by Diem, J. C.
Kicking a gnome in the face, I smiled in satisfaction at the crunching sound that his nose made when it broke. He sailed backwards, wailing in agony. His brethren didn’t attempt to catch him and merely shifted aside to let him sail past.
“I can do this all day,” I said to the evil little pixies in a bored tone when they paused to regroup. “I defeated a leviathan during my trials to conquer the master gate. You’re just annoying little gnats compared to that thing.”
Drawing back, they moved into two huddles. Furious whispers came from both groups as they argued amongst themselves.
“What is your plan for hell?” Sam asked me conversationally.
Catching on to his ploy, I shrugged. “I guess I’ll start with wiping out all of the Demon Princes first before taking down the Hellmaster. Once the leaders are all gone, I’ll smite down anyone who pisses me off.”
That made the gnomes pause again. Their fierce grins disappeared and were replaced by looks of wariness. Without another word, they melted away into the side tunnels.
Sam and I shared a look, amazed that they’d fallen for my idle threat. Kicking my way through the bodies, I was back to limping again as we continued on through the catacombs.
My body and clothes eventually knitted back together, but the dirt and blood remained. Dried sludge gave off an even more horrible odor than when it had been moist. The smell clung to me and Sam dropped back to put a few feet between us.
With the battle now over, my weapon had reverted back into a dagger again. Since it was my best indication of when danger was near, I kept it clenched tightly in my hand. We encountered more of the damp patches that signified snakes were lying in wait and took alternate routes around them. Our stalkers had drawn back, but we could still hear the occasional scuff of their feet as they shadowed us.
After a couple of hours of taking random twists and turns, I’d never been so lost in my life. For all I knew, we’d doubled back and were walking around in circles.
“I wish we had a compass,” I complained. “GPS would be even better.”
“There are no satellites in hell,” Sam replied. “GPS would be useless to us without something to transmit the signals.”
“Smarty pants,” I said mockingly. “How about a compass? Would that work?”
“I doubt it. Hell does not share many similarities to Earth. I am not sure magnetism even works here.”
“How are we supposed to find our way around down here? My instincts don’t seem to be working.”
“Are you sure about that?” he said and pointed ahead. “It would seem you have led us somewhere.”
Far down the tunnel I could see a faint light. Keeping my weapon ready, I crept towards it with Sam tiptoeing along behind me.
₪₪₪
Chapter Thirty
I reached the end of the tunnel and Sam squeezed in beside me. We turned sideways so we could both fit into the opening and examined the large circular chamber. It was around three hundred yards across and dozens of tunnels branched off from it in all directions.
A single shaft of dim light shone through a hole in the ceiling. It illuminated a pedestal with a tarnished piece of silver metal lying on it. About the size of my palm, it was almost an exact replica of the object that I’d stolen from the ninth realm.
“Is that what I think it is?” Sam whispered.
“Unless it’s a clever fake, it looks like the object that we’re searching for.”
We both studied the cavern carefully, noting the darker patches of ground that were dotted around the pedestal. They were spread out all over the place, leaving only a narrow pathway between them.
“This looks very dangerous,” he warned me.
I shrugged uneasily. “I didn’t expect it to be a piece of cake.”
“I do not understand how you can compare this endeavor to food.”
I smothered a laugh before it could escape and echo around the chamber. “It’s another cliché. It means that I didn’t expect this to be easy.”
He shook his head in bafflement. Some of the old sayings that we used didn’t make much sense to me either. “Be careful,” he urged me.
“I’ll try, but this has ‘trap’ written all over it.” Surveying the cavern for a final time, I couldn’t see or hear any creatures in the vicinity. That didn’t mean that we were alone. My dagger was glowing softly, which meant danger was near. “Stay here,” I said, hoping he’d be safe. He still carried the rusty short sword that he’d pilfered from a fallen gnome. He might not know how to use it very well, but it was better than nothing.
