Chapter Seven

“Don’t show fear,” Fon recommended.

“You do remember last time?” I queried, speaking from the corner of my mouth as though movement would set the beast into motion.

“He’s back home now,” Fon replied. “Bound to be happier here.”

“He doesn’t look happier.”

“You’re seeing all the negatives, Kyann,” Fon scolded.

“There are positives?”

Fon stepped out of the boat and turned back to help me out. “I’m positive we’re closer to Axxon and Rey than we were a minute ago.”

“True enough.” I steeled myself and got out, Vashri immediately behind me.

Cardivass craned towards us. I stepped back – and nearly fell off the island. Vashri grabbed my arm to stop me slipping. “Thank you.” The boat and its strange boatman had already vanished.

“He won’t hurt us.” Fon strode confidently towards the beast. I might have imagined the “Probably,” that seemed to drift after him.

Cardivass continued to growl, one head bent to watch Fon while the other kept his beady eyes on me and Vashri.

“Axxon and Rey are here,” Vashri said, looking up as though he could sense them somewhere ahead. “We need to greet the soultaker, then we can find them and get them home.”

“Okay.” My gaze settled on Fon, standing in front of Cardivass with one hand upheld as though he were offering to pet the beast. From the growls emitting from that barrel chest, I suspected Cardivass was more likely to bite his hand off. “How do we get past?”

“We might need a diversion,” Vashri admitted.

“Like what?” I glanced around, but we were entirely alone, the horizon once more empty. “I assume you don’t mean to let him eat Fon while we sneak past?”

Vashri’s eyes gleamed. I slapped his arm. “No. At least, not if there’s an easy alternative.” That earned a second slap. He glanced at me. “Do you have anything to eat? That would keep him busy. We only need a few moments to slip past.”

I shook my head. “No one told me to bring snacks.” My heart ached. This wouldn’t have happened if the four kings were together. Rey would have been sure to have something on him – some salt meat or dried fish to bribe the dog while we sneaked past.

But Rey couldn’t offer us any help.

Cardivass’s growls increased in volume. Both heads were lowered now as he glowered at Fon, saliva dripping from his bared teeth. I could just make out the shape of an archway behind him, but there was no way we’d be able to pass through it while the guard dog entirely filled the gap.

Fon was still standing before the beast, hands outstretched. He looked as though he might try to talk the dog into letting him past. It didn’t look as though that was going to be a successful strategy.

I dug in my pockets in case I might find a nut or something that would tempt the beast. All I found was the pile of pebbles I’d gathered for my slingshot. I didn’t want to attack Cardivass. He was only doing his job. And then my fingers closed around a more regular shape, a perfect sphere, and an idea formed.

I pulled my hand from my pocket. In my palm lay one of the iron balls I’d collected in Ullagar Castle, after they’d been fired at me while I tried to free the demon Grimog. Iron. Everyone, apparently, knew that iron made demons powerless. I wondered if it worked on Cardivass.

“I have a plan,” I told Vashri.

“What do—”

“Be prepared to run. This should distract him, but probably not for long.”

“Hey, Cardivass!” Both huge heads swung to watch me. I hefted my hand back and flung the iron ball in an arc to reach him. Before it had finished its journey, I broke into a run towards Fon and the gateway we needed to pass through.

The grey ball of iron caught the dog’s attention. It wasn’t pretty and shiny like the gems had been, but the movement of the thing entranced the massive creature. Both pairs of eyes followed the arc it described through the air.

I skidded to a halt beside Fon as one massive jaw opened, lunging forward to snatch the ball out of the air. With the beast reaching forward, there was barely enough space to get through the gate. We’d have to scramble over the hindquarters of the animal.

“Go, go!” I told Fon, pushing him towards the back of the animal.

Vashri reached us as I turned to see how well my idea had worked.

One of Cardivass’s heads was snapping at the other, as though jealous that it had got the apparent treat and left the other head hungry.

“Come on, Kyann.” Fon was wedged between Cardivass’s hairy bottom and the stone edge of the gateway, his hand extended to me.

Cardivass gave a great cough. He’d swallowed the iron ball, and his stomach didn’t approve. Another cough shook his sides.

“Fon!” The king of fire had vanished from sight. I thought for a moment he’d been crushed, but then he came into sight on Cardivass’s other side.

“Hurry up!” he called.

With a final glance at Cardivass – one head was coughing and twitching as though trying to dislodge the ball it had swallowed, while the other head watched with a strangely detached curiosity – I dashed forward, throwing myself over the creature’s hairy rump, reaching for the hand Fon threw out to me.

