Until We Meet Again

by S. E. Campbell

  Two Demons came inside, chasing after them. One of them had red hair, and the other was a brunette. Both wore the same uniforms. The red-haired Demon appeared to be the leader because he stepped forward first and gazed down at Eden with narrow eyes.

  "You're Angels, aren't you?" asked the redhead.

  "I don't know what you're talking about," Eden said, removing the sword from the Demon's stomach, though she didn't have the courage to use it.

  "So you're the leader. What are you, a captain?" The redhead stepped toward her.

  "I don't know what you're talking about," Eden said.

  "Don't play dumb. Your recruits assaulted me at the end of the alley and asked where you were. Thought I took you." The redheaded Demon leered wickedly. "Guess they didn't know that we had you outnumbered."

  "Three versus three isn't outnumbered, stupid," Thema said. "Plus, we have the kid."

  Adanna hit Thema over the head.

  "I think that we'll start with her first," the redhead said, stepping toward Thema. "I don't like her. Obnoxious."

  Desperation filled her. Now it was more than her life at stake. It was Thema's too. She stepped forward with the sword in hand and shoved the blade straight into the Demon's stomach. He squeaked in pain and then fell down to his knees.

  Eden stared at him in horror and guilt. Stabbing him hadn't felt like she expected. The sword had gone right through him.

  The Demon gaped at his stomach as a large, spiraling vortex appeared in the ceiling above them. It was all white. His soul was sucked off of her sword and into the vortex, even though he cried out and clawed at the air as if he could somehow manage to remain in the room if he tried hard enough.

  Everyone was distracted. Eden seized the little girl's hand, tugged her against the wall and then did the same to Adanna. Thema backed against the wall on her own. Eden once again gazed at the rafter and frowned.

  "You have more guts than I thought," the redhead said. "You struck me as weak, but you actually aren't. Put down your sword."

  The redhead withdrew his and pointed at her.

  "Have a nice life," Eden said, whirled around, and then tackled the concave beam.

  The rafter didn't give. She rammed into it again and glanced upward. A few pieces of dirt rattled and hit the floor. The two Demons laughed and approached her with pointed swords.

  Eden tried again, ramming her shoulder against the broken support. It didn't give. Adanna spun around, stared at the broken rafter, and then ran at it as hard as she could. Their shoulders collided and a rock from up above fell. Then more rocks.

  Before long, it was raining pieces of ceiling. The joist never did fall, but the Demons glanced up in horror just in case.

  "Run," the little girl said, grabbing her hand. "Come on."

  The little girl began to run, and Eden and the others followed behind her. It took only seconds before they were out the door when the Demons began to chase after her and the others. Where are we going to go? It's night. We'll be eaten by the Raiders if we go outside the city, and I'm the only one with a weapon and don't have the courage to use it.

  As Eden's desperation and panic grew, she glanced at the little girl who appeared calm and unperturbed that they were being chased. How can she be that calm? Behind her, the Demons yelled profanities.

  "I don't care about the orders anymore," the redhead yelled. "I want the tall blonde girl. You hear me. I want you."

  Eden gulped. She couldn't get caught.

  "This way," the little girl said, leading them into the main city.

  When they made it into the square, heads twisted in their direction. The little girl led them across the pavilion, beyond it, and into yet another dark path. There were three doors in this alleyway. The little girl skidded to a stop by one of the doors, opened it, and then entered. Everybody followed.

  The interior of the house was empty and had only a pair of stone steps that led down below. The air smelled sour and of stone. The little girl led them down the rock steps and into a dark basement.

  "There's a door that leads to a stone slide here," the little girl said. "Go down it."

  Eden bent down and felt the floor. She found the door and opened it, cool air gushing out from down below. She cast the little girl an uncertain look. Maybe there was a reason those Demons were after her.

  "Go," the little girl urged.

  She put her feet down the mouth of the hole and felt the air tickle her legs.

  "Eden, don't," Thema said.

  Eden glanced over her shoulder at Thema in confusion. "What? But why? We don't have much choice, do we? Those men will find us any second."

