Autumn's Bane Read online

  “You must not stay longer than one day. If you pass midnight in the Underworld, you’ll be trapped there. Viktor, too. He must return today.”

  “How do we get away?”

  She pulled out a scroll, which I tucked inside the pocket of my jacket. “When you read it, you must all be touching—even by one fingertip. If any one of you isn’t connected to the others, they’ll be left behind. I would, of course, advise you to get the hell out of there before midnight if possible. You really don’t want to become a wight. Watches won’t work there, so be as quick as you can.”

  She stood back, taking a deep breath. “As soon as Raven arrives, we’ll send you over. Now then, have you eaten?”

  “That’s another thing,” Cernunnos said. “Neither eat nor drink while you are there. Remember the story of Persephone? It’s not a legend. It’s real. If anything edible should pass your lips while you’re in the Underworld, you’ll be forced to stay. I cannot emphasize this point enough. Let neither food nor drink touch your lips. If it does, we won’t be able to rescue you.”

  I caught my breath, thinking of Viktor. “I hope that Viktor hasn’t eaten or drunk anything.”

  “I hope not, either.” Cernunnos shook his head, the long braids draping down his back swinging almost like snakes. “Now prepare, and Morgana and I will open a vortex for you to cross through.”

  Angel and I ate a couple of candy bars for a little extra insurance, then we went to the bathroom, and by the time we were ready, Raven walked through the door. She, too, had dressed for the journey, wearing a thigh-length black tunic, a pair of black leggings, platform boots, and a leather jacket. As I figured, she had Venom with her, her dagger that had a poisonous bite to it.

  “Do you have your heart-gifts?” Cernunnos asked.

  She nodded, curtseying. “My skull necklace was from Arawn. The cauldron charm hanging from the chain was from Cerridwen. I’m ready.”

  We went back into the break room, where Cernunnos and Morgana had pushed the table to one side, leaving an open spot on the floor. They motioned for the three of us to step between them. My stomach fluttering, I took my place. I was afraid, but I had to be strong for Angel. This was her first big mission, and she’d need me to be steady. Raven joined me, her jaw set. Angel, with a nervous look at Talia, took her place.

  “Tell Rafé…”

  Talia shook her head. “You three will be back in no time, along with Viktor. But…yes…I know what you’re asking.”

  “Mr. Rumblebutt…” I said, looking at Herne.

  “You’ll come back to me and to him. I won’t have it any other way. But don’t worry about Mr. Rumblebutt.” He started to say more, then stopped, and I knew that he was doing the hardest thing he could—he was letting me go, letting me do my job.

  Raven simply gazed at Kipa, and slowly blew him a kiss. He touched his lips and silently tipped his hand to her.

  “Hold hands,” Cernunnos said. “Don’t let go until you hear the sound of a bell.”

  Morgana and Cernunnos began circling us, their arms stretched wide. They moved slowly at first, Cernunnos humming a low note while Morgana began chanting in what sounded like an arcane language. I didn’t know what it was, though I knew it wasn’t a Fae dialect.

  They moved faster and faster, and it was almost dizzying watching them as they spun around us, faster than any person could move. They became a blur of movement, waves of energy in their wake forming a circle. I couldn’t see anything beyond them. And then, the world began to blur and all I knew was that I was holding hands with Raven and Angel, and that we were floating in a dark space while spinning lights—purple and green fire—arced in a wheel around us. The wheel spun faster as the floor vanished from beneath my feet. I tightened my grip on Angel and Raven’s hands. My head was throbbing and I had to close my eyes.

  Then, with a loud crack, we landed on something firm, our hands still connected. The blur of light began to recede and I squinted. All around me was a low rolling mist, and I realized we were standing in the middle of what looked like a field, though it was shrouded in shadows from the twilight around us.

  Another moment and the wheel of light vanished.

