Deceased Dora

by Claire Chilton

  “You were in ancient Greece?” she asked.

  “Kinda where I landed,” Lucian muttered.

  “Landed, on Peggy?” Kieron smirked.

  Lucian scowled.

  Dora quickly spoke up before they ended up fighting again. “But I don’t have a link to Hell. I’m human.”

  Lucian studied her for a moment and then frowned.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Well, no. It’s just a theory.”

  “What is?”

  He scratched his jaw. “You were in Hell, yes?”

  “Yes, Kieron and I both were thrown out of there.” She nodded.

  “And you were imbued with demonic powers as a human?”

  “Yes.” She ground out, wishing he would get to the point.

  “Then you came back to Earth?”

  “We were ejected from Hell,” Kieron said. “Banished.”

  Lucian laughed. “And they made you into an angel?”

  “No, he already was one. Well, he was half one,” she said.

  “Epic! An angel and demon got it on, huh? I told them demon chicks were hot,” Lucian said while wiggling his eyebrows.

  “Them who?” she asked.

  Lucian waved away the question. “Oh, no one important. Anyway, we were talking about you. You wanna hear my theory or not?”

  She bit back her curiosity and nodded. The guy was an ass, but he did seem to know a lot.

  “You’re back on Earth with demon powers, but with no links to Hell. I think the demon powers are using something else as a source of power.” Lucian eyed her with curiosity.

  “What?” she asked.

  “I think they’re using your life force. So every time you invoke your inner demon, you die a little bit. It makes sense really. By doing so, your demon powers are trying to send you back to Hell. Right now, they are in limbo.”

  She frowned. It did make sense. Without a link to Hell, her powers were draining her life force.

  “What do you know about limbo?” Kieron asked.

  “Oh, I know a lot about it.” Lucian narrowed his eyes. “I had to crawl my ass out of that dull fucking waiting room.”

  “I think he might be right, Kieron.” She interrupted.

  Kieron shook his head. He peered at her with a worried expression. “Okay. No more using your powers, not for anything,” he said. “You’ll be okay.”

  Lucian let out a loud sigh.

  “What is it now?” Kieron scowled at the warlock.

  “If only it was that easy. Take it from someone who’s older than time, you will eventually use them.”

  “No, she won’t,” Kieron said. “I won’t let her.”

  Lucian rolled his eyes. “Good luck with that.”

  She held up her hands. “Okay, hang on guys. I’m not dying right now, so we can deal with this later. First things first, where is Carob?”

  Kieron shrugged. “He ran off. I was busy tending to you.”

  “He said he had to go feed some shit,” Lucian said.

  “What?” She widened her eyes while trying to reorganise the words in her mind so that they made sense.

  “That’s what he said.” Lucian shrugged. “His exact words were, ‘gotta go feed poo’. I think that was it, or was it ploppy?”

  Dora and Kieron stared at each other with wide eyes. A sinking realisation of what Lucian was saying appeared to hit them both at the same time.

  “Pooey!” They shouted in unison.

  “Yeah, that mighta been it.” Lucian scratched his nose.

  “Which way did Carob go?” Dora asked, staring at the open stable doors and preparing to run towards them.

  “Down,” Lucian said as he put out his cigar on metal bucket and dropped the remains into it.

  “Huh?” She blinked at him.

  Lucian kicked some hay aside and pointed to a trap door in the floor.

  She studied the door in the ground. It was unusual in a barn because it was made of shiny metal and appeared to be brand new.

  “What is it?” Kieron appeared at her side.

  She glanced at him. He also stared down at the door.

  “Something odd,” she said as she tugged on the shiny chrome handle of the door and pulled it open.

  “Why odd?” Kieron frowned.

  “People don’t usually have secret basements in their barns with coded locking mechanisms on them.” She pointed to the keypad on the top of the door, which was fortunately unlocked.

  Lucian nodded in agreement, but Kieron appeared confused.

  “So a basement is bad?” he asked.

