by Diem, J. C.
When the moans and cries finally faded, I turned my attention to the landscape. I’d almost forgotten just how gloomy the outer realms were. A perpetual twilight hung over the wasteland. There were no volcanos nearby to lend any brightness to the horizon. A few scrawny petrified trees were the only scenery.
We’d been travelling for an hour or so when I heard a faint buzzing sound. Turning my head, I frowned in puzzlement. It increased in volume and it seemed to be coming from behind us. Turning, I shifted the black curtain on the back window aside and peered out. At first, I couldn’t see anything strange. Then I noticed a dark cloud approaching.
Nervous whickers came from my nightmares and they increased their pace to a flat out gallop. We rumbled over the arid ground at a reckless pace as they tried to outrace the cloud. Despite our speed, the strange fog was catching up to us. The buzzing sound became louder and I heard familiar chittering noises mixed in with it. Dread filled me when I made out wings and long dangling legs. It wasn’t a cloud at all. It was a swarm of flesh eating bugs.
The Hellmaster had outdone himself with my punishment this time. He usually favored some sort of weather event. Instead, he’d sent a plague of insects after me. They shouldn’t have been able to catch up to galloping nightmares, but they were being aided by a strong wind. Dirt whipped against the glass and the gloom darkened even further as they descended on us.
My nightmares screamed in pain and fury when the biting horrors swarmed over them. Their flesh would be stripped away in seconds and I couldn’t allow them to die. Not after they’d saved me so many times.
Take the carriage back to the nowhere lands, I commanded them. The insects were gnawing on the petrified wood of the coach to try to get at me. The horses obeyed me and disappeared, taking the coach with them. Ejected from the carriage, I went sailing through the air. Carried a good forty yards from sheer momentum, I twisted at the last moment so I landed on my side rather than on my face. Skidding along the ground, I came to a stop and scrambled to my feet as the bugs swept towards me. My armor would protect the bulk of my body from their razor-sharp teeth. My hands, feet and face wouldn’t be as lucky.
Looking around in desperation, I saw only one avenue of escape and took off at a sprint towards it. Long thin legs descended as the bugs in the lead caught up to me. They made eager chittering sounds as the appendages tried to wrap around my neck. I called on my axe and swung it above my head without slowing down. One of the insects bit my hand and a sharp, stinging pain flooded through it.
Cursing the Hellmaster for what I was about to do, I headed for the closest petrified tree. Glad the raven wasn’t here to witness this indignity, I leaped into the sludge where a hellsnake would no doubt be lurking. From previous experience, I knew I wouldn’t be able to see in the murk, so I kept my eyes closed.
Thick and stinky, the ooze closed over me as I sank beneath the surface. I dug my left hand into the soil just below the edge of the pit before I could be sucked down any further. I’d expected the pit to be small, but I reached out with my axe and didn’t encounter a wall to my right. The pit seemed to be a large underground lake with openings to the surface near the petrified trees.
Hearing the muffled sound of chittering bugs coming from above, I knew they weren’t going to give up easily. They needed something to feed on and I was the only living thing in the nearby vicinity. Feeling a tug on my foot, I realized that wasn’t strictly true. Teeth latched onto my boot and tried to pull me down. With my heavy armor, I’d sink like a stone for sure if I let go of the wall.
Making my axe disappear, I brought my leg up and grabbed hold of the hellsnake that was trying to snack on me. Its scales were slippery, but I held on to it tightly as it twisted in my grasp. I thrust it upwards and it was snatched out of my grasp almost immediately.
Lifting my face out of the ooze, I took a deep gasp of air before sinking below the surface again. I thrashed my legs to bring more snakes to me. They were highly attuned to vibrations and came from the far reaches of the lake to feed. Little did they know that they were the ones who would become the snacks.
