"I can't see," Belladonna mumbled before she started crying out frantically, blinking as fast as she could. "I can't see! Alaris, I can't see."
"I know. I'm right here." She felt him hold her hands and she relaxed a little.
"You'll be fine. The light is blinding for mortals. It skipped my mind to tell you, sorry about that." There was no teasing in his voice.
This must really be happening.
She asked him if her hands were still bleeding and he assured her that she was fine. She wasn't feeling the pain anymore or hearing those deafening voices, so she believed him. It was strange to see nothing, and have to completely trust Alaris. At the same time, it didn't feel too strange to trust him.
He helped her off the boat and she felt cold beach sand kissing her feet.
Did they just go back to her subconscious mind?
"We are here."
"Where is here?"
"Me'k, the In-Between."
Belladonna let out a shaky breath.
The in-between of what?
"We just crossed over into Thanatou's Realm. Listen carefully, that river we just came from is our only way out of here, this beach is the in-between, the Thanis can't reach here, and the river at the other side," she felt him angle her forward, "is Thanatou's Realm."
"You speak like you will be leaving me alone. You won't right?"
"I'll try not to." She could hear a smile in his voice and for some reason, she remembered Eli again.
She really hoped that he was alright.
"Are you listening to me?" Urgency laced his voice like the poison of the danger they were dancing towards.
Belladonna could feel time trickle out of her hands. Running and leaving them behind.
"Yes."
She took hesitant steps along with him, allowing him to guide her as they approached what she presumed was Thanatou's realm.
She could hear nothing coming from that direction though, but she was sure Alaris wouldn't lead her astray.
"When we cross into his territory, you will hear the sound of creatures wailing from the torment of being turned into statues. They are called the wailing stones."
"Why were they turned into statues?"
"Because they stole something from Thanatou."
Belladonna balled her fists. Somewhere along the line, the sand now felt warm beneath her feet.
It wasn't comforting.
What if they have to steal the sunflower, were they going to get turned into stones too?
"The sky above turns red and Thanatou's tears rains down upon them. Many think they can avoid it. Complete stupidity I'll never be involved in."
"Does he usually reclaim the things stolen from him?"
How long was the beach?
When would they get to the other side?
How long had she been asleep?
Belladonna wondered, but she felt the need to know as much as she had to about Thanatou before stepping into his realm.
It would be stupid to do otherwise.
"Yes. When they are stones, they can't fight. Besides, Thanatou has never lost anything before."
Panic!
"So how exactly are we going to get the sunflower from him? Ask him politely?"
Alaris chuckled, before his voice took a serious edge, and he stopped abruptly, making Belladonna sense that they were about to cross over.
"There is always a way to get what you want."
Alaris had helped her into a canoe. She couldn't hear him paddling this time, what she could hear instead was the crying of different voices, if she listened well enough, she could hear them whispering about their pain and torment.
Despite her readiness, Belladonna flinched when she heard the crying closer than she had prepared for, she felt the canoe sway as if it had bumped into a statue and there was a screech she had to block her ears from.
Her heart was pounding in her chest.
There was no going back now, she knew, but somehow, this felt like she was a pig being led off to the slaughter.
Her breathing was loud and Alaris' assuring grip around her hand was tight.
Good, at least that reminded her that she wasn't alone.
"Things might be a little more difficult than usual though."
Usual? He came here a lot? What were the treasures he was trying to get from Thanatou, could it be the sunflower?
"I heard he isn't happy because he still hasn't completed his crowning rights to become the Thanatou yet."
So Thanatou was a title.
The whispering from all directions was distracting, the crying wasn't helping, and what was worse was this foul taste at the back of her throat, like their depression was spilling over right into her chest, their grieve claiming her as their mistress.
"Mmm," Belladonna hummed so that he would go on.
"They marry a bride from another realm and kill her as a sacrifice. I've always thought their belief was stupid."
Something flipped in her stomach unpleasantly.
What was this sickening feeling?
It held her hostage, slowed down her thinking with its presence.
Alaris must have sensed that, because the next thing she knew, he was by her side with worry.
"Are you alright?"
"I---I--," she felt dizzy, absolutely lightheaded. "What is happening to me?" The words were low, pushed out with as much strength as she could command.
The next thing she heard was clickings, like people were making those sounds, coming closer and closer, blending along with the wailing of the stones.
A chaotic harmony.
"Alaris? What is going on?!"
"Thanatou knows there are intruders in his realm. He has sent his soldiers to bring us to him."
Alaris sounded way too calm for everything happening right now.
He yelled at her to be calm when she started panicking all over the place, but could she be blamed? The water became turbulent, sending their canoe crashing into different statues, earning different screams, incoherent shouting, and increased wailing.
What about the clicking?
Everything.
Louder and louder!
A catastrophic blend.
Till the canoe finally turned over into the river and the waves snatched her away from the part of the canoe she was holding onto.
She had screamed for Alaris but the salty waters turned her screams into bubbles.
Hands grabbed her, tight and skeletal, as she fought for air.
She felt someone engulf her from behind in an unwilling embrace, as they dove down into the river, her struggles nothing compared to the strength that rendered them futile.
Suddenly, they were no lower pushing against the force of the water, instead her feet were now planted firmly against a slightly coarse surface, and the hands were no longer around her.
Belladonna staggered, looking for balance.
She blinked and this time, she could see.
Belladonna would have squealed in happiness if the strangeness of what she had seen hadn't put a hold on it.
They were in a castle, at least something that looked like it. Above them was a body of red water, flowing, suspended in the air, and taking the place of a sky.
The light here had a red glow, instead of the golden glow of torches back in Ignas.
There were different guards stationed at either side of the aisle, where Belladonna and, hopefully, Alaris, were.
The throne was made of skeletons, that she almost missed the perso--creature sitting on them. His skin was white, hugging his bones a little too tightly, making his fingers look excessively long as he brushed a digit over his lips. His crown of bones was tipped on his head, over the blue flames that took place of his hair, and his eyes blazed blue. No pupils, just slant lines, filled with sharp blue smoke in the place of eyes.
His gaze zeroed in on her-- on them, and Belladonna could feel her powerlessness go through her veins like cold water.
"You." He raised from his throne, slowly, like a ghost, floating in the air, his black raggedly robe adding to his eerie aura.
He was like the reaper.
Moved like death.
Sounded like death.
Belladonna could feel that awful feeling trapping her heart again, fighting her breathing.
"I told you to never come back!"
"This time, I have what you want!" Alaris said from beside her.
Belladonna blinked, her gaze hard on the ground, thanking Ignas that Alaris had thought ahead to save them from this creature of unforgiving nature, before wondering what their saving grace could possibly be.
She didn't have to wonder for long.
"I brought you a Bride."