Even Coyote stopped by long enough to jerk his snout against my cheek to ensure I’m still breathing before he moved on.
But no matter how much I plead, not a single one of them was willing to put me out of my misery. So why should this time be any different?
I roll onto my stomach, bury my face in the dirt. Muttering, “Go away!” But still it draws closer. “If you’re not going to help, then feel free to scram. I’ve no use for gawkers, so get the hell out. You can tell Cade I’m still breathing, still existing, just like he planned.”
“Now why would I do that?”
A brilliant veil of light swoops down from above—its warming rays permeating my flesh. Thawing the places long turned cold.
“You’re a mess,” the voice says. “But I’m here to help. I can heal you. Erase your wounds like they never existed.”
“Not exactly the kind of help I’m after, so push on.” I burrow deeper into the dirt. “It’s not light that I seek, but rather its opposite.”
“I don’t understand.” The voice bears kindness, a trace of confusion. Probably paired with a face to match. Still I stay right as I am and refuse to acknowledge it. Though that doesn’t keep it from asking, “If you’re not looking to heal, what is it you want?”
“Salvation. Atonement. Daire,” I reply, my lips grinding into the dirt. “Think you can manage that?” My tone is purposely gruff and sarcastic, and my request is met with silence, just as I thought. “Go on. Shove off,” I growl, the words a harsh rasp, but the meaning is clear.
“Dace, I—”
“Beat it!”
It’s only when the light retreats that I raise my head and chance a quick peek.
Platinum hair. White tunic. Pale skin. And he glows.
Go figure.
It’s amazing the things you see way out here.
twenty
Daire
The air is acrid and dry. Instantly parching my throat, chapping my lips, but still I push on through the bleak, barren land that stands as a gateway between one world and the next.
Unlike my previous trips, this time, instead of trekking toward the massive dune that drops into the Lowerworld, I go the opposite way in search of the Middleworld dimension where Coyote left Dace.
According to Paloma, each of the three worlds contains numerous realms. And from the orders Cade gave to Coyote, to “drag Dace to the darkest recess of the Middleworld where no one will find him,” I take him at his word and head for the deepest, dreariest plane.
While the Upperworld is populated
by benevolent human guides (Axel included?), and the Lowerworld with benevolent animal guides, the Middleworld is the only one populated by both humans and demons alike. Though it’s not always easy to tell them apart. Coyote wears many disguises.
Unfortunately, everything here looks the same. Endless miles of dull yellow, snow-flecked sand, offering no natural markers of any kind—no shred of vegetation, not a single sign of life. It’s a dead, dried-up land. Making it impossible to tell if I’m on the right path.
A dead, dried-up land.
Land.
That’s it!
It’s been a while since I last called upon the Earth element, which is why it takes a few moments to remember the melody. But as soon as the tune pops into my head, the lyrics to the Earth Song instantly follow.
I am constant and strong
Eternal—everlasting
A provider of shelter and solace