Page 163 of Infernal Secrets

“Because out of all of us, you use them for enjoyment and not duty,” Ash said, glancing down with a somber expression.

Zeke nodded. “I loved flying up into the trees and hiding out in the canopy where no one could find me.”

“And I took that away from you,” I whispered.

“No!”

I flinched when he put both hands on my cheeks.

“No. You took nothing from me. It was an accident. Not your fault. Kalthea requires a sacrifice, and it saw fit to take our wings.” His gaze slid to the side when he murmured, “If I could stay, I’d sacrifice them willingly.”

“What?” I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right. He hadn’t told me that part.

“It’s not important.”

“Who is Kalthea? Why did they want your wings?”

Ash nodded when Zeke looked to him for help.

Zeke pulled me into his arms, legs bracketing me as his arms looped around my waist. He propped his chin on my shoulder.

Ash sat up, leaning on the headboard. “Kalthea isn’t a who, but a what. It’s the soul slipstream between Niemna and your world. To cross from our plane to yours, we either need a tiisra stone to cross with magic the slipstream can feed on, or we offer a sacrifice.”

“Sacrifice?”

He nodded. “The only other way is through a rift torn in the veil, which weakens the barrier between our planes. If it ever comes down, infernals would pour into your world and devour everything. Classic apocalypse stuff.”

The idea of the things I’d seen throughout my life invading the planet, destroying everything, sounded worse than what they taught in church. If they only knew how bad it could be.

“How big is Niemna or Elyrdin? You said humans go to Elyrdin when they die. Do our souls just float around? What about our memories?” I took a breath, bracing myself to ask the thing I wanted to know most. “When I die, will I get to see you again if I come to Elyrdin?”

Their eyes met in a silent exchange, and a sudden dread filled me, leaving a hollowness in my stomach.

“No, you won’t ever see us again once we leave Earth,” Ash said, reaching for my hand and stroking the top with his thumb. “Niemna is vast, while Elyrdin is the size of a small state in this country.” He let out a quiet huff. “Remember how I said Kalthea is a soul slipstream?”

I nodded, and Zeke squeezed me.

“When humans die, their souls enter Kalthea, and their energy is used to sustain Elyrdin.”

“Sustain?”

“Yeah,” Zeke said next to my ear. “Our ‘electricity’ is soul power. Without human souls, we’d lose our home and be forced into the wastelands.”

The thought that humanity’s purpose was merely to fuel another world left a bitter taste in my mouth. Death promised nothing better, despite what my extended family wanted me to believe.

The question of what happened after death had always haunted me. I couldn’t accept hellfire and pearly gates, but a small flame of hope still insisted something waited for me after I died.

My stomach tightened when I realized the slipstream had reduced Grandma to the light in someone’s bedroom.

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” I mumbled, turning my face to press against Zeke’s chest.

He stroked my hair. “I don’t know if it helps, but once a human dies, souls that go to Kalthea don’t suffer or feel pain. It’s similar to when a body returns to the soil to fuel the next life.”

“He’s right,” Ash said. “It’s not like we use a soul every time we need power. Kalthea recycles the energy of souls at peace in a constant cycle. Within Kalthea, the souls are safe.”

I glanced at him, keeping my head against Zeke’s chest. “Safe? From what?”

“Infernals capable of devouring them.” His hand slid over my shin. “It’s why we protect the human plane. Without our intervention, lesser infernals would devour humans and steal their souls before Kalthea can call them home. Most times the suffering is brief. At least with most infernals. Some soul reapers will capture a soul and force it into ages of agony. We stop that.”