by Amy Starr
“One…”
She felt the air rush past her body, but she shut it out of her mind. All she was doing now was focusing on the pole in front of them.
“…two…”
The pole was getting closer now. Poppy began to prepare herself to leap forward.
“…three!”
Hudson let out a pained cry as he released Poppy. The psychic flung herself forward and pounced on the pole. Her arms constricted the pole, as did her legs. She landed slightly tilted to the right and she could feel herself slipping. Scrambling to the left, she was able to adjust herself.
Her heart threatening to burst from her chest, Poppy burst into tears. She felt Hudson slip his arms over her legs and wrapped his torso over her waist.
“It’s okay! You’re okay!”
Poppy felt Hud rest his head against the small of her back. They stayed like that for a long time, the breeze whistling over their entangled bodies. After a long while, Poppy began to slowly scoot herself across the pole. Hudson did not move from where he laid over Poppy and worked his hands as if he were just an extension of her.
Despite hanging over a potential death trap, Poppy had to admit to herself that this was the safest she had felt during this whole challenge. Having Hudson on top of her as they edged forward, it was like having a protective blanket over her.
Finally, after what felt like several agonising minutes, they made it to the opposite tower. Hud had to nudge Poppy on the shoulder to let her know that the pole had ended. With a little push, Hudson helped Poppy to fall to the floor of the building. The psychic landed in a huff on her stomach. Gasping, she turned onto her back, staring at the ceiling as her chest rose up and down. Minutes later, Hudson collapsed next to her, panting softly.
Poppy turned to him and shot forward, wrapping her arms around him. Hud flung his arms around the psychic and pulled her in close to his chest. They stayed that way for several minutes, reassuring each other that they had both survived the ordeal. After a while, Hudson checked his watch.
“We have 12 hours left. That took us six hours.”
That was surreal to Poppy. It had felt like an hour or two, but four six hours? Taking a shaky breath, Poppy let go of Hudson and stood up.
“We don’t have to hurry.” Hudson murmured. “It’s okay Poppy.”
In response, Poppy shook her head. She was fed up. If that was the second challenge, she could already feel herself dreading the final one.
“No, this ends now.”
Hudson gave a small nod and got up from the floor. Before them was a plain looking door. At this point, they both knew that didn’t mean anything. Poppy took a deep breath in and sighed softly. Hud stood beside her and took her hand before walking forward and turning the knob.
The two of them were met by another red hallway. It was dimly lit by dangling lightbulbs so they could see slightly ahead of them. Huddling close, Poppy and Hud began to transverse the hall. All Poppy could think about was the fact that whatever was waiting for them next could kill them. A thought was buzzing around her mind and she knew she had to say something. She did not want to hide anything from him again.
“Hud, about before…I’m so sorry. I should have seen the fluid on the pole, I-”
Hud shook his head. “Don’t apologise, it was a trick. I’m certain it was.”
His hand grew tight around her own. It only took a dozen or so strides for them to make it to the final door. It was quite intricately carved. Poppy could see the image of what appeared to be an upside-down mountain. There were nine layers to it and in each one, the psychic could see carvings of people being tortured in various ways. It made her feel sick to her stomach with the level of detail in it.
Hudson winced and rubbed the back of his neck. “The feeling is bad. He must be close.”
Before either of them could reach for the door it slammed open. They both jumped back. Poppy heard a single pair of hands clapping in the shadows before them, along with a tinkling of playful laughter. A crystal-clear voice spoke to them, dripping with malice.
“Oh, my dearest friends, you have no idea.”
Chapter Ten
When Hudson first heard the voice addressing them, he could feel anger boiling up inside of himself. This creature was mocking them. This beast, who had sent them through these ridiculous games and who had nearly caused Poppy to lose her life, had the audacity to laugh at them?
“I’m not your friend!” Hudson growled to the darkness before them.
The shadowy figure let out a mischievous laugh before sighing softly. “Well, that’s more than alright. I think it’s time to get started with the final game, don’t you? Let’s hit the lights!”
