Page 76 of Fate Promised
“Of course it is,” Koschei said.
Rordan brushed his pointer finger along the southern coast. “Although you’ve missed some of the sand pits here. Stay away from that area. They’re treacherous.”
Juri joined them, Triska at his side, and he skimmed a claw over the mountain range in the center of the map. “Are there any junctions to get out of Peklo other than the Shaking Mountain?” Rordan flew overhead; maybe he’d seen something Koschei didn’t know about.
Rordan shook his head. “There is no way out of Peklo, even the entry to Ulterra in the Shaking Mountain is closed. The ala has appointed a guard for her mountain, and no one comes or goes.” He lifted his chin. “Some of my people believe our time down here should be over.” He glanced upward. “Many of us would like to see the suns again.”
Koschei frowned. “There is a new guardian?”
Rordan shrugged. “I stay away from that part of Peklo, but I don’t think he is a guardian. The rumors say he holds great power because he sups on the essence of the dead.”
Triska glanced at Juri, her brows shooting up. “Have you seen him? Does he wear a black cloak and have a scar on his face?”
“I’ve seen him in both his human form and his jackal form. He does not wear a black cloak. He has a breastplate of sorts, a headdress, and odd kind of …” Rordan frowned and patted his thigh. “Pantaloons.”
Juri stared. “An incubus?”
Rordan shook his head. “No. The incubi live far to the west, in their borough. Their leader also has a jackal form, but his power is not the same. That one, he’s all right. I’ve fought with him before, and he’s a good fighter. And he doesn’t bother those he shouldn’t.” He studied them for a moment. “How did you all get down here?”
“Did you see anything earlier today? Near where we met? A rift or maybe a large white bird?”
Rordan stared at him as if he thought Juri was crazy. “I saw none of those things. There are no large white birds living down here. If I saw one, I’d have noticed.”
Juri turned his focus to the bowl. “Then we need to activate the bowl to find the rift.” He swallowed and moved the bowl to the center of the table.
Triska squeezed his arm. “No, Juri. We can find another way—”
They locked gazes. “You’re not spending another day down here.” He placed his hand in the bowl. Black flame flared, and the same cool sensation he’d felt the last time licked over his skin. Whatever magic lay inside the bowl sucked at him. Whispered what it wanted.
He fisted his hand and let the bowl take it.
His vision dimmed. The room tilted. Triska cried out and wrapped her arms around him as if worried he’d topple. His fur retracted, and the bronze skin of his human form appeared.
He let out a shaky breath and looked down. He was in his human form, his trousers a touch loose since he wasn’t as tall or quite as wide. At least he was still as tall as the demon and Koschei.
Triska ran her hand over his bare chest. “What have you done?”
The bowl flickered with iridescent flame; the black gone. “I gave the bowl what it wanted, and now it will give me what I want.”
“But … you traded your vulk form? Will it come back?”
His shoulders tensed. “I don’t know.” He glanced at Fergal.
The magicwielder stood frozen, his mouth agape. “This magic is old,” Fergal said. “Dark. Unforgiving. But so is the line of the vulk. I’m not sure.” Triska let out a small cry.
Juri straightened and fisted his now clawless hands. He’d let the magic take his vulk form expecting it may not ever return because right now, all he needed was to protect Triska. If he lost his strength, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting Triska back up to Ulterra the only way he could. He waved his hand over the Herskala bowl. “Show me where the rift is.”
A flash of the ocean spun past as the image in the bowl raced forward, then it halted before a small opening in one of the crimson buttes along the shore. It was like the shades of a window had parted a fraction, letting in a slice of morning sunshine. The bright sunlight from Ulterra shone into the gray of Peklo, glittering over the sand. The image sharpened as an albatross came into view and swooped to the gleaming entrance to Ulterra.
Standing in the center of the opening was a vulk.
“Get out of here, you damn bird.” Kyril swatted at Al. “Birds aren’t supposed to be this big.”
Juri barely breathed. “Where is this? How did Kyril create a rift?”
The image panned out, showing a slope of the beach and another vulk walking up the shore to join Kyril. Hans.
“Did you find anything?” Kyril asked him.