  “No. I … oh, forget it,” she mumbled as she dropped the open door onto the floor and stepped onto the rungs of the metal ladder below. The rungs were cold to touch and embedded into the wall of the dark tunnel.

  “Come on,” she said before climbing down into the dark underbelly of werewolf farm.

  She ran her fingers over the cold, metal walls surrounding her.

  What is this place?

  She peered down and noticed a dim light several feet below her, reflecting off the shiny tiled floor.

  She glanced up to see Kieron stepping onto the ladder above her as she continued climbing down.

  “Seriously?” Lucian’s voice echoed from above. “You want me to climb into some dark hole to find some shit. Are you fucking kidding?”

  “Just get down here.” She called out, wincing when her voice echoed down the tunnel.

  She continued making her way down until she reached the bottom and stood in a wide corridor. She peered down the tunnel. It had a bluish glow from the halogen lights embedded in the ceiling.

  Her boots made a clattering sound on the metal floor, and she could see her reflection in the chrome walls.

  Air vents in the ceiling blasted cold air down the corridor, causing goosebumps to appear on her bare arms, and there was a low buzz coming from a nearby flickering bulb.

  She spun around when she heard a thudding noise behind her, letting out a sigh when she realised it was just Kieron jumping off the ladder.

  “Okay,” he said, glancing around. “This isn’t normal.”

  “No shit,” Lucian muttered as he jumped off the ladder and joined them in the corridor.

  “Let’s just find Pooey and get out of here.” She pointed to down the tunnel to a door in the distance. “I think it’s this way.”

  “Great, we’re guessing our way through the creepy, sterile tunnels.” Lucian rolled his eyes. “This is sure to end well.”

  “We’ll get out of here faster if you don’t speak,” she said.

  “We’ll get out of here faster if we don’t go down the long, freaky tunnel,” Lucian replied.

  She narrowed her eyes. “No one is stopping you leaving.”

  “What, and miss all the fun of watching angel-boy getting mauled by a dog? Not a chance.” Lucian grinned.

  Kieron growled, but she grabbed his hand and pulled him down the tunnel with her before he could start fighting.

  “Just, don’t get in my way.” She glanced over her shoulder at Lucian.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  She rushed down the corridor, wanting to get out of here as fast as possible. The eerie lighting and electronic buzzing sound frayed on her nerves.

  When they reached to door at the end, they came to a T-junction in the tunnel.

  She tried the metal door and frowned when it opened with a click. She peeked into the room and widened her eyes.

  There was a cage in the centre of the room with a girl inside it. The girl was holding onto the bars and staring at the door with sullen expression on her face.

  “What the hell?” Dora pushed the door open wide and stepped into the room.

  “Carissa!” Kieron gasped behind her.

  Dora stared at the girl.

  She glanced up with a hopeful expression when she saw Kieron.

  Dora scowled, noticing she was very pretty. “So, this is Carissa?”

  “Yes.” Kieron
nodded. “Although, I don’t know why she is in a cage.”

  He turned to Carissa. “Is this a private moment or a punishment?”

  “What? Eww! I’m a prisoner,” Carissa said.

  “Yes, but do you want to be?” Kieron asked. He appeared to be trying to understand the situation in a diplomatic manner.

  “Get me out of this fucking cage!” she cried.

  Dora bit back a grin as she walked towards the cage and examined the room for a key.

  On the wall, she found a hook with a large key ring hanging from it. She picked it up and walked towards the cage.

  “How did you end up in here?” she asked Carissa as she tried different keys in the lock of the barred door.

  “My fucking mother,” Carissa said. “I came back to help Kieron find Dora, which I assume is you?”

  Dora nodded. “Yep.”

  “But it seems my mother is even more insane than I remember. She had me thrown in here.”

  “Who is your mother?” Dora asked as one of the keys turned in the lock, and it clanked as she unlocked the door.

  “They call her the Den Mother now, but she used to be the matriarch. The crazy bitch is trying to recreate my ex-boyfriend’s blood. When I found that out, I might have acted a bit rashly.”

  Carissa pushed open the cell door and stepped out of it. “But, there was no need to lock me in a fucking cage!”