The room glowed to life and Hudson shielded his eyes with his free hand. What met his sight was a spectacular scene. Standing before them was a miniature casino room. Golden trimmings lined the ceiling and the edges of the walls. The walls themselves were covered with a fancy white wallpaper with textured designs. The marble ground below them had a long red carpet along down it, leading to a set of marble steps. Sitting on the final step was a huge roulette wheel. Beside the wheel stood a man that made the hairs on the back of Hudson’s neck stood up.
The man’s face looked almost too perfect to Hudson. There were no flaws or flecks on it. He had sparkling blue eyes with slight crow’s feet on either side of them. His jet-black hair was slicked back, giving him the appearance of a used car salesman. The only thing that improved the greasy look was the fancy suit he was wearing. It was just as black as his hair, but it had a strange shimmer to it as if gold had been sewn into the suit. The outfit also seemed to have a strange glow to it that reminded Hudson of the light that emitted from the Demotome. The man gave Poppy and Hudson a toothy smile, showing off pearly white teeth as he lifted his hands up towards them.
“Welcome to the final challenge. Allow me to introduce myself formally.”
The man stepped down the stairs and approached the two of them, holding his hand out to Hudson. “I’m known by many names, but you can call me Mammon. It is fantastic to meet someone like you, Hudson. I guess you could say that you’re well known in my nick of the woods.”
Hudson glared at Mammon in response. The black-haired man let out a chuckle and turned his gaze to Poppy. His smile turned a little more diabolical and he bowed at her.
“And you must be Ms. Poppy. It’s a pleasure to meet you, my dear.”
As he stood from his bow, Mammon went to grab Poppy’s hand. She pulled her arm away. Mammon went for it again and Hudson walked quickly, standing between the two of them. The man gave Hudson a forced smile and took a few steps backwards.
“My, already making her yours, are you?” Mammon said playfully.
“Enough bullshit.” Hud growled. “Let’s get this over with.”
He reached into his shirt and pulled out the glowing book. Mammon’s eyes grew wide as he saw the book and for a split-second Hudson could see an expression of fear cross the demon’s face.
“Ah, you want to send me back, hm? Well unfortunately, you haven’t finished the challenge yet, so I cannot let you do that.”
Snapping his fingers, the book disappeared from Hudson’s grip and ended up in Mammon’s own hands. Hudson launched himself forward, but Mammon threw Hud to the ground with his free hand. Hudson landed with a grunt on his back. Poppy ran over and helped Hud up, all the while Mammon tutted at them, wagging a finger.
“Hudson, Hudson…I just said you cannot do that yet. The game is not over yet.”
He gave Hudson and Poppy a smirk as he approached them with careful steps, his hands held behind his back. “Well, seeing as you have a bargaining offer, I’ll offer one to you. If you win the final game, I shall let you send me back to whence I came, as your kind would say. If I win the final game, I get the offer you gave before the challenges began.”
Mammon held his hand out to Hudson. “Deal?”
Hudson glared at Mammon’s hand before holding out his own. The black-haired
man grabbed Hudson’s palm and gave him a firm shake. When he was done, Mammon turned to Poppy and, taking her hand, planted a small kiss on it. Hudson fists tightened but, knowing the power that this creature had, chose not to act on his anger. Poppy grunted and pulled her hand away, giving Mammon a disgusted look.
Grumbling, Mammon turned around on the spot.
“Now then, let me explain the challenge of Inferno.”
He gestured for them to follow, and Poppy and Hud wandered after him. They followed the demonic entity up the marble steps until they got to the roulette wheel. Hudson realised the moment he could look over it that it was not an ordinary wheel. Unlike other roulette wheels, this one was only sectioned into nine separate wedges. Each wedge had a different word written on it, and Hud could tell just by looking at them what the words represented.
“Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Avarice, Wrath, Heresy, Violence, Fraud and Treachery. These are the nine circles of Hell, as written by Dante. They’re not entirely accurate, but they’re a pretty close guess.”
Mammon gave the wheel a small spin, watching as it twirled around. “We will both choose a word.”
