by HP Mallory
“Know what?!”
Through darkness, fear, and damnation, you shall find the truth.
“What truth?” I heard myself asking and suddenly I was in the cell with Uriel and The Forsaken.
“What is the truth for which you search?” Uriel asked.
“How do I free you from your cell?” I answered.
“The Trials,” Uriel answered. “Then you must forge the key with the symbols from your dream. Only then will you be able to unlock my prison.”
###
LILY
The first thing I did when I opened my eyes was move Tallis’s gigantic arm off my chest. My body felt like it was burning up inside, and the cold marble against my feet suddenly felt like heaven. Tallis lifted his head and pointed to the bags on the floor. I hobbled over and pulled out the last outfit I’d packed before setting out on this journey.
“Besom?” he asked.
“We have to get going,” I answered, the vision still reeling in my mind. “I saw a vision last night.”
His hands groped along my body, and a stubbled chin grazed my collarbone. “Nae, love. I think we should stay here a bit longer.” He nuzzled against me, and I fought back a smile even as I wiggled free of his hold. Tallis pouted but stood up, all the same. Asterion and Bill were arguing just outside the temple when we approached.
“Took you two long enough,” Bill said.
“Sorry,” I mumbled and shoved my hands into my pockets. “I had a vision.”
“Another vision?” Asterion repeated.
I nodded. “I was watching The Forsaken and Uriel again. And... I think it’s time we drank from the waters of the Sanctuary and started the Trials. We need to be on our way.” There was a strange hesitation that caused me to fall silent for a moment, a sense of foreboding even though I trusted these men with my life.
“Are we ready?” Tallis asked.
“In the vision, I was shown these trials and each trial allowed us to find an item we would need to forge a key to unlock Uriel’s cage. I believe the only way we can release Uriel is to undergo these trials and to find the components to forge this key.”
“Do ye have any idea what sort o’ key we need to make?” Tallis asked.
I shook my head. “I know it requires the symbols I’ve been trying to make sense of in my dreams.” I pulled Jenny’s locket from around my neck and held it out for them to see. “Jenny entrusted this locket to me. It was a gift from Uriel, and it’s one of the symbols I saw in my dreams. I think it might be part of the key.”
“How many are there of these mysterious items?” Asterion asked.
But it wasn’t me who answered.
Bill slapped his palm over his forehead. “The trials! Duh! I dunno why it didn’t dawn on me before when you was goin’ on an’ on about trials!”
“Care to explain?” Tallis grumbled.
“There are four Trials of Damnation tied to the Seven Deadly Sins.”
“Through darkness, fear, and damnation, you shall find the truth.” I looked at the others and felt the realization of our path come over me. “Sloth, Gluttony, Greed, Lust, Wrath, Pride, and Envy.”
“The seven deadly sins,” Tallis repeated.
I nodded. “The Geryon said the only way to reach Uriel was to survive the Trials,” I repeated. “I believe we have to work our way through them all because each of us embodies at least one.”
“Well, I’m Sloth and Gluttony,” Bill snorted, shaking his head as he shrugged. “Clear as day.” Then he looked at Asterion. “Kemosabe is Lust and Greed. Wrath and Pride sounds like Tido. Nips, yer Envy.”
“And from each of the trials, we will earn something which will need to be forged into the key that opens Uriel’s cage,” I continued.
Tallis dropped his arms to his sides and shook his head. “A forge o’ fire an’ brimstone.”
“You’re the bladesmith,” I said as the pieces began to fall into place. “That means you’ll be able to fashion the key?”
“Aye, but we cannae get our hopes oop just yet, Besom. There’s a chance we could lose what is left o’ our souls on this journey to free Uriel.”
I leaned towards him and grabbed his hand. “This is what we’re meant to do, Tallis. I know it’s true. And I also know we can make it through. And when we come out on the other side? We’ll be ready for whatever comes next, too.”