Treading carefully, I shuffled through the pits. The snakes seemed to be able to sense the vibrations of footsteps, so I walked as softly as I could. My dagger began to glow brighter and movement came from the tunnel entrances. I was unsurprised when a flood of gnomes spilled into the room.
Grinning nastily, they surrounded me completely, but kept their distance from the snake-filled pits. Sam wisely melted back into the shadows and camouflaged himself against the dirt wall.
Hearing the scuffling of frantic feet, I spun around to see a figure in a black hooded cloak approaching the pedestal. For a split second, I thought it was Fate. Then I caught a glimpse of the face beneath the hood. It was a lesser demon and she was clearly terrified.
Coming too close to one of the damp patches, she teetered on the edge of it then stumbled back when a snake erupted from the hole. Coming close to falling into the pit behind her, she darted over to the pedestal. She grabbed onto the edge of the black stone, panting in fright. Our gazes locked and she froze.
“Don’t even think about it,” I warned her when her hand strayed towards the piece of metal. Defying me, she snatched it up and whirled around to flee. If she fell into one of the pits, the mystery object would disappear with her.
Abandoning caution, I raced after her. Snakes burst upwards, splattering me with noisome sludge. One caught hold of my sleeve with its teeth, pulling me off balance. Shouts and jeers from the army of gnomes rang out, adding to the chaos.
My dagger sliced the snake’s head off and I resumed my chase. The lesser demon made it through the maze of deadly pits. She paused to smirk at me in triumph before disappearing into one of the tunnels. The gnomes didn’t try to hinder her and closed around the entrance to block me.
“So, it’s like that is it?” I said. “You’re working for the demons.”
“Of course we are,” one of them scoffed. “We are the servants of darkness. You will have to kill us all if you wish to pass.”
I sent a question to Morax. What are our chances of getting past them?
Looking through my eyes, he did a quick count. At least a hundred diminutive monsters were crammed into the chamber. They will not be difficult to defeat, but they will slow us down.
I’d come to the conclusion that they were being used as a stalling tactic as well. Unfortunately, I’d have to deal with the gnomes before I could follow the thief. “Fine,” I said to my foes. “Prepare to have your butts kicked.”
Sam’s snigger echoed through the cavern, adding to the gnomes’ unease. They’d already seen dozens of their brethren cut down, yet they had no choice but to fight me. Their sole purpose was to do the bidding of their masters, which meant backing down wasn’t an option for them.
A row of gnomes blocked my path forward and I was surrounded by snake pits at my back. One misstep would mean my death. Trusting Morax to keep me safe, I relinquished control to him again. My dagger grew into the double headed axe that he loved so much. Now that we weren’t restricted by the narrow tunnels, the handle grew long enough for me to be able to swing it freely. Using my hand, he gestured for the tiny trolls to attack.
Screaming shrilly, they came at me from all sides. Wending their way through the pits, their small feet danced nimbly around the danger. Snakes sensed them and erupted straight upwards. They snatched some of the creatures up and dragged them kicking and screaming down into the sludge.
One swing from
my axe cut down three gnomes. It sliced through their bodies like they were made of paper. Infused with demon strength, I didn’t grow tired as they continued to throw themselves at me.
Two swords stabbed my legs from behind. One sawed through the back of my knee and cut through my hamstring. Roaring in pain, I whirled around and grabbed the offending gnome then threw him across the chamber. My leg immediately buckled when I put weight on it. Flying across the cavern with a gleeful grin, he shook his tiny fist at me in victory. His celebration at wounding me was cut short when a snake launched itself high into the air. Its jaws closed around his legs and latched on to him tightly. He fell wailing into the pit with a splash.
Morax clamped down on my pain and shoved it into the background. He’d been complacent, believing that the gnomes weren’t much of a threat due to their diminutive size. He stepped up his attack, determined to put an end to them. The tiny trolls were just as resolved to put an end to me. More of them flooded into the chamber.
