“Oh… What are you doing here?” I pulled the hood off and approached her.
“Raix is looking for Elliot too huh?” She asked in her strong voice. I nodded promptly.
“What do you mean by too? Are you looking for him as well?”
“No not me, not anymore.” She sighed and lent backwards against the walls of the dome. She looked bored except for the twisted smile that warped her mouth. Every time she talked her eyes scrunched as if displeased.
“What are you talking about?”
“The Hunter found him before I could. Put him in his cage too.”
“Hunter Gale has him, but why?”
“Secrets and lies are such an ugly quality; it’s something that has to be beaten out of you. Once a liar, always a liar right? He was taken away.”
I felt my face cringe back, “She took him to Mother didn’t she?”
“You’re a fast learner.” I turned away just as Teresa’s voice spoke up and called after me. “You’ll never find him.”
“I know where to start at least,”
“Don’t be stupid, you’ll get caught up in there and you’ll never escape. You’re just a baby reaper; you can’t even control your Goon.” She mocked.
“Well I’m sure as hell not going to wait around and do nothing.”
“Well idiot, if you ask I can help.”
“And why would you help me? Don’t you hate me?”
“I don’t care about you, you conceited tool.” She rolled her eyes and pushed herself up into a stand.
“So what… you care about Elliot?”
Teresa hesitated for just a brief moment before glancing out, biting into her lips as if she refused to let the words squeeze through. “Of course not. I’m just a nice person. You know what; forget it just go in yourself then.” Fed up she threw her hands up in the air.
“No, wait if you are genuine I want your help.”
“Fine, but you must do everything that I say… and don’t you dare breath a word about this to ANY of the other reapers. Especially not Elliot.” I felt my eyebrows rise but quickly cleared my face of any emotion. I was no fool; I knew a crush when I saw one.
She caught sight of my sly grin and pointed sternly to my face, wearing a warning on her lips, “Don’t look so smug Jason-”
“It’s Jordon.”
“Whatever, you should be on your knees grovelling. Too many Reapers are being punished because of your insolence. You will owe me big time.”
Chapter Twelve:
When we arrived within the dusk forest of Mother there was a chill of difference in the air. Teresa called Mother and together we watched the creature move through a simple, flat shade across the earth before tearing through the darkness in awkward distorted jerks. It was like watching the reverse of a spider fold into death or pieces of paper uncurl from being burnt to ash. This was a horrible creature, far worse than any of the Goons that seemed to ogle in fear of her.
“How are we supposed to find him?” I asked once Mother cracked her last bone into place, her heavy panting not lost behind her seeping hair.
“With this,” Teresa revealed a small beaker filled with smoke, similar to the smoke that was poured over my face and entranced Raix to attack me. “It’s how the Hunters control us. You may think that we are only split into two when we die, the Reaper and the Goon counter parts, but there’s a third part. The most crucial part and that is kept locked up in lanterns.”
“How come you have it if that is how the Hunter’s control us?”
“This is just a piece, a little part that allows Reapers to punish other Reapers. It’s not enough to free us, but enough to control someone else’s Goon.” Teresa knelt forward, tipping the thin vial into her hand before sprinkling it out across Mother’s face allowing her to lean forward and inhale deeply.
“Will you get in trouble for having that?” I wondered aloud.
“Not if you don’t shut up and get moving.”
As Mother caught onto Elliot’s scent, leaning her neck backwards far enough that her spine bent in and her skin crawled with goose bumps, she suddenly snapped back into place. She jerked forward, her shoulders crunching with the grinding of bone before she dropped six of the masks behind her back ultimately leaving one mask behind.
“No chickening out… and don’t you dare vomit on me,” Teresa warned as a deep darkness moved over us. Before I could speak or even take a fresh gulp of air, a strong presence gripped securely around my stomach and hurled me into the ground without restraint. It had felt like I had been lassoed and tied to a plummeting truck, the gravity within my stomach could almost crash my bones to dust.