  “We’re here,” I whispered to Angel and Raven. “We’re in the Underworld, the world of the dead.” Now, we just had to find Viktor and bring him home.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  As we slowly unclasped our hands, I was already looking around, trying to pinpoint our whereabouts. We were standing in what appeared to be a barren, dusty landscape. There was no grass on the ground, no trees that I could see, but there were foothills and rock formations everywhere, forming canyons around us. The soil beneath our feet was so hard that I doubted if I could have broken the surface with a shovel. I looked around. We were standing at a juncture of trails leading through the tall mesas. It looked as though some octopus of a river had carved its way through the area long ago, then dried up to leave the steep walled ravines of dirt and stone.

  My stomach fluttered as I turned. There was a stillness to the air that was disturbing. It felt almost as though I couldn’t breathe and I suddenly gulped, fearing I was suffocating, but the warm, dry air slid through my lungs and then out again as I exhaled.

  “Cripes, this place is creepy,” Angel said. Even though she whispered, her words shattered the silence, ricocheting off the canyon walls. She clasped her hand over her mouth, eyes wide, then mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

  I glanced around to see if we had attracted any attention. We were in a perfect echo chamber. Somehow, the canyons seemed set up to capture any sound and magnify it. But nothing stirred, nothing moved, and I slowly relaxed.

  Viktor had to be close by. Morgana and Cernunnos had told us he would be within a quarter-mile’s radius, which meant he could be behind one of the rock formations, or he could be holed up in a cave, or on top of a mesa. I motioned for Raven and Angel to fan out, but mouthed for them to keep in sight.

  As I scanned the area, I noticed that about twenty feet up on a nearby cliff, a dark spot seemed to indicate a cave opening. I stared at it for a moment, then crossed over to Raven and Angel. I tapped Angel on the shoulder, then pointed up toward the cliff, mouthing, “Can you sense anything?”

  Angel closed her eyes. A moment later she shuddered and stumbled back, a look of panic on her face. She pulled out a notepad from her pocket and a pen and began to scribble on it.

  Viktor’s there. The energy here is so magnified that I almost felt like I could read his thoughts. But there are…things…all around. And the ghosts. There are ghosts everywhere. I can sense them moving past us. Most of them seem clueless that we’re here, but there are some angry, ancient energies in these canyons.

  I stared at her note, then looked back at the cliff face. We would have to get up there somehow, and there didn’t seem to be a path. Raven noticed what I was doing and took Angel’s notepad, writing, “Maybe there’s a path inside? There’s a cave at the bottom, too.”

  I followed her direction and saw a dark splotch against the base of the cliff. Nodding, I motioned for them to follow me. As we moved forward, I unsheathed my short sword. Raven held out her hands, the energy crackling off of them. I wasn’t sure what spell she was prepping, but whatever it was, I expected nothing less than fireworks from the sparks flying around her.

  We came to the base of the cliff, skirting around various rockpiles as we moved forward, and sure enough, there was a narrow cave entrance. Only one could enter at a time, and I motioned for both Raven and Angel to stand behind me. I had brought a flashlight that was on a headband, and I slid it over my head and turned it on. It would give us away, but we had no choice. I wasn’t about to walk into a dark cavern in the Underworld, not without knowing what we were getting into.

  The tunnel extended about seven feet into the cliff, and the range of my light, while dim, illuminated at least ten feet ahead. I could see the archway and vaguely that it opened out into a larger chamber, though how large, I didn’t know. I slo
wed. Hopefully, we were alone.

  As I came to the opening, I motioned for Angel and Raven to stop. Then, easing my way through the arch, I quickly looked around the room, hoping that it would be small enough to see the other side. That way, if there were something in there, I’d catch it before we entered.

  To my relief, we lucked out. The chamber was about seven feet in width, and about eight feet from where I was standing to the back. It was empty, with stalactites hanging from the ceiling. But against the back wall, opposite to me, was another opening. Even from where I was standing, I could see a rough set of steps leading up, into the cliff. With another sweep to make sure that there was nothing in the room, I stepped into the chamber and motioned for Raven and Angel to follow.

  The only sounds were the sounds of our breathing. The air smelled just as still and lifeless as it had outside, and once again, I found myself focusing on my breath, forcing myself to acknowledge that yes, I was breathing. Yes, air was flowing into my lungs.

