“Find Vas and Sven. Free them. Kill Red Armand. Come home. Job done.”

  “Do you know where to find them?”

  “I know they’re in Red Armand’s reylite mine. My great-grandfather, Roman, gifted me the Oreylian language with a spell, so I’ll be able to talk to the locals and ask for information,” I explained before turning to Belinda. “Okay, I think I’m ready,” I said, sucking in a deep breath.

  She was perched atop my chest of drawers, a concentrated look on her face. Ren remained seated on my bed, wearing a strange expression. I wondered why he was staring at me so intensely before he blurted, “I want to come with you.”

  I froze facing him, certain my look was quizzical.

  “What? No. You can’t. You have school.”

  “You said you were only going to be gone for a day, and I’ve already ditched so I might as well do something worthwhile with my time. Besides, if Gran’s prediction holds any merit I’m supposed to become your right-hand man. And what self-respecting right-hand man allows their leader to go on a dangerous mission alone?”

  “One who’s smart enough not to risk their life for a cause that doesn’t even affect them.”

  “Maybe it does affect me and we just don’t know it yet.”

  I racked my brain for something that would put him off. “But…you’re still in your school uniform, and I only packed enough food for one.”

  “So I’ll borrow one of those oversized hoodies your wardrobe is full of. And look, I’m already wearing boots. Plus, we can just pack another bag of food.”

  My heart lifted, because although I didn’t want him taking such a risk, I’d feel a lot less terrified if he came with me.

  “You’re really sure about this?”

  He nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. “I’ve always wanted to journey to another dimension. It’ll be an adventure.”

  “Whatever you say,” Belinda muttered, her expression showing she thought Ren was nuts to volunteer to come with me. Thankfully, he could neither see nor hear her.

  Twenty minutes later we’d further pilfered my mother’s pantry and filled a second backpack with food and other essentials. Ren had stripped out of his uniform shirt and blazer and changed into a spare T-shirt and hoodie of mine. It was a good thing I favoured oversized clothes because Ren, though skinny, was a lot bigger than me.

  “Are you ready?” Belinda asked and I nodded while a knot tightened in my middle. I was completely terrified but also determined. Just like entering the Prison of Thorns, this was something I had to do. It also didn’t hurt that focusing on rescuing Vas and Sven allowed me to ignore the shitshow my life had become.

  Belinda’s beyond the grave magic stirred to life, the air thickening around us, and then something strange happened to the door that led to my bathroom. The dark panels began to disintegrate, melting away until the doorway no longer led to my bathroom, but instead to an entire other world.

  Ren and I stood in front of the opening, mouths gaping in stunned silence as we stared through the door. Oreylia lay beyond and it was a beautiful and horrifying sight to behold.

  Vasilios’ home city of Treyu sat in the distance, the towering metropolis a dark, foreboding presence. The sky was grey with patches of fiery orange and I couldn’t tell if this was their night or if it was always so dark and gloomy. Fear caught in my throat at the winged creatures that flew in the distance. I’d never witnessed demons with wings before.

  “Well, what are you waiting for?” Belinda complained. “Get going. I can’t keep the portal open indefinitely.”

  I glanced at Ren. “You ready for this?”

  “Not at all but let’s go before I chicken out.”

  With that I took his hand in mine, and holding my breath we stepped through the portal and into the unknown.

  8.

  The first thing I felt was the heat, like walking into a furnace. I decided that it must’ve been day since I was already sweating and Vas said it was cold at night. That also begged the question, if it was this dark and gloomy during the day, how dark did it get at night? Or perhaps it was bright. This was, after all, a dimension where none of the same rules applied.

  Okay, Darya, stop panicking and focus.

  “It looks like we’re a few miles from the city,” Ren said. “We should start walking.”

  “Let me take off some of these layers first.”

  “Good idea. This place is hot as Hades,” he agreed as he pulled off the hoodie and tied it around his waist. I followed suit, stuffing everything into my backpack before hitching it over my shoulders.

  “I hate how finicky portals are. Why can they never just bring you exactly where you need to be? Teleporting is so much more efficient.”

