Afanasiv brushed kisses on top of her head, his lips lingering in her hair.Always remember her that way. That is your true aunt, not this shell of a puppet. Your aunt died a long time ago, and it is proper to mourn her. When this is over, that is what we will do for her. I can assure you, sívamet, your aunt is no longer alive.
She knew he was right. She had to come to terms with the ideathat her beloved aunt was truly dead. If she thought of this woman as a puppet, her body an illusion rather than the same woman, that would be a huge help when she had to deal with her.
Thank you, Afanasiv. Seriously, I don’t know how I would get through this without you.
I have no doubt that you would find your way, but I am grateful we are facing this together. She has stopped and is looking around her for landmarks.
Vasilisa didn’t want her aunt to be lost. Lycans didn’t lose their way, but if her aunt couldn’t remember being Lycan, then she might not have a navigation system, either. That would mean they wouldn’t find the crack in the earth the demons had opened in order to slip through.
She will find it, Vasilisa. She is guided now by her connection to the underworld. She won’t be able to stop herself. She will keep going until she finds it.
She’s going to freeze to death if she’s out in this snow much longer,she countered.
Do you see the snow melt beneath her steps? That makes it harder for her to walk. She doesn’t realize it yet. She may never realize that the way she is using the heating system given to her by her demon friends, she is not making it easier for herself.
Vasilisa’s brows drew together as she watched much more closely the way Olga placed each foot in the snow. Earlier, she had been skimming lightly over the surface, but now she was sinking with each step. There was a curious glow coming from her body, down low around her ankles, almost as if she had a battery pack she was switching on and off.
Olga left the safety of the trees and stepped cautiously out into a small clearing. She kept looking around her as if she expected trouble.
Do you feel that? The warning in the air?Afanasiv asked.Olga does. She is being watched by half a dozen sets of eyes.
Are we safe? Should we be up in the trees and still?Vasilisa was anxious,but mostly because she was doing her best to connect with Olga. She wanted to know if she could and how far that connection would go. All the way into the underworld? Was that a possibility?
Those are real wolves, Vasilisa,Afanasiv reminded her.If she is to live, she had better use that portal immediately.
I can send the wolves away.
Once again, his hand came up to the back of her head, fingers starting a slow massage on her scalp designed to ease the tension out of her. As massages went, this one worked. She found herself relaxing into him.
There is no need. She is moving fast to the other side of the clearing and that deep but narrow gorge right there. That seems to be her destination.
Vasilisa clutched his arm, suddenly excited.Look down into the gorge, Siv. There’s a crack that runs along the far wall from the top to the bottom in a zigzag pattern. That’s it. That’s where they’re coming in.
The opening was difficult to see. Hidden in the dirt, brush and rocks that jutted out from the wall of the gorge, the fracture looked as if it were just a darker stripe among so many. The snow hadn’t yet covered it because of the overhang from above.
Olga slid down from the top of the gorge on the opposite side, traveling at breakneck speed along what had clearly been used as a chute by many before. The slide was slick and packed down, much like an alligator slide that had been in existence for a number of years. At the bottom, Olga shot off the slide and onto the floor of the gorge. Rocks buried in the dirt and snow were everywhere, making it a particularly hard landing. Olga didn’t seem to care. She picked herself up and began to make her way to that dark, narrow opening in the wall.
Is it possible for us to enter the underworld undetected? Would we be able to enter using Olga somehow? Or just go in ourselves?
Vasilisa wasn’t certain she wanted him to answer her in the affirmative. The idea was terrifying, but if they could get in, they might discover her brothers and the women used to lure them there.
For the first time, Afanasiv hesitated. She felt the hesitation keenly.
It is possible but extremely dangerous. I told you I was held for some time before I was able to escape. They can smell human flesh, and they go into a frenzy. One mistake and it would be over for you. Or me. Or both of us.
I’m not talking about taking our physical bodies, Siv.Deliberately she used a more intimate nickname for him.I’m suggesting we shed our bodies in the way Carpathians do and travel with Olga.
I understood your plan, Vasi,he countered, amusement in his voice.What do you plan on doing with our physical bodies while we travel? They would freeze to death in the snow. Or someone might run across them and move them, believing we were really dead. The other worry would be that Olga would be punished or, worse, beheaded. Where would that leave us?
She hadn’t considered those things, and they were legitimate worries.Do you have any ideas, Siv?
His nod was slow in coming.I think we should allow Olga to return on her own. We know where the demons are coming and going. This, to me, is the right time to slow everything down so we don’t make a wrong decision. I have memories in my head I seem to have misplaced. Whether it was done on purpose or not, I can’t tell you. I do know I sometimes get alarming images rising up out of nowhere, and I am aware I’m accessing those memories.
These are memories from when you were imprisoned in the underworld?
Now she wanted—no, needed—to comfort him. Once again, she slid her arms around his neck and pressed her body tightly against his.Afanasiv, we don’t have to look at those memories if they upset you. We can find another way.
I am your lifemate, Vasilisa. I provide whatever you need. Right now, you need to find a way to recover your brothers. We have no choice but to use every scrap of information available to us.He indicated the gorge with a jerk of his chin.There she goes. Are you able to follow the pattern she is using to open the fracture so she can use it?