His strong fingers closed around my wrist and he wrenched me towards him. I slipped and fell forwards, slithering on Cardivass’s thick fur. “Here. You’re safe.” Fon’s arms closed around me, pulling me upright.

I looked up into his blue eyes. “We did it?”

He smiled, eyes glowing warm. “We did it.”

“Well done, Kyann.” Vashri’s voice rang out as he came into sight. “That worked perfectly.”

And now we were through the gates, there was no sign of Cardivass, the ornate black gates closed behind us. I turned my back on them, raising my eyes to see what lay on the other side of the gates Cardivass had been guarding.

~

The gates had led us straight into the soultaker’s palace, if palace was the correct description. It had to be his home, because he was the only person I could see inside the long, wide, grey-walled room we’d arrived in. And the idea of a palace was suggested to me by the fact that he was lounging on the only piece of furniture visible: an ornate black throne set at the far end of the room.

I snatched an impression of dark hair and cold eyes. “Approach.” The soultaker’s icy voice made the hairs on my arms stand up. With Fon on one side and Vashri the other, I began to walk.

He came into clearer focus as we drew nearer. A young man, in appearance if not in years, his hair was as dark and his skin as pale as Rey, although there was nothing of Rey’s good-hearted nature in him. His red lips were pursed in a cruel pout, and his fingers drummed restlessly at the arm of his throne, a ring with a massive stone flashing on his right hand as he moved.

He wore black trousers and boots, and a black sleeveless top made of leather. Most likely, it was the skin of some underworld creature that had got on his wrong side. At his throat he wore some strange sort of a necklace. Also black, it covered his collarbones, the flexible material woven in a geometric pattern.

Dangerous and indifferent, was the sense I got from him. We slowed as we approached the throne. I needed to keep my wits and find this man’s good side. I swept a bow, the kings doing likewise either side of me. I straightened. As I met his cold, black eyes, I swallowed down the sudden certainty that he didn’t have a good side.

“What do we have here?” His voice was slow and drawling, as though he had all the time in the world to inspect me. If time worked differently in the underworld, perhaps he did. “You appear to be lost – or ahead of time, at least. Humans don’t belong in the underworld.”

“We seek only to pass through. We have come from Charnrosa to seek the help of the goddess.”

“And what do you want of her?”

I longed to snap that it wasn’t his business. His fingers continued to tap a rhythm, ring flashing distractingly. He clearly didn’t care. He wasn’t even looking at me.

“We need her help to return two lost souls to their owners in Charnrosa.”

“Lost souls?” He raised a brow and sat forward. As his dark eyes settled on me, I wished he’d remained tapping his fingers indifferently. Something about his gaze made me feel … grubby. “How have two of the legendary four kings and their pretty companion come to lose a pair of souls?”

I shivered. We hadn’t told the soultaker who we were, and yet he knew.

Vashri stepped forward. “Charnrosa is in danger. The souls of our two friends were stolen away with dark magic.”

“Dark magic? Dear, dear. What a pass you have been brought to.” The soultaker raised his brows. “It’s centuries since I had kings at my mercy.”

My back straightened. The kings weren’t at anyone’s mercy. “We are simply passing through,” I said. “With your permission,” I added belatedly, when his cold eyes settled on me again.

“The underworld is a perilous place for those who don’t belong here. Your companions must be very important for you to come here for their sake.”

“They are.”

The soultaker shifted back, steepling his fingers. His ring shone in the light. I thought it might be made of moonstone – a watery white glow emanated from the gem. A moonstone for a man who ruled the night and the underworld, that fitted. “They are important to you, I see that. Why should they be important to me?”

My gaze flitted to Fon and Vashri. I had no idea what might persuade this man.

Fon stepped forward, chin high, hands on his belt. “As one ruler to another, I am sure you agree that it is unacceptable for a king to be kept prisoner.”

The soultaker clicked his teeth. “Humans have lost their respect for us, that’s true. I should be sorry for that malaise to travel to the underworld. And yet, all who stand before me are no longer kings, they are merely men.”

“The kings aren’t just men.” I spoke up. “They have remarkable powers and the world needs them. Our world needs them.”

He looked me up and down. “I see.” He smiled and I had to hold back a shiver. There was nothing of warmth or kindness in the gesture. He sniffed. “Go ahead, convince me as to how important these companions of yours are.” He waved a hand, slumping into his throne and regarding me as he might his court jester, as though he were looking forward to the entertainment he expected me to provide.