  "I don't know who you are, kid," Thema said, turning to the little girl, "but how dare you try to lead us down the route to Moloch."

  "Moloch?" Eden squeaked.

  The sound of a door banging open upstairs caused her to look up. Eden gulped. She was so confused. She could either face swords or a hole leading into some unknown city. The last thing that Thema had warned her about was the Raiders, and she wished she had never encountered them.

  Then the little girl pushed Eden into the hole.

  The first thing Eden expected was a sudden drop into nothingness and possibly doom at the bottom. Instead she was on a cold stone slide slickened with moss and goo. An occasional Blood Worm floundered on the slide and attached itself to her, but they fell off on their own as she gained momentum.

  When she reached the bottom of the slide, the sudden drop came. She found herself shouting and clinging at nothing, and then she landed in a shallow puddle of frigid water. It took her a moment to recover.

  She was then hit with a second body. Adanna's. She yelped in pain and leaned against the back wall.

  "Adanna," Eden said, "you followed me."

  Adanna nodded. A moment later, a second blur of light went down the slide and landed in the water. It was Thema. Adanna stood up and helped her sister to her feet. Eden stood up too, feeling thankful that souls couldn't get wet. Unfortunately, though, she was covered in sucking Blood Worms.

  A moment later the little girl came off the slide and then gracefully arched into the air and landed perfectly on her feet.

  Who is she? Eden's eyes widened. There is no way that she's just a normal kid.

  As if hearing Eden's thoughts, the little girl tugged at her blonde hair, grinned, and then extended her hand to a confused Eden.

  "My name is Airyman. It's nice to meet you. You can call me Air."

  ****

  The passage was filled with cold air and uneasiness. Eden wasn't sure how long it would take the Demons to find the door to the basement, but she knew they would head right toward her when they found it.

  "This place is so disgusting, and we haven't even reached the city yet," Thema said, kicking a rock.

  The cave was disgusting. It was slimy and filled with Blood Worms and red-eyed creatures that looked like scaly, fanged rats that she was too frightened to ask about. Eden felt uneasy, scared, and anxious. She had never gotten into this much trouble when she was alive. Maybe she had seen her mom and dad fight a lot, but it wasn't the same as this. She had never been in danger.

  The thought of her mom made her shake and wrap her arms around herself. She still hadn't come any closer to finding her, and now she was stuck in a scary hole on the way to Moloch. But what kind of city is that?

  "Thema, you mentioned that we are going to Moloch," Eden said. "What is that?"

  Thema rolled her eyes again. "I keep forgetting that you're new to this. What's Moloch? Honestly. Only the deadest city of the Demon continent."

  "Demon continent?" Eden asked.

  Airyman explained, "This world has two major continents, both with seven major cities on each. Horace is the name of our continent. It is where good souls are transported at the time of death. The other continent is called Infernum. This is where the bad people go. They will have to work harder to be good. There are ways to reach each continent via the route we are at now. It's called the
underbelly of Zemiothstai. There are problems with it, though."

  "Yeah, the underbelly is like downtown New York city at two o'clock in the morning," Thema said. "We are now on the way to Inferum, the most evil infested place on the planet. In between Inferum is the city called Moloch. It's so bad it's legendary, but nobody counts it as a real city because unlike the seven on each continent, the people here built it."

  Airyman frowned. "It is pretty bad."

  "The Demons have a continent?" Eden asked, gripping her head. "You have got to be kidding me."

  "It's always been that way." Airyman shrugged.

  "Speaking of Demons." Thema glared at Airyman through narrowed eyes. "Do tell why Eden had to go on a rescue mission to save you. You look young, but anyone under the age of ten gets an instant free pass to heaven, so I'm guessing that you aren't all that you appear to be. I'm guessing you're an old spirit too, judging by the fact that you aren't an idiot like Eden."

  Eden rolled her eyes and ignored the jibe. After dealing with her dad, she knew it was better to hold her tongue.

  "I had something that the Demons want," Airyman said. "It's simple as that."

