Cinders fall from the sky, blown by the malodorous breeze. I hear a giggle near the bridge and have to quell the urge to crouch down. I know I’m invisible, but the creatures here are terrifying and my instinct to run from them is powerful.
Creeping forward, I find a little girl of five or six years old frolicking on the bridge. She has an enormous head that’s twice as big as it should be to be in proportion with her torso and legs. Skipping from side to side on the bridge, she leans over the parapet, her pigtails falling toward the red flow. A ripple of chilling giggles emits from her at the writhing corpse-like creatures dangling from hooks on its keystones. I recoil from the scene and almost scream when someone grasps my hand. Reed pulls me down in a crouch near the abutment of the bridge, hugging me. “Werree,” he whispers in my ear, pointing to the little girl-monster.
Now that our skin is in contact, I can see him. I throw my arms around him as best I can, considering I have a huge weapon in my grasp. “Reed,” I whisper.
“You’re so reckless!” Reed says, kissing me like he might die if he doesn’t. “Why did you come? You were supposed to stay with the army.” His lips tangle with mine again. His arms around me are almost unbearably tight.
“I’m your champion,” I murmur. I pull back to look into his lovely green eyes. “Stop trying to leave me out of this.”
He touches his forehead to mine. “I never wanted you to see this place. I wanted to show you Paradise.”
I cup his cheek with my hand. “I’ve been there. When we’re done here, Reed, paradise will be wherever you are.”
Reed pulls away from my embrace, but he slips his hand in mine once more. Leaning near my ear, his voice is low, “I’ve been tracking Emil. He’s going to that city ahead of us.”
“That’s what my hammer says, too.”
“Is your hammer speaking to you?” Reed asks in surprise.
“Yes. It’s so much like Finn, Reed. It’s him in weapon form.”
“We should go.” He gets out of his crouch, taking the stairs from the abutment up to the bridge and entering from the side. The little skipping demon doesn’t even notice us when we’re right beside her. I realize that her head is from some other kind of being because it has black eyes the size of saucers. I shiver. I swing my hammer at its head. It knocks the Werree’s real shadowy body out of this scarecrow carcass. The lifeless Werree falls over the side of the bridge.
Reed glances at the pile of doughy flesh hanging on the stone parapet. “Nice one,” he whispers, squeezing my hand.
I stop, pulling Reed back to me. His gaze follows mine. On the other side of the bridge, Brennus’ soul stands in front of several scary-looking Faeries. His eyes are milk-white, as if a film covers them; I can just make out the green of his irises underneath. White wings rise out of his back and spike at sharp points. His skin is pallid and drawn, especially under his eyes, but his body is solid, like he toils with it daily. The ragged tunic-style clothes he’s wearing are from another realm and possibly another time, too. In his hands, he clutches a battle-axe similar to the one the king of the Gancanagh possesses on Earth, except this one glows with Faerie script the color of thistle.
Beside Brennus’ soul is the soul of his brother. My weapon tugs my arm, wanting to lead me to the fallen Finn. Behind the two brothers are the souls of other Faeries that I recognize. My heart breaks when I see Declan’s soul. He’s somewhat like his Gancanagh counterpart, a little older than the rest of them, but just as handsome, except now he has white wings—he never had those as a Gancanagh. I realize he’s not the Declan I know. He has never met me. He has no idea who I am, nor does the fair-haired Lachlan. I know him as the one who likes to play cards and teach me spells and who is best friends with Faolan, the dark-haired Faerie standing next to him. I went to Lachlan’s funeral on the cliffs. I watched his body burn.
A sinister growl comes from Brennus’ soul. It makes my eyes shift back to him. He see’s me. I know he sees me, I can feel it like a wolf howling inside my heart. All of their cataract-covered eyes home in on me. I look behind us; Eion’s soul is there with more fella souls. We killed most of their Gancanagh counterparts on Zee’s island and in Torun. Stupid Faerie weapon! I’m not invisible to them! It works on Gancanagh, but not Faerie souls!
Brennus’ soul swings his battle-axe menacingly. It arches in lethal patterns, slicing the air with unbelievable speed and deadly thrusts. I want to whimper.
“Keep his attention, Evie. I’ll cut them down from behind and we’ll escape to the city.”
I don’t let my eyes leave Brennus’ soul as I scowl. “No!” I whisper-shout. “He just doesn’t know who I am. I have to free him from here. It’s a promise I made.”
“The only promises we keep are the ones to destroy Byzantyne and Emil!” Reed retorts.