“No more playing around,” he said through my mouth. “This ends now.” I became aware that we were all speaking in the demons’ language. I hadn’t really been conscious of it before. Having the legion inside me was the only way it could be possible for me to understand their speech, let alone be able to speak it myself.
Watching like a spectator inside my own body, I was amazed at Morax’s skill as he spun and twirled his axe. He also used his hands and feet to fight. Gnomes went flying into the pits as he kicked or punched them, aiming for the damp patches. His axe clove into anything that came within range, snakes included.
The ground became muddy with blood and still the gnomes kept coming. Screaming in both rage and terror, their numbers finally began to peter out. Cutting down the last few, Morax grabbed the final survivor by the throat and lifted him off the ground. “Who set you here to watch this chamber?” he asked.
“The Prince of this realm,” the gnome squeaked. “He told us to protect the object and to kill anything that entered this cavern.”
“Then why did you not kill the hellscribe when she took the object?”
“Er,” the gnome’s eyes darted from side to side as he searched for a plausible lie.
“Is it possible that the Prince has stepped above his station?” Morax mused. “Could it be that he chose to ignore our master’s orders to bring Hellscourge to him? Did he instead instruct you and your kin to do away with her?”
Wriggling and squirming uselessly, the tiny monster didn’t have a chance of freeing himself. Giving up, he sagged in defeat. “Yes,” he sighed. “You are correct. We were ordered to kill her and to toss her body into the sludge where it would never be found.”
“It is as I thought.” With that, Morax opened his fist and let the gnome fall. Landing in one of the pits, he scrambled for the edge. A look of horror came over him and then he was yanked down into the darkness. “A fitting end for such an insignificant creature,” my puppeteer said.
With the danger now over, the axe ceased to glow. It shrank down until it was a dagger again and Morax subsided into the recesses of my mind. I sensed that it had exhausted him to come forward and take control for such an extended period of time.
“Are you okay, Sam?” I asked. I didn’t have to raise my voice. The chamber amplified it enough so that even a whisper could have been heard.
Materializing in the tunnel across from me, he nodded. “That was an impressive fight. How is your leg?”
I’d almost forgotten that my hamstring had been severed. Morax had blocked the pain and I’d healed sometime during the battle. “It’s fine. It seems to have healed already.”
Making his way around the perimeter of the chamber, Sam was careful to stay close to the wall. At least he didn’t have to pick his way through the danger zone. Reaching my side, he hugged me hard enough to make my ribs creak. “I am glad you are well,” he said when he pushed himself away again, yet he seemed disturbed. “It seems the longer you remain here, the quicker you heal.”
“The thought had crossed my mind, too,” I admitted. “I think letting Morax take over sped up the process. His healing powers are passed on to me.” It was a pity it didn’t work like that on Earth. I either had to heal at my normal slow pace or let Nathan use his grace to heal me.
“We should hurry after the hellscribe,” Sam urged. “She already has a huge head start on us by now.”
I hadn’t realized that the lesser demon was a scribe, but Morax and Sam had recognized her by the robe she wore. With a scribe trapped inside me, I was aware that they had tricks that other demons didn’t possess. It was imperative that we catch up to her before she pulled a disappearing act.
₪₪₪
Chapter Thirty-One
I’d taken note of the tunnel that the hellscribe had scampered into and we took off at a run. Larger and heavier than the gnomes, she’d left distinctive footprints for us to follow. We didn’t need to waste time trying to avoid the snake pits with the trail that she’d left behind.
After a couple of hours of running, I heard a noise come from somewhere up ahead. I skidded to a stop and Sam crashed into my back. Putting my finger to my lips, I cautioned him to be quiet and we continued on at a fast walk.
We closed the distance between us and the scribe until I could hear her footsteps. She’d slowed down to a leisurely walk, probably assuming that we were long dead. Some sixth sense alerted her that she wasn’t alone and she spun around. Her mouth dropped open when she saw us and she panicked.