  “You’re her,” Lucian cried.

  Dora spun around to see Lucian staring at Carissa with wide eyes.

  “Her, who?” Kieron asked.

  “The hybrid child.” Lucian grinned.

  Kieron stared at him as if he was crazy, but Dora realised that everything the spirit wolf had told her was true.

  “Wait. Who’s your ex-boyfriend?”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Carissa sighed. “He died a long time ago. He was murdered by my mother.”

  “No, it really does matter. What was his name?” She had a feeling that she already knew the answer.

  “Terrence. He was called Terrence, and he was a noble and honourable—”

  “Plank who had a spider called Mortimus?” Dora interrupted.

  “Well, I supposed he was a bit of a pla—wait, yes! He had a butler called Morty. How did you know that?” Carissa narrowed her eyes.

  “Because I met him, he’s not dead. Well, he’s undead. You know he’s a vampire, right?”

  “Yes, but she staked him. I saw it happen!” Carissa frowned and shook her head. “It was so long ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. He fell to the ground and wasn’t moving.”

  “Er, that’s not what happens to staked vampires. They usually turn to dust,” Lucian said.

  “But I buried him.” Tears shone in Carissa’s eyes.

  “Yeah, he probably just went to sleep for a long time then,” Lucian said.

  “Well, he’s not asleep now. He’s at my place,” Dora said. “So, let’s get Pooey and then reunite you guys.”

  “Pooey? I’ve heard of him. My mother’s obsessed with him. He’s in her pet room, I think.”

  “Do you know where that is?” Kieron asked.

  “Yeah, come on.” Carissa led them from the room. She glanced back at Dora. “Thank you.”

  Dora shrugged. “You’re welcome.”

  As she gripped Kieron’s hand and followed Carissa, she decided that she didn’t hate her. She’d like her even more once she was reunited with Terrence though.

  They followed Carissa out into the T-junction and down the left tunnel, past several closed doors.

  “It’s just at the end of this corridor.” Carissa pointed to the end of the tunnel.

  Dora squinted to see a brightly-lit open doorway with bars on it ahead of them. As they rushed down the hall, she could see beige fluffy furniture and giant, cat toys inside the room.

  They paused at the doorway and stared inside it in silence as a three-foot-tall teddy bear wearing a pink ball gown wandered past the doorway. He was holding a bag of cheesy puffs in one hand and cramming handfuls of the orange snacks into his mouth with the other while staring down at his protruding belly.

  “Pooey?” Dora gasped.

  She heard Kieron snort with laughter behind her and glanced back to see him silently laughing with tears forming in his eyes.

  The bear spun around to face them with wide eyes. “Dora!” he cried, spraying them all with semi-masticated maize.

  “Nice dress, princess,” Lucian said.

  “Shut it, leather lord,” Pooey retorted. “Or I’ll chew off your puny ass.”

  Dora was still holding the key ring from Carissa’s cage and decided now was the time to try her luck on Pooey’s cell door. She began testing the keys while shaking her head at Kieron, who was bent over laughing.

  “Yeah, if you can reach it, short ass,” Lucian muttered.

  “Don’t fuck with me, you inbred fool. I’m an ancient demon who is three times bigger and stronger on this plane of existence.” Pooey ripped off his pink dress and pushed out his cute, little chest.

  “So, you’re only a foot tall in other planes of existence?” Lucian grinned.

  Kieron and Dora glanced at each other and nodded. It was true. He was three times taller here, but he was only the size of a toddler.

  Pooey narrowed his eyes and flew at the bars with cute, bearlike roar.

  The cell door shook, and Dora dropped the keys.

  “Come on, Pooey. Let me get you out of here before you rip Lucian’s face off, okay?” she asked, reaching down to pick up the key ring.

  “Lucy? His name is Lucy? What is he? A tranny, rom-com star. Hey, Lucy is your husband home yet?” Pooey called through the bars.

  “Don’t mess with me, you fugly carebear.” Lucian scowled at him.

