by Ramy Vance
Plato smiled and pointed at the ground. All of their shadows were facing the same direction. "I'll accompany you. The fog of limbo is much like philosophy. It is easy to get lost on your way, turned around. To walk in circles and eventually end up in the same spot.” Plato clapped his hands together with glee. “Ahhh! It's been a while since I've been able to guide anyone."
Plato’s joy was cut short by an electric feeling in the air when a familiar visage appeared out of the fog.
Tesla. His body was vibrating, fading in and out of existence.
Plato nodded solemnly. "We philosophers spend our time here because we could never make up our minds, but since philosophy is pointless, we’ve never harmed anyone. So, we have our own heaven here. Infinite conversations with peers. But this man…I believe you know him, correct?"
Abby nodded, remembering how she’d stranded Tesla in a pocket dimension to die.
"One leg in the land of the living, the other in the land of the dead," Plato continued. "He has yet to make up his mind."
Abby looked down at her shadow. "We should keep going."
"You needn't worry about him. He only sees what he wants to see, and it is not here."
Plato continued walking, the last of his shade companions vanishing as the fog dispersed.
Ahead was a faded green valley, and there was a glint of light in the distance.
Plato pointed at the glint. "Just touch the source of the light. Your shadows will disappear, and you'll see hell for what it truly is. Please be safe, and tell Arthur I said hello."
With that, Plato vanished.
Anabelle looked over her shoulder at the fog. "Hm. That was interesting. I thought he'd be more aggravating."
Abby didn’t answer, nor did she hear what Terra said. She was too busy racing toward the light. She would never have guessed she'd be excited in hell.
The source of the light was the hilt of a sword buried in a stone as tall as Abby.
The girl walked around the stone and yelped when she came to the other side.
A man in gleaming silver armor sat on a stone bench. He had a thick red beard, and a golden crown was perched on his head. A red cape flowed from his back. He was easily ten feet tall.
"What are you yelping about?" Terra asked as she rounded the rock. She promptly yelped as well.
King Arthur got to his feet. "Hm, you have the blessings of my old friend. I wonder how he's doing? You wish to pass farther into hell, correct?" He smiled as he spoke, his face shining nearly as brightly as the light from the sword. "Allow me to help you."
He scooped the DGA agents up in his arms so they could each reach the hilt of the sword. "Please tell Myrddin that Arthur wishes him well."
Abby nodded, flabbergasted. “Plato says hello. Oh, and we’ll tell Myrddin.” She reached out for the sword, as did Terra and Anabelle.
They tumbled into darkness, and the circle of hell disappeared behind them.
Chapter Fourteen
Terra found herself shoved up and out of the earth, only to fall back down, flat on her ass. She rubbed her bruised coccyx as she got to her feet. "Glad to know I can still crack my tailbone.”
Anabelle and Abby were vomited out of the hole in the ground next, landing in puffs of dust.
The ground closed up. There was no sign of a hole having ever existed.
The first thing Terra noticed was the wind. It was harsh, blowing as if they were in the middle of a hurricane. The gale was strong enough to make standing difficult. In addition, it was hot and dry. Terra felt the moisture being sucked out of her body.
A desert stretched out before the DGA, red sand dunes that reminded Terra of NASA footage of Mars.
Terra dusted her knees off. "There we go. Now, this looks a lot more hellish."
Abby, who was consulting her book, glanced up for a second. "Looks like the circles work differently than on the map. They’re stacked on top of each other, hence the falling up we just did."
Anabelle walked over to look at Abby's compass. "So, what circle are we in for this time?"
Abby smiled mischievously. "Thought you guys were looking forward to the adventure?"
"You don't have to be a smartass. Just lead the way."
"It's the circle of lust. Promise, we didn't read anything else, so if you guys can, try to keep it PG."
Terra scratched her navel. "I'm always parent-approved."
The DGA headed west across the dunes that sloped down on either side of them. If it weren't for the compass, there was no way they would have been able to see through the storm.
