Marvels of the Underworld by Hermione Lee

Author:Hermione Lee
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: World Castle Publishing, LLC
Published: 2022-03-02T14:22:21+00:00

Chapter Nine - The Sorceress and the Shortcut - (Alexandria)

Troubled dreams reigned my sleep.

A haughty-looking woman with flaming red hair sat on an obsidian throne in a room of bare black marble threaded by ivory veins. She addressed the four devils and devilines kneeling in front of her, “Anderson, Scott, Lowry, and Jones.”

“Your Majesty?” whispered one of the devils.

Alta was in an ugly mood. “From what my scout has reported, the Otherworldians entered the Underworld last night.”

“Who did they send this time, Your Majesty?” the other devil asked.

“My ignorant niece, my traitor of a son, and my old friend, but four more Otherworldians entered the Underworld last night—the foolish Representative Elder, the heiress of Fern, and two junior Elders.”

“What do you reckon their goal is, Your Majesty?” said the first devil.

“What do you think, Anderson?”

The devil named Anderson gulped. “Your Majesty, we must be careful. According to our scout, they have already discovered the secret of the Underworld. They now know it’s the portals that are changing, rather than the terrains. They’ve come to the Underworld in order to figure out the positions of the terrains, and I fear they will succeed.”

“That is correct.” Alta pursed her lips, her eyes staring out of focus.

“But Your Majesty,” a deviline spoke, “as long as the Otherworldians don’t know about the Control Center, we’ve got nothing to worry about, do we?”

“That does not mean we can lower our guard, you foolish girl!” Alta snapped at the deviline. “They’re planning to navigate the Underworld, and it’s likely they’ll come across the Control Center by accident. In that case, we mustn’t let them break in. Anderson, Lowry, keep the Control Center guarded. I demand the highest security.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“The Control Center’s the place where all the secrets of our world lie, with hidden weapons and the most technological instruments ever invented. You must not fail.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. We’ll do our best,” Lowry promised her.

“But it’s unlikely the Otherworldians would scale Mount Maravillas if they didn’t know about the Control Center—” The deviline who had defied Alta broke off in mid-sentence on catching sight of her stern expression.

“Edith Jones, I’m giving you one final chance. Do not let me hear one more ridiculous theory from you. Scott, you and Jones are to take your troops around Mirabilia District and patrol it. Ambush and maim, or better, kill any Otherworldians you come ac—” Alta stopped all of a sudden and turned to face my direction. She glared at me as though she could sense my presence. I held my breath as she reached out a gloved hand to touch my face. The next thing I knew, a blinding flash of light exploded right before me—

My eyes blinked open. The others were still asleep and perhaps, dwelling in dreams of their own as well.

Chilly air and moist mist greeted me as I stepped out of the cabin. I looked back at our hut and surveyed the woods, which was shrouded by a thick veil of drizzling fog. It

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