  “What’s a fucking carebear?” Pooey asked, still hanging from the bars on the door.

  “It’s like a magical bear,” Dora mumbled, avoiding the real answer as she tried another key in the door and sighed when it finally worked.

  She pulled open the door with Pooey still hanging from it and scooped him into her arms.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here.” She gave Pooey a quick hug, relieved to have found him.

  “It’s a lame ass, tedd—” Lucian began. He paused as squeaking sounds echoed down the hall.

  “What the hell is that?” Kieron asked.

  “Squirrel guards,” Carissa said. “It must be her guards.”

  “Oh, no. Not those fucking things again.” Kieron peered in the direction of the noise.

  “You’re scared of a squirrel?” Lucian shook his head. “Do fluffy bunnies frighten you too?”

  “Enough!” Dora said. “Unless you all want to be wearing a princess gown and stuck in a cage, escape now and fight later.”

  “The Den Mother doesn’t scare me,” Lucian muttered.

  “Fine. You stay here to see if she makes a real woman out of you, and we’ll go on our merry way.”

  Dora didn’t wait for a reply as she rushed down the hall with Pooey in her arms.

  She glanced back to see Kieron and Carissa following her, and a reluctant Lucian shake his head before following them.

  They ran down the tunnel, back to the ladder.

  She put Pooey on the ladder first, watching him scale up it with amazing speed. Carissa went next, glancing back when the squeaking noise became louder.

  “Keep going,” Dora said, urging her up the ladder before staring into the distance to see hundreds of moving shapes flying down the tunnel towards them.

  “Flying squirrels?” Lucian asked with wide eyes.

  “Get up the ladder,” she said, bracing herself for an attack.

  “No,” Kieron said. “Dora goes next. She can’t use her powers.”

  She frowned. He was right, but she wasn’t used to being helpless, and she didn’t like it at all.

  “Go on!” he said, pushing her towards the ladder.

  “Okay, okay. Just be careful.” She hurriedly climbed up the
ladder, glancing back to ensure that Kieron was following. She saw a fanged ball of fur fly at him, and he batted it away with one of his wings.

  There was a loud bang below, and a dark mist filled the corridor below her.

  “Kieron!” She called in panic as her pulse raced.

  She began to climb back down, but paused when Kieron’s face appeared out of the mist.

  “It’s okay. Lucian blew them up. Keep going.”

  She quickly climbed up the ladder, pulling herself out of the basement. She got to her feet and stared down at the hole in the ground, sighing when Kieron’s head appeared.

  He climbed out of the tunnel, followed by a grumpy-looking Lucian.

  Once everyone was clear of the tunnel, they slammed the door shut and pulled a heavy cabinet onto it to keep it closed.

  “Now what?” Pooey asked, glancing at the open barn door and the group of werewolves in the field outside of it.

  “Oh shit,” Dora muttered.

  “We fly,” Lucian said, pointing to Peggy.

  “No fucking way.” Kieron shook his head. “That thing can’t fly, let alone hold three people and a bear.”

  “Peggy can hold any weight, and you can help her fly,” Lucian said.

  “It might work,” Dora said.

  “This is going to suck,” Kieron muttered.

  “Care for a ride, ladies?” Lucian gestured towards his skanky unicorn.

  Dora sighed and climbed onto Peggy’s back. Carissa climbed up in front of her, glancing back while holding her hand to her nose.

  “It smells like shit?” Pooey grumbled as Kieron passed him to Dora.

  Lucian boosted himself onto the steed behind Dora and pressed himself against her back. “Who knew I’d get a Dora sandwich.”

  She scowled back at him, and he grinned.

  Kieron flashed his wings and narrowed his eyes at Lucian. “Get this thing moving,” he snapped.

  Lucian winked, and then picked up the reins before Peggy cantered out of the stall.

  Dora glanced back, past Lucian to see Kieron running after them with his wings flexed out behind him.

  As the unicorn picked up speed, he matched it. Both of them ran out of the barn in synchronisation. There was a jolt as Kieron pushed against Peggy’s rear end and launched them all into the sky.