Glancing up at the imposing gates which were maybe twenty feet high, I couldn’t help but gulp. They were just as I remembered them, comprised of bluish-grey iron and ancient bricks. The reliefs of animal and human faces were just as gruesome as I recalled. Inside the Underground City, the sky was still dominated by black clouds which appeared to be on fast forward, the light of the moon above, our only guide.
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “Hopefully I’ve still got enough of Tallis’s blood inside me that I’ll still be considered impure,” I finished and then clutched my sword closer to me. It was just a matter of time before Tallis’s blood would no longer keep me safe in the Underground, but I figured I’d deal with that crisis later. For now, I had a more urgent one, which was getting in and out of the Underground City unscathed.
I glanced down at the map of the Dark Wood and the Underground City which Saxon had sent me. Prior to this trip to the Underground, I’d called Saxon and grilled him with questions, including how I was supposed to find my way through the Dark Wood, where I was supposed to get the specialized vials used to retrieve souls (which, coincidentally, were available online), and how I was supposed to navigate the various levels of the Underground City in order to find level three, the prison. Luckily, I did still have the portal ripping device Tallis had given me because I’d used it to cut my path from my apartment in Edinburgh into the Dark Wood. I’d tried to cut a portal from the Underground City back to my apartment only to learn that I had to be twenty miles from the Underground City in order for the ripping device to work. That meant Bill and I were in for another two or so days of walking through the haunted wood.
Luckily for me, Saxon had also given me directions on how to locate Ael’s gym, so I’d managed to maintain my daily physical training for the last three weeks. Well, as soon as I’d armed myself with a boatload of Air Jordans, that is. And although I no longer had Tallis or any other instructor to help me with my swordplay, there wasn’t a day that went by when I didn’t practice on my own.
“Okay, yoze, you ready ta get this shit over and done with?” Bill asked. “I dunno about you, but I’m thinkin’ we’re pretty damn crazy to even attempt this without Conan, namsay?” he finished as he glanced over at me and shook his head.
“We can do this, Bill,” I answered steadfastly. “We don’t need Tallis. We can make our own way.” My pep talk was intended to bolster myself as much as Bill.
“You’re right,” Bill answered with a nod, but I could tell he was unconvinced and simply agreeing for my benefit.
“Okay then,” I said with another nod as I started forward, and reaching into my fanny pack (hey, it was the closest thing to a sporran that I could find!) I gripped the key Saxon had duplicated for me. Then I unlocked the gate to the Underground City and pushed against it. The ancient metal creaked as it scraped against itself but it opened all the same. Taking a deep breath, and hoping this wouldn’t mean my own destruction, I planted my toes down on the ground just inside the perimeter of the gate. Nothing happened. I released my pent up breath and took another full-footed step, balancing on one leg until I realized I was good to go. Then I glanced back at Bill and smiled. “I’m okay.”
Bill let out a long sigh of relief and closed the gate behind him as he started forward. “What does the map say?” he asked as I pulled my sword out from its sheath, wanting to be prepared in case anything decided to waylay us.
“Level three is fairly close to the entrance of the Underground City,” I responded, remembering the image of the map in my head. “We can take the subway which is just on the other side of those buildings,” I said and pointed to the four or so skyscraper buildings that interrupted the horizon directly in front of us. “We would get off at the first stop.”
“Let’s do it,” Bill answered.
We started down the paved road that wove between the buildings and I scanned my surroundings left and right to ensure that nothing suspicious was anywhere near us. The closer we ventured into the center of the city, the more Watchers walked by. They all seemed highly interested in us, although none of them ventured too close. Instead, they just studied us, cocking their heads from left to right like curious dogs.
“Think they’re gonna tell Alaire we’re here?” Bill asked nervously.
“I’m sure of it,” I answered as I clutched my sword more tightly and told myself not to worry about whether Alaire knew we were here or not. “We take a right at the end of this street and the entrance to the subway should be on our left,” I announced, not even needing to look at the map. Truth be told, I’d studied it every day since Saxon sent it to me—so much so that it was now imprinted in my memory.