  "Something that they want?" Eden examined Airyman and noted that it didn't look like she carried anything at all. "What's that?"

  "Sorry." Airyman beamed at her. "I can't tell you that, Eden."

  "Oh, puh-lease." Thema snapped her fingers. "I can't believe you're pulling this on us. We should just abandon you—"

  There was the sound of loud banging from behind them, followed by grunts of anger and then the sound of pounding feet. It was the Demons. If I can hear them from this far away, then they can hear us. Her eyes widened.

  "It's them," Thema said, her voice echoing across the cave.

  Eden shut her eyes and shook her head.

  "Run," Airyman said, seizing Eden's hand.

  All of them began to run, but Eden could hear the Demons in hot pursuit. The Demons were fast, faster than her own party.

  "Are there any side exits?" Eden asked.

  "No." Thema shook her head. "Between here and Moloch, it's straight with no side turns."

  "And how many miles?" Eden asked.

  "Too many," Thema complained.

  "They'll find us," Airyman said.

  Thema grumbled as the sound of pounding feet grew closer.

  I'm not going to give up yet. Eden ran hard, but she kept her eye on all of the crevices in the wall. There were many of them. She realized that while there were no exits, there were plenty of places for them to hide. Some of them were big enough for the whole party to fit into.

  Eden laid eyes on a large, gaping hole in the wall that had to have been at least twenty feet deep. If she hadn't been looking for it, then she would have missed it.

  "This way," Eden said, sliding to a stop.

  "No, Eden, no," Thema said. "That's where the Satan Spawn live."

  "It's a good idea to hide there," Airyman said.

  Adanna nodded. With another gripe, Thema rolled her eyes.

  "If I get eaten alive, it's your fault." Thema pointed an accusing finger at Eden.

  Shrugging, Eden entered the hole and felt hot air instead of cool. There were a ton of Blood Worms oozing along the wall, but when she hit them and killed them, they disappeared like all the rest. Thema, Adanna, and Airyman entered the hole after her.

  She was forced even farther against the hot cavern wall. What is that? What is causing this place to get hot? She felt uneasy, and she was certain had she had normal body reactions, her hair would have stood up on end for more reasons than the Demons pursuing them.

  "Eden, what are you doing?" Thema asked, scowling.

  Airyman put her finger to her lips and shushed Thema.

  The sound of pounding feet grew closer, and the two Demons appeared running down the cave.

  "The boss is going to kill us if we lose that kid," the brunette Demon said.

  "I don't care about the kid," the redheaded Demon said. "I want the long-haired blonde. I want to watch her face as I torture her."

  The brunette Demon whistled. "Got quite a crush, don't you?"

  "Shut up!"

  Yelling grew distant as the Demons drew away from them. Adanna sighed in relief. Eden tried hard to chase away the words she had just heard. I want the long-haired blonde. I want to watch her face as I torture her. She already had enemies, and she had only been in this world for a few days.

  "We better hope they don't catch us," Thema said. "Their leader does sound like he wants to share some Demon love with you, Eden."

  "Not funny." Eden scowled at her.

  "I didn't say that it was," Thema said. "And let's get out of the hole. I don't like it in here."

  "We shouldn't leave too quickly, or else our echo will give away the fact that we're behind them," Airyman said. "Then we'll be right back where we started."

  Eden stared after Airyman and Thema, and then she spun around and placed her hand against the hot rock. When she bent over, she discovered that there was a fist-sized hole in the ground where heat came in. She couldn't help herself. She pushed her forehead against the hole and peered inside.

  There were bubbling pots of what appeared to be blood. It even smelled metallic, like blood did. There was also the scent of rotten eggs. She saw that the cave walls had been painted with strange, eerie symbols. This place has more to it than meets the eye.

  As she continued to look inside, she saw something dark scamper across the floor. What is that? As she focused, she discovered that the something had four legs and a tail. It also had long, sharp claws and prongs along its back.

