The Crimson Snow (A Realm of Chaos and Void #1)

Chapter 33

The Suspicious Hawk

Primal siths may appear mostly human,

But they are anything but.

Guardians of their realm, they are shapeshifters by nature.

Some transform into fish to remain hidden in the depths,

Others sprout wings to watch over the skies,

And some grow fangs to hunt and roam in the dark.

Retrieved from Ancient History of The Realms

by Malvrek W., Ch. 3, p. 23.

Two Days Before the Incident

Seraphine Ashcroft

Looking at them, Theron asked, “Then, what is the plan?”

They were in the room that Raggart had transformed into a supper area. Theron took a long sip of wine. Evren was the one she knew to be from a high seat in the realm, and she guessed that Theron was, too, since he almost looked human. He was excessively beautiful, and according to Evren, he was from the Galehollow lineage, the ones that oversaw air creatures.

Seraphine moved closer to Evren, their legs touching, wanting to be close. As if Evren were reading her mind, he put his hand on her leg, making slow circles up and down in a slow, hungry motion.

Evren cast a look at her and then at Raggart. “Even if all this is true, how would we get to the Underworld?”

Theron seemed torn, as if this were all a puzzle. “Ren, you asked me before you were kicked out of this realm to find a way to dispel the curse. I searched for centuries, and this is the closest we’ve ever been.”

He moved and opened a bottle of wine. “What if we continue looking for centuries and find nothing? What if this is it, Ren?”

He looked at Evren, who tensed and sighed loudly, closing his eyes.

“I just can’t risk it for a mere tale with no real proof,”

he said, moving his fingers a little higher on Seraphine’s leg.

Seraphine cleared her throat. “But if we don’t risk it, we’ll never win. There is a price for everything. That’s why we deal and trick. We risk what we have for something greater.”

“Or worse,”

Evren said.

She peered up at him and pinched his side, which was a bad move since he moved his hand higher, and she almost dropped her glass of wine. “We’ll never know if we never risk it, will we?”

He smiled at her and kissed her cheek. “Aren’t you a smart and very convincing little creature, Crimson Eyes?”

“Oh, this is too cheesy,”

Theron muttered, turning around to avoid looking at them.

Theron seemed nice, but Seraphine noticed that he couldn’t hold her gaze. Perhaps it was her eyes.

“Let’s ask Dorah. If anyone knows a way into the Underworld, it’s her. And if she agrees that there is no way out, then we can keep looking for clues,”

she said. This time, she put her hand on Evren’s leg, a little too high, and he choked on his wine and coughed.

Raggart, who looked even smaller than before beside Theron, nodded. “That sounds fair.”

“I can go with Seraphine and visit... Excuse me.”

He paused, looking confused. “Who are we visiting?”

“Theodorah Hollowspring,”

Evren pressed, an evil smile spreading on his mouth.

Theron tensed, his green eyes twisted. He seemed out of place as he moved his hand over his face. “Ren...”

Evren stopped him with his hand. “No, just go there with Seraphine and retrieve any valuable information about ways into the Underworld. Nothing more, Theron. Get over it.”

This was the first time she heard Evren sounding so demanding, like a king giving orders. Theron slowly nodded, knowing his place in all this.

While there was something here she was unaware of, she moved out of her seat and kissed Evren’s cheek. “Okay, let’s get some answers then.”

Theron and Seraphine walked outside the Mystweave Library toward the Shadowmarket. The moment was awkwardly silent.

“Do you find me strange?”

Seraphine asked, internally cursing herself for not knowing when to keep quiet. Of course, he found her odd. All creatures found humans peculiar, and she wasn’t sure she was human either.

Theron looked ahead, expressionless. “No.”

Well, that was a sharp answer I could’ve gone without. Seraphine needed to focus on the plan. One nightmare at a time.

Theron cleared his throat. “I mean, not entirely in a bad way, Seiren.”