  I glanced over at Angel. In the glow of my flashlight, her expression looked stark and worried. This was the first time she had been on a mission this dangerous, and I gave her a thumbs-up, trying to cheer her up. Raven, on the other hand, was glancing around at the walls and ceiling, scanning for something. She suddenly froze, then bolted, shoving me out of the way. As we went tumbling to the ground, a loud crash ricocheted around the room as a stalactite came hurtling down from the ceiling, landing directly where I had been standing.

  “Oh crap!” I gasped as I realized I’d shouted aloud. There was a tremor in the air, and then another stalactite broke off and landed nearby. There were sounds now, all around the ceiling, the sound of rock cleaving from rock, and I scrambled to my feet, grabbing Raven’s hand to pull her up. A third stalactite fell near the opening to the tunnel, and then a fourth, and I shoved Raven toward the steps. “Up!”

  Angel scrambled, breaking into a sprint toward the steps and I followed. I had no more touched foot on the first step when a large stalactite plummeted to the floor, blocking the entrance to the staircase, barely missing my ass.

  Angel and Raven were huddled a few steps up. I leaned my back against the wall, breathing heavily. Our way out was blocked. We had no choice but to follow the steps and hope they led to an opening higher up. Whatever the case, there was no doubt that if there was somebody else around, they knew we were here.

  “Okay,” I said, deciding to skip the whispers. The game was already up. “We head up the steps. Let me go first, Raven, you come second. Is your spell still ready?”

  She nodded. “Those stalactites had a sentience to them, by the way.”

  “What?” I stared at her. “You mean they knew we were there?”

  “Yep, I think they did. They’re either some massively brilliant trap, or they’re…alive.”

  “I don’t really want to know which.” I motioned for them to let me through. “Are there still spirits around us?”

  “There are spirits everywhere,” Angel said, her voice trembling. “I can feel them all over.”

  “She’s right,” Raven said. “The very land is riddled with spirit activity.”

  “Wonderful. All right, let’s go.” I stepped between them and, as they shakily stood, I began climbing the steps.

  We had climbed over two hundred steps and taken ten turns by the time we arrived at the top. The top of the stairwell opened into a small chamber with an exit on the other side that looked like it led into a tunnel. The chamber was no bigger than a large coat closet, and I warily glanced at the ceiling, but there were no stalactites in sight. I paused, glancing at the walls, too, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

  But Raven tapped me on the shoulder. “Take a look at the archway. I have a weird feeling about this one.”

  I paused, then glanced up, shining the flashlight around the perimeter of the opening. Sure enough, on the ceiling, there were a series of small holes going all the way across the arch. They looked uniform in size and distance. I looked on the floor and there were the same holes, perfectly aligned with the ones on the ceiling. Bingo. I knew what this was. I knelt, cautious to keep myself from extending anything into the opening. Not even the tip of my nose.

  I shone the light on the floor directly inside the small chamber and a glint of metal shining up told me what I needed to know. Then, I shone the light toward the exit on the other side, scanning the floor. Another glint. I turned around.

  “There’s a pressure plate the moment you step inside,” I said, pointing. “And another on the other side. I’m not sure how big they are. Hmm… Let me try something first.” I looked around and picked up a small rock, tossing it as far as I could so it wouldn’t land on the pressure plate. It cleared the opening and landed on the floor about two feet into the chamber, about midpoint. Nothing happened. “Okay, so it’s not just motion activated. So we go through. I’ll go first. Step right by the rock, then another wide step to clear the other pressure plate. Understand?”

  They both nodded. I steeled my courage, then stopped. If something went wrong, we only had one scroll to get the hell out of here. I turned to Angel. “I want you to hold the scroll. If things go wrong, get your ass out of here, and if you can, take Raven with you.” I met Raven’s eyes. She nodded. Angel started to protest, but closed her mouth as I shook my head. “We don’t have time to argue.”

