. "Combat. You fight me. You win, you pass. You lose..." It tilted its head. "You stay. Forever. Another wandering soul for the outer territories."

Victoria felt ice settle into her bones.

She had fought before. Had defended herself and her coven from threats. But this...

This was a demon. An entity made of darkness and malice that had existed for longer than mortal civilization. Fighting it would be suicide.

But she did not have a choice.

"Fine," Victoria said. "Combat. What are the rules?"

The creature’s smile widened. "No rules. No mercy. No surrender. We fight until one of us cannot continue."

"And if I win, I pass through the gate?" Victoria confirmed.

"Yes," the creature said. "If you survive."

And before she could do anything to prepare herself for the combat, the creature moved.

Faster than anything that size should be able to move. One moment it was standing by the gate. The next it was right in front of Victoria with claws extended toward her throat.

Victoria threw herself backward and called up defensive magic desperately.

Green light blazed around her just as the creature’s claws struck.

The impact sent Victoria flying. She hit the ground hard enough to crack ribs and slid across the smooth stone.

Pain exploded through her chest.

Victoria gasped and forced herself to her feet.

The creature was already coming at her again.

She threw a blast of offensive magic....pure destructive force aimed at the creature’s center mass.

The green light hit the creature and....

Dissolved.

Just dissolved like it had hit a wall of absolute nothing.

The creature laughed. "Mortal magic is weak here, witch. This is our realm. Our rules. Your power means nothing."

It lunged again.

And she barely dodged. Claws raked across her arm, tearing through her robes and skin. Blood poured from the wounds.

Victoria stumbled back and pressed her hand to the injury.