Using the slimy snakes as bait, I waited out the swarm by taking deep breaths whenever I could. Finally, the chittering and buzzing of wings faded as the bugs moved on to somewhere else. The Hellmaster had sent them after me, but he wasn’t powerful enough to keep control over them indefinitely. Besides, I was pretty sure he didn’t want to kill me. He just wanted to put me in my place and make me suffer as much humiliation as possible.
Hauling myself out of the pit, I rolled onto my back and turned my head to spit a mouthful of sludge out. Flicking the crud off my hands, I wiped my face as best I could. Opening my eyes, I looked up to see the raven perched on a thin branch of the petrified tree. “Awesome,” I said with a heavy sigh. “I was so hoping you’d turn up to witness this humiliation.”
I had a feeling the Hellmaster could use the bird as his eyes and ears. I could just picture him gloating at my filthy appearance right now.
Cawing in laughter, the undead bird overbalanced and almost fell off its perch. Looking around for something to throw at it, I couldn’t see any handy rocks. Taking an ooze covered boot off, I hurled it at my nemesis. Ducking in the nick of time, it glared at me before taking off. It flew off in the direction I’d been heading before the bugs had attacked. It was a small comfort that it would have to fly all the way to the second realm.
Trudging over to pick up my boot, I grimaced when I pulled it back on. My socks squished with each step as I walked past the bones of the hellsnakes that had been stripped of their flesh. They lay around the edges of the pit like macabre decorations.
The bite on my hand still stung, but the stench from the sludge was far worse. My wound would heal, but I was going to be stuck with this odor. Someone shouted inside my head so loudly that I halted in my tracks. I opened the barrier just enough to let an image float to the top of my head. It was a rune, which had no doubt been sent from Sy. I heard the distant commotion of laughter before I clapped the barrier shut again. I must have let it slip during my panic at being chased by the insects. The legion had seen where I’d taken refuge from the swarm and they were understandably amused.
Scowling that everyone who was trapped inside me had seen my ordeal, I looked around for something to draw the rune on, but I couldn’t find anything useful. My curiosity wouldn’t let me ignore it, so I hunkered down and called on my dagger. Slicing my finger open, I drew the symbol directly in the dirt then activated it.
Well aware of how dangerous the hellscribe’s runes could be, I took a few cautious steps backwards. After a few seconds, a hole formed in the ground and clear liquid sprayed ten feet into the air. At first, I thought it was acid, but the symbol was slightly different. Extending a hand, I took a couple of steps forward and winced in anticipation of pain when my fingers touched the impromptu fountain.
When my flesh wasn’t seared off, I realized Sy had altered the spell to be harmless water. “Thank you, Sy,” I said fervently then stuck my face into the stream. It took me a good half an hour to wash all of the gunk off. I didn’t have any shampoo or soap, but I did the best I could. My armor had been effective at keeping the sludge out. Taking my boots and socks off, I washed them thoroughly before putting them back on.
Soil that had never seen water before had sucked the liquid up greedily. It was almost a shame to break the rune, but there was no point leaving it flowing. Nothing could grow in this dismal land. The few trees that existed here were as dead as the nags that drew the captains’ carriages.
Bending down, I drew my dagger over the edge of the rune and the water immediately stopped flowing. The hole disappeared and the liquid was sucked into the ground. Within seconds, it was impossible to tell that anything miraculous had ever occurred here.
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Chapter Twenty-Eight
My nightmares reappeared a short while later. Instead of climbing into the coach, I made sure their wounds had healed first. “Are you
guys okay?” I asked. They tossed their heads, which I took to be agreement. I stroked their soft noses, wondering how I’d ever been afraid of them. They might look scary, but they weren’t as evil as I’d thought. Maybe the hellbeasts reflected their master’s temperaments. Now that they were used to me, they tolerated me a lot more.
Neither of the horses were showing any signs of injuries. The carriage was also in pristine condition again. Returning to the nowhere lands enabled them to heal themselves as well as the coach. The bite on my hand would take a few hours to heal, but I’d gotten off fairly lightly this time.