  A hand dropped on her shoulder, causing her to leap up. It was Adanna. Eden had been so immersed in looking down she hadn't realized she had a tagalong.

  "You scared me to death," Eden said, putting her hand to her chest.

  "Too late for that," Thema called, reminding Eden that she could hear every word.

  Shaking her head, Eden moved her attention back to Adanna. Adanna pointed at the hole and then made a hand symbol in front of Eden's face. Eden didn't understand and frowned.

  Adanna gave a determined look at the hole and then wrote a question mark in the air. Finally, Eden understood.

  "It's some sort of underground cavern," Eden said. "I don't know what's down there. Is there a route that goes under here?"

  Adanna shook her head adamantly.

  When Eden got up and walked out of the hole in the wall, Thema stared at her. "Was there really a cavern down there? This place is supposed to be the lowest point that you can go. There shouldn't be any more caves around here."

  Eden nodded. "Yeah, do you want to look?"

  Thema shook her head. "No. Chances are good that it belongs to Satan Spawn. Avoid places like that, Eden. Always. In Zemiothstai, walking into an unfamiliar unknown cave is like entering a sexual predator's house while alone."

  Nodding in agreement, Adanna walked over to Thema. They said something to each other that Eden didn’t hear and then began to move. Eden, though, lingered for a moment and couldn't stop gazing at the cavern wall. I have this feeling what's down there is worse than any Satan Spawn we've seen yet.

  She suddenly had the distinct feeling they should not be underground. Not now.

  Chapter Fourteen

  As they drew closer to Moloch, Eden heard the sound of loud, rhythmic stamping that sounded almost like music. It echoed down the caverns and filled the area with an eerie beat. Thwack, thwack, boom. Thwack, thwack, boom. At the mouth of the cavern, Eden could see the glow of the same strange lights she had witnessed in Jophiel.

  "We shouldn't be here," Eden said.

  Thema raised an eyebrow. "Of course we shouldn't. But what is with you? You're new here. You haven't even seen why Moloch is so terrible."

  Eden shrugged. How could she tell her she just felt that something was wrong?

  When Eden didn't answer, Thema headed forward toward the mouth of the cave and then bent low by the entrance. Eden a
nd the others followed. Eden leaned behind the big stones and gasped at her first view of Moloch. It was beautiful but strangely eerie.

  The stones of the cavern had been carved into buildings with glowing lights attached to them. These buildings were at least one hundred yards tall. In between these grand buildings there was a large mass of people, but they did not radiate like Eden or the others. Their souls’ glow was black.

  The most frightening thing about this large mass of spirits was the fact that they moved together in perfect unison and made the same sound across the cavern. Thwack, thwack, boom. Thwack, thwack, boom. It went on, over and over again.

  "What's the matter with them?" Eden asked. "Why do they have a black afterglow?"

  Thema frowned. "They're like the Raiders. They carry it."

  Eden stared at her. "Huh?"

  "You don't know about Morsus?" Thema asked, rolling her eyes. "Saint Peter should have warned you about this."

  "It's not like they teach this in school," Eden said, frowning. "What is Morsus?"

  "It's a disease of the soul, or the mind, more like. You can either get it by being infected by Satan Spawn, or you can be like the spirits in Moloch and get it by choice." Thema frowned and glanced into the city. "It's an energy contamination. Cause that's what we are — energy. You know how you felt good after you drank the holy water?"

  Eden nodded. In fact, she could use some now. She'd been feeling weaker and weaker in these caves.

  "Imagine it like that," Thema said. "The people of Moloch get addicted to stealing other souls' energy because it gives them a high. It contaminates their spirits and makes their auras turn black. When you get your energy stolen, say by a Raider, your aura will do the same thing. Many will turn and steal somebody else's energy to recover, but then it's a big, nasty cycle. Once you're addicted, it'll stick with you for forever."

  Airyman said quietly, "A person infected with Morsus will be chronically depressed in life. That's where mental illness comes from."

  "You serious?" Eden asked, raising an eyebrow.

  "Yes," Thema said, "so when we go in there, we have to stick together."