NOVEL NEXT Book 9 - The Deal - Chapter 47
I was starting to expect the empty dreamscape.
It was like being the only one in a large building but with a single light around you. I couldn't see any of the walls, though I wasn't sure if these spaces even had walls. They did have a faint echo, which was really weird.
The ground was like liquid metal. Dark, barely shiny, but it also rippled when I walked on it. Seeing what looked like a solid floor buckle with ripples then smooth out as I walked was something else about the space that was different, but didn't feel strange. To be honest if a one-eyed purple monster with two heads jumped out at me, I don't know that I would have thought it was out of place.
Every other time that I'd been in people's minds, I had found them right off. So I was a little surprised when Astrid didn't walk up to me after what felt like a few minutes. I started to walk around in a small circle. I wasn't sure if the point where I entered had some significance or if it was all arbitrary. I really needed Trent to go over this topic with me once we got him out.
"ASTRID!" I cupped my hands to help carry my voice farther. The echo came back from what sounded like every direction. I winced at the amplified sound.
Once the noise had quieted down, I started moving again, this time being quieter, saying her name just softer than speaking.
"Astrid! Astrid!"
My irritation began to rise along with the feeling of urgency. I doubted Klix was waiting for me to signal her that my job was finished. I probably had a set amount of time, then she was going to hit what was left of the demon's seal.
"Who are you?"
I turned around to face the combative voice.
It was Astrid. She was dressed in her crimson leather outfit that she'd been wearing when we found her in the pit about to fight the Minotaur. Her red hair was up in braids to keep it out of her face and she wore a frown that told me she wasn't pleased to see me.
"Atlas Vowler." I searched her face for a sign of recognition. There wasn't one.
"Who?"
"Atlas Vowler. Trent Vowler's son? The team from the Cathedral that you were supposed to join?" The last piece of information finally registered with her.
"Oh…" Asterid turned away. "That was supposed to be Zel's slot."
"I know." I walked over and touched her arm. Instead of her flinching, which I was afraid she might do, she glared at me then pulled my hand off of her and took a few steps away from me.
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
"You don't know anything! You don't know what happens to people after they come out of that place! You don't know what they're going to do to her!" Astrid balled her fists and I noticed a few tears start to fall down her cheeks.
I stepped forward and took her hands, holding tight onto them. Partly so she didn't swing them at me.
"I do know and I stopped them." I bent over a little so I could look into her blue eyes. She'd been unconscious for so long that I hadn't remembered what color they were. "Zel's okay."
"She is?" Astrid looked around. "How? Where is she?"
"We're in your mind right now…" I paused. "I think. Anyway, it's just you and me here."
Astrid tried to pull away, but I held on to her. I earned a kick in the gut for my trouble.
I pulled her close to me, then pushed her over so that I could sit on her chest. Once I had straddled her and pinned her arms to her sides, I looked at her very angry face. "I get that this doesn't scream 'you can trust me', but I've got stuff that I need to tell you and we don't have the time for you to run off. I'm sorry."
I rubbed the place on my stomach where I'd have a bruise, except this wasn't exactly real. I wasn't sure how much of the damage here transferred outside. I'd have to check that out.
"First off. Zel is fine. The demons did pick her up after we rescued you, but my team and I rescued her, then we destroyed the demons so they can't hurt you right now." I held up my hands. "Okay?"
"Where is she?" Astrid strained against my legs. "How do I know you're not lying?"
"She…" She had a point. Right now, I could say whatever I wanted and the only way she'd be able to verify it was when she got out. I sighed. "You're right, there's no way for me to prove that what I'm saying is true." I thought for a moment about how to answer her first question. Telling her that Zel had left with one of the most wanted men in the world probably wasn't the smartest thing to say. "Whether you believe me or not, Zel went to Tres to have him help remove the demon seal that you all had put on you." I motioned around us. "That's what we're trying to do here."
"You're saying that it takes a God to remove the seal and you want me to believe that you can do it? You're like level three!" Astrid had finally stopped struggling, though she made a good point. I'd forgotten that she'd been unconscious when I'd revealed what I was to Ether and Oz.
"Gar was my mother." Saying the words felt like shoving an icicle into my chest. It wasn't the first time in the last week that I'd shared that information, but for some reason it hurt to admit it right now. Almost like I was dirtying my mother's name by using it to convince this woman of what I was.
"But you… You're… That means…"
"The whole reason that I'm the one who has to do this is because Trent tripped your seal and now he's stuck in here." I nodded at her. "If I let you up will you listen now?" I pointed at the empty void above us. "In a few minutes, Klix is going to destroy the demon seal and if I don't tell you what you need to do, then both you and Trent are going to die."
I felt her tense, but not like she was trying to get out from underneath me. More like she was flinching in shame.
Astrid nodded slowly.
"Okay." I got up, then offered her my hand to help her up.
The golden woman swatted it away as she stood up. But she didn't try to run or attack me, so I considered that a win.
"What do you need me to do?" Astrid folded her arms in front of her.
"I need you to accept the seal that I've put on you. It'll overwrite the Demon Seal…"
Astid cut me off with a single word.
"No."