Gods of Chaos (Red Magic) (22 page)

Ignoring the other messages, I donned my coat and scarf. I debated calling Dr. Farren and telling her where I was going, but then I decided not to. I wanted to see what was going on before I involved the Coven, and somehow, I didn’t think Dr. Farren would approve of me running around Edinburgh in search of Izzy. The entire Coven had made that pretty clear; they didn’t want me involved, period.

I grabbed my backpack and headed out into the street. Partiers surged around me as I walked. With New Year’s Eve a night away, everyone was getting into the spirit of the season. I had to step carefully to avoid the broken bottles that littered the street, but luckily none of the partygoers paid me any attention. The bells of a church were chiming as I rounded the corner to the cemetery gate.

It was locked. I rattled the gate, glancing around to see if anyone was going to come yell at me for trespassing. I was alone. It wouldn’t take much for me to open the gate, but I hesitated. Marcus had already flown off the handle at me for using Red magic in his land.

Marcus isn’t here,
I reminded myself harshly.
He’s the least of your problems
. With a deep breath, I held the lock in my hand and summoned a burst of Red magic. The lock started to heat up, but I held on until I was clutching the melted remains of the padlock. I unwound the chain from the gate and slipped inside.

The last time I’d been here with Izzy, I’d been too wrapped up in our conversation to notice how creepy the graveyard was. Smooth, gray stones, worn down by the weather, lined the twisting path, and here and there large marble statues of angels sprouted up among the simpler headstones. The cemetery was surrounded by a high wall, and the sounds of the city were muffled. In the distance, a siren started to wail, but I ignored it. My ears began to buzz, and I shivered, recalling the afternoon at the Clava Cairns. I shook my head, hoping that nothing dangerous was waiting for me in the shadows.

“Izzy?” I whispered, but my voice bounced off the headstones. The graveyard was silent. I moved through the cemetery slowly, checking the shadows for Izzy, but I didn’t see her. After a half hour, I had traversed the main path that looped through the graves, and my head was pounding. The buzzing sensation had been increasing, and I was miserable. Had I been wrong about the note? I was about to turn and leave when I felt the air around me tremble.

Suddenly, Izzy was standing next to me, looking confused.

“Where’d you come from? I’ve been looking all over for you!” I rushed to hug her, but she stepped back, putting a finger to her mouth to silence me.

“Izzy, I don’t feel like playing games—” I started to argue, but the pleading look in her eyes seemed sincere, so I stopped talking and followed her to the steps of a looming mausoleum. It didn’t have a door, just a gaping opening, and the blackness of the grave slipped around me as I followed her inside. I hesitated, unsure, but Izzy moved forward into the tomb. Whether she was real or not, I needed to find out where she’d gone.

“Here goes nothing, I guess.” Warily, I entered the tomb.

My steps echoed off the marble floor. As I walked, the floor began to slant down gradually until it was more like a ramp. I realized that I was walking into the earth, descending away from the tomb and Edinburgh. I paused, frightened. This was feeling more and more like a trap. I’d lost sight of Izzy almost immediately, and the back of my neck prickled in warning. What waited for me at the end of the ramp?

“Izzy?” I whispered, but my voice was magnified in the dark chamber, and it sounded like something was mocking me by repeating my words. The darkness felt threatening, and I clutched my backpack to my chest like a shield. A faint glow emanated from the bottom of the bag, and I dug out the crystal sphere that Hades had given me in the fall. It was glowing weakly. With the ball in my left hand, I gathered up a burst of Red magic to hold in my right. Now that I had light and protection, I felt a little calmer, and I continued to move with care down the sloping tunnel.

The tunnel had been growing lighter as I walked, but the crystal sphere was still burning dimly. The sparks dancing on my arm weren’t bright enough to give off more than a faint red glow, and I paused to let my eyes adjust to the new source of light. A carved stone gateway was standing at the end of the tunnel, filled with blinding white light.

“Izzy?” I called hopefully. “What is it?”

“The door to Annwn. The living can pass through it, if they can find it. All Otherworlds lead to each other.” Her voice came from behind me, and I jumped. When I turned around, I couldn’t see her.

“Izzy? Where are you?”

“I need you to find me! He—” Her voice cut off abruptly, and I spun in a circle, confused. I was alone in the tunnel.

The stillness almost swallowed me after her voice was gone, and I shivered. A human couldn’t just vanish into thin air, and she’d left in mid-sentence. Maybe Izzy had sent the message, I thought, trusting that I could help her. After all, she was a pretty powerful Witch; who’s to say she couldn’t have reached out with a Seeming to show me the way to rescue her? I glanced back the way I had come, then I looked at the doorway, deciding.

It wasn’t a choice, not really. I had to find Izzy. But one thing held me back.

I racked my brain, but I knew next to nothing about this place, Annwn. I assumed it was another Underworld from what the Seeming had said, but I had known more or less what to expect when I found myself in Hades’ domain last fall. If I walked through that doorway, I’d have no knowledge to protect me. It would be like being blind. For a moment, I lingered in the dark, staring at the glowing doorway. I gripped the sphere tighter and made my choice.

“‘Unto the breach,’” I quoted with a sigh, as I stepped into the light.