Even though I knew what to expect when it came to the Underground City, since this was our third trip here, I was still put off by the utter lack of life. The absence of foliage, birds singing, and the hum of insects was unsettling to say the least. Nothing quite like the chaos of silence to unravel your mind. Even though the temperature in the Underground City was always cold, as in never rising above 40 degrees, I couldn’t feel it. Probably because my nerves were set for full steam ahead.
“There it is,” Bill announced as we turned a bend in the road and saw the staircase leading down into the subway. “You think the subway is like its own level in the Underground?”
“No,” I answered. “I think it’s just a subway.”
“Oh,” Bill replied as we took the stairs that led beneath the city. The subway station was barely lit, but the dim light emanating from the tunnel just beside the platform was blue. It bathed the entire place in a ghostly, sapphire hue. There wasn’t anyone or anything waiting for the subway at our stop, which was a relief, in and of itself. Instead, the subway platform looked similar to any other platform—and the concrete floor suggested centuries of wear and tear. The white subway tiles lining the concave ceiling were blackish in some areas, probably due to leaks.
After another few seconds, I heard the sounds of the subway train as it rolled through the tunnel and shook the walls, sounding almost like an earthquake. The subway train was also bathed in a blue light, probably owing to the reflection of its blue headlights or taillights on the ceiling. It stopped directly in front of us and the automatic doors slid open almost immediately. There wasn’t anyone inside the subway car. “Go, Bill,” I said as he nodded and darted forward, nearly tripping over the curb of the train. He took a seat on the plastic bench farthest from the door. I decided to stand. I gripped the metal pole that extended from the floor to the ceiling with one hand, holding my sword with the other.
The doors slid shut and with the hiss of the brake release, we were off. The train rolled over the track, its wheels shrieking in time with the twists and turns of the track. We entered another tunnel and as soon as the lights dimmed in the interior of the train, that was when I saw “her.” It was a split second that my stomach dropped down to my feet as my heart started racing and I screamed. She was sitting directly next to Bill. As soon as he looked to his left, his mouth dropped open in horror and he screamed even louder than I had. He was on his feet in a split second, the same time it took me to get into fighting stance, holding my sword high above my head.
“What the hell shit is that?” Bill squawked.
The spirit or whatever she was simply glanced at Bill disinterestedly and then faced forward again, making no motion to do anything. She was a cloud of translucence beneath her chin. Above it, though, she appeared as three dimensional as Bill or me. She wore a dark hood that somewhat covered her black hair, but it was her face that scared the hell out of me. Her skin was the color of overcooked peas and her eyes were the same green. Her lips were a purplish black and the deep lines in her face pointed to the fact that she was old. A dark, circular mark appeared on her right cheek.
As soon as we emerged from the tunnel, the ghost woman vanished just as quickly as she’d appeared. The train began to slow until the hissing of the brake sounded again. Moments later, the doors slid open and I�
�d never seen Bill move faster than when he jumped down onto the platform. I was just behind him, and seconds later, the train departed.
Bill glanced at me, shaking his head, as if to say he was still too scared to talk. I smiled at him and, trying to look on the bright side, said: “One spooky ghost woman down and the prison left to go. Things are looking up.”
Bill immediately frowned. “Said no one ever.”
I continued to smile at him, figuring an uplifting attitude would help us both. But, really, I was just trying to keep my own cool. Getting scared and panicked would do us no good. Instead, I needed to be calm and ready for whatever the Underground City threw at me next. “We just go up these stairs and the prison should be on our left,” I finished.
“TGIAO,” Bill responded.
“Thank God it’s almost,” I started.
“Over,” he finished for me.
“Amen to that,” I responded with a sigh as I started up the steps leading out of the subway station, Bill just beside me. When we reached the street level, I turned to my left. Directly in front of us was the prison.