Terra trailed a little behind Abby and Anabelle. She couldn't see as well as the other two. Anabelle had great vision because she was an elf, and Abby also had upgrades to her vision. Terra suddenly remembered something she always packed. She hit her wrist comm, and a pair of aviators appeared on her face. "Hey, how long do you think our comms are going to keep working?"
Abby looked back at Terra. "That's a really good question. Didn't even think about that. If we're going deeper or higher, there's a good chance we'll lose range if this is moving between the realms. We'll ask Creon."
Abby's wrist comm opened and projected a holographic image of Creon's lab. No one was there. "Guess he must have taken a break. We'll leave a message."
Anabelle pointed ahead. The dunes dipped down, opening up into a sinkhole. That was not what the elf was pointing at, though. A tornado a mile high stretched up to the sky, weaving in and out of the black clouds. "Looks like we found the main event of this circle."
Behind the DGA agents, the sand sank, and a bony spine shifted beneath it, rising for a moment before falling back.
Anabelle started to walk in the direction of the tornado. "We probably just have to jump into that, and it'll launch us into the air. This is easier than I thought it was going to be."
As they headed toward the tornado, a hoarse, rattling whisper blew through the desert.
Terra spun, her axe raised high. "Did you guys hear that?"
Anabelle nodded. "Yeah. It sounded like someone talking."
"Romeo..."
The voice was cracked and muffled, but Terra could tell which direction it came from. She turned around as the sand shifted behind her.
A long spine pushed its way out of the ground. Shoulders followed, jutting out against stretched skin rubbed raw by the sand. A hand shot onto the surface, its nails bitten badly enough that the fingertips were raw. Next came a head covered in faded makeup that masked the contours of youth, with a mat of stringy hair atop a scab-covered scalp. The eyes of the giant were sunken, and the eyelids had been cut off. "Romeo," the giant rasped, "wherefore art thou, Romeo?"
"Holy fucking shit!" Terra shouted as she stumbled backward.
The giant stretched out its flayed arm to grab the gladiator, who scrambled away from the slow-moving monster.
Abby and Anabelle helped Terra to her feet as they all watched the giant. It looked like a beached whale, its teeth chattering as its lidless eyes rolled back and forth, staring into the sand. Its mouth hung open, tongue lolling, and it kept rasping, "Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?"
Frozen with horror, Terra stared at the thing. "Fuck, that's Juliet. From the Shakespeare play."
Another hand tore through the sand. And another. Then another. Hundreds of hands burst from the sand, grasping at nothing as the associated heads forced their way to the surface. They all belonged to the same pale-skinned boy, ligaments hanging from his face as his eyes hung from their sockets.
"Her vestal livery is but sick and green," the identical skulls wheezed. "And none but fools do wear it. Cast it off."
The hands grasped at Terra and the rest of the DGA as they tried to step out of range.
Abby fired her thrusters and rose into the air as Anabelle flipped away.
Terra crouched and then bounded over the garden of pale, rotten appendages.
The hands stretched toward the DGA, their bodies struggling to free themselves from the red earth.
One of the Romeos popped up out of the ground, then another. In a few seconds, they were all above the ground.
The army of Romeos stared at the DGA and wheezed in unison, "Oh, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night."
Each one of the Romeos’ eyes turned to Abby. "Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear..."
Abby glanced at Terra. "Uh, isn’t he supposed to be in love with Juliet?"
Several of the Romeos pointed at Abby, all of them shrieking like banshees, "Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!"
The Romeos screeched again and stampeded toward the DGA agents.
Anabelle screamed, "Run!" and the three of them bolted toward the tornado.
Behind the wall, Juliet wrenched herself out of the ground, her words bellowing through the air as she chased the horde of Romeos, "If thou wilt not, be but sworn to love!"
Terra glanced over her shoulder and saw the teetering Juliet chasing them, bloodlust in her eyes.