“Seiren?”

He closed his eyes, and she swore that Theron seemed as if he was about to have a breakdown, as if he had said the worst thing in the world.

That name resonated with Seraphine, though, so it must mean something.

“Seraphine, sorry. It’s quite a nerve-wracking day for me,”

he muttered.

It was indeed a nerve-wracking day. They either found answers, or they could be left with more questions and an endless pile of books. Still, Seraphine went back to the name. She had seen that name—it was on the list she had found in Evren’s room.

“Seiren was his fiancée.”

While the thought of her in the past caused tricky feelings inside her, like spiders crawling and webbing her alive, it now seemed to have the opposite effect. Seraphine felt bad for Evren’s dead fiancée. She never got to live a life with him, see the world, or enjoy the dance of the snowflakes during winter.

Theron, massive and agile as he looked, stumbled at that. “How do you know? Did Evren mention something?”

he asked, cautious.

“No, I saw her name on a note, and I connected the dots. I mean, you could have just denied it. But I guess you fell for it. Hence, you told me, but no worries, I won’t say a word to Evren if you behave.”

Theron’s eyes widened, and she smiled sweetly. “And you must have known her. I guess that your surprised face after mentioning that name was because of that,”

she said and continued walking.

While Seraphine would like to know more about the topic, the closer they got to Dorah’s shop, the more she felt nervous. She wasn’t sure she would feel relieved if there was a way into the Underworld.

“Ah, I thought—”

Theron moved his hand, looking somehow relieved. “Never mind. Yes, I knew her and—”

She cut him off. “Do not bother. I’d rather have no details. Right now, I need to focus on whatever Dorah might tell us.”

She heard a bellowing laugh, loud and almost cracking to the core.

Seraphine arched a brow at Theron. “Why in Brannon’s realm are you laughing?”

“Dorah?”

He sounded amused and shocked at the same time, his freckles as diverse as his expressions. “You are indeed her friend. How… convenient.”

Then, his green spring eyes turned cold and hard.

“Sounds like you know her, and you dislike her quite a bit. That is very shallow coming from creatures not based on vanity,”

Seraphine spat back. Hags were very respected among these parts.

Theron dismissed her comment, and they continued walking, reaching the door to Dorah’s shop. Before going through the door, Theron faced her, his eyes shadowed and somehow hesitant. “I am not vain in any regard. Perhaps I should not tell you this, but I proposed to her centuries ago,”

he admitted, and Seraphine almost choked. High-house members marrying common creatures was unusual.

He sighed. “I do not dislike her. I just don’t trust her.”

Before Seraphine could say anything else, the door opened, and Dorah stood before them. She looked even older, and that realization struck Seraphine. Theron was probably centuries old. Evren too.

Dorah’s roses moved, and her eyes widened slightly. “Well, what an unpleasant visit. Weren’t you supposed to be the smart one?”

the hag said to Theron.

This would be a perfect time for Aurum or Nemera to appear and take my soul so I wouldn’t have to be seated between two ex-lovers.

“I would rather eat a kelpie than have you in my presence,”

Dorah sneered at Theron. As soon as they entered the shop, he started touching potions and other oddities, which seemed to enrage Dorah, who threw a rock at his face.

This led to a heated discussion about how annoying they found each other.

Seraphine wondered if maybe the creatures from this realm were more human than they were told to believe.

“Oh, I am sure you would eat that. Actually, you would probably feast on a bunch of them, you little witch,”

he spat back, his eyes iridescent green. “You have done worse, which is why you are the way you are now, so do not even turn this into one of your jokes.”

That seemed to hit a nerve with Dorah, her eyes narrowing as her sharp nails moved closer to him.

Seraphine pushed Theron behind her quickly. With one gloved hand, she pointed at Theron while looking at Dorah. “Pay no mind to this circus clown. He is only here as my escort. I needed someone strong. I am the brains here,”

Seraphine said, smiling at Dorah, who ended up laughing.

