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The air was still and silent. Time had slowed. The lack of anything made them feel uneasy.
And then, all at once, chaos was unleashed.
“Amelia?!” screamed Pavin.
Imogen sobbed as she looked around.
Bones and debris rattled behind them as Aed pushed aside the pile of bones and got to his feet.
“What was that?” asked Pavin.
“Them? Only my guard dogs. Took them long enough to catch up to you.”
Imogen snapped out of her sobbing stupor and gasped.
“The cloud of demons on the plains. What do they want with Amelia?”
“Oh, they’re only doing my bidding. Since you three are intent on not listening to me, I had to take drastic measures. But don’t worry about dear Amelia. She is a necromancer. She’ll be fine. I’m sure she loves being in the Netherworld.”
All the blood fell from Imogen’s face. She braced herself on the stair railing and sat on the bone steps.
“The Netherworld. Oh, gods. How are we going to get her back?”
Pavin walked over to her and saw beside her. “Hey, like Aed said, I’m sure she’s fine. She’s strong.”
Imogen looked at the prince. He had kind blue eyes and a boyish face. He was also bleeding steadily from a wound on his head.
Imogen absentmindedly reached out to touch the wound. Pavin flinched.
“Oh sorry. I didn’t mean to… you’re bleeding…”
“Oh. I didn’t realise. It must have been when I landed back here in Underworld after being trapped in time.”
Imogen got her bag and rifled through it, finding a healing ointment she had made earlier and a bandage.
“You were trapped in time? Was that what happened when you stepped into that portal at the Midnight Ball?”
“Yeah. Fredrick warned me, as did Grace and Maddi. I was a fool and didn’t listen. Again.”
Imogen smirked. “Yeah. You have been pretty reckless. Here, let me treat your wound.”
“Thanks, Imogen.” As Imogen gently applied the healing ointment, Pavin continued talking. “You know, I remember you.”
Imogen met his gaze. “How?”
“From the winter festival in Denzon a few weeks back. I think it was a few weeks. Gods know how much time has passed since I’ve been gone.”
“I think it’s been about two weeks since Amelia came to find me. So nearly a month since the winter festival.”
He nodded. “Time is a confusing concept, especially when you get stuck inside it.”
“I bet.” She finished applying the ointment, and as her flesh touched his, a spark of magic and a warm, tingling feeling seeped out. “There, how does that feel?”
“Much better. You’ve got magic hands.”
Imogen hesitated and sheepishly looked down at her hands, partially covered in Pavin’s blood. She blushed.
“Sorry. That was bad. I mean… it feels much better. Thank you.”
“No. You didn’t cause offence. I lied to Queen Dana and to my sister about my magic. I do have some. It’s not as strong as Amelia’s. My talents lie with my plants and herbs, mostly. But I have tested this… this dark magic. This blood magic,” she admitted, hiding her face as she packed away her kit back in her back and wiped her hands.
Pavin reached out to touch her wrist. She stilled and looked up to meet his gaze once more.
“Hey, it’s okay. I won’t judge. But we should probably find my sword and get out of here.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Then, looking around the once pristine foyer littered with bones, glass, and blood, she realised they were alone. “Pavin, where are Fredrick and Aed?”
“I don’t know. But that annoying demigod was driving me insane. I’m sure he’s lurking somewhere nearby, though, or returned to Sydlandia and left us. Demented jerk.”
“Oh gods, that means I’m going to have to try and summon a portal on my own.”
They hurried into the Armoury since Aed was nowhere to be seen. Lining every surface was every weapon imaginable.
“Can you see your swo
rd?” she asked.
Pavin took a right-hand turn and stopped to admire a gold crossbow.
“No. What do you think Aed wants with all these weapons?”
“Nothing good. You said he took your sword from you the first time you arrived?”
“Yeah. More like held it hostage.” He walked around the middle table lined with axes, throwing discs, spiked batons, and things with long barbed chains attached. He didn’t want to think about the damage some of these weapons could cause. On the back wall, something caught his eye, though.
“Yes!” He saw his beloved sword hanging on the back wall. He climbed on one of the shelves, knocking bullets off, grabbed his sword from where it hung, and then jumped back down. “At last, my love. We’re reunited.” He admired the handle, with the gold filigree design twisted around the blue sapphire, the Denzonian Sapphire.
Imogen smiled at the happy look on his face when the entire room began to shake.
Flesh tore, and bones snapped as the demons hooked their claws in and dragged her across the dirt. Amelia screamed, not opening her eyes since they dragged her through the black hole into the next world.
The Netherworld.
Her eyes snapped open then. The colour-drained grey world slowly slid past her as the demons dragged her across the sticky mud.
It was cold here, with no sunlight.
So, this is where the dead come afterward, she thought.
One of the demons snarled and snapped at one of the others. She felt their talons digging into her flesh right through to bone as they dragged her by her legs.
No. That was enough of that. She was a necromancer.
These low-life demons should be bowing to me. I should be their queen.
She sat up and threw all the power she had at the demons to make them stop, to vanquish them, anything. But all it did was make them stop walking and look at her.
Here, the demons that had gathered around her in the Palace of Bones were no longer clouds of black smoke. They were solid, humanoid beings with black inky rotting flesh, making it look like they had walked out of a fire.
They probably were once humans. Now they were here doing Aed’s bidding in the Netherworld.
“You’re a stubborn one like the boss said,” said one of the demons, his voice gruff and blunt. “I’m doing you a favour, little death witch.”
“And what is that? Working for Aed? And where are you taking me?”
“Relax, Necromancer. I’m taking you home.”
All the blood drained out of her head. And the pain of the demon’s talons in her flesh, which she had pushed aside until now, she felt like passing out. But she couldn’t and wouldn’t.
“Home? My home is in Lamia.”
The head honcho demon laughed. “Are you sure about that?”
Amelia clenched her fists. “Look, let me go, and I promise I won’t try to fight or run away or kill you.”
The second in command sighed loudly. “Just do it, Ralph. She’s incorrigible.”
Amelia smirked. One of the demons’ names was Ralph.
“Fine. But Benji, if she does anything, you tell the boss.”
“Ugh. Fine.”
Amelia laughed to herself. Who kept their human names when they became demons? Wouldn’t you want something cool and more demonic, like Beelzebub?
And just like that, Ralph unhooked his talons from her leg and dropped her on the ground.
“Thanks, guys. For nothing. So, where is this home you were talking about?”
“We think you’ll like it very much. We’re almost there.”
Now that Amelia could walk, albeit with a limp because of the wound, she wished she had Imogen with her to heal her. Then she noticed the scenery. The world was still drained of colour. The sky was a brownish grey, but they looked to be walking down any tree-lined street in any city. Except for the trees here were bare of foliage and in sepia tones. The houses were Gothic and Victorian-style mansions. ...