###
LILY
We filled the water from the Sanctuary into my water bottle and decided to head back to the Dark Wood, in search of the Waterfall of Forever. Leaving the Sanctuary meant being on the run again. It meant having to face off against creatures far more deadly than any beings we had fought before. The Lemures were no mere demons, they were creatures of nightmares. Just the thought of coming across them again made my skin crawl.
Tallis took my hand as we dropped through the trap door. Instead of falling to the cavernous depths where I came across the Geryon, we dropped onto the sandy shores of the river Styx. I hurried to my feet and glanced up towards the sky to see if the trapdoor was still open. It wasn’t. “Ok, let’s hope we can locate that door again after we go after Uriel…”
I couldn’t finish speaking because a torrent of electricity suddenly flowed through me and, in response, I dropped down to the sand below me, barely able to breathe. Tallis tried to fight his way towards me, but he appeared far away, even though that didn’t make any sense. I suddenly couldn’t see anything through the flashes of dark spots that danced in my vision. I convulsed repeatedly, hearing the raw rasp of my name on Tallis’s lips.
Then everything went dark….
###
It wasn’t the rocking that woke me, but the bang and clang of gears. I peered through the fog that shrouded my thoughts, and opened my eyes slowly. Chains rattled against metal, and blurred shapes became ornate seats on a passenger car of a train. My head rested against a window. My hands were fastened behind my back and by the feel of the cold metal holding them prisoner, I figured I’d been shackled.
Immediately, I felt for my sword but it was missing.
What about the water from the Sanctuary? I thought to myself. I glanced down at the pouch which was still strapped around my waist. The shape of my water bottle was still there, so I could only assume whoever had attacked me hadn’t bothered to remove it. Thank God.
Beyond the glass was a twinkling cityscape. A throat cleared across a small table that was draped in a white linen cloth.
The man before me was thin and gangly with square features that reminded me of Lurch from The Addams Family.
“You must be Lily Harper,” the man said in a deep, booming voice that didn’t match the very posh English accent he sported. “My associate, Mr. Alaire, says you are quite the Soul Retriever. He failed to mention you were also a flight risk.”
At the mention of Alaire, my heart started pounding. I sat up straight and then remembered myself. It wasn’t good to show weakness with anyone who represented Alaire. I cleared my throat and schooled my expression. “In Alaire’s defense, he didn’t know I was planning on running.”
Of course I wondered where Tallis, Bill and Asterion were, but not wanting to alert this asshole to the fact that they’d been with me (if he wasn’t already aware), I decided not to risk asking.
“Even so, Alaire has been punished justly for his transgressions. After all, we at Afterlife Enterprises take our contracts very seriously.”
“Punished?” My stomach sank slightly though I wasn’t sure why.
“I would have assumed you would be elated to hear the news. Perhaps I miscalculated your disdain for Mr. Alaire?” The man picked up a decanter of brandy and filled two crystal glasses that sat on the table before scooting one towards me. “My name is Mr. Fletcher.”
I didn’t say anything so he continued. “I have been watching you, Miss Harper. I believe you to be an asset to Afterlife Enterprises. Unfortunately, my colleagues do not all agree. They wish to see you fired from your position and turned over to Shade
for your disobedience.”
“But you feel otherwise?”
He nodded. “As such, it was imperative I found you before the others did. Thus, I had my men bring you to me so that you may present your case before the board members. You have the right to a fair trial, if you so choose…”
“I have no interest in returning to Afterlife Enterprises,” I interrupted.
Mr. Fletcher lifted his glass to a pair of thin, flat lips and sipped his brandy. I scanned the train for any sign of an exit. Even if I had to toss myself out of the moving passenger car, there was no way I was giving up on my mission.
“Whatever contract you have with Alaire has nothing to do with me,” I said.
“On the contrary—it has everything to do with you.” Fletcher set his glass aside and folded his hands on the table. “After all, who do you suppose arranged your death?”
My mother’s words rang in my head, “... It felt dark. Like someone had reached out and toyed with the fabric of the universe to make sure you didn’t make it out of that wreck alive.”
