When they arrived in Port Vallyn, they were transferred to another jail cell, this time on a boat docked near one of Malluk’s temples. Julia was glad they were able to stay together―except for Amiya, but she was safe. Her sister wouldn’t let anyone harm her, not with the connection between them.
They spent most of the voyage in silence, Lotus and Julia always snuggled firmly against Cael and Falcon. Occasionally, Lotus would smile, trying to comfort Julia, and it worked… for a moment.
As the stars faded from view in the dawning light of morning, Julia watched the smoke rise from the volcano through the small window. The boat moved slowly toward this mouth of hell, and she could see no way out, no escape, no hope that today wouldn’t be their last. She laughed suddenly, humorlessly.
“What?” Falcon asked.
“Just a quote from Romeo and Juliet,” she told him, then recited it: “Night’s candles are burnt out, and jocund day stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops. I must be gone and live, or stay and die.” She sighed. There was no choice now―leaving was no longer an option.
He smiled gravely as his arms tightened around her. “Let’s hope this story doesn’t end similarly.”
Lotus glanced up at Cael for a second, and he asked for her, “How is that?”
“They died,” Falcon told him. “Though their deaths were suicides. But then… perhaps going on this quest is just that.”
“We are only as good as our actions,” Cael said. “We must try to do what is right, even if we fail.”
“All I wanted to do was find a way home,” Julia said quietly. “And it’s just turned out to be a way to die.”
“But you ended up doing this for a noble reason―for the children,” Cael said; Julia figured Lotus must have told him. “That is something to be proud of. If you do die, then it will be over, nothing more to worry about. However, there is no certainty of death. I have made it through predicaments like this before.”
“You’ve faced something this bad?” she asked skeptically.
He shrugged. “I am not sure how bad this is yet. But I have been in some very bad situations.”
She studied him for a moment, then glanced over at Lotus, who looked like she knew just what he meant. Julia wondered what kinds of trouble they had experienced in the past. What had happened when Cael’s brother and girlfriend had died? Was it as bad as this? She decided she didn’t want to know; she didn’t want to imagine what might be waiting for them at the temple.
After another long silence, she took a deep breath. “Cael, Lotus,” she said softly. She hated saying this, but she had to, just in case she didn’t have the chance later. “I just want you to know that I love you both.”
She thought they would tell her not to say it, because it sounded too much like she was giving up hope and saying goodbye, but they both smiled tenderly. Lotus glanced up at Cael, telling him something with her eyes. “We love you as well, " he said. "Both of you.”
For some reason, it was strange to hear the words from his lips, but it meant the world to Julia. She was able to smile at them for a few seconds before she lowered her head and brushed away the tears that came.
"Thank you," Falcon murmured to them. "I feel the same."
__________
All too soon, they were on land and being escorted into Malluk’s true temple. The building was the most fantastical thing Julia had seen in this world so far. At least a thousand steps, carved into the mountain, led up to a set of massive black doors in the middle of the gray stone structure that was only a facade―the rest of the temple was apparently inside the volcano itself. Two statues, both over thirty feet tall, were holding up the black tile roof on either side. They were doglike creatures, like Dobermans but monstrous. Their mouths were opened slightly in a snarl, showing sharp teeth and long fangs, and their eyes were glowing like windows into a fireplace.
“Hellhounds,” Cael told her, following her gaze.
She nodded, too terrified to speak.
“Yes, they do exist."
She just gave him a look, as if to say, Thanks, I really needed to know that.
“The real ones are only about your height when on all fours,” he told her, trying to help ease her fear.
It didn’t work.
Instead of entering through the front doors, they were led around the side, down a few steps, and through an iron door. They walked down a dark hallway, and then into another wider one that had cells on either side. The bars ran from floor to ceiling, and behind most of them were ratty, dirty people―men, women, and even some children. The four of them were put into the last cell on the right, and the barred door was locked behind them.
“Falcon?” a man said after the guards left.
“Cadin!” Falcon said to the man in the cell across the way.
“I wondered what happened to you,” Cadin said, his voice lifeless and his eyes red from crying.
“I heard about people being taken. But the story was that Kieran was taking slaves. Why are you in here?”
“She’s tracking down my wife and kids,” he said miserably.
“Why?”
“I told her no, so she sent her guards after them. I told her I’d reconsidered, but she said it was too late. You only get one chance,” he explained, leaning his head against the bars of his cell. “She asks everyone if they’ll serve her, and those who say no are sacrificed to Malluk, unless you have loved ones. Then she―”
“We do not need to know that,” Cael interrupted. “Is there anything you know about this place or Kieran that may be of use?”
Cadin looked up and shook his head. “No.” Then he thought of something. “Oh, the High Priestess had Nissa. She was the fairy that ran the Mages Guild in Glendale, didn’t you know her?”
Julia covered her mouth and gasped. Poor Nissa, that sweet little fairy who looked like an angelic child. Tears came to her eyes at the horrific thought of such a beautiful creature being in a place like this. But it was worse then that…
“She was tortured,” Cadin said. “She finally broke, but by that time she was too badly wounded. They barely got anything out of her before she died.”
Cael nodded curtly, his expression letting Cadin know that they didn’t want to hear any more. They sat down then, and fell silent as Julia turned her face into Falcon’s chest and cried.
__________
They slept fitfully on the hard stone floor that night, with no need of blankets; though chimneys channeled much of the heat from the lava below out of the temple, the place was still hot. The ocean breeze that came through the small, barred window did little to cool them down.
It was mid-morning when the guards came back. They had food―good food, and plenty of it. They pushed it through the bars and walked away without a word.
Julia noticed the look that passed between Cael and Lotus. He was stealing himself against something, and Lotus’ eyes showed the first sign of fear. Julia was too scared to ask. Feeling like she was going to be sick, she pushed the food away and cuddled closer to Falcon. Lotus didn’t eat either. She sat near the back wall with her head against Cael’s shoulder and her tear-filled eyes focused on the floor.
“You’re part elf, aren’t you?” Cadin asked.
Cael gave a small nod as he ate.
“She hates elves.”
“Yes, I had already guessed as much,” came Cael’s terse reply.
“I wouldn’t eat that if I were you,” Cadin told him. “It’ll just make you survive longer.”
Cael glared fiercely at the man. “Be silent. We do not need to hear any more.” He said each word slowly, menacingly.
“Survive longer?” Julia whispered. But then everything suddenly clicked into place―Kieran liked torture, Kieran hated elves, Kieran wanted Cael to have his strength, to survive longer. She let out a whimper before she could cover her mouth. Terrified, she looked at Cael through watery eyes. His gaze was understanding and tender. He forced a smile for her, but she couldn’t even try to return it. How could he be so calm, so strong, at a time like this?
She looked over at Lotus, and a horrible chill went through her. Lotus knew what was coming, and her eyes held the same terror Julia felt―but it had to be so much worse for her, because Cael wasn’t just her friend… he was everything to her, just as Falcon was to Julia.
“Hurry up and eat, elf,” a guard called down the corridor a few minutes later, confirming her conclusions.
“The high priestess wants the pleasure of your company,” another said with a snicker.