The black suited man took a small red ball out of his pocket and showed it to the duo. “If this ball lands on your chosen circle, you will win. If it lands on mine, I will win. We will keep playing the game until one of use chooses a winner. Simple, effective and a game of luck.”
Hudson took a deep breath in and sighed. He despised the idea of winning being a 50/50 chance, but he had no choice.
“Fine, let’s do it.”
Mammon gestured to the roulette. “What do you choose?”
Hudson gazed around the board, looking from one word to the next. “Violence.” He said, glaring at the man in the suit.
Mammon let out a snicker. “Nice choice. I’ll say…Lust.”
He gave Poppy a lively side glance and she returned it by giving him the finger. Laughing uproariously, Mammon spun the wheel and dropped the ball in it. As the wheel spun, Hud felt his chest grow tight. He had not checked the ball or the wheel. What if Mammon had rigged it?
As the wheel came to a stop, it took Hudson a few moments to look inside. The ball had landed in the Gluttony section. He let out a sigh of relief and Mammon giggled. “You were worried, weren’t you? I can assure you, my good man, the game is not rigged in any way. I am a fair man and I play by the rules. Now, what’s your next choice?”
“Wrath.” Hudson replied quickly.
“Very well, I’ll choose Heresy.”
The wheel was spun again. When it finally came to a stop, Hudson let out another outtake of breath. It had landed on Lust.
“Ooh, that was close.” Mammon said in a teasing way. “Looks like the wheel favours its master. Understandable, since he is a giving and very loving master.”
Mammon gave Poppy a lingering stare and Hud wound his fist back to punch the demon. Before he could do anything, Poppy stood between the two of them and snapped at the slick haired man.
“Go fuck yourself, you creep. Fraud, he chooses fraud.”
Mammon’s smile grew from ear to ear and he gave another small bow.
“Certainly, my dear. I’ll go for Lust again.”
Poppy turned to glare at Hudson. “What was that about, you idiot? Do you want to get yourself killed?”
Hudson shook his head. “I had to, I-”
“Don’t do anything stupid like that again.”
Hudson turned his neck just in time to see the wheel slow to a stop. The ball bounced about until it stopped in a wedge. The word above the red ball read Lust. Hud felt his heart stop and Poppy let out a small horrified ‘no’. Mammon smiled a toothy smile that showed his bright red gums.
“Well look at that, I’ve won.”
Hudson stared from the ball to Mammon and back to the ball. He could not comprehend what had happened. This couldn’t be real, he thought to himself. This is not real.
“Now…” Mammon said, towering over the broken man as if he had grown a few inches. “Give me my prize.”
A bewildered expression came across Hud’s face. “You…you have the Demotome.”
Mammon stared down at the Demotome before letting out a loud laugh tinged with malice. “You idiot mortal! You actually think I want this thing? It’s useless to me! Sure, it has led to the downfall of my brothers, but it is not what I want. I want what you used to kill that infernal fish. It’s my key to unlocking our greatest ally. The one your foul family took away from us.”
The demon grabbed Hudson’s arm, his irises turning red.
“I want the blood that pumps through your heart.”
Chapter Eleven
His blood? Hudson’s mind was spinning like the roulette wheel that had ruined his life. Why did this creature want his blood? He wanted to scream, swear and move away, but his limbs were frozen. Mammon had paralysed him with his demonic stare.
“You cheated!” Poppy shouted, storming over to the man who held Hudson in his iron grip. “Hudson offered the Demotome as his bargaining offer, not his blood.”
Mammon paused before emitting a spine-tingling snicker. “Mortals are so easy to fool. If I recall, Hudson nor Jezebel ever specifically said that the Demotome was the bargaining offer. All Jezebel did was gesture to him.”
Hudson just stared blankly into the distance; his shoulders drooped and tears forming in his eyes. He could hear everything, but he could not move. Mammon brought the man’s limp arm up to his nose and sniffed it as if he was smelling a delicious dish.
“Ah, spicy. We are going to triumph once again!”
The slick haired man offered a hand to Poppy. “My dear, won’t you join me? I mean, you have no choice. It’s either come with me or stay here and die.”