Entering the carriage, I made myself as comfortable as was possible considering I was wearing armor. It dug into my flesh in places, but I was used to it by now. The nightmares took off and travelled at a pace that was just short of a gallop. We had a long way to go and they were pacing themselves. I’d believed they would never grow tired, but that had been presumptuous. The other denizens of hell didn’t seem to care about their servants, but I was determined to be different from them. I hadn’t succumbed to the darkness inside me to the point where no one else mattered to me yet.
The ninth realm wasn’t as populated as the inner realms. We passed small towns and villages every now and then. When we finally left them behind after three days of travel, I knew we had to be drawing close to the gate that would take us to the eighth realm of hell. Each realm would grow larger as we neared the innermost depths of the underworld. Our journey through each gate would take longer and longer as we continued onwards.
We slowed down a few hours later and the carriage came to a stop. Pushing the window up, I stuck my head out to see the gigantic volcanic rock wall looming over us. We were on a well-worn path and the gate was already waiting for me. Maybe the hellgates that led to the next realms always remained in one spot. “Do you lead to the eighth realm?” I asked.
Thirty feet wide and fifty feet high, he was made of rusty black wrought iron. A gigantic pair of eyes and a rudimentary mouth formed out of the human souls that passed for decorations. Frozen in the act of being tortured, they weren’t exactly pleasant to look at. “That is correct,” he replied disdainfully. “I suppose you wish to gain entry.” Twin stone gargoyles glowered down at me. The raven was perched between them. It was unmistakable with its single white eye.
“You suppose correctly,” I answered snidely. Thanks to besting the master gate, I didn’t have to go through the rigmarole of challenging every gate that led to the other realms. They had to open for me whether they liked it or not. Most of them didn’t like it at all and did their best to annoy me before letting me through.
With a groan of protest, the gate began to swing open. Expecting to see the arid wasteland of the eighth realm, I was instead faced with the misty gloom of the shadowlands. Sorting through my memory, I vaguely remembered being told that each realm of hell existed in a separate area. I wasn’t going to be able to skip the process of cutting through the shadowlands as I’d thought.
Instead of making me walk through the shadowlands as I usually did when I was approaching a new realm, the nightmares waited for the barrier to open then rumbled through. They didn’t have hooves like normal horses. Instead, their feet were tipped with wicked talons that could rend and tear their foes. They made no sound as they cantered into the dimness. That was one thing hellhorses and hellhounds had in common. Their steps were always soundless. The carriage more than made up for their lack of noise.
My steeds didn’t need me to guide them to the next gate. They unerringly sped in a direct line along an ancient cobbled pathway. Clearly, this road received a lot of use. Demons could come and go through the various realms as long as they’d defeated the gate, or were part of an entourage of someone who had. Only the princes, lords and captains had that privilege. I assumed the Hellmaster had also defeated a gate between each realm and one that allowed him to exit from hell.
There were apparently many portals that led all over the world. The trick was finding where they were located. I’d learned that the gates could move to wherever they were needed, but it was easy to end up in a different country by accident if you went to the wrong spot.
I kept a careful watch as we sped towards the next gate. It was always risky to travel through the shadowlands. The hellgates were able to create monsters out of the mist that swirled around us. They used their illusions to challenge demons who wished to travel to the next realm. They’d proven on more than one occasion that they also used their creations for entertainment. Sentient and intelligent, they grew bored with their endless guard duty. Watching demons being torn apart was their only source of amusement.
Fortunately, we didn’t encounter any problems and we slowed down when the wall to the eighth realm appeared. Again, the hellgate was already waiting. “Open up,” I said without preamble.
“As you command, Hellscourge,” he replied with the exact same voice that every other gate had used. “So it shall be done.” I couldn’t help but think that my journeys to hell would have been a lot easier if every creature capitulated to my will so easily.
His face split down the middle as he swung open. These gates didn’t have the same quirky personalities I was used to seeing. Maybe they hadn’t gone quite as insane from boredom as the others had yet. They were used by demons far more frequently.