  “Maybe when you’re older you’ll learn how to teleport,” I said, trying to resist the urge to drink from the limited supply of water we’d brought. I was already parched and we’d only just arrived.

  “How do people survive here? The heat is impossible,” I complained.

  “I’m guessing they don’t go on treks when it’s this hot. They probably stay indoors until it gets colder.” He paused, a worried look crossing his features. “It does get colder, right?”

  “Yes, at night time.”

  “Wait. Do you mean to tell me this is day?” Ren exclaimed. “But it’s so dark. That’s got to get depressing.”

  “Maybe they don’t know any better. I mean, if you’d never seen daylight like we have at home you’d have nothing to compare the darkness to.”

  Ren wore a pensive expression. “I hadn’t thought of it like that.”

  We fell into silence then, both too hot to converse. Besides, we needed to conserve our energy for walking. By the time we reached the outskirts of the city I was about ready to keel over. We took a short break, mostly to drink some water and eat a small amount of the dry crackers I packed, then we got back to trekking through the strange, ashy terrain. The ground was dark as charcoal and completely barren. There was no greenery, no life at all, not even a dried up shrub or cactus.

  There were also thousands of small circular holes in the ground scattered all about with steam rising out of them. They reminded me of tiny fires in the earth, like the core of Oreylia blazed hot and closer to the surface. A tremor went through me at the thought.

  Ren and I quietly navigated the holes, making sure not to step on them for fear they’d burn through the soles of our boots. In the distance, on the other side of the city lay the mountains. Vas had called them the Hamlivs. Rivers of lava trailed down towards the city like fiery veins and I shuddered. I wasn’t a demon, and that meant I’d have to avoid the lava at all costs.

  “Are those volcanoes?” Ren asked, the gold flecks in his brown eyes glittering as he stared beyond Treyu.

  “Yes, the demons here are immune to fire and heat, so the lava doesn’t harm them. Their buildings are also made from materials that don’t burn. They use the lava streams like rivers, with boats transporting people around the city.”

  “That is…honestly incredible. Have you noticed there’s no sun? That must be why it’s so dark here.”

  “Yeah, all I can see are those fiery patches in the sky,” I replied. “They seem to be the only source of light.”

  “I wonder what they are,” Ren pondered but I didn’t have an explanation. This place was a mystery to both of us and I had a feeling it would take more than a brief visit to figure out all its workings.

  “Have you noticed the flying creatures that circle the city?” I asked and Ren shot me an uneasy look.

  “Demons, I’m guessing,” he replied.

  “Vas never mentioned them, but it’s almost like they’re on patrol.”

  “Maybe they’re some kind of sentinels,” Ren suggested.

  We’d almost reached the city when one of the steaming holes in front of me popped and sparked. I stopped walking, reaching out and grabbing Ren’s arm to stop him in his tracks, too.

  “What the hell is happening?” he whispered, a tremble in his voice, right before a tiny being emerged from the hole. I guessed it was some variety of demon as soon as I saw its little orange horns. Its skin was red with splotches of charcoal and it’s eyes were vibrant yellow. They reminded me a little of Sven’s eyes.

  The demon, who couldn’t have been more than a foot tall, began speaking in rapid fire Oreylian and it took me a moment to catch up and start translating.

  “What’s it saying?” Ren asked, drawing close.

  “Um, I think it wants to…purchase my earrings?”

  I listened to the tiny creature ramble and gesture to the small gold hoops that adorned my ears. I had three piercings on each ear, alongside a cuff piercing on my left. I was suddenly glad that I hadn’t removed my jewellery before coming because this little guy seemed to find it valuable.

  “What’s it saying now?” Ren went on, unable to take his eyes off the tiny demonic creature. We didn’t have demons like this back in Tribane, or if we did they preferred to wear a human shaped glamour.

  “It’s male, I think,” I replied, because it seemed rude to keep referring to the demon as an ‘it.’ “And if my translation is correct he wants to purchase my earrings for twenty dolmens.”

