Page 80 of Hell Burns Between Us

Perine pulled him towards her in the freezing water. The prideful look had vanished. She whispered,“I was wrong. I think—I don’t think we’re alone. There’s a chance there is a guardian after all and—how—what if only one of us makes it through to the Vaults?”

He pulled out a small dagger he kept on his body in case of emergencies, and pricked one of his fingers with it. Oleander took a breath, centring himself before he reached over and grabbed Perine’s hand. Shocked into compliance, she let him. He let blood cover that finger and then used it to hurriedly paint a rune onto her palm, concentrating hard on connecting them. A thread of attachment laced between them, tightening around them. Squeezing his chest until he gasped for breath and the bond snapped into place.

He met her eyes, her strange ball of light lining their faces in cold, white light. “This is a temporary soul bond. It’ll be strongest at first, so if one of us is able to leave, the soul bond should pull the other along with it.”

The scent of her wrapped around him—warm honey harvested in a dark forest, bright gardenia with notes of patchouli or maybe orange blossom? It was heady, making him want to bury his nose in her neck, breathe her in for as long as it took to take apart every fibre of her. Figure her out. Her every thought. Every curve and dip in her body. He was just so aware of her.

“That’s surprisingly clever.” Here, he noticed that Perine looked at him as if Oleander was sunshine incarnate. She took in a long breath through her nose and her breath hitched, her expression grew terrified but then also… he thought for just a second that he’d seen hunger in the gleam of her eyes. As if she too could no longer deny the craving she held for him.

“It’s pretty useful having you around. We should—” Her words faltered, eyes widening in horror. “It’s here!”

Something brushed against Oleander’s foot, but before he could even react, Perine was yanked under water. The ball of light floated above the surface, the only sign she had ever been there.

Oleander desperately lunged beneath the otherwise still water. His heart raced as he searched the dark water, looking for any sign of Perine or whatever had taken her.

He found nothing. Whatever had brushed against his foot had vanished, taking her with it.

He broke the surface again, gasping for air. He wrapped an arm around the ball of light and then he began swimming, frantic and disoriented. He didn’t know where he was headed—he just knew he couldn’t stay where he was. Time seemed to lose all meaning as terror clawed at his chest.

In his panic, Oleander could feel the obsidian walls inside him growing unstable. He had to force himself to bolster them, because if he succumbed to the shadow here, there would be no saving Perine.

A deep, rumbling growl reverberated through the water. Oleander’s heart skipped a beat as he looked up, his breath catching in his throat.

Above him, the massive Leviathan grinned, its citrine eyes glinting in the everlight. The ball of light floated beside him, casting a sickly glow on rows of long, jagged teeth. It was a creature of such terrifying proportions that Oleander could barely comprehend it.

The Leviathan tilted its head, studying him with unsettling curiosity.

“So, you’re the Devil’s little friend I’ve heard so much about,” the creature’s voice rumbled, low and melodic. “Tell me, son of Laurel, why do you visit me?”

Oleander could feel the shadow in his mind raging, its screams unintelligible against his mental shields. With a shaky breath, he pushed more of his memories with Hemlock into those obsidian walls, reinforcing his defences.

“Where’s Perine?” he shouted.

“She has Slang’s Bite. She can go anywhere she likes,” the Leviathan rumbled in response. “You on the other hand” The Leviathan slithered closer. Her presence made the water around him grow even colder. “I sense that your soul is connected to hers, but I find myself disinclined to let you through, you carry someone with you who I would rather see die than let into the Arcane Vaults.”

Water splashed across Oleander’s face.

“Just… promise me she’s safe.” Oleander struggled to swim backward, desperate to escape the serpent's advancing teeth.

“Did your father even acknowledge the sacrifice he was forcing you to make?”

He was not here to discuss what his father had done to him. Especially not with a monster who was liable to eat him any minute now.

Oleander moved the orb of light around, trying to catch a glimpse of Perine anywhere. “Is it a bargain you want? Whatever it is, I’ll make it. Just let me go to her. Please!”

The serpent’s tone grew low and mocking. “You’ve spent your whole life bargaining with creatures to make yourself more powerful. Why would I bargain with you, little hellion?”

Oleander's frustration reached a boiling point. “There has to be something that we could bargain for.”

The Leviathan rasped a chilling laugh. “Oh, so you can trick me like all the others?”

“Fine! Maybe I’ve made some shit bargains! But name a bargain that’s ever been mutually beneficial!”

“All I ask, son of Laurel,” she said, the menace in her voice shaking Oleander’s bones. “Is for you to vow that’ll you’ll put Perine Wilder’s safety above your own desires. It is only with her help that the pair of you will bring about the storm of stars—our one last hope.”

“Done. I vow it. I’ll do whatever I can to keep her safe.” Oleander pleaded. “Please just let me through to her. She’s all alone there and she shouldn’t have to be.”

The Leviathan’s giant maw opened wide.