“That’s the way down to hell?” Alex asked.
Satani nodded. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”
Alex wasn’t comforted by that. “I have to jump in?”
“Yes. There are some tricks to navigating your way around, but you’ll be fine.”
Alex stepped away from the edge. “I’m sorry, what?”
Satani suddenly pulled him close. Her head came to his bare chest and she looked up at him. Alex wasn’t sure if it was her compulsion at work, but he felt the urge to kiss the devil. He leaned down and did as much. Her lips were soft. He felt his body relax. And then, she pulled back and smiled up at him
“You’ll be fine,” she told him. “But if you do get lost, head for the city of Katarnak. Keira will be there, waiting for you.”
Alex was opened his mouth, but didn’t get a chance to speak as Satani kissed him once more. This time, the kiss was more passionate. He felt his body relax completely and his fears of falling down a dark pit with burning lava faded away.
“It’d be a shame if you died down there,” Satani told him.
And then, she pushed him down into the pit. Alex felt his arms flailing as he tried to grab onto something. But there was nothing to hold onto. He was surrounded by darkness.
Chapter 12
The minutes passed, and Alex continued to fall. The pit was strange. The walls of the pit were red like molten lava. But their light did not reach him. Alex waved his hands before his face, but he couldn’t see them. Looking up, he could no longer see the mouth of the pit either. And down below was complete darkness too.
Alex estimated he’d been falling for at least ten minutes now. How much longer this would continue, he had no idea. He wasn’t uncomfortable. There wasn’t a rush of wind on his back. There was nothing. The air was still. It was like he was floating, but actually falling. It was silent too. Alex opened his mouth to make a sound. Nothing came out. Interesting.
“Hello?” he asked in his head.
“Sup dickweed,” came Lucifer’s response.
“You know you’re a complete douchebag, right?” Alex asked.
“No,” Lucifer said. “I’m humanity's only hope. I’m their saviour.”
“It’s not mutually exclusive, Lucifer. You can be all of that and a douchebag too.”
Lucifer didn’t respond. Alex wondered if he was having an epiphany about being a douchebag. Silence followed and Alex’s thoughts turned back to the fact that he was falling into hell.
He should have said goodbye to Karen and Melissa. Fuck. He didn’t even get a chance to check up on Chrissy and her sister, Emily. He hoped they were all okay and that they didn’t worry about him and his sudden disappearance.
He missed the girls.
Alex smiled. He hadn’t even reached hell yet, and already, he wanted to come back. He was suddenly determined to end the rebellion and return back to the land of humans, the land of the living.
“It’s strange, going to hell,” Lucifer said suddenly, his voice thoughtful. “After Satan’s betrayal, I swore to never trust any demon ever again. But here we are, on our way to hell, to help the little devil.”
He could understand how Lucifer felt. Alex had hated Satani, maybe still did too. At one point, he’d decided he wasn’t going to ever work for Satani on account of her being an evil bitch and stealing his soul. But here he was, going down to hell to fight against the rebels to keep her in power.
The black hole suddenly ended. Alex could see where he was. There was a sky above him, but it wasn’t blue. The colour was a dark crimson red. He was falling and he could feel the rush of wind on his back. His arms started to flail wildly again as he tried to hold onto something. But there was nothing to hold onto but air.
Alex turned his head to look down. The ground was coming up fast. It was made of red rock, similar in colour to that used to build the Red House of Satan. He was going to hit it hard. He was going to die.
“Pull the sword out,” Lucifer screamed.
Alex barely managed to hear him over the rush of the wind. His eardrums felt like they were about to split. His hands felt behind his back for the handle of the long sword sticking out from the scabbard. Despite continuing to fall at a certain dying speed, Alex felt a little reassured to be able to grab something solid. He pulled out the long sword and held it in his hands, gripping it tightly.
“What now?” Alex asked.
“Turn.”
“Turn?” Alex repeated out loud.
“Yes, turn!”
Okay, turn, Alex thought. It was easier said than done. Alex didn’t even know where to begin. He started swaying his hips left and right. He could hear Lucifer groaning, but he ignored him and continued by trying to tilt one shoulder up and the other down at the same time. He wasn’t sure if that was what did it, or if it was just the natural cause of falling, but Alex was now facing the ground.
Looking down at the fast-approaching rocky surface did not help calm his nerves.
“What now?” he screamed.
The ground was only a few hundred feet away. Alex was still falling incredibly fast. Lucifer didn’t respond, but Alex felt it. The warmth spread from his body and down into the sword. But it was hotter than ever before. The sword began to glow red before becoming fiery. Just as Alex was about to hit the ground, a burst of red energy shot out from the sword and hit the ground.
At the same time, the force jolted the sword backward. The handle struck Alex in the stomach and knocked him back. Instead of hitting the ground and being splattered, he was thrown back into the air, and then he hit the ground from about twenty feet.
Alex landed on his back, where he remained. He was breathing heavily, and his stomach felt like it had been struck by a hammer. Pain from all across his body shot to his head. It felt like it was going to explode. There was that familiar ringing sound too.