Despite myself I felt my breath hit the top of my throat, silencing the surprised cry that tried to push free. I hit the ground without falling, quickly finding myself dumped across barren soil that exhausted heat from its pores. It took a few moments to catch my breath and settle my nerves that were in a crazed panic. When I turned my head upwards it was to face a volcanic land of smoke and debris. Even the air carried with it a sense of heat, lifting the boiling ash soot like feathers and spitting them across the grounds. A strong pressure was pulling the wind into the mouths of the unsettled volcanoes, there having to be countless of them all plotted out across the stretch of red sand. As I stood the ends of my cloak was hurled upwards, moving towards the breathing mountains that blew smoke like people inhaling cigarettes.
“Oh no… she took him here.” Teresa clasped her chest, guarding her eyes against the moving black rain.
“Are we in the world of the Sins?”
“Yes, this is where we take the Banished spirits to be broken down and turned into pure energy. It’s like being incinerated, as one would break apart the body limb by limb we must break the spirit till they’re nothing. That’s what the Sins do.”
I gulped but the hot air only burnt my throat. “We send them here? To a place like this?” Guilt hit me like a drum; this was similar to locking them up in hell to be tortured. I didn’t realise that I was teleporting the spirits to a type of inferno… no wonder they always ran. Guess it was my fault also, I never cared to ask where we took them; I just obeyed it without question.
“Each sin world is different, but ultimately yes. There are rules that you have to abide by with the sins. Spirits in the spiritual world can call upon Mother whenever they want, especially us Reapers. She passes judgement on the banished, and according to their lifestyle, they are marked with the cursed eyes and set into their rightful place.” She then glanced over her shoulder, “Just don’t let Mother hit you. If she touches you she’ll mark you with a tattoo of a vine. When that happens… well, just don’t let that happen.”
Teresa glanced about herself, holding the tail of her cloak up to her lips to prevent the air born ash from getting into her mouth. “Come on, I don’t want to waste any time here.”
With an indication of her head, I stumbled my way onto my feet and followed her across the harsh desert lands. Along with the constant heat nestling under my clothes there was also the sound of relentless roaring, like a low belly grumble from within the earth. Patrolling the rocks and waste lands, Teresa pointed out the mutated creatures that savaged through the dirt. They were lifting up boulders and checking through the gaps, probably seeking out any loose spirits trying to hide. They had almost looked like smaller version of dinosaurs, mostly of the reptile T-Rex type with short stubby hands and curved long faces. They had small eyes and tiny ears, directing all of their senses to their large flared nostrils.
“Can they sense us?” I asked while ensuring to keep myself away from their line of sight and hopefully away from their sense of smell. Teresa didn’t seem too bothered though as she marched on without a second glance.
“What is it with you? 20 questions? Yeah they can, but they probably won’t bother us. We still have our Goons on the other side of Mother, part of our souls so to capture us is a lot harder than capturing a loose spirit or a separated Reaper. We’re too much of a hassle.
Of course, unless you tick them off.”
She smirked just as we reached the base of one of the volcanoes. It was the largest volcano within sight, and by far the most vicious and unstable one. Every second that passed a wave shuddered through the rocks; breaking open a lip for the lava to bleed out and coughed toxic smoke into the space above them.
I craned my neck back trying to catch a glimpse of the top of the volcano.
“Why don’t we just teleport up there? Why walk?”
“And what, get the attention of those patrolling trolls out there? I don’t think so. Less spiritual power we use the less we’ll bring attention to ourselves. We walk. ”
“Thought you said they weren’t interested in us…”
“Doesn’t mean I want to bait them. Stop whining and let’s go this was your idea wasn’t it?”
“Right, right sorry.”
We climbed the rocks slowly, and despite my body build towering over hers Teresa was able to keep up with my pace up the mountain side. Stubborn pride carried her most of the way, even when the stone she grabbed a hold of broke loose and crumbled, she still refused to take my hand and instead dragged herself up the cliff face. Near the top there was a deep cave that dragged the air in like an inhaling giant. Inside the mouth was a thick darkness, not even the weeping lava could touch light inside the dome.