An immense and imposing Gothic stone structure, it had turrets, flying buttresses and battlements, and looked like a castle or maybe an ancient cathedral you’d find in Europe. The clock at the top of the three-story structure reminded me of the clock tower in Back to the Future. From my vantage point in front of the prison, I could tell the prison yard inside was in the shape of a parallelogram. It was enclosed by a stone wall approximately eight feet tall. At each corner of the wall stood a large turret, which I imagined was occupied by the prison guards; well, if there were any. At the top of each turret was a stone demon gargoyle with its wings spread out. One of its arms was extended in front with the fingers wide open as if reaching for any passersby who happened to walk beneath it.
“Hey, Nips, what did Dante say about this level?” Bill asked as his eyes settled on the gargoyles, his voice low and clearly frightened.
“This is the level of avarice and prodigality,” I responded, my attention riveted on the front doors of the prison. Hopefully we wouldn’t need a key to gain entrance, because I didn’t have one.
“Come again?” Bill asked, spearing me with a frown. “English please. None o’ them big words.”
“It’s the level reserved for the greedy and the wasteful. Dante says we’ll find those who lived their lives insatiably or who hoarded their fortunes, not sharing anything.”
Bill nodded and then cocked his head to the side as if he were considering my statement carefully. “Sharing is caring.”
I looked at him and took a deep breath. “I don’t want to waste any time. Where’s your phone?” Bill handed his phone to me and I flipped it open, immediately spotting our soul on the map which Jason had texted to us. The misplaced soul was in the center of the prison, apparently on the top floor. “Here’s hoping we don’t run into Plutus,” I said and started forward.
“Who or what the hell’s that?”
“Dante describes him as a wolf-like demon,” I answered as I took the stairs leading into the prison two at a time. Each of the prison windows was reinforced with thick iron bars that were bolted to the stone walls. When we reached the entryway, I pushed against the thick wood doors and found, to my surprise, that they opened without any trouble.
Inside, the prison appeared to be ill maintained. The uneven concrete walkway was buckling in places and worn down in others. The walls featured peeling paint and most of the windows were either broken or boarded up with crude pieces of wood. The doors leading into the various rooms were splintered and damaged, most hanging freely from their hinges.
I glanced down at Bill’s phone and noticed the soul was to our left. “This way,” I said in a small voice as I held my sword above my head and proceeded cautiously. My heart was thumping in time with my footsteps but I refused to allow myself to feel fear for even one second. If I gave into my own feelings of panic and anxiety, I’d be doomed. Instead, I maintained my good posture and focused on my surroundings, sizing up everything around me.
We passed by a few of the prison rooms which were tiny—maybe ten feet long by eight feet wide. They were also empty of any inmates. The paint inside the rooms was peeling even worse than it was in the hallway, revealing the dark brown of the rock walls. There were a few ancient metal bed frames randomly discarded in some of the rooms, their mattresses long gone.
“It’s too freakin’ quiet in here,” Bill whispered.
“Yep,” I answered, never prying my eyes from my surroundings. When we reached the end of the hallway, I stopped alongside the wall and checked the map. We were supposed to continue forward and then take a right turn. Glancing down the hallway, I realized that the open double doors at the end of the hall demarcated the end of this building. That meant we were venturing into another section of the prison. I started forward, and quickly noticed that when we reached the end of the hall, the walkway became uneven cobblestones. We were supposed to make a right turn and then walk underneath the arched walkway directly in front of us. The path continued under the archway before leading left, from where an orange light emanated. With a look at Bill’s phone again, I realized we were headed right for the orange light.
“I gotta real bad feelin’ about this,” Bill said from where he stood right behind me.
“We don’t have a choice,” I responded as I started forward, forcing any fear into the back of my mind. I had a job to do and I would do it. End of story.
