Chapter Ten – Isobel

Isobel’s father gazed at her coldly. The deep disappointment she had grown used to over the years radiated toward her. It was almost enough to make tears spring to her eyes. "Perhaps if you ever accomplished something notable, I would have paid attention."

She opened her mouth to shout at him, to scream and shout, but a lump in her throat choked her. To her horror, her eyes started to burn. There was only one thing to do. She shot her father a look of pure poison and walked away, holding her head high and making sure that she didn't move too quickly. That would give her away for certain.

"Isobel," Edan called after her, but she refused to turn around.

Voices followed her but she wasn't going to stick around to hear the awful things her father would say to Edan about her. Instead, she headed for their apartment. She'd show him. She'd show them all. She would go back to the cave and figure out how to get rid of the demon in Brant. She would save the day and—

"Isobel, stop." Edan's hand wrapped around her wrist and she jumped in surprise.

"Did you follow me?"

His brows knit together. "Of course I did."

Isobel shook him off. "You shouldn't have. Go back to dear old daddy and let him regale you in all my disappointments. And — how dare you?" She didn't care if she was being unreasonable. Her blood rushed in angry pulses and her jaw clenched. "How dare you force him into my life again?"

"I didn't know he was your father. I wanted someone who could help you. He's been through the Phantom's Cave at least four times and he's come out unscathed each time. I wanted to give you a guide so that when we went through again . . . you could get to where you wanted to go."

The anger drained from her body, being rapidly replaced by guilt. Even if he had known about their blood ties, she hadn't shared enough with Edan for him to fully understand what she was feeling. She didn't want to talk about it out here in the open, though.

"Did he leave?"

"No. I told the pilot he's not authorized to leave and he won't be until he listens to you."

She grabbed his hand and pulled him into a closet. Tears started to spill over and she wiped them away angrily. "My dad won't listen to me. He never has, so why would he start now? He never wanted me. My mom just dropped me in his lap and he dropped me on Grandma. I can't remember a single time when he did something nice for me unprompted. At least my mother had the decency of just disappearing. I didn't have to face her constant disappointment."

Her lips trembled. Edan pulled her into his arms and pressed a kiss to them. "I'll get rid of him if you want me to."

Azalea appeared behind him. "You know, I've heard of this Josef before . . . Did you know he never saw a ghost?"

Isobel's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I—" Edan started.

"Sorry," Isobel interrupted. "Her."

Edan glanced over his shoulder. "The ghost?"

Azalea put her hands on her hips. "Tell him not to call me 'the ghost' in that tone. Don't look at me like that." She huffed as Isobel narrowed her eyes. "Fine. Josef Dove may have gone into the Phantom's Caves, but he's never seen a ghost. He's not powerful enough. So there you have it. You're better than he is."

Was it true? Isobel chewed on the inside of her cheek. Even if it wasn't, how could she pass up the opportunity to have a guide in that inky black? It was a dangerous place, and if she had someone to guide her, she might actually get what she wanted.

"I don't think it's a good idea," she blurted, unwilling to say that trusting her father was the last thing she wanted to do.

What if she went into the caves and nothing happened? It would be more proof to him that she wasn't good enough and he might even turn Edan against her. Her prince didn't even believe her about the demon in Brant's head. If there were more people telling him she was a fraud, who would he believe? Or, maybe even worse, what if her father simply refused to take her? What if he just said she was a fraud and wouldn't listen to anything else?

"We have to find a way to stop Brant," she continued as Edan gave her a puzzled look. "Can't do that when we're distracted by a cave."

"Brant isn't going to attack again anytime soon."

Azalea tapped Edan's shoulder but, of course, he didn't feel it. She got Isobel's attention, though. "You get answers in the Phantom's Cave, right? Well, you want answers about how that demon got into Brant's head and how to get rid of it, don't you?"

It was true.

Edan brushed the hair from her face. "I know you're going to go back into that cave sooner or later. Wouldn't it make more sense to go with someone who knows what they're doing?"

Slowly, Isobel nodded. "You're right." She would be able to face her father knowing that she was seeing a ghost and he wasn't. "Let's go."

