Chapter 16
Dreamings
Ashley awoke with a start, beads of perspiration rolling down her forehead.
Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.
It had been weeks since the incident with the Darach. Since then, Ashley could not erase the image of those souls suffering in Hel from her mind. She would have nightmares about it and would wake up in cold sweat. Lately, the dreams had been more and more frequent. She had them almost every night and would wake up screaming.
It was the same dream each night. She would be wandering the woods and would find herself at the Nemeton. The ground would give way and she would find herself falling into the ground and into an underground cavern. There she would see various tortured souls moving about with demon guards either torturing them or forcing them to do heavy labor. It was a horrible scene of punishment and death.
In the farthest corner of the cavern, she would see the petite figure of Paige Krasikeva. She had not age a day since Ashley last saw her and was every bit as beautiful as she was then. Paige was wearing some sort of guard uniform and held a spear in hand.
Next to Paige, was a seated figure of what looked like the king of the underworld, Hades. He wore a black cloak and had an ominous air about him. The figure lifted his head towards the direction of Ashley revealing nothing but a faceless darkness. In place of his eyes were two pinpricks of red light. They held such emptiness as they stared at her, piercing her very soul. The instant their eyes met Ashley would wake up in cold sweat.
Ashley knew she had to do something. And she knew just who to go to for help.
xXx
Ashley had gone to Deaton. If anyone would know anything about her dreams, it would be the former emissary.
She discussed the matter with Deaton and after some investigation, they discovered the reasons for her dreams. Ashley always had a connection to the Nemeton and so her dreams were connected to what was happening with the tree. When the Darach had opened Hel's gate it had further weakened the Nemeton and the link between the human realm and the underworld. Despite the gate closing, it had created small gaps between the worlds which was what unenabled Ashley to see the happenings in Hel.
As for Paige, they discovered that when Paige died, her soul had been sucked into the portal. She was caught in-between and eventually got stuck in Hel. She was captured and marked by Hades. As such, Paige had no choice but to obey and serve the ruler of the underworld.
"Is there no way to save Paige?" Ashley asked after this revelation.
Deaton paused, deep in thought, then he started searching for a book in his library.
Ashley waited as he found the book and began flipping through the pages as he searched for something.
He let out a sharp intake of breath as he found what he was looking for.
"What is it?" Ashley asked curiously.
"There…" Deaton hesitated before continuing. "There is one way. A ritual."
"What is it?"
"It–it requires a sacrifice."