“You were the one responsible? You killed me?”
“Not I, specifically, no.”
“Who then?”
“The Forbidden Council has a department that specializes in prophecies. When we heard they had taken it upon themselves to cut the thread of your mortal life, we knew you had to be part of your aunt’s bloodline, a bloodline we foolishly assumed had ended with Annice. It was an oversight on my part, one I wish to correct.”
“But my mother didn’t have any magic or abilities which means my bloodline was tainted long ago. And, I have no abilities, which is even more proof,” I lied.
Fletcher’s stare turned stern, like a father being forced to deal with a fussy toddler. “I have your aunt in my custody, Ms. Harper. She would not have given up her freedom if she did not believe you possessed the gifts of your heritage. So, it would be best if you did not lie to me.”
I feared for my aunt and the others, but I wasn’t afraid of this asshole.
“The Forsaken is the kingpin of this whole operation down here, right?” I started, deciding to cut to the quick. “But he’s off hibernating somewhere, using Uriel to get juiced up before a big war is supposed to happen, so he put The Forbidden Council together to oversee everything before he took his big sleep, right?” I didn’t wait for the man to respond. “Afterlife Enterprises was founded by the council to look after the newly dead and to build an elite collective of individuals to act as your personal bounty hunters aka the Soul Retrievers. That makes Alaire, what? A slime-ball politician who struck a deal with the devil for a bit of power in the Underground City?”
“I see Alaire has told you too much in hopes that you would join our side.” He frowned at me and steepled his fingers. “Regardless, you know what is at risk, and yet you make it sound too simple.”
“It is that simple,” I snorted. “Because, from where I’m sitting, it’s nothing but an endless cycle of fucks who want nothing more than to get to the top, nevermind who they step on along the way.”
“I like your vigor, Miss Harper. But it will not be enough to protect you from The Forsaken should he rise to power once again and see you as a threat. None of us are safe if he awakens. He will wipe us all out with a cleansing fire and start anew. Do you wish to be among the ashes?”
“A phoenix has to rise from something, right?” I feigned a casual air I didn’t feel as my insides twisted with fear. Chained to a seat in a moving passenger car left me with nothing but a bag of bluffs. “I think it scares you that I was able to disappear for days without AE or Alaire having any clue where I was.”
“Yet here you are now… in my custody.”
I shook my head. “You got lucky, Mr. Fletcher, that’s all this is.”
FIFTEEN
BILL
I smacked into an iron wall, and my eyes flew open.
“Whatever donkey just kicked me is a real jackass,” I groaned, pushing myself up from the floor, only to feel my limbs weighed down heavily by tarnished chains. When I looked at them, I realized they were smeared with blood. “What the actual fuck?!”
A boot pressed into my back, and I ate a mouthful of floor gunk that made my stomach all queasy. “As soon as I get up, I’m gonna…”
The air was punched out of my lungs with a hard kick to the ribs. Fuckwad.
Footsteps retreated, and I heard a metal door open as a cold ass gust of wind assaulted me next. I tried to sit up again. My wrists and ankles were secured to the floor of what looked like a livery car. Hay was scattered in clumps on the floor, and large crates held a bunch of clucking chickens that didn’t seem to understand my head was about to burst right open like a ripe melon thrown at a wall. The smell of chicken shit and vomit hit me, causing me to gag noisily until I heard a gruff moan at the far end of the carriage.
“Dude?” I called. “That you, Kemosabe?”
Asterion rolled onto his back and flipped me off. “Don’t shout. My head is killing me.”
“Yeah, why the fuck is that?”
“Those bastards pumped enough volts into my body that I was forced back into my bull form.” He shook his head. “And just when I was getting used to seeing my handsome face again.”
“If ye ask me, the bull is an upgrade to yer fugly mug.” It weren’t the truth but I just felt like being an asshole at the moment, prolly ‘cause I felt like shiznit. I watched the bull wrestle himself into an upright position. “How’re we supposed to get outta here?”