***

The entrance of the cave gaped, the light filtering in a few feet. The dimness beyond said nothing about the sheer black that had pressed in on her the last time. Isobel stared at the entrance as she buckled her harness. It took all her strength not to shudder at the thought of going back inside. But there were answers waiting for her. She was going to find out what – or who – it was and she was going to show her father she wasn't just some fraud.

"Are you actually coming this time?" she muttered under her breath to Azalea.

Azalea snorted. "I'm sorry, did I miss the headline about hell freezing over? I'm not going back in there."

So she had convinced Isobel to go back into the cave but wasn't going in herself? That was suspicious. But Isobel didn't have time to question her because her father had marched over to her and Edan. His scowl was only matched by her own. What had Edan promised or threatened him with to convince him to do this?

"I won't be responsible if you die," he snapped at them

Isobel snorted. "Like you'd care."

Josef's nostrils flared but he ignored her comment, instead turning towards Edan. "You will need to keep your fires contained. Any light in the caves and the shadows will shift. It draws the darkness forward and we'll be stopped before we reach our destination."

Going into the darkness blind made Isobel shudder, but she refused to back down. The three of them were tied together via the harnesses they wore, but there was no connection to the outside world. Apparently, that allowed the dark creatures inside the cave to climb out into the world and they'd untie the ropes connecting them anyway. He was quite surprised when he heard that Edan had come into the cave multiple times without having his head severed.

The cave was as creepy time as it was the first time, but there were no hands to randomly grab Isobel again. Feeling Edan's warmth beside her helped to calm her as they ventured deep inside. Occasionally, Josef would tell them to step over an unseen hole or to walk around a shallow pool, but otherwise, the only sounds were their breathing, footsteps, and the whispers.

A pillar of light suddenly appeared. It gave off a pale green glow, not enough to illuminate the darkness, but enough to give Isobel something to walk towards. Her footsteps faltered once, but when Edan took her hand, she strode forward with renewed determination.

"Step into the light," Josef said. "If you truly have the power, then it will accept you. If you don't . . . it'll blink out and never allow you to look on it again."

Isobel didn't reply as she undid her harness. Her heart hammered, but she wasn't going to doubt herself. Not this time. Squeezing Edan's hand one last time, she stepped into the light. It stabbed her eyes, making her blink, and a heat trickled over her skin. But then her eyes cleared and the heat turned to a comfortable warmth. She became aware of arms embracing her and she glanced up to see . . . 

"Gran!"

"Oh, my little Isobel. I've been waiting for you for so long."

Isobel wrapped her arms right around her grandmother, not ashamed as tears started to pour down her face. When she stepped back, she found herself in a wide field full of bright flowers, with a beautiful sun shining overhead and the fluffiest clouds she had ever seen.

"Is this heaven?" she whispered.

Gran shook her head. "No, darling. Heaven is much, much more wondrous. Look at you! Such a beautiful woman. I always knew you'd become someone important, and look at you now. A dragon prince's bride."

Isobel squeezed her hands. "You always said you'd look after me."

"And I have."

"I wish I could stay with you. I've missed you so much."

Gran shook her head, wiping her tears away. "Oh, sweetie. That's not true and you know it. Not about missing me, I meant about you wanting to stay with me. You've got too much in your life now to want to give it all up. If only you'd just trust your heart."

"Trust my heart?" Isobel rolled her eyes. "Gran, really? That's so cliché. What does it mean, anyway?"

"You know very well what it means, young lady. Don't start pretending with me. You're falling in love with your dragon prince and you're trying to talk yourself out of it. Stop that business right now or I'm going to have to start haunting you. You think Azalea's bad? Just wait until I'm there staring at you while you're trying to have a private moment with your lover."

Isobel shuddered. "Okay! Okay, I'll work on that. But really . . . I am getting to be very fond of Edan, but it's not love. We're together because—"

"The because isn't important." Gran frowned. "But there is no time to spend on your love life, I'm afraid. There are dark forces at work. You need to be prepared to face them. The demon that you saw possessing the middle prince is just the beginning."

Isobel's hands clenched. Her eyes were wide as she nodded at her grandmother to continue. Her heart beat shallowly. Maybe, just maybe, there would be a chance to save Edan's older brother. A chance that he might not have to face the ultimate pain of losing someone he loved.