Alex remained on the ground, waiting for the pain and the ringing noise to subside and wondering how much torment his body could take. After a while, his breathing returned to normal and his body no longer felt like it had been run over by a truck. It only felt like a car had hit him.
Alex opened his eyes and sat up.
It was hot and dusty. The skies above were dark red and that colour filtered down. The landscape was arid. Alex had hit the ground in the narrow path between two mountains. He slowly climbed to his feet and sheathed his sword, then stared up at the mountains.
He’d have to climb one of those to get his bearings. Alex chose the one to his left. It was taller and seemed easier to climb. The incline at the top wasn’t as steep. It wasn’t the biggest mountain in the world. In fact, it might have just been a really big hill. But it was still hard work. Alex made it halfway up before he paused to sit on a boulder and catch his breath.
It was the hot and dusty climate. He wasn’t used to it. The air was hard to breathe too. It was thick and had an ashy taste to it. After resting for twenty minutes, he set off once more. He’d underestimated the incline at the top. He could no longer climb using just his feet. He had to use his hands to hold onto bits of rock to pull himself up. Sometimes, those rocks broke off and tumbled down the mountain. Once, when that happened, Alex lost his footing and landed on his face flat, hurting his nose and tasting dust. Luckily, he didn’t roll down the mountain.
Once at the top, Alex sat on another rock to catch his breath. He wiped away the seat beads that had formed on his forehead and glanced around. Hell was like a big desert full of rocky mountains and with a red sky and ashy air. The mountains continued for miles and miles. To his left, Alex spotted a valley between the mountains. It was lava that flowed through the stream.
What he didn’t see was any signs of civilisation. Nor was there any vegetation or water or even animals.
“We’re going to starve to death,” Alex muttered.
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Lucifer said. “Look down there, between the two mountains.”
Alex did look down, but he didn’t see anything. Not at
first anyway. But then, he spotted it. Between the two mountains was a path that looked like it was in use. The rock was smooth and flat.
“We need to be careful,” Lucifer said. “We might be in enemy territory.”
He was right, of course. Alex hadn’t landed in Katarnak, the city that Satani had told him to go to. For all he knew, Katarnak could be hundreds of miles away. He could be deep inside rebel territory right now. And being a human in hell, he would be easily identifiable.
So, with his guard up, Alex began to climb down the mountain and head for the path.
Chapter 13
Alex found the path without too much difficulty. It was narrow, about five feet in width, just wide enough for a car. Or a horse and cart, depending on where hell was in regards to technology. Except, the path did not look like it had been driven over by anything. It was definitely a path and it curved around the mountains. The surface was flat and smooth. But it was made of rock, and it didn’t have any track marks or signs of wheels.
Alex walked for an hour before he came across the first sign of change. By the side of the path, sticking out of a rock at a ninety-degree angle was a tree. It was a strange tree. The trunk was red. The leaves were black. And it had purple fruits the size and shape of apples.
“Think that’s edible?” Alex asked.
“Probably not,” Lucifer replied. “Let’s try one.”
Alex was tempted to. What with being a Demon Hunter and having Lucifer inside him, normally, he could have walked for days without feeling tired or hungry or thirsty. But there was something about this climate. It seemed to suck the life out of him. Right now, he would have killed for a sip of water. He’d stopped sweating half an hour ago, which was worrying. So far, this tree was the first sign of anything even remotely edible.
Alex reached for the fruit and pulled it off. It felt solid like an apple. It was cold too. Which was amazing considering how hot hell was. Alex laughed out loud. Hell was hot. Who would have known it?
He was about to take a bite when he paused.
“Did you hear that?” he asked.
“That scraping sound?” Lucifer asked.
Alex nodded. It did sound like claws scraping against rock and it was coming from beyond the tree. Alex put the fruit in his pocket. He grabbed hold of a branch and climbed up the tree. Past it, there was a narrow gap in the mountain.
Alex jumped into it and followed the noise. It grew louder with every step. The gap opened up into a circle twenty feet wide and surrounded on all sides by the rising mountain. The source of the noise was immediately visible.
A beast with black spiky fur and the body of a bear, but with two tails was scraping its claws into a hole in the mountain, trying to make the hole bigger. Every so often, it would stop and push its head into the hole to see if it could fit in.
Alex was about to leave the beast alone when from within the hole, a rock came flying out and struck the beast on its snout. The beast howled in anger, then began clawing at the hole with renewed energy.
“Do you think someone’s hiding in the hole?” Alex wondered.
“Only one way to find out,” Lucifer said.
Alex waited for Lucifer to tell him what that one way was. But as per usual, Lucifer continued with his habit of talking too much when it wasn’t needed, but keeping his mental mouth shut at times like this.
“Are you going to tell me what that one way is, then?” Alex asked, sighing.
“Thought it was obvious,” Lucifer said. “Ask the beast.”
Alex stared at the beast. It was basically the hell version of a bear. “Ask the beast?” he repeated. “Because this is Narnia, right?”
“I don’t know what Narnia is, but if that helps you to understand a pretty simple concept of fucking communicating with other living beings that possess tongues, then yes, like fucking Narnia.”
