“I went for food,” Zamek said as he entered the room, the variously colored beads decorating his long brown beard rattling as he walked.
As a Norse dwarf, Zamek carried the traditional large battle-ax on his back and a second, single-headed ax that hung from his hip. Like everyone else, he wore rune-scribed leather armor, designed to stop magical attacks and hopefully slow down teeth, claws, and blades.
He placed a large wicker hamper on a nearby table, opened it, grabbed something that looked like a chicken leg—Layla really hoped it was a chicken leg—and set about eating. It didn’t take long for everyone else to get the hint.
“So any luck finding my people?” Zamek asked, almost absentmindedly.
The team was in the library to find information about where the remaining Norse dwarves had gone. When the shadow elves had mutated, the first thing they’d done was wage a war on the dwarves that had forced the latter to abandon their own realm to survive. The dwarven realm had been freed of blood elf control, but the majority of the dwarves were still missing.
“No,” Kase said, grabbing a platter of sushi.
“Did you go back to Earth just to get lunch?” Harry asked.
“Why not?” Zamek asked, as if it were the single best idea anyone had ever had.
Earth was the main realm, with dozens—thousands—of realms all branching off it. Each was connected to the Earth realm via a realm gate, usually dwarven made. The gates connected point A to point B, and for centuries, that was how they’d operated. Recently, Zamek had found a way of enabling the realm gates to change destinations, albeit temporarily. So long as Zamek knew the destination runes, he could change the gate. Apparently for takeout.
“We haven’t found anything yet,” Layla said, grabbing a bottle of ice-cold water and a chicken-and-bacon sandwich.
“They’re out there somewhere,” Zamek said.
“We’ll find them,” Kase told him.
“Does anyone know where Hyperion is?” Layla asked, looking around. “I haven’t seen him for a few days. And Tego appears to have absconded too.”
“Last time I saw Hyperion, he was heading down to the catacombs.” Tarron yawned. “He might still be there.”
Layla took a last bite of sandwich. “I’ll go find him.”
Layla wasn’t particularly concerned about Hyperion; he was one of the oldest people she’d ever met at well over seven thousand years. He was also incredibly powerful, having been the leader of the Titans after Cronus and Rhea had been murdered a few years earlier. However, despite his agreement to help find the shadow elves and Zamek’s people, Layla got the feeling he had more on his mind than just jumping through realms to find missing civilizations.
It took a few minutes to descend the narrow, winding stairwell to reach the bottom. Layla wondered just how far below the ground they were. She sighed, realizing she would have to walk back up the stairs afterward, and wished she’d never bothered with the whole idea in the first place. Still, she was there now, so she stepped through into an enormous cave. It was easily the size of a football stadium, at least in length, although it was still fifty feet high.
“Hello?” Layla called out; she received an echo in return. There were piles of books littered all around, although there didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for their placement.
Lanterns blazed from the walls of the cave, lending a lot of light to what would have otherwise been complete darkness. Somewhere in the distance a cat growled. It wasn’t a warning; she was just letting Layla know she was there.
“Tego,” Layla said.
Whenever Layla told someone about her cat, Tego, people always assumed that she meant a moggy. A cute little petting cat that would sit on her lap and purr while she stroked its head. While Tego liked being petted, she was no house cat. Tego was a saber-tooth panther with fur that was a mixture of black and shimmering purple. She was so big that Layla could have ridden her into battle, and even tigers and lions were dwarfed beside her. Layla had . . . acquired her in the dwarven realm of Nidavellir after saving her life; the large cat had stuck by her ever since.
Tego walked out from behind a rock wall and licked Layla’s hand, nudging her and purring as Layla scratched her behind the ear. Tego was smart. She could understand human words, and while she couldn’t talk herself, she’d found ways to communicate when needed.
The pair continued on, passing half a dozen guards who stood outside a large metal door that appeared to have been carved into the rock of the cave.
“Is Hyperion in there?” Layla asked.
“Went in a few hours ago,” one of them told her. “He said you’d be along. Your cat sat with us while we waited.”
“You gave her food, didn’t you?” Layla asked, raising her eyebrows to look at Tego. The massive cat sort of smiled, showing her huge teeth in the process.
“She likes drake meat,” the guard said as he opened the door, referring to the snakelike creatures that lived in the sewers under the city.
Layla stepped into a circular room with a large bed. The bed was about twice the size of a normal king-size bed and contained one occupant: a black woman with long curly hair who appeared to be sound asleep. Silk sheets of various colors covered her body, while Hyperion sat to one side, reading a book.
“Took you long enough,” he said, putting the book down.
“Seshat,” Layla said, “I presume.”
Hyperion nodded. “I came to see her. It’s been a long time since our last encounter. She sleeps most of the time these days, her mind constantly absorbing the written words of anything that has ever been put to paper. She’s due to wake up soon.”
Hyperion looked to be in his midfifties, with a short gray beard and matching hair. He was a dragon-kin, able to change into a dragon-human hybrid that could use ice as a devastating weapon.
Seshat stirred and sat up, the sheets falling to reveal that she was naked from the waist up. She looked down at herself and sighed. “You’re still here, Hyperion.”
“I did tell you I would be,” he said. “I also asked if you wanted to put some clothes on.”
“And what did I tell you?” Seshat asked.
“Something about not being ashamed of how you look,” he said. “I forget the intricate parts of the conversation.”
Seshat stood, revealing that she was, in fact, completely naked.
“Hi,” Layla said with a slight nod. “I’m Layla.”
“Are you bothered by my nakedness?” she asked, stepping off the bed, taking a jug, and pouring some water into a cup.
“Should I be?” Layla asked.
“Hyperion was alive when the Greeks were fucking one another silly,” Seshat said with a slow smile. “I’m sure he attended more than his fair share of orgies, but he sees me naked and wishes to clothe me. You have a metal arm.”
Layla looked down at her right arm. It had been cut off at the forearm, and she’d taken the time to learn how to create a new one from steel and titanium. It was stronger than her previous flesh-and-bone arm and could be manipulated by her powers as needed. Layla kept a silver blade in a sheath against her hip that she could transfer into the arm in a moment. The silver made it almost painful to manipulate, but silver could kill most nonhumans, so to her mind, the payoff was worth it.