"We're almost there!" Anabelle shouted.
Terra was focused on getting to the tornado. It was only a few feet away. She was preparing to jump when she noticed something. "It's made of fucking fire!"
She skidded toward the tornado and stopped right in front of it, the heat from the flames bringing her whole body to a dripping sweat.
Abby, who came up from behind, grabbed Terra's wrist. "We don't have a choice! This is the way!"
Abby leaped into the fiery tornado, and Anabelle jumped in beside her.
Terra turned around, saw the horde of Romeos closing in, and fell backward into the tornado.
The flames did not burn, and the wind caught Terra and pulled her off the ground.
The Romeos stared up at the DGA agents as they were swept away, wailing loudly. Juliet descended upon them and crushed their frail bodies between her hands as she wept.
Not that Terra cared. Right now, she was trying to figure out which way the tornado was taking her. She breathed a sigh of relief when it spat her out on solid ground.
Abby and Anabelle were already out. They were both staring straight ahead.
A mirror stood in front of each of them.
Terra walked toward hers. She couldn't see her reflection in it. She looked at Annabelle. "Do you have a reflection?"
Anabelle shook her head.
The mirror in front of Anabelle flashed brightly.
Terra covered her eyes to keep from being blinded. When the light faded, Anabelle was gone.
Abby ran over to where Anabelle had been. "Belle? Belle, where are you?"
Abby's mirror flashed and, even though she wasn't in front of it, she was gone.
Terra whirled, looking for something she could do, but there was no time. Her mirror was flashing.
Terra woke up in a lush bed, covered in the furs of exotic creatures she could not remember ever seeing but for some reason knew intimately.
The door to the room opened. Cire walked in, wearing nothing but his loincloth, holding a plate of raw meat. "Didn't think you were going to wake up after last night."
Terra scrunched her face and got ready to move, then she felt the soreness between her legs. "Oh. I guess that was good enough to deserve breakfast in bed."
Cire sat on the edge of the bed, passed Terra the plate, and poured her a glass of wine. "Not that you don't already deserve it, but yes. Did you get enough rest?"
Terra picked up a slice of meat and tossed it in her mouth. "Yeah. Feel like a hundred bucks. Just out of curiosity, what's going on?"
Cire chuckled as he stood up. He walked toward the window.
Terra couldn't keep her eyes off of his muscled back and ass. She faintly remembered why she was in the room. There had been a mirror. A few of them.
Cire threw back the curtains, letting in the light.
Terra covered her eyes, the sudden brightness blinding her. Cire motioned for her to come over to the window. "How did you already forget?"
The window was calling. Terra felt its pull. She got out of bed and went to stand next to the shaman. "Forget what?"
Outside the window, the orc horde stood, more mighty and vast than Terra had ever seen it.
Cire drew a battle-axe from his side and handed it to Terra. "They're waiting for you. We ride against the last humans today."
Terra looked at Cire, confused. "What do you mean, the last humans?"
"We're joining with your elf and goblin troops first, and we march on the humans. After today’s victory, your empire will be complete. The troops are waiting for you to give them your words."
The window opened to a podium the whole horde could see.
Terra stepped out onto the podium, with Cire's encouragement. As she stood above the horde, he came up behind her and wrapped her in a flowing purple fur cape. Then he placed a helm on her head, its ancient horns curling down past her ears.
She looked out at the horde, and she felt something welling up in her that she hadn't felt in nearly a year. There was to be a battle. A real battle. Her battle.
The words came from her mouth before she realized it. "We are forever the horde. We grow each day. Orcs. Elves. Goblins. Gnomes. All together as one. The humans have tried to wage war with us long enough. Either they take our heads, or we will crush their skulls."
The horde cheered.
What happened next was hard for Terra to understand.
She was no longer on the podium.
She was on the battlefield, staring at one of Myrddin's dragon mechs.
