Theo's stomach swooped as the soldier marched him up what seemed like empty air. Intellectually he knew there had to be a ramp beneath his feet – and it did feel like he was standing on a solid surface – but try telling his lizard brain that when all he could see was the ground growing steadily farther away.
No, he couldn't focus on it – and he had much bigger problems to deal with. He tore his gaze from the hill below, and his friends shrinking in the distance, to glare at General Grave's back. She strode at the front of the group, Theo's staff swinging carelessly from her hand.
The sight of it in her grasp made helpless fury scrape his insides. He clenched his teeth, trying to force his emotions aside. They wouldn't help him here and now.
When Grave vanished into thin air, he jolted. The guard pushed him forward, snarling, "Don't stop."
So he kept going, one foot in front of the other, even as dread prickled down his spine the closer he approached the point where Grave had disappeared. The change happened so suddenly he wondered if he'd been dreaming. One minute he had been walking midair; the next, he stood in the entryway of what seemed to be a dim, musty ship's hold.
Theo twisted around in the guard's grip, trying to glance back at where he'd come from, but the guard gave him another shove forward. He stumbled, almost losing his balance.
Grave stood waiting for them in front of a ladder rising out of the hold. The faint glow from the Star of Miriel provided enough light to make out the smirk lifting her lips. "Impressive, isn't it? Well, I do think the entrance could be the slightest bit more welcoming, but that Ninox is so painfully set in her ways."
"If the Infernal Legion can do things like this, you needn't bother conquering Tielos," Darian said dryly. "You'll find plenty of success just by selling your technology."
Grave barked a laugh. "Our prince is a businessman too, hm? Well, I've no idea how any of this works. This is General Ninox's craft. She so generously allowed me to borrow it for this mission."
"Generous indeed," Darian said, dry as ever.
She hadn't just been making snarky comments, Theo realized; she'd been fishing for information. And they'd gotten some, though Theo had no idea how to begin using it. General Ninox. She must be the remaining Grand General.
But if they couldn't even defeat Grave, what was the point of thinking about a future enemy?
Grave tucked his staff beneath her arm and alighted the ladder, the tails of her coat flapping behind her. The guard shoved Theo forward first, and he climbed up after her.
When he emerged, he found himself in a corridor somewhat more spacious than the cramped hold, but still on the cozy side. Ragged sheets of cloth draped the metal walls at irregular intervals, while a threadbare carpet covered the floor. The only light came from dim greenish lamps set in sconces shaped like snarling monsters.
Then the guard drove his knee into Theo's back, forcing him to stumble ahead. Biting back a protest, Theo started down the corridor after General Grave.
But he only got a couple of steps before a startlingly loud thud came from behind. He whirled around, and his heart caught in his throat when he saw Victor had fallen to his knees.
He still wore his armor, but the mask was gone, revealing his gaunt face, hair hanging in lank strands over his eyes. Every one of his shuddering breaths tore right through Theo's gut.
"Get up." A guard kicked Victor in the side. Wheezing, he curled in on himself.
"Stop it!" Mirage shrieked, tugging against his guard's grip. "Let him rest, you bastards – "
"Shut up, whore." The guard dragged Mirage away from Victor. As he writhed and struggled, Theo made out the massive bruise marring the left side of his face, the blood dripping from his nose and mouth. But he didn't seem to give a damn about his own condition.
"What's going on here?" Grave stopped mid-step, throwing an annoyed glance over her shoulder.
"He's injured," Darian said tightly. "At least let him get some kind of treatment."
"Denied." Grave answered without a moment's hesitation. "The Infernal Lord doesn't like to be kept waiting. Haul him up, will you?"
She directed this at the guard behind Victor, who swiftly yanked on his arm. Victor lurched, but then stumbled back to his feet, shuddering all the while.
His lips moved. Though Theo could barely hear it beneath his pounding heartbeat, he thought Victor might've said, "I'm okay."
Liar. But things were only about to get a lot worse, so there was no use complaining.
They continued down the corridor, taking a few turns, the only sound the muffled thump of their footsteps upon the carpet. The entire way, Theo didn't see so much as another person. It felt uncannily like they were walking through a ghost town, an impression not helped by the cobwebs clinging to the ceiling and the dust that billowed with every footstep.
When they at last stopped, it was in front of an unassuming metal door with a clunky wheel lock. Grave seized the spokes and turned it with practiced ease, while Theo tried not to wince at the shrieking, squealing noise that flooded the hall.
Too late, he realized he should've kept track of how Grave was turning the lock – but the door had already swung open with an ominous creak.Grave pushed it fully open, and Theo didn't get a chance to glimpse the interior before he found himself shoved inside.
The others followed, the guards practically hurling Victor and Mirage to the floor. Mirage helped Victor to his feet, straining beneath his weight, but Theo couldn't focus on them. No, all his attention was captivated by the mirror in the center of the room.
It was a small, surprisingly cozy space, every surface packed with boxes and trinkets like the closet of a hoarding grandma. With its fussily filigreed frame, even the mirror wouldn't be out of place in an old lady's house. In contrast to the state of subtle disrepair in the rest of Ninox's craft, the glass was polished to such a shine looking at it hurt Theo's eyes.
Grave stepped forward and pressed her palm to the center of the mirror. A horribly familiar pressure gripped Theo's head before lines of spidery black symbols spiraled out from beneath her hand.
They wove together to form a diagram so intricate he couldn't begin to comprehend its components – and he could barely see it anyway, since he had to squint against the overwhelming pressure of the Infernal Lord's Levia. Soon the diagram vanished altogether, replaced by a tide of inky darkness that flooded the mirror's entire surface.
The last time Theo had seen this darkness, he'd been drowning within its depths – and might have lost his entire self if it weren't for Mom's help.
Reacting on instinct, he stepped backward. But it was too late. Grave turned toward him with a devilish grin, revealing the pointed tips of her teeth. Her hand shot out, closing around the front of his cloak, and she flung him headfirst at the mirror.
Theo winced, but rather than slam against solid glass, his face plunged into the darkness and the rest of him soon followed. He found himself falling – or floating – through an endless void. Or was he moving at all? With the darkness crushing him on all sides, he felt more like an insect trapped in amber.
He couldn't twitch a single muscle. Couldn't draw a breath. He had no idea where his companions were; it felt like he was the only person in the universe. The only living being who had ever existed.
A distant point of blue light sent an echo of warmth fluttering through his chest. Was that the Star of Miriel? He had to reach it – but even the thought of moving felt impossibly daunting.
As the darkness tightened its grip, sinking its claws into his soul, a horribly familiar voice bloomed around him.
"So you have arrived. The prince, two traitors...and you. The others are a mere bonus, but you are the true prize. Now there will be no trickery, no chance to escape. So tell me, boy.
"Who are you?"