Theron muttered something she could not place, but it sounded quite frustrated. Him being a jerk makes sense as to why he’s so close to Evren.

“What goods should I interest you in, Seren?”

Dorah asked, moving closer to Seraphine. “Maybe some new gloves? Why are you—”

She smiled. “Another tale for another time, Dorah.”

She moved closer to her. “I need any information you can give me on possible entrances to the Underworld.”

To Seraphine’s surprise, Dorah smiled again, her sharp teeth coming alive. For the first time, the bizarre roses in her hair moved and smiled alongside her. “Ah, quite sensitive information. What are you willing to give for that?”

“Anything of value to you, just if the information you have actually leads us to something.”

Theron declared, “I will pay the price, I—”

“There is nothing of value that you can give me, Theron,”

Dorah spat and moved to Seraphine once more, intrigued somehow, excited even. “I will give you a ticket to the Underworld, a map to a door.”

The hag’s eyes dilated.

Seraphine could take whatever could help them, so she nodded, hiding her mixed emotions. There was a way to the Underworld, and this should feel like a win, but it tasted bittersweet.

“And what is the price? Name some options, and I will try to match them. Or we can play a deal’s game or perhaps some shadow chess?”

Seraphine knew this dance very well and was not afraid of whatever Dorah might ask.

Dorah took an oddly-shaped branch from her pocket. It was barely the size of her hand, and with a soft blow of her breath, it turned into a dazzling bracelet, gold with small rubies in the shape of hearts and butterflies. “I will tell you how to enter the Underworld, but you must wear this on your wrist. You won’t be able to take it off,”

she said and opened a map of the Shadowmarket. “There are multiple ways to enter the Underworld, just like your precious library. You only need to find the portal to take you to the right place.”

She circled a tree near the Shadowmarket.

“Here,”

she continued, and Theron and Seraphine seemed skeptical. “Now, as soon as you get there, just take any of the ruby figures from the bracelet.”

Seraphine looked at her curiously. “Wait, how did you get your hands on this bracelet? And why haven’t you tried to go through the portal yourself? There must be valuable things you can get from the Underworld. What about how we know it’s the right place? Or perhaps, telling us what is there—”

“That I shall not do. You asked for a way in. There it is. As for how I got the bracelet, it was a fair trade I did centuries ago. I did try to get to the Underworld, but it did not work for me.”

Moving closer to Dorah, Theron intervened, “And how in the world are you so sure we will be allowed? This seems like a useless trick to gain something—”

“You need the right key to move across realms, you idiot,”

Dorah growled, turning to Seraphine. “Ever wonder why you, little human, are allowed to be here? Why was Evren able to cross just by being with you? The key is not just the bracelet. You need a realm jumper.”

Seraphine caught her breath. “You think I am one?”

“Seren, I don’t know why you were born with that trait. Perhaps something with your eyes? But if you can jump to the Otherworld, it may be worth trying to see if you are the second key needed to go to the Underworld. I am not certain, but this is all I can offer you.”

“If this is not certain, then we won’t—”

Theron started, but Seraphine held his arm, stopping him.

“We can try, Theron,”

Seraphine said.

“So, will you wear it and get on your way, or would you rather find another way in?”

Dorah asked, a smirk on her old face.

Theron sneered sarcastically, “How in the realms will we know it is the right place? Is there a sign like ‘Welcome to the Underworld’?”

“You will know.”

“Look, you hag, do not take us as—”

“Deal,”

Seraphine spoke before she could regret it. It was a risk, but she knew Dorah would never hurt her. I trust Dorah.

“Clever indeed,”

Dorah muttered, snapping the bracelet on Seraphine’s wrist.

An electric push pressed on her wrist.

“Safe travels, Seren. Say hi to Aurum from me.”

With that, the hag winked and waved Seraphine and Theron away from the shop.