Eyes up. Don’t look down. But the creepy misery of it all dulled the mess of horrible emotions that bombarded her. Betrayal, rage, fear. They were still there, but she could vaguely recognize—as if she were standing outside of her own head—that her brain had attempted to preserve her sanity by tying them up in a big, knotted bundle and stowing them in the corner of her mind.
She stepped over a pile of tumbled stones and tried to push aside the image of Cadan’s expression just before she’d disappeared with Esha. It had been confusion and...hurt? Diana rubbed her temple. Of course she’d hurt him. He’d done all this because he cared for her. Or he’d cared for Boudica.
Either way, he was so damned pigheaded. How could she ever convince him to meet her in the middle?
Did it even matter if she was supposed to die soon?
Ever since the first demon attack, dying had been a possibility that had weighed on her, but not a probability. Now that it was likely...
Her throat tightened, a hollow coldness pervading her chest. There’d be a way around it. Had to b
e. Push it away. She wrapped anger around her heart like a blanket, thrusting the fear away and embracing the rage and betrayal that kept her from collapsing.
Focus on your surroundings. Stay in the present. But there wasn’t much to look at in the darkened tunnel, especially if she didn’t want to see what was crunching beneath her feet. The best she could do was stick close behind Esha.
She flushed. She was supposed to share a soul with one of Britain’s greatest warriors, and the best she could do was stick close behind her friend who led the way into danger?
But she had to do this. For herself—for Vivienne, who’d been dragged into this mess because of her. She had to do this. She could do this.
And she didn’t want Cadan to think otherwise. More important, she didn’t want to think otherwise. Being protected at the expense of her ability to make her own decisions was something she couldn’t live with.
If she got to live. Either way, she’d be taking control now. Determining her own fate and doing what was necessary.
“We’re here.” Esha’s hushed tone jerked Diana back to the present.
“We are?”
Diana squinted into the dark, but could see nothing out of the ordinary. Just a big black chamber that dripped water. The air had an unnatural chill that couldn’t kill the reek of decay. Her nose wrinkled.
“Yeah, come closer.” Esha beckoned her forward with a wave of her hand.
When Diana reached her, Esha wrapped a slim arm around her waist. She mimicked the gesture until they stood side by side.
“All right, you need to close your eyes and focus on the feeling of my arm. I can’t give you my sight, but I can let you see inside my head.”
Diana squeezed her eyes shut and focused on the warmth of Esha’s arm. She twitched when she felt the cat twine itself between her legs and Esha’s.
“All right, I’m going in. Not my body, but my sight.”
Diana gasped and stumbled back as a black cloud of shadows bombarded her mind.
“That’s in front of us?” she whispered.
“Yep. Creepy, huh? Now focus and stop me when you recognize something. I’m going to try to find the source of the energy.”
The black cloud began to dissipate as Esha’s mind went farther into the new world. It was dark and gray with a sluggish black river snaking through marshes while mist crawled through the reeds and along the edge of the field upon which they stood. She couldn’t tell where the dim light that illuminated the dismal scene came from, which made the surroundings extra creepy.
They began to move forward and a chill crept up her spine. Shadows of people, almost ghostlike, wandered along the river and through the mist toward a dark forest.
Esha led her after them. Diana shivered. All her big talk about taking control of her fate and doing what was necessary seemed a bit ridiculous now that she was actually seeing an ancient hell.
“Where are we exactly?” Diana whispered.
“Erebus. It’s the largest region of Hades. Many of these souls were warriors.”
“We’re getting closer.” Diana shivered. The air crackled with a malevolence that made her skin itch.
“I feel it too.”