Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“Have you seen my father?” I ask Tapio, God of the Forest. He’s just getting to his feet with his wife and daughter, a few pieces of popcorn hanging in his gray beard alongside the usual leaves and twigs. The small, sniffing nose of a mouse makes an appearance before retreating into the thicket of his hair.
“I haven’t,” he says with a frown, looking around me at the empty seats. “I assume we’ll meet back where we first came in.”
“He’s not there,” I tell him. “Neither is Hanna.”
Tapio’s wife laughs. “Tuonen, perhaps it’s best you don’t pry into their business too much. They are still newlyweds, after all.”
I grimace in disgust at that and walk up the stairs to the landing at the top of the arena where Sarvi stands, moving their head back and forth, scouring the area.
“Sarvi,” I say to the unicorn, “have you seen my father or Hanna?”
They fix their white eye on me, tail swishing. I was just about to find you and ask you the same thing. I haven’t seen them, but that doesn’t mean much, does it? Wouldn’t be the first time that they’ve made their company wait.
Sarvi’s tone is humorless; I can tell the unicorn is edgy, and I feel the same way. I can’t really explain why I’m so worried when I’m sure they’ll turn up at any moment, Hanna looking flushed, my father looking cocky, but I have a sharp kernel of unease in my gut that’s getting harder to ignore.
Oh, there’s Hanna now, Sarvi says, and I look over to see Hanna coming out of the caverns toward us.
She doesn’t look flushed at all. Instead, her eyes seem darker than normal, her posture stiff.
“Are we ready to go?” she asks, a strange formality to her tone. She’s asking me directly, ignoring Sarvi.
“Where’s my father?” I ask.
“He’s held up at the moment,” she says, smoothing out her gown. “He wanted to spend some time in the dungeons finding new members for the army. He told us to go back to the castle without him.”
Sarvi’s tail swishes faster. That doesn’t sound like something he would say.
Hanna shrugs and gives Sarvi a stiff smile, though I notice she doesn’t look at the unicorn for too long. I don’t know Hanna well at all, but perhaps there is bad blood between them.
“If you want to go to the dungeons and see for yourself, go right ahead,” she says in a clipped voice. “But I want to get back to Shadow’s End. I’m tired. Come on, Tuonen.”
She reaches out and takes my arm, trying to lead me along, but I stop.
“I’ll catch up,” I tell her. “You better gather the rest of the guests.”
“The rest of the guests?” she asks, brows raised.
I frown at her. “Yes. The Forest God’s family.”
Her eyes widen for a moment, and she nods. “Yes, of course. Them.”
She turns and walks toward Tapio and his wife and daughter, who are at the top of the stairs, staring at us.
That was very peculiar, Sarvi muses. I could have sworn Hanna decided she was anti-unicorn suddenly. Is it my breath?
I shake my head absently, still watching her as she talks to Tapio.
“She seems different somehow,” I say quietly. “But I suppose it’s not that unheard of for my father to spend time in the dungeons. He has been going on about building a bigger army.”
Sarvi grumbles, moving their lips in a flapping manner. That is very true. Still, I should want eyes on Tuoni before long.
I put my hand on the unicorn’s shoulder, the cold dry bone juxtaposed against the warm, soft coat. “I know the dungeons better than anyone. I’ll take a look and meet you back here. Just don’t let them leave without me. Those leftovers from dinner have my name on them.”
Be quick, Sarvi says. I’d like to avoid the bowels of this place if I can.
I take off toward the caverns Hanna stepped out of, running along the slick walls that shine in the intermittent torches lighting the way, the ground slippery beneath my feet. You’d think I would be used to the grim depravity and gore that litters the halls of Inmost, but I’m not sure I’ll ever be used to this city. The matches are fun, and I more than enjoy being a ref, but I try not to spend too much time here if I don’t have to. Even though I’m the Son of Death, my father taught me to enjoy the finer things in life, and this city is the antithesis of all that is good in the world.
I’m about to head down a narrow set of stone steps to the dungeon when I feel a cold blast come over me, raising the hair on the back of my neck, the stench of sulfur filling the air.