“Now, put this on. We have to blend into the crowd,” Julian said, handing me a black cloak that he grabbed as we were passing through what seemed to be the staff chambers. Now we were in front of a heavy metal door. I was done calculating and overthinking the reasons why I’d ended up in Hell, but I wasn’t sure what was waiting for me outside these castle walls.
I suspected that the landscape and background changed from circle to circle. Purgatory was dark, with rocks and surrounded by water. In this circle, the castle was playing the role of Mammon’s fortress.
The panic made me a little sick again and I grabbed Julian’s hand.
“Hold on a minute. I have never been in Hell, and the last thing I remember was walking on the stone pathway in Purgatory. What kind of world is behind those walls?” I asked, trying to mentally prepare myself for what was out there. I didn’t consider Bianca’s home Hell, and Morpheus had never told me anything useful about the dark parts of the underworld.
Maybe I was just about to witness humans being tortured. There had been so many descriptions in the past. Many demons had talked about the fire and pits; others about the rivers filled with blood and lava. However, most demons who were born in Hell had never talked about their life beyond the one on Earth. Even Ricky had refused to give me any specifics.
Julian scratched his head again in confusion.
“It’s always dark in Hell… so to you it will be like it’s never-ending night. We are in Mammon’s part, and he treats us decently. There are other parts you don’t want to wander off to,” he said and then he pushed the door open.
Intense waves of magic hit me hard, and I was amazed at how many other demons were there, just going about their business. Indeed, Hell was dark, but it was nothing like I ever imagined.
Mammon’s castle was surrounded by a market of some sort, filled with stands and other outbuildings. Demons were walking around, chatting and carrying groceries. No one paid any attention to us, and the fact was, that I didn’t see any mongrels. In some ways I was glad that demons didn’t stare at me.
The Circle of Greed reminded me a lot of some remote village surrounded by the tall fortress wall that stretched for several miles. I turned around and saw a breathtaking medieval castle, with defensive barbicans and a deep moat. The torches lit the wide square filled with demons. The sky was navy blue filled with clouds and stars. It was probably an illusion, but I didn’t have the time to figure out the logistics because Julian nudged me to keep following him.
My heart skipped a beat when I spotted Watchers on the other side. They were in their true forms, proudly showing off their dark wings, watching the crowd. I tried not to stare too much, but it was so hard. I saw families with children, males and females selling potions, food, and other stuff. I was in Hell, and yet I couldn’t quite grasp that fact.
I followed Julian, trying not to bump into anyone. Forces had been built around the castle, and presumably there wasn’t any way out of here. The temperature was warm, the air humid.
We blended into the crowd, both of us wearing long black cloaks. I glanced behind me a few times, and my sharp eyes registered a few Watchers who’d barged out from the back entrance to the servants’ quarters. A tall dark-haired Watcher was throwing orders at others.
They quickly vanished in the crowd. We didn’t have much time and needed to keep on moving.
Mammon wanted my heart; he mentioned the election, but he never said anything about Lucifer or the fact that the dark lord was expecting to get my soul. I had a feeling that someone betrayed Morpheus. Maybe he had no idea that I was still in Hell. Either way, I needed to get to the seventh circle somehow, because that was my only hope of getting back to Earth, to Summer.
We passed the market and then started walking along the muddy, wet road. There was a round of houses on each side with some posters on the windows. Some of them were praising Mammon who stood posing in a crown. There were posters with other demons who I hadn’t seen before. Julian told me that these were the other candidates who were running for Mammon’s position. We didn’t have time to stop and discuss this, but the whole concept of an election was still intriguing.
It took us another hour to get closer to the end of the town. This area was much less populated. I felt less exposed when we disappeared behind the houses and the fortress wall.
“What’s going on? Why are we stopping?” I asked when Julian sat down behind an old barn that smelled of blood and decomposed food.
“No one can get on the other side of the fortress. Mammon has spellbound any demons who attempt to cross it,” Julian stated, rubbing his hands and looking nervously around.
“So how are you proposing that we get to the seventh circle?” I asked, aware that we weren’t safe around here. It seemed Julian didn’t sense the Watchers nearby. They were looking for us, and we couldn’t just stay in one place.
“I told you already; you’re from the outside. You won’t be affected by his spell.” He then gestured for me to follow him.
We continued walking behind the houses. It was pitch dark and I couldn’t sense any intruders. Most demons were on the road, and I figured out that it was nighttime for them or at least the time that most of them slept.
“So, what is behind the fortress?” I asked, but for some reason I didn’t want to know the answer. Ricky hated talking about Hell in general. He used to say that I should be glad I was born in London.
“I don’t know. I have never been in the other circles,” Julian said, sounding disappointed. He pointed at the wall and added, “There used to be a gate here, but Mammon’s Watchers removed it when Lucifer announced that there was going to be an election. You have to open it with your magic.”
I looked at him and wanted to laugh. I had no idea how I was supposed to get us through that wall, but I tapped into my source anyway. It was refreshing to feel the waves of energy moving through my system again.
