Ikelos (The Ephemeral: Book 2)

Chapter 17

Like a fool, I wandered back into the cavities of the earth. Underground, to the home of all my nightmares.

But with my own spirit pheromones and a horde of demons guarding the palace, it was best to play it safe, and there was no place safer—allegedly—than the dark, winding tunnels 50 feet beneath the kingdom.  And so, with our hearts in our throats, Mason and I followed Victor and his men into the labyrinth.

It turned out Harmon was right though; I was less terrified knowing that a river didn't run above us this time, that a bomb wasn't about to crack the foundation and bury me in rubble.  One-upping the horrors of the dam and the mine operation would have been a difficult thing to achieve.

Of course, I wouldn't put it past the Fates to try.

"These tunnels are in pretty great shape," Mason murmured quietly, painfully, as if the compliment wounded his tongue. 

I observed the sturdy brick walls around us—a canvas stained yellow by Victor's lantern—and I couldn't help but agree with him. This architectural achievement was spectacular, its structural integrity impressive. Fudge wasn't kidding when he called Rheans innovative.

"I wish we could take credit for it, but this maze existed long before Rhea," Torian said, shooting me an excited grin over his shoulder. "It served as a sewer system for the Ancients."

Mason's face twisted in disgust, and I snorted, thankful that the tunnels no longer smelled of excrement. After all we'd been through, trudging through sewage would have been Mansion Boy's final straw.

Torian turned back around, and I watched the tail of his head kerchief swish back and forth.

The young man had decided to join us after all.

He'd packed his bags last night, and this morning, left his home behind to save another. He'd chosen Victor and his crew over his community.  And while he may not have considered himself a warrior, that kind of sacrifice required a unique sense of bravery and commitment. A kind of mentality that every soldier strives to obtain.

"After the bombs leveled the country, Rhea's first royal family drained the sewage system and began building the kingdom on top of the ruins," Torian continued, angling his head to observe the roof of the tunnel.

I slowed to a stop, replaying the words in my head. Then, as soon as I'd processed the unsettling detail, I hurried to catch up with the group again. "Wait, they just...built over the rubble?"

"Yeah. There was too much destruction, too many bodies. So they entombed the Ancient World and built Rhea on top of it."

 Mason and I both tensed at the alarming details, but Torian kept going.

"Apparently, people had access to the underground spaces for a few years after that. Used the nation's cellar for drug trafficking and other nefarious activities. The royal line eventually decided to seal the lower levels off to keep crime and disease out of the kingdom."

I looked up at the brick arches—the Ancients' mass grave. "So there are bodies up there?"

"Bones," Victor corrected. He winked at me. "Nothing to fear down here, love. Pans can't possess the dead."

Mason and I exchanged glances, thinking the exact same thing: no, demons couldn't possess a corpse. But evil spirits could. We'd seen that with Harmon's body at the Gorge, and it wasn't pretty.

For some reason, spirits didn't need a life source the way demons did. Styx had only required a collection of natural elements to produce an active, physical life form. Likewise, the two evil spirits we'd encountered had used ashes and river water to achieve a corporeal presence.