  “Dolmens?”

  “I think it’s their currency.”

  Ren arched an eyebrow and pursed his lips. “He’s probably trying to lowball you. Ask for fifty.”

  I turned my attention back to the demon. “You can have them for fifty, no less,” I said in what I presumed was well-accented Oreylian because I sounded like Vas and the demon seemed to understand me.

  “Forty,” the demon fired back before folding his tiny arms. He had two little indents slashed over each eye, and they narrowed crankily at me for having the gall to haggle with him.

  “Forty, and some information,” I countered and the demon considered it.

  “Information?”

  “I need directions to the reylite mine that’s overseen by Red Armand.”

  His yellow eyes widened in fear. “You are not a demon. You shouldn’t go there.” He paused, glancing from side to side and lowering his voice. “They’ll trap you, make you work for no pay.”

  “What happens to me doesn’t concern you,” I said, even though a bolt of trepidation shot through me at the prospect of being put to work in the mines, no route of escape.

  The demon eyed me for a long moment, then replied, “Okay, deal. Forty dolmens, and I’ll draw you a map.” With that he scuttled back into his hole before emerging a few minutes later with a rolled up piece of parchment and a bag of coins. He refused to hand both over until I gave him the earrings. I removed them from my ears and held them out with one hand before reaching out with the other to take the dolmens and the map. We made the exchange and the demon gave a yip of delight as he studied the jewellery that was commonplace back home. They must not have a lot of gold in Oreylia because he looked absolutely giddy at the sight of it.

  I brought my attention to the bag of coins, opening it up and finding rounded chips stamped with a symbol of three volcanoes, the same ones I could see in the distance looming over the city. The metal was jet black and cool to the touch.

  After counting them, I dropped the coins back into the bag, tucked it into my pocket, then rolled out the map. If the directions were correct then the mine where we’d find Vas and Sven was on the other side of the city, the side where the lava flowed down from the Hamlivs. My skin felt hot even at the thought of journeying so close to the constantly erupting volcanoes.

  I was vaguely aware of Ren nudging me and I glanced at him. “We should go. I feel like there are more little guys like him out here, spying on us from every hole in the ground. It’s creeping me out.”

  “He seems harmless enough.”

  “Let’s not wait around to find out if he isn’t,” Ren said and I couldn’t argue with that.

  We continued our journey, now armed with some currency and a map. The closer we got, the more the sulphurous smell in the air increased. I just hoped Ren and I got used to it soon because it was turning my stomach.

  Thankfully, there were no gates or high walls blocking our entrance. The city began with small, spread out dwellings, then the deeper you got the closer and more plentiful the buildings became. Ren and I stood out a little in our jeans and T-shirts, but we wore mostly black so we didn’t draw too much attention. The locals favoured thin layers, lots of scarves, shawls, cardigans and long skirts that covered their bodies, but the fabric looked airy and cool.

  There was a swooping sound overhead and I peered up, goosebumps rising when one of the winged creatures flew by. It was huge, so much bigger than it had seemed from a distance, and my throat wobbled at the sight of it.

  “Darya, come on,” Ren urged and I hurried to catch up with him.

  We were in some kind of marketplace, and I knew it had to be a poorer district because lots of demon children were running about without shoes. Was this where Vas had lived before his mother died and he’d been thrown into the mine?

  Ren stood at my side, quietly taking it all in. We garnered a few curious looks, but other than that nobody paid us too much attention. I guessed this densely populated, less privileged part of Treyu had lots of strangers passing through. If Ren and I turned up in the royal part of the city, where Vas had said his mother was born, I doubted we’d be ignored so easily.

  “We should take a break and find somewhere to rest,” Ren suggested. “My feet are killing me.”

  “Good idea,” I agreed, spotting a food stall selling drinks and snacks. I spied a menu overhead and gathered that one drink cost a quarter of a dolmen. If this was their version of tea or coffee, I quickly did the calculation and realised that forty dolmens for my gold hoops had been a decent exchange. Sure, the little guy had been low-balling me at first by offering twenty, but still, he’d agreed to a fair price in the end. This made me a little more hopeful about our mission. If the demons who dwelled underground could do fair deals then perhaps the people who lived within the city could be equally decent.

