hair and olive colored skin. His eyes were shockingly blue
and seemed to have a glowing light that came from within.
"Princess Lazalea," he said, bowing to her and
taking her hand. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you."
Next, he turned to Jackson and clapped him on
the shoulder.
"Andros, thank you for seeing us," Jackson said.
"I know we're putting you in an awkward position by bringing two
human witches to the Underground, but once you hear the whole
story, you'll understand that we had no choice."
Andros glanced at me, then at Mary Anne, still
cradled in Jackson's arms. "This will be difficult to explain to
the council, but considering our long friendship and your status
among our people, I am going to place my trust in you."
I let out a long breath, relieved to hear that
we could stay. At least for now.
"I'm sorry to ask more from you," Jackson said.
"But this girl is injured badly and needs to see a shaman."
Andros held up his hand. "Of course, my friend,"
he said. "I will have rooms prepared for all of you and once you
are settled, I'll have the shaman sent to your quarters
immediately."
"Thank you," Lea said.
"All I ask is that you stay in your rooms until
you are called for," he said. "You'll be perfectly safe and
comfortable there."
"Whatever you need," Jackson said. "We really
appreciate this."
Andros nodded, then disappeared down the
hallway.
The four of us waited there with Marlana for a
little while until Jericho finally reappeared.
"I'll show you to your rooms," he said. "Follow
me."
I walked behind the others as we made our way
down the long corridor.
In the distance, I could make out a brighter
light where the hallway seemed to open up into a larger area. As we
got closer, I could make out the sound of voices. Clanging metal.
Footsteps. The hiss and sizzle of food being cooked. It was the
sound of everyday life. Of movement and laughter and work.
It was the sound of the Underground.
The Secret of
The Stones
We stood at the top of a large marble staircase
overlooking a marketplace so large you could have fit six football
fields inside of it. The ceilings were more than fifty feet high. I
stared out, open-mouthed. Who could have ever guessed something
this grand and beautiful existed so far under the ground?
The room was shaped like a giant rectangle with
long sides extending from where we stood at the front of the space.
The sides of the room were lined with staircases leading to dozens
of tunnels carved into the sides of the rock.
The floor looked like it had once been some kind
of grand ballroom, but now the area was filled with hundreds of
colorful tents. Demons moved about, traveling up and down
staircases, moving below us from one tented shop to another. The
sounds of everyday life and movement echoed through the hall. The
smell of food wafted up from a few makeshift restaurants scattered
throughout the room. A clanging sounded from a blacksmith's shop
below where a big burly man pounded on a large silver sword.
"What is this place?" I asked.
"This is the Grand Hall," Jericho said. "It's
our central marketplace. All our shops are here. Food, clothes,
supplies, everything. You should be able to find anything you need
here, but for now, I'd like to get you all to your rooms."
"Of course," Jackson said.
Jericho turned quickly on his heel and motioned
for us to follow. He led us down the long stairway to the left,
along the edge of the tents below, past three tunnels, then finally
up the fourth staircase and into a new tunnel. All along the way,
demons stopped to stare at us. Some of them probably recognized
their Princess, but most of them kept their eyes trained on me and
Mary Anne. Human witches invading their space.
I felt very exposed in my thin white dress with
its rip up the side and streaks of dirt and blood.
So much for a great first impression.
I did my best to walk with my head up and not
show my fear or embarrassment. It seemed a little bit ironic that
the one
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