She didn't have time to think. She merely acted, leaping into the air as she spun her axe, twisting and slamming it against the side of the mech's head, causing the beast to stumble.
Before the dragon mech could get its footing, Terra leaped onto it and tore open the cockpit.
Roy was looking up at her.
Terra dropped her axe. "No! I'm not going to..."
The face was different now, and Terra didn't recognize the rider.
Terra leaped off of the mech and backed away until she hit a wall.
Cire was facing her when she turned around. "Why didn't you finish him? He's the one leading the charge."
Terra shook her head. "No, Roy's my friend. I'm not going to kill him. I wouldn't even be fighting him."
Cire smirked. "What are you talking about? Roy and the others already joined you. They're your generals."
Abby, Roy, and Anabelle stepped out from behind Cire.
Cire handed Terra his sword. "We're all here for your war."
Terra took the sword and looked down at it. It was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, perfectly weighted, with a golden hilt.
Not the sort of sword an orc would carry.
Terra spun, praying she was right, and lopped Cire's head off.
Fire spewed from his neck as hundreds of hands clawed out of the wound.
The whole world around Terra fizzled away until she was back at the bottom of the tornado.
Annabelle and Abby were standing there, the elf tapping her foot impatiently. "What took you so long?" Anabelle asked. "I didn't think you were that gullible."
Terra looked around, trying to get her bearings. "What the fuck was that?"
"A temptation or something. Obviously, you figured it out. And I thought Abby took forever."
Abby blushed and looked down at her feet while she muttered something unintelligible.
Terra folded her arms, trying to pass herself off as confident. "What did you see? And how did you know it wasn't real?"
Anabelle laughed. "It was Roy, and it was easy. He was so grabby. Roy's a fucking softy in bed. This thing just lumbered toward me, going on about how well he was going to fuck me." Anabelle rolled her eyes. "My Roy knows that isn't what I want him doing with his mouth—and don't you dare tell him I called him that."
Terra looked at Abby. "What abou
t you?"
Abby spoke very quietly and quickly. "It was Persephone."
"How did you know?"
Abby muttered something as her eyes went back to her feet.
Anabelle was trying to keep from laughing. "What was that, Abby?"
Abby looked up, her dark cheeks rosy from blushing. "She didn't want to use her tentacles."
The elf couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.
Abby spun, pointing her finger at Anabelle. "Don't laugh! We didn’t say anything about all the pet names you make Roy call you!"
Anabelle's laughter died. "That was said in secrecy, Abby. How dare you violate the sacred elvish oath?"
"There's no such thing! You're just saying that."
Anabelle laughed again and raised her hands. "Okay, okay, I promise I won't tease anymore. Not a word. How about you, Terra? What gave Cire away?"
Terra cleared her throat. "Oh, his sword. He never carries a sword."
Anabelle looked disappointed but didn't press it. Terra silently thanked God.
Abby looked around the eye of the tornado. "So, what now?"
The mirrors shattered, the glass flying into the air and swirling in the same direction as the tornado.
Anabelle's arms caught fire. "Guess we're about to find out."
Chapter Fifteen
The broken glass continued swirling, floating higher in the tornado until it finally crashed down and cut into the ground as if it were flesh. Blood bubbled up as the gash opened.
A demon with many heads stepped out of the hole.
One head was that of a man with pointed ears like an elf’s. His eyes were as black as coal and he had a broad nose, and there was a lopsided crown on his brow. The head of an ox hung limply on one side of his neck and that of a goat was on the other, lashing back and forth, braying incessantly.
The demon floundered forward, his legs forming beneath him.
Anabelle shook her head. "Human demons are so uncouth. Ugh. Elves would have never dreamed up something so undignified."
The demon spouted drivel as his body continued to form well-defined, lean muscles on a human torso, even if his head was nightmarish. Leathery black wings stretched out as he stretched to his full ten-foot height. "Who dares break the profane mirrors of Asmodeus?” he bellowed.