Kemosabe gripped the wall of the truck and used it to climb to his feet. A collar with sharp spikes dug into his neck, but his arms were free. So there was that. He walked the length of his chain and reached out for me. He couldn’t reach shit.
“Damn it!” he ground out, real bull-like. “Where’s Tallis?” he asked as he looked around but there weren’t no sign of the yeti. “He isn’t in here with us.”
“Neither is Nips. Let’s hope they’re together.”
“I don’t think AE is stupid enough to put them together.”
“What you talkin’ ‘bout?”
He shrugged. “AE is after Lily. We’re just bargaining chips. Let’s hope she distracts them long enough for us to break free.”
“Where you think they’re takin’ us?”
He shrugged again. Seemed like he liked to do that. Guess if I had shoulders that big, I’d wanna shrug all the time too. “For all we know, they’re taking us to headquarters, and that doesn’t end well for anyone.”
“So, this is AE’s rust bucket we’re currently riding in?”
He nodded grimly. “I think this is the one they use to carry shades to The Void.” He looked around. “I can feel the leftover dark energy.”
“What? Isn’t that impossible?”
“No.”
“How come?”
“As you know, the Void is the area of darkness that conceals the ninth level, but you and I both know that darkness itself is often an entity of its own. And, like any other living creature, it needs to be fed. So, AE supplies shades to The Void to keep the darkness happy and the prisoners within the cages safe from being consumed.”
“The Forsaken is supposed to be asleep in the ninth level.”
Kemosabe shrugged his massive shoulders… again. “He can’t go beyond The Void while in slumber, so we should be safe for now. According to Lily’s visions, The Forsaken doesn’t know what’s been going on in the Underground City. But all that will come out later, I’m sure. Right now, we have to focus on getting out of here and getting to Uriel.”
I tried to break free of my chains but failed miserably. Of course those dickbags would have a way to neutralize my power. “Fuck! I can’t get out.”
Kemosabe paced back and forth for a second before stopping suddenly. He approached one of the cages with the chickens. “You might want to close your eyes. This could get messy.”
I covered my face with my hands and heard a bunch of squawking. Beneath the ruckus was a low v
oice whispering a prayer of thanks, asking that the chicken’s sacrifice be honored. Then the crack of the bird’s necks snapping nearly made me hurl all over the fucking floor. I peeked through my fingers and, thankfully, Kemosabe had his back to me.
He jerked and twitched, dropping to the ground with a hand over his chest.
My eyes bulged out of my skull as the pelt that covered his torso and head fell away. Bones popped and snapped. Smooth skin glistened with sweat as the Minotaur doubled over with ragged breaths. He shivered slightly, his long hair clinging to his back as he caught his breath. But his head was now small enough that he was able to lift the collar over his head to free himself. He wiped away the blood on his face with a grimace.
“You ready to make some trouble?”
“Let’s fuck shit up, Kemosabe!” That’s when I glanced down and realized dude was totally butt-ass-nekked.
###
LILY
“Who makes up the Forbidden Council, anyway?” I asked.
“They are beings that your feeble mind cannot comprehend, Ms. Harper.”
I decided not to take offense to the comment about my ‘feeble mind’ and, instead, felt along the seams of my seat, careful not to rattle the chains. I felt something thin and hard poking against my finger. My nails dug into the leather of the cushion and I pried what felt like a piece of thin lining that was slightly bendable but hard enough to have a sharp point at the end of it. I continued to work it free as someone entered the passenger car.
Fletcher snapped his fingers, and a very Men In Black looking guy came forward with a briefcase. The latches clicked open one by one and then he opened the lid. Fletcher reached inside, grabbed a heap of what looked like pictures and then dropped them in front of me as the other guy slid the briefcase to the other end of the table. I saw images of myself through my time in the Underground City and the Dark Wood. There were several images of Tallis and I embracing.