Alex sighed again. Lucifer was an ass. He cleared his dry throat loudly, hoping that would attract the attention of the beast.
It did. The beast stopped digging its claws into the rock around the hole and turned to look at him. Alex began to reconsider if trying to get the beast’s attention had been the smartest thing to do. The creature stared at him with glowing red eyes, of which it had six. And those claws, they were foot-long fucking talons.
“I think it wants to eat you,” Lucifer said.
Yup. There was hunger in those six red eyes. The saliva dripping from the corner of its mouth was another sign. Alex drew his sword out and focused on the strength that came with Lucifer. He found it with ease and the warmth quickly flowed down into his sword. The beast roared as it charged at him. Alex stepped back, then as the beast clawed at him, he leapt into the air.
He came down on the beast’s back. The spikes were sharp and strong. They dug through his trainers and pierced the skin under his feet. Ignoring the pain, Alex drove his sword into the creature’s back.
What followed next was similar to the bucking horse and rider rodeo. The beast moved wildly, trying to throw him off. The sword was deep into the creature’s back and Alex held onto the handle, trying to stay on.
Eventually, with a grunt, the creature slumped onto the ground. Alex remained on top of it until he was certain it was dead. Then, he pulled his sword out and jumped off. Alex winced as his feet hit the ground. Sitting on his bottom, he pulled of his trainers and examined his feet. A few of the spikes had splintered.
He pulled them out, and as he was tying his laces, Alex became aware of the face staring at him.
It was a dusty face and it poked out from the hole in the rock. The skin was tanned. The hair was a light brown, but covered in red dust. Alex could only see the face and it was a small face. Like it belonged to a child.
A human child.
And then, the body emerged as it climbed out of the hole.
“You’re human,” Alex said, stunned.
“So are you,” the boy replied defensively.
The kid was right, of course. But Alex hadn’t meant it like that. He was expecting to see demons. This was hell. No puns instead, but what the hell was a human child doing in hell?
Alex asked as much.
“I live here,” the boy replied. “What are you doing here?”
It wasn’t an easy question to answer, so Alex ignored it. He figured since the kid was a kid, he could do that. It was legal to ignore children’s questions and press on with your own.
“Where do you live?” he asked.
The boy turned and pointed at the hill behind him.
Alex’s brows furrowed. “You live in… a hill?”
“No,” the boy shook his head. “It’s on the other side of the hill.”
“Show me,” Alex said to the boy.
But the child didn’t move. Instead, he stared at the beast Alex had killed.
“You killed a Raver,” the boy said. “How did you do it?”
Alex held out his sword. The boy stared at it, his eyes widening.
“Can I hold it?”
“No,” Alex said quickly.
The boy glared at him, but then, his eyes moved back to the beast. “We’ll have to cut it up into smaller pieces.”
Alex frowned. “What now?”
The confusion was soon cleared. The boy, whose name was Charlie, wanted Alex to cut the beast into smaller bits so they could carry some of it back to his village. Meat was scarce in hell, and something like this would go down as a feast.
Alex didn’t doubt the kid. He was hungry enough to actually be curious about what the animal would taste like once cooked. He sliced the beast’s legs off and then sheathing his sword, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the purple fruit he’d picked earlier.
“One bite of that’ll kill you,” Charlie said, as he slumped one cut beast leg over his shoulder.
Alex stared at the fruit longingly. It looked so much like a pear. Aside from being purple, of course. He threw the fruit away and grabbed the other leg of the beast. He then followed Charlie. They headed
back down the narrow gap between the mountains and onto the path.
They walked for a mile before they turned off the path and skirted around the rocky base of a large hill. They came to the other side of the hill and Alex noticed the change in scenery. The ground was still hard, the air was hot and dry, but there were trees. Dozens of them. The leaves were a sickly yellow and the fruits they bore were of a similar colour and shrivelled. But still, it was a definite improvement on everything else he’d seen.
“You can have one of those if you’re hungry,” Charlie said.
“The shrivelled fruits?” Alex asked. “I think I’m good,” he muttered.
“Suit yourself,” Charlie said and he grabbed a fruit from one of the trees and bit into it.
Deciding it couldn't be that bad if the kid could eat it, Alex plucked one off and bit into it. He was wrong. It was horrible. It tasted like what he imagined cactus would. Alex threw it away.
Past the trees, there were small mounds and around the mounds were small huts. They were made from rock and the roofs were thatched. Cloth was drawn across the doors and windows.
There weren’t many people about, but the few that were outside were distinctly human. All of them were his age. In their early twenties, or late teens. Charlie disappeared into one of the huts and reappeared a moment later holding the hand of a woman.
She had long blonde hair and blue eyes. Her skin was tanned, like most of those here. She was dressed in a grey tunic that came down to her knees. It had seen better days. There were visible tears on the dress.
They rest of the humans weren’t dressed much better. They all wore clothes that were torn in many parts and patched together enough to just about cover their modesty. For the most part. There was one girl with long black hair whose dress was torn around her chest and her nipples poked out.
“That’s him,” Charlie said. “He killed a Raver and saved me.”
The Devil's Apprentice: Book 2: Descent to Hell Page 8