  I had no idea what to order as I stepped up to the stall. A woman with long bronze coloured hair and purple eyes took me in, her shrewd gaze moving over me in a wary fashion. Did Ren and I look so very out of place?

  Tucking some hair behind my ear, I brought my attention to the menu above her head. It was mostly beverages but there were a few food items. Dairy rolls snagged my attention. I remembered Vas mentioning them when he told me how he and Sven were starving and Sven went out and stole some dairy rolls, leading to Vas being punished by Red Armand.

  Ren hung back and I mustered my best Oreylian accent as I greeted the stall owner. “Good day. Can I have two dairy rolls and two spice waters, please?”

  I had no idea what a spice water was but I decided to take a chance.

  “Of course,” she replied, again eyeing me warily as she went to pour the drinks. A faint hint of cinnamon wafted by my nose. “Are you with the group from Yawin?” she asked. “I heard there would be some travellers coming through to attend the Star Festival.”

  Star Festival? I was completely clueless but I decided to play along. Better than telling her I’d come from an alternate dimension.

  “That’s right. My friend and I decided to stop for some refreshments.”

  “Ah, I see. Well, I hope you enjoy the festival. It’s said that the Glorins are putting on their most dazzling show to date.”

  “I can’t wait,” I replied, wondering what exactly a Glorin was as she handed over the drinks and two wrapped rolls. I thanked her, paying with two dolmen coins. The woman handed me my change, several smaller black coins, then I returned to where Ren was sitting on a nearby bench.

  “Hmm, this smells interesting,” Ren commented while hovering his nose over the spice water. I took a sip, unsure if I liked it. It tasted a little like cold chai, which wasn’t terrible. I was just used to drinking it hot. The dairy roll, on the other hand, smelled mouth-watering. I took a bite, finding it hard and crusty on the outside with a soft, melted cheese centre. I knew Ren was happy with it because he was quietly chomping away.

  “So, what’s our next move?” he asked once we’d finished eating.

  “We should find a place to shelter for the night. We’ve both been walking for hours and my feet feel like they’ve given up and turned into one giant blister.”

  “Lovely,” Ren grinned at my unseemly description. “Let’s get moving then. I don’t like the way that group over there keeps eyeing us.”

  He was right. We’d garnered the attention of a gathering of men and women nearby. Some of them had horns like Vas and Sven. Others had unusually coloured hair and eyes like the woman from the stall.

  They looked poor and desperate, and though Ren and I had trekked for miles we still looked more presentable than they did. We didn’t have the hard, world weary eyes of the people who’d lived in Treyu all their lives.

  Swift on our feet, Ren and I hurried away from the market and further into the city. I took a quick peek at the map the little demon had drawn up to make sure we were going in the right direction.

  “Shit, a few of them are following us,” Ren said, panicked, as he glanced over his shoulder. I turned to look and sure enough three men and two women were following us down the narrow, winding street. The buildings went as high as the eye could see, all the way up to the foot of the mountains. Currently, we were in one of the lowest, poorest sectors, which explained why those people were following us.

  “They probably want to rob us,” I whispered to Ren. “Do you know how to make any defensive spells? Something that will work to scare them off?”

  “I know a few, but they can be hit and miss,” Ren said as I reached inside my backpack and retrieved the dagger Roman gave me. I discreetly slid it into the waist of my jeans before scoping out the area. I quickly realised they were herding us down narrower and narrower streets.

  “It’s a trap. They’re penning us in,” I said, spotting a dead end up ahead too late. This was a situation where Carra could’ve helped. She knew the city and we clearly didn’t.

  My hand was on the hilt of the dagger as we turned around. Ren was muttering incantations, trying for a spell, but I could tell he was too stressed to get it right. Where was Peter when you needed him? My ex-boyfriend, (man, it really hurt to call him that) was always ready with a spell. I rarely saw him choke when it came to magic.