I thought about what Julian was asking for a second. Morpheus had taught me that my anger triggered my energy, and that way I could open the gates to Hell. This time I shut my eyes and thought about all my happy times, good memories from the past. I figured that if I was already in Hell, then only joy and happiness could get me out of here.
I started picturing myself playing with my little girl. I saw her smile as she embraced me, squeezing her tiny hands around my neck. This wasn’t the best time to break apart, but tears were threatening to spill down my face. Julian was breathing hard, but I sensed his excitement. He had been waiting for this moment for a very long time.
“It worked, it worked,” he said, jumping up and down. When I looked, I saw that there was a passage in the wall now that anyone could squeeze through. Behind, there was just gloomy darkness. Even my sharp eyes couldn’t register anything else beyond that.
Now I just needed to step through it and leave behind other demons–leave behind Mammon. This was strange, but for the first time since I woke up in the cell, I wasn’t sure if that was such a good idea.
This was Hell and deep down, I wasn’t ready to cross to the other side.
Chapter 3
“Look closely at the steps I’ll take from here to reach the truth that you so much desire, so you’ll know how to cross this on your own.”
― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
“Darkness, I don’t see anything beyond that,” I said, feeling nervous moving across. The Watchers were taking their time and that wasn’t something that I expected. Maybe no one had thought that Julian could actually help me.
“Probably a way out to another circle,” he said, pacing around the wall and rubbing his jaw nervously. I hated that he was as scared as I was. The tiny voice of reason told me that maybe it was better to stay here. After all, the Circle of Greed didn’t seem that bad.
I was born on Earth, but everything that I knew and cared about no longer mattered. Hell followed its own set of rules.
“I think you should go first,” Julian said. “Your demonic energy is m
uch stronger.”
I wanted to laugh at Julian. He basically wanted me to do a test run to see if I would survive.
“Fine,” I said, knowing I couldn’t turn around and just go back to the castle. It looked like Mammon was keeping his demons prisoner behind his fortress walls; he wanted to make sure that no one would leave. I took a deep breath and touched the stone wall before going through it. It felt warm for some reason. My heartbeat sped up and I concentrated on my demonic magic.
I felt it rushing down my spine and then my hands. Moments later, I squeezed through the passage and saw that there was a huge drop in front of me, leading all the way down. Behind the fortress was just a flat, desert-like landscape. My eyes didn’t register any other buildings. Besides, it was too dark and stormy out there. For a split second I considered staying here, thinking that maybe I could convince someone to smuggle me back to Earth, but that could take a lot more time. And it was time that I didn’t have.
“It’s fine, Julian, come on,” I called from the other side. The dark lord wanted something from me, but I wasn’t ready to find out what it was. I needed to get to his circle and then get back to London. The election was complicating my escape. Also, the way time passed in Hell was confusing. I felt like I had been here only a few hours, but I had a feeling that full days must have already passed in the world above.
“All right, I’m going through it,” he said, and I waited for him to appear in front of me.
Seconds dragged, and a burning smell suddenly drifted through the air. Then an agonising scream broke the still silence. Julian began burning alive, lighting the whole space around me. He seemed to be stuck in the passage between the walls. I panicked, not knowing how to help him. He spread his hands, and the tingling inside me intensified. This all happened so quickly, and before I could take another breath, he vanished completely right in front of my eyes. I walked up to the wall, but the passage that I created was gone, and the bricks were still warm. So, King Mammon used his incredible power to make sure that no one would try to disobey him, and his spell must have killed Julian. It was a sick and slimy move that I should have foreseen. A small hole that you could slip a hand through was still there. I sensed someone approaching from the other side.
“Did you see it, the fire?” a deep raspy voice asked. I moved quickly to the side of the wall. The Watchers. I could sense that there were at least two of them.
“That stupid demon who was with the girl must have tried to cross the wall,” someone else said.
“What about the mongrel girl?”
“The wasteland, Dimitri, and then the Ash Forest. She won’t survive out there,” the other muttered. “You know what Mammon has been saying: there is no life beyond his circle.”
I waited a few more minutes, breathing hard and thinking that I had no other choice but to carry on alone. Even if I could get back to the other side, I had no idea where to go—who to trust.
My voice of reason told me to keep it together; after all, I was still alive. My soul hadn’t been ripped away from my body, and my magic circulated deep in my veins. No one could take that away from me.
I started moving down, my shoes sinking into the soft soil. It was still pitch black in front of me, but at least now I could see shapes, the small ponds filled with water, and the flat landscape that stretched perhaps for miles.
The wind was blowing, and the sand was getting into my eyes. The temperature was climbing, and I was sweating, losing too much water. I tossed my jacket away and ditched it somewhere behind me. I didn’t need it now. Sooner rather than later I would reach the second circle. I wasn’t going to get far without food or water.
I looked back, seeing the castle that stretched far behind me. Several pointy towers disappeared in thick clouds that began filling up the navy sky. That image sent chills down my spine. Someone must have known I was in Purgatory. Maybe Morpheus was planning to send a rescue mission after me.