  After handing her the scroll, I took a wide step, clearing the first pressure plate, to the middle of the chamber. Then, steeling myself, I took another and managed to stretch my way into the tunnel beyond. Nothing happened.

  Breathing easier, I cleared out of the way. Raven came next, and she too managed to avoid both plates. Angel was taller than either of us and for her, it was an easy pass. When we were all in the tunnel together, I motioned them to follow me and we headed down the corridor. My flashlight showed that it was a short jaunt, about seven feet, to the next opening.

  As I neared the tunnel exit, I paused. The energy was growing thicker and once again, the feeling that I wasn’t actually breathing swept over me. I gasped, leaning back against the wall to my right. As I fought to contain my fear, there was a sudden scuttling, and I jumped as something landed on my shoulder.

  “Crap,” I said, lurching forward.

  Angel let out a muffled shout, pointing at my shoulder. “Ember!”

  I looked down to see a large beetle on my shoulder, about eight inches long and three inches wide. It hissed at me, and scuttled toward my chest. I knocked it off, sending it to the floor where it headed toward Angel.

  “That’s a death beetle!” Raven shouted, pulling out her dagger and swooping down to pierce it through its exoskeleton. The beetle went splat, and she shook it off her blade. “They can burrow into your chest and eat your heart.”

  I froze, hearing a hissing from all sides now. As I slowly swung my head around, looking at the upper walls of the tunnel, they seemed to seethe with movement, hundreds of the beetles climbing over one another.

  “Run!” I shouted, pushing Angel toward the exit. She ran, leaping to clear the opening. Raven followed and I was right behind her. As I landed between them, I looked up to see Viktor, chained to the wall. He looked unconscious, draped forward, limp, as far as the chains would allow.

  An opening on the opposite wall showed sky directly ahead. The floor was scattered with bleached bones, and several skeletons seemed humanoid in nature. Yeah, there had been others come through here, only they never made it out. And the next moment, I caught sight of the creature to which they had lost their last battle.

  Standing between Viktor and us was a large creature that looked like the mother of all death beetles. Her shell scintillated with blues and greens, and she—I knew it was a she, though I didn’t know how—began to move toward us. She had mandibles on her head, and they were opening and closing. She had to be eight feet long and three feet wide.

  “Ember,” Angel said, a wary tone in her voice. “Look behind us.”

  I glanced over my
shoulder at the entrance to the tunnel. Hundreds of baby beetles—if you could call them “babies”—were swarming into the cavern. Before long, they’d be everywhere.

  “Crap.” I turned back to the massive beetle in front of us. “Let us have him and we’ll leave you in peace.”

  To my surprise, a hissing noise echoed through the chamber, forming into words. “He’s mine. I am to guard him. You cannot have him, and now you will feed my children.”

  “Looks like we’re going to have to do this the hard way,” I said, pulling out my sword. “Raven, whatever you’ve got, we need it. Angel, if we can give you an opening, get over to Viktor.” It crossed my mind that Gyell might be nearby and we needed to get moving before he returned.

  Raven circled to the right and I followed, drawing the beetle’s attention away. Angel started edging slowly to the left, trying to keep away from the walls, which were rapidly filling with the death beetles.

  “Can you use your lightning bolt?” I asked, my sword ready for action.

  Raven was moving deliberately, one step at a time. “No, I think death beetles are immune to lightning. But I know they can burn.” She paused, holding out her arms, palms up. Twin flames appeared in them, and she whispered something I couldn’t catch. The next moment, twin streams of fire poured out, jetting toward the mother beetle. They hit her square on the face, and I felt a surge of joy.

  The beetle let out a hissing screech. “For that, you will die,” she said, her shell looking charred. She lurched toward Raven, and I jumped close enough to stab at her with my sword. I knew a slicing attack wouldn’t work. The exoskeleton looked thick and hard to penetrate. But a piercing attack might do something.

  I brought my sword down on her side as she listed toward Raven, and the tip of my blade met her shell with a loud clang. I pushed hard, leaning on the hilt, and there was a crunching sound as the shell splintered and my blade went through it, biting deep into the flesh below.