“In here.”
Moving inside was like stepping into a sauna set to incinerate. The further we ventured within the cave, the more the heat escalated and the red dimmed magna that pressed against the rocks cooked the stone walls, making it impossible to touch anything without it burning you. There was the snarling and moaning of people, dragged into insanity and curled up in tight balls all across the hollowed vault. However many spirits left conscious were brawling it out using their bare fists, beating each other up and stomping on the loser till they both fell defeated to exhaustion. I moved as she moved. The room was filled with the robust stench of smoke, the flooding gas seemingly to be leaking in through the millions of tiny slits and gaps among the cave stones. The deeper we walked into the cave though the less there were of remaining survivors. With my eyes focused down I couldn’t help but notice the hundreds of lifeless bodies, all of them spread out like a unburied corpses and their skin rubbed red raw. All over them was a type of moving black sheet that bubbled and blistered like tiny bugs. Oh wait… they were tiny bugs. Each patch of skin was crawling with the dark insects, which were snipping and scratching up and down the bodies in the thousands. It didn’t look fatal, more of a continuous annoyance. Having the itch of thousands of bugs run up and down your body for hours on end would drive anyone mad, even imagining the tiny pests crawling onto me made me shiver.
“Stop! Stop!” Teresa quickly snatched at my arm and pulled me back behind the corner. “It’s her…Don’t look into her eyes, if you go feral I’m leaving you here.”
“Feral?”
“It’s like a spell or hypnotise or something, you look into their eyes you become consumed by them. Now usually the Hunters leave the Reapers closer to the Sins, allows for more punishment for small amount of time. Don’t look at her, don’t even breath near her. If I say so you stop and you hide.”
“If I’m such a liability, why bring me at all?” I felt myself tense with mild frustration. I didn’t like being treated like a child.
“Can’t have him thinking I came in here to save him, he has to think it was you.”
“Why? Is it really THAT bad that Elliot knows the truth? I can’t imagine having a new friend would be that terrible-”
“I cannot be friends with someone like him.”
“You clearly like him.” Teresa threw her fist into my neck, missing my jawline but still on target enough to throw me off balance. “Ouch! What the hell?”
“You have no idea!” She hissed whilst rubbing her knuckles. “He has no interest in me.”
“Oh…” I lowered my glare as realization took its hold, she had been rejected. Heart ache was what consumed Teresa. “So why go to such trouble to save him?”
“Because he’s an idiot…” She whispered under her breath, “He would rather be with a banished than with me, but even so I don’t think he deserves to go through this. Now come on, and keep your head down.”
The string of howling, snarling, grunting and cursing was endless. The smoke was thick and painted the back of my throat with a musky taste. Every inhale was filling my belly and body with tension. Every exhale only made my muscles and joints tighten more. Without noticing it my fists had clenched and my jaw went taut, my teeth pressing together as if I was trying to hold in my words.
The sight of tree size canine paws stranding on two legs made my eyes flicker up and gawk at the fur covered body of a demon standing meters in front. Teresa walked onwards with her steps quickened where I felt myself fall behind, memorized by this creature. The beast had both arms pinned to the stone wall, nailed into place by thick, metal spikes through its palm, wrist and elbow joints. I fluttered my eyes when I noticed her breasts concealed behind fish scales and her shoulders hunched forward, carrying her bowed head of draping thick, black hair. I couldn’t see her face as her chest rose and fell in panicked, rapid panting, like a dog trying to cool its body down.
“Don’t look!” Teresa snatched at my shoulders and steered me away, moments before the creature snapped her neck upwards and snarled in a heavy, dangerous bark.
“How hard is it to understand simple instructions? Do. Not. Look! That’s the demon Sin you were gawking at; she’s the worst one out of all of them. They even had to chain her up, to stop her from attacking the Reapers and Hunters.”
“What the hell is she?” I snapped with too much aggression in my voice.