When we reached the end of the hallway, I scaled the wall and noted that directly in front of us was an open area that I assumed was the prison yard. Inside were the souls of the damned. They formed a ditch that was in the shape of a large circle. Within this ring, two groups of souls pushed stone wheels, but in opposite directions. The stone wheels were probably six or seven feet tall and each group of souls completed a semicircle before they crashed into one another and had to turn around again, pushing their heavy wheels back in the other direction once more. A few of the souls tripped, and dropped to the ground, but the stone wheels just rolled right over them despite their cries of pain.
Surrounding the souls were creatures I first mistook for dogs standing on two feet. But upon closer inspection, I realized they were more like wolf men. Standing up, they were immense, maybe seven or eight feet tall. And their bodies were just as massive, comprised of bulbous muscle covered in coarse, pitch black skin. Their heads appeared almost ape-like, with their eyes deeply recessed. They all had snub noses and large, pointed ears with wide mouths and enormous fangs. The only splash of color on their bodies was in their orange, quill-like hair, which grew on their heads, their jawlines and their chests.
Even though they walked on two legs, they were hunched over with misshapen backs and lumpy, overdeveloped muscles. Their calves weren’t at all human in appearance, looking more like the legs of a hooved beast. Observing them silently, I watched as they moved swiftly, running after the souls of the damned, using their hands and feet, and sinking their teeth or sharp talons into the woeful spirits who wailed with agony.
“After these last two trips to the Underground, I’m never gonna even consider gettin’ a dog,” Bill whispered as I counted the wolf-men in front of us.
“There are six of them in total,” I said and nodded as if to suggest we were fully prepared to take on six monstrous demons. Looking down at Bill’s phone again, I added, “We’ve got to get across the prison yard and then we have to go back into the prison.”
“Are you sure there’s no other way to get to the other side of the prison?” Bill asked. “’Cause I gotta feelin’ that these ugly SOBs aren’t gonna be too happy with us interruptin’ their little tea party.”
I again referred to the map before looking at Bill. “It appears like the part of the prison that we need to access is separate from the rest of the prison. That, and the map is telling us to go this way; so I’m thinking we need to follow the map’s directions, namsay?”
“Cute, ni
ps, real cute,” Bill replied with a frown.
“Once we reach the other side of the prison, we go up to the third floor and our soul should be there waiting for us,” I finished.
“Yeah, but who’s gonna be waitin’ for us with the soul?” Bill grumbled. “That’s what I wanna know.”
“I guess we’ll find out.”
With a deep breath, and a mental reminder not to give in to the feelings of panic and terror that were now merely a breath away, I held my sword above my head. Eyeing Bill with an expression that said I was ready, I stepped into the prison yard. I could detect Bill’s presence beside me from the corner of my left eye, but all of my attention was centered on the creatures before me. Only two of the wolf men noticed us at first. They seemed dumbstruck to see us which gave me the idea that they didn’t get very many visitors. We continued forward until we were separated from them by about ten feet. A few more turned to face us, and one of them bared its myriad teeth, emitting a low growl, before they all did.
“We are on Afterlife Enterprises business!” I called out, my voice unwavering. “We do not want any trouble.”
The wolf men continued to growl at us and I wondered if they were capable of understanding language and, if so, if English was among their qualifications. I could only hope so. They made no move to attack us as we continued forward, but instead, watched us from narrowed eyes that glowed white. Once we were halfway across the yard, I whispered to Bill, “Get behind me so my back is covered.” He immediately fell in line and brought up the rear. “You need to be my eyes,” I explained.
A few of the wolf men began approaching us, and I learned I was way off regarding their height. It was probably more accurate to say that they were closer to nine feet tall. “We are on a mission under the authority of Jason Streethorn!” I yelled at the wolf man now closest to us who continued coming even closer. I watched him kneel down on his haunches with his arms spread wide before him and his palms flat against the ground. His crouching position meant one thing. “He’s going to attack!” I yelled to Bill as I faced forward, my feet shoulder-width apart. I braced myself with my sword held high.
The Underground City (The Lily Harper Series) Page 17