The psychic ignored him. Hudson could tell from the look in her eyes that she was blaming herself for all of this. She was the one who had chosen the word, after all. Hud wished he could tell her it was all going to be okay, but he knew it wasn’t going to be.
“Wait a second…it was my fault…I had chosen the word…” Poppy murmured.
Mammon’s smile twitched slightly. “Are you okay, Poppy dear?”
Poppy gazed at Mammon. “I was the one who lost the game, not Hudson.”
“So?” Mammon growled under his breath.
“So, you’ve won my blood, not Hudson’s. We shook on all of this too, so you can’t go back on your word.”
A small pained noise came from somewhere within Hudson’s throat. Mammon gave Poppy a furious glare.
“Very well then.”
He shoved Hudson away and grabbed Poppy by her arm, dragging her back. Hud snapped out of his daze and watched in horror as the demon threw Poppy to the ground.
“The second part of your challenge begins, filthy hunter!” Mammon roared, his playful tone transforming into a demonic rumble. “If you lose, not only will I drain you of your blood, I will eviscerate your bitch and splatter her guts all over the walls.”
A long, lolling tongue flopped out of the man’s face, slipping down to his chest. “No, I will do more than that. So much more.”
Mammon’s tongue hung over Poppy’s face and she scooted away fearfully. Hudson stood his ground, feeling the ball of rage growing inside of himself. The slick haired man no longer had his charismatic charm about him. His face was starting to sag unnaturally, and his tongue hung over his chin like a lizard poising to strike a fly. His eyes were screwed up and glassy and they stared from Hud to the wheel.
“I choose Limbo. It’s similar to the Purgatorium. You know, the place your soul is going to suffer eternally once I have drained your body of blood.”
Hud gritted his teeth. He did not want to think about how this creature knew about his own circumstances.
“Treachery.” Hudson muttered the single word.
With one swift movement, Mammon spun the wheel, but he did not drop the ball. He gave Hud an insidious smirk.
“Since your bitch started playing games, I’ll end this m
yself. I didn’t say anything about when the ball needed to drop.”
That was the final straw. Hudson let out a scream and ran to tackle Mammon. The demon stopped Hudson with a single hand and threw him across the room. Hud let out a loud grunt and crumpled to the floor.
“You are perhaps the most idiotic mortal I have ever dealt with.” Mammon hissed.
Hud sat up, his body aching from the impact of the throw. He rubbed his head and looked down at his hand. It was covered in blood. As he went to stand, he heard a shriek come from the wheel. Whipping his head up, Hudson watched as the man in the suit danced around, trying to pull the silver handle out of the middle of his back. Smoke began to sizzle from the injury and his tongue flicked about like the tail of an angry cat.
“Well, this bitch thinks you’re the single most foul piece of shit she’s ever seen!” Poppy shrieked.
Hudson heard a clacking sound as the small roulette ball bounced over to him. Grabbing the ball, Hud raced over to the wheel. His face twisted in agony, Mammon pulled the blood-stained scalpel out of his back and threw it away. As Hudson got to the roulette wheel, the demon pounced. Hud threw the ball up in the air. It fell into the wheel as Mammon fell on top of him.
Once Mammon realised the ball was gone, the wheel was coming to a stop. The demon jumped up and gazed into the wheel. Staggering, Hudson stood up and, taking a moment to catch his breath, glanced down. The ball had landed in the Treachery wedge. Mammon let out an agonised scream and started tearing his hair out in chunks.
Breaking into a sprint, Hudson made his way to Poppy, who handed him the Demotome. Recalling what happened last time, Hud rubbed his bloody hand onto the book’s cover, causing it to glow harder. Hudson found himself opening the book up to Mammon’s page and words sprung out to him, which he read aloud with any hesitation.
“Mammon, Keepeth'r of Wealth, Prince of Greed, Mast'r of Stealth.”
The demon spun around. His face was bubbling and blistering as his tongue whipped about like a furious snake. Screeching like a bat, Mammon began to stagger towards them.
Poppy and Hudson began to back away as Hud continued to read the passage.