“It’s Wrath, and watch that tone of yours.” Teresa snarled back just as fierce before shoving me forward. “Let’s just move quickly, I’ve found Elliot, he’s just over there…”
I lifted my eyes from the floor as my brows tightened when approaching Elliot’s deflated body. He was chained to the wall with his wrists snared behind his back and locked onto a hook attached to the rocks. He was breathing deeply and sweat was pouring out of him like a burst water pipe. His head was bowed so I could only see the crown of his skull and the white blonde hair clang to him as if it were skin. I lifted him onto my shoulder as Teresa unhooked the chains that caged him. He was heavy with exhaustion, barely able to keep his neck up and his bony shoulders slumped into me like daggered rocks. How long was he even in here for? It couldn’t have been for more than a few hours? Half a day at best.
“Elliot can you hear me?” I whispered and caught his muffled grunt in reply. Teresa glanced up at me before motioning with her head to walk forwards. We crept on our toes, delicately stepping over and around the distain bodies that were lifelessly sprawled through the cave. The smoke hit my throat with every gulp, contracting my muscles and digging my fingernails into the palm of my hand.
I don’t know what was causing it, or if the stress piled on top of my anxiety was pushing me over the limits but I could feel a narrowing knot embed within my gut. It was squeezing and squeezing me with each heartbeat, gripping its hold firmer and I felt myself grinding my teeth in annoyance to it. Elliot was heavy on me, his body drooping into my side and I could smell the stink fume from his hair and skin. He smelt disgusting! I knocked him back deliberately, trying to move his weight off of my sore shoulder but he just toppled back into the nook.
I shuffled him around again roughly. Just get off me! You’ve only been here for half a day, wake up and walk yourself! I felt like tossing him to the floor.
“Hurry up!” Teresa snapped.
“Shut up! I’m sick and tired of you telling me what to do. I’m the one carrying him!” I snarled back from the depth of my throat.
“I thought I told you to watch your tone, you’re one inch away from me slamming you to the ground with my fists.” She raised her clenched hand at me and shook her fist. I felt my face lurch forward at her
threat.
“So far you’ve been all bark and no bite, why not put your muscle where your mouth is and make me move faster”.
Stubbornly I stood my ground as Teresa curled her lips in and stepped up to me, shoving her flat palms into my chest. She grabbed a handful of my clothes around my collar and shook me relentlessly. I barely moved and glared down at her. Right now, she was driving me insane. Her rude behaviour and bitter tone was like nails across chalk board. I dropped Elliot immediately as I heard his weak body hit the ground. The smoke was getting thicker; every touch only pumped the rage deeper into my nerves and clouded my mind. Before Teresa could take a swing at me there was a low grumbling and a sound that caused shivers to break across my skin.
Teresa’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped, quickly releasing my cloak from her stained white grip. I very slowly glanced over my shoulder, first able to feel the heat of her exhaling breath touch my back before the rumbling of the earth move with her steps. Our loud bickering had caught the unwanted attention of Wrath. The demon was leaning forward away from the wall; eagerly sniffing the air around us, her chest and arms pulling against the nails that secured her into the rock. The air around me only got thicker and slower and deeper.
Unable to control myself I felt my eyes secured onto Wrath’s upturned face and bear into her gaze. Her mouth was replaced with a large set of jaws, reaching almost 3000 teeth, matching closer to jaws that belong to a mindless shark that got a whiff of fresh blood. Her elongated rounded nose curved out like rubber as her eyes bleed with crimson and dilated underneath her eyebrow-less glaring. The scraping of the nails shifting within the stone was as loud as jackhammers. One nail, then the other and the other until Wrath had enough arm movement to unhook herself from her bonds and lurch towards freedom. She opened her jaws wide and let out a paralysing roar, flashing us three sets of white triangle teeth embedded in her gums. The wild rage that radiated off her like a sonic boom threw us all onto our back foot. She was a werewolf abomination crossed with the face of a cold killing shark. I never felt so terrified before in my life that I actually froze.
My Demonic Ghost Book two (The Reapers 2) Page 11