Once we were through the opening, the gloom of the eighth realm appeared. Very similar to the ninth realm, the wasteland was a vast area of plain gray dirt. Petrified trees dotted the arid landscape here and there. A dormant volcano sat off to one side. I hadn’t seen it the last time I was here. Probably because I’d entered through a different gate.
One thing the realms had in common was the capital city and palace in the center of the wasteland. A bright red beacon sat on the top of all but one of the palaces. Thanks to the Hellmaster, the palace in the sixth realm had been destroyed by a Hellquake. It could no longer act as a focal point for the denizens of that land.
We didn’t travel far before the nightmares slowed down and came to a stop. I climbed out to see what the problem was, but saw nothing alarming in the nearby vicinity. “Do you guys need to rest?” I asked. They tossed their heads in agreement. “Take all the time you need and I’ll keep going on foot.”
It was hard to tell, but I thought I saw a hint of gratitude in their scarlet eyes before they disappeared along with the carriage. They could rest and eat in the nowhere lands and replenish their energy.
I was too far away from the center of the realm to see the red beacon that would guide me. The cobbled pathway would lead me where I needed to go. Taking off at a fast jog, I managed to maintain my speed for a few hours before I came to a village.
Small and shabby, it was guarded by a six-foot stone fence. The buildings were all made of the same slick black volcanic rock as the walls that surrounded the realms. They were the dwelling places of the servants and soldiers. Two of the buildings were larger and would house a captain and a lord. The lord would have dominion over several towns and would alternate between them.
Keeping a safe distance from the wall, I drew my hood up and circled around the village. I could distantly hear the moans of souls being tortured and the gleeful taunts from the demons that held the weapons.
It was a relief to see that not all of the settlements had been evacuated. That meant they weren’t ready to invade the Earth yet. New York would be their test run. Once they’d burned the city to the ground, they would spread out and decimate the rest of the planet.
A couple of hours later, my nightmares appeared on the path in front of me. The cobblestones had petered out and had been replaced with dirt. Wheels from carriages had worn ruts in the ground. It was impossible to become lost as long as we continued to follow it.
I wasn’t tired yet, but the nightmares could move a lot faster than I could. I climbed inside and they took off again.
We didn’t go unnoticed as we passed more villages and towns. Instead of following us, the demons simply watched as we
rumbled by. Their prince was dead and they knew that they would share his fate if they dared to challenge me. They were waiting for someone to take charge and to tell them what to do. The Hellmaster would no doubt swoop in and scoop them all up eventually. For now, they were continuing to do what they’d always done; torment human souls, train for battle and stand around gossiping.
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Chapter Twenty-Nine
As we passed through or near the settlements, I noticed that at least half of the towns had been abandoned. Only the human souls remained in the empty villages. Chained together, they were naked, hideous and twisted. They’d turned as black as the demons from the misdeeds that had landed them here for eternity. Instead of trying to escape now that their tormenters were gone, they remained huddled together. Maybe they were too scared to move, fearing they’d be punished even more when they were caught.
Looking through the window, the scarlet beacon high atop the palace finally appeared on the horizon. My nightmares weren’t travelling at a breakneck pace and it took us several days to reach it.
Instead of cutting through the capital city, we veered around it. It wouldn’t be wise to draw attention even though I’d already killed the prince. Some of the demons who had fled from the city after I’d killed their leader had returned. Eons of servitude was ingrained into them by now. As we skirted around the ten-foot wall, I saw servants bent beneath the weight of huge stones. Others were carrying bundles of petrified wooden planks. Life went on in the underworld, but the citizens were uneasy without their ruler.
Alternating between riding in the carriage for three days then running for half a day, we traversed through two more realms. Every now and then, I saw the raven circling overhead. It was keeping its eye on me rather than speeding ahead to warn the prince of the second realm that I was coming for him.