The air changed as I walked forward: the cold clamminess of the graveyard and the tunnel were replaced by warmth. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought I was stepping into the most perfect springtime ever.

I began to feel too warm in my coat and scarf, and I pulled them off absently, stuffing the bulky fabric into my bag. The tunnel wasn’t sloping down anymore; it tilted gently up, toward the surface. Suddenly feeling claustrophobic, I hurried forward. A pink glow became visible far up the tunnel, and it grew as I rushed toward it.

Without warning, the tunnel dropped away and I burst into sunlight. I plunged forward, rolling head over heels. My fall knocked the wind out of me, and I came to rest face down in a soft patch of moss. Taking a deep breath, I staggered to my feet and looked around. Soft, rolling hills covered with clover were set against the purple cliffs of far distant mountains, making the place look like a painting. It was beautiful, and nothing like the dark tomb I’d just emerged from. I breathed deeply and was surprised at the rich, sweet scent that filled the air. It was like I had wandered into fairyland.

“Don’t think you haven’t.”

The voice came from behind me, where the tunnel should have been, but when I turned, I saw a wide tree stump instead. Sitting on it, with his legs crossed, was the most gorgeous guy I’d ever seen. His skin reminded me of a triple latte, and his curly black hair hung charmingly over his eyes. And his eyes! I couldn’t pinpoint the color, but his eyes were some perfect blend of grass and ocean waves. Nervously, I pushed my hair out of my own eyes and stared at him. He smirked at me and winked.

“Another live one! This is certainly turning into an interesting morning!”

I frowned at his words. “Morning? But it’s not morning.” I thought for a moment, calculating how long I’d been in the tunnel. “It can’t be after ten o’clock at night!”

He grinned. His teeth actually sparkled. “Suit yourself. But here, it’s morning. Can’t you feel the sunrise powers?”

I paused, reaching out my hands and sensing the air around me. He was right: it felt like dawn. “But that’s impossible!”

“This is Annwn. Nothing is impossible.”

I looked around again. If this were an Underworld, it was nothing like I’d been expecting. “You said ‘another live one.’ Will you tell me what you meant?” Maybe he’d seen Izzy! If she were here, I knew I’d need help finding her; the verdant field around me was beautiful, but other than the mountains in the distance and the stump the guy was sitting on, there were no landmarks in sight.

“Maybe I’ll tell you. But nothing is ever free, especially not information.”

I glanced at him warily, and his teeth flashed. “What do you want?”

“Just a dance. With you.” His voice was like honey, and I felt my body beginning to sway in anticipation.

He laughed at my startled expression. “Be careful, Darlena, you’ll catch flies that way!”

I shut my mouth quickly and looked harder at him. “How did you know my name?”

“You told me when we met.”

Confused, I thought back. “No, I didn’t. I just met you.” My head started to throb again, and I raised my hand to cover my eyes. The sunlight was so bright!

He slapped his chest with one hand like he’d been shot. “How can you say that? Have you honestly forgotten me?”

My mind was fuzzy from the heat and the wonderful perfume in the air, but I knew that I’d never met him before. I would have remembered someone that gorgeous. “I’m sorry, but I think you’re trying to trick me.”

He snarled and I backed up a step, wary.

“I hate when Witches wander through! You’re no fun.”

He shimmered, and suddenly the hunk was replaced with a tiny, mean-looking man. Even standing on his stump, he didn’t clear my waist.

“What are you?” I blurted.

His once beautiful voice turned raspy. “I am Fey. You knew I was tricking you, so now I have to answer three questions truthfully. Well, two questions, now. That was one.”

I glared at him. “That’s not fair.”

He shrugged. “Magic never is.”

I thought for a moment. “Okay. My second question: how do I find my friend?”

He scrunched up his face. “Walk until the mountains disappear. Then you’ll be a few steps away.”

“That doesn’t even mean anything!” Angry, I flexed my fingers. Maybe a zap of Red magic would make the creature behave.

Screeching, he leaped off his step. “Didn’t anyone tell you the rules? You can’t use magic in Annwn.”

“Why not?”

His eyes glistened wickedly. “Because Annwn has its own magic. And that was your third question.”

With a sound like a suction cup being ripped off a window, he vanished, and I snarled in exasperation.

“I hate fairies!” I screamed at the vacant stump.

“Just because you hate us, doesn’t mean we like you more!” a chorus of voices taunted.

I spun around, but couldn’t see anyone. The disembodied voices giggled. It was like wandering through a nightmarish Munchkinland.

“Are you going to help me?” I called to the empty field.

More giggling.

“Fine.” I pulled out my athame. Even if I couldn’t use magic here, it wouldn’t hurt to appear on my guard. There was a collective gasp in the air, followed by the sound of a million suction cups being pulled off a window at once.

After a moment of stillness, I called out, “Are you still there?”

There was silence. The fairies were gone.

Nervously, I looked at the blade in my hand. It glinted dully in the bright sunlight, and if I looked at it carefully, I could see a faint glow edging the knife. I moved it in the air, and the color around me faded for a minute. Whatever had just happened, it was clear that my athame held some power here in Annwn. I glanced around uncertainly, but I kept the unsheathed knife in my hand. Looking at the mountains in the distance, I started to walk.