My feet kept moving through this gloomy wasteland. Now and again I had to stop and rest my swollen feet in the random ponds filled with water, just to cool down. The air was too dry, and I soon became thirsty, but I was too afraid to drink from the pond. It was a risk. My senses hadn’t registered any demons around. I left them all behind in the Circle of Greed.
I noticed that the landscape began to shift. The air wasn’t as dry anymore, and the soil was much thicker and wetter. I spotted some plants and began seeing more tropical-looking bushes on the way. Minutes later I reached the edge of a dark forest. I glanced to my right and left, knowing I didn’t want to be seen on the road all alone. I began cutting through the thick branches, circling around the wide trees, slowly moving deeper into the forest until I reached a clearer path. Every part of my body ached, so eventually I sat down on the edge of an old cut tree, trying to gather my energy. I must have walked for miles and miles.
Moments later, something soft began falling down on my arms and face. The grey flakes turned into dust as soon as I touched them. I assumed that I was now in Ash Forest, the one that Watcher had been talking about behind the wall. The flakes were falling down, covering the forest in thick layers of ash. I smelled burning coal and sulphur, but continued walking, hoping the next circle was right in front of me.
I tapped into my source, hoping that I wouldn’t have to use my magic at all. The soaring energy riddled down my spine. I massaged my neck, feeling stiff all over the place.
“Watch out, they’re coming!”
I heard a scream, and a split second later, someone crashed straight into me, and we both went down.
“Get away from me,” I hissed, trying to push a female demon off my back.
“Quick, we have to hide; otherwise they’ll arrest us.” She scrambled back on her feet and then began dragging me with her. “Lie down here. Quickly.”
I figured out that it was better if I simply obeyed, rather than stand there and argue. In the end it was a good choice, because I suddenly sensed Watchers approaching.
Moments later two of them flew through the same path where I stood just a second ago; their enormous wings spread wide, wafting the air, and strong satanic energy followed them. Three of them were in their true forms. They were nudging two demons in front with sharp wooden sticks, flying only several meters above the ground.
The female demon was literally squishing my face to the ground, and I could barely see what was happening on the road. I smacked her hand and lifted my head, taking some oxygen in just after the Watchers had vanished.
The female was a full-blooded demon, part of Asmodeus faction. I must have crossed over to his circle earlier on.
“Scums,” the female demon muttered to herself rising back on her feet.
“Who were those demons?” I asked, skipping the introductions. She had obviously just saved my butt.
I thought about Julian and my stomach jolted uncomfortably. He helped me and now he was dead because of it. This time around I was going to try to get out of here on my own.
“They were spreading word about other candidates by the entrance to Leviathan’s circle. Asmodeus is repressing anyone who is campaigning against him. The Watchers caught them, but I managed to run away,” she explained, eyeing me up and down with a wary look on her face. “And who are you? And why are you hanging around the restricted section?”
I figured that I had to be honest with this demon. She looked tough and reminded me a little of Emma. My life on Earth wasn’t over as long as I was still in Hell.
“I’m Maxine, and you don’t want to hear my story. It’s very long and complicated. I don’t want to trouble you. I’m crossing over to the Envy Circle,” I told her, lifting my hand to shake hers. Maybe this was odd, but I wanted to be clear from the start that I didn’t expect anything from her.
She smiled at me and we shook hands. She had enormous wide-set hazel eyes and long dark hair. She wore a tank top with combat trousers and had a hunter’s knife tucked into her belt at her side.
“I’m Dominica. I hav
e lost my demon lover. He was taken to the pits,” she told me, and tears started falling down her cheeks. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be so miserable, but whenever I think about him, my heart starts bleeding.”
I patted her on the shoulder awkwardly. Still, after everything that I had been through, I wasn’t very good with affection. In moments like this I wished that I had a bottle of liquid magic. Yeah, I was done with that shit for good, but that craving still burned my throat from time to time.
“No, don’t apologise. Only a few hours ago I lost someone I loved,” I said, thinking about Arthur. I didn’t even have a chance to grieve over him, to remember everything that happened between us. “I need to get to Lucifer’s circle. Do you know where Lucifer punishes sinister humans?”
“Don’t know. Asmodeus controls this circle, and I have never seen any humans here.” She pointed at me. “You’re a mongrel from the outside.”
“How do you know that?” I asked her.
“You don’t have a partner. Everyone has partners around here.”
I didn’t understand what she meant, but there was no time for explanations.
“I need to get to the next circle. Would you be able to show me the way out?” I asked, hoping that she would at least steer me in the right direction.
“A way out?” she asked, sounding baffled. “It’s election time. All the circles are on lockdown. It was hard to move around before, and now it’s almost impossible.”
Julian had mentioned that the election had complicated the movement between the circles. My daughter needed me. I wasn’t planning to give up on leaving Hell just because Lucifer couldn’t keep his people in line.
“All right, can you at least show me where the exit used to be? Does the forest cover the entire circle?”
Doomed Cases Box Set: The Complete Collection Books 1- 4 & Prequel Page 73