Abandoning stealth, we sprinted after her as she darted into a side tunnel. Knowing the catacombs well, she managed to lose us a few times, but we doubled back until we found her tracks again.
Widening from a narrow, cramped passageway, the tunnel suddenly became large enough for even a Demon Lord to be able to stand upright in. The walls and ground changed from dirt to slick black rock and the floor slanted upwards. Tension eased out of me now that the walls weren’t pressing in so close.
“She is trapped!” Sam said and pointed at the fleeing scribe.
I grinned in triumph when I saw a wall blocking the passageway up ahead. The scribe skidded to a stop in front of the wall and sent me a smug smirk over her shoulder. I realized why when I saw that a rune had been pre-painted on the wall. Slicing her palm open with the edge of the stolen puzzle piece, she slapped her hand on the symbol. Scarlet light flared as it became activated. A narrow doorway appeared and she stepped through it moments before we reached her.
Faced with swirling gray fog, I had no idea where the doorway led. I tried to jump through the opening after her, but it shimmered and disappeared. I rebounded off the solid rock wall and Sam caught me before I could fall. “Damn it!” I shouted and slapped the wall in frustration. The rune had faded along with the doorway.
Sam took the backpack off and rummaged around inside. He pulled out the container of demon blood and a paintbrush and offered them to me. “I bet the scribe is not aware that you can also use runes,” he said slyly.
I’d almost forgotten about the supplies that Sophia had given us. I pulled him in for a hug and planted a kiss on his cheek. “I love you, Sam,” I said with great sincerity.
Heat rose in his cheeks, turning them almost pink instead of the unhealthy gray it had recently become. Being back on Earth had begun to change him. He wasn’t as ugly now and his skin was no longer midnight black. I had hopes that he would eventually change back into the normal teen that he was supposed to be. “I love you, too,” he said and blushed even harder.
It had been a very long time since anyone had cared about him. We were more than just friends. We had become as close as siblings.
Without needing me to request assistance, the rune floated to the surface of my mind. My own personal hellscribe had sent it to me. Uncapping the container of blood, I made a face at the rank smell.
Dipping the brush into the thick liquid, I painted the complicated set of curves and lines until my inner scribe was happy. Sam took the container from me
and placed the lid back on it while I wiped the excess blood off the brush onto the ground. I handed it to Sam and he shoved it into the pack then shouldered it again.
I nicked my palm with my dagger then placed it on the rune. Crimson light blazed as it became active. Gray, swirling mist appeared as a narrow doorway came into being. We wouldn’t know what was on the other side until we stepped through. It would be dangerous, but we didn’t have a choice. Sophia had been sent a vision that I needed to find the mysterious object of power. Since these metal pieces were being guarded by the princes, they had to be what I’d been sent to find.
“Are you ready?” I asked Sam. He nodded nervously then stepped up beside me. We turned sideways and put a hand on each other’s shoulders. Then we stepped through the magical doorway together.
We appeared in a vast throne room that was packed with demons of all descriptions. Black columns stood around the edges of the room, supporting the high ceiling. Flaming torches lit the room intermittently. I looked up to see balconies from two more floors above us. Then my attention was captured by the leader of the eighth realm. He was larger than any demon that I’d seen before. He sat on a throne that was made of the same black stone as the rest of his palace. The hellscribe knelt in front of him, presumably telling him about her narrow escape.
Towering over captains and lesser demons, lords swiveled around to face us when they sensed the dark magic that I’d just used. Sam cowered beneath their malevolent stares, trying to sink into the wall at our back.
“Well, well,” the Demon Prince drawled, spying us at the back of the crowd. “Hellscourge has graced us with her presence.” His voice was deep, guttural and nearly incomprehensible. He stood and my mouth dropped open at his sheer size. He dwarfed the lords by at least two feet. His skin was as inky black as every other hell spawn I’d seen, but it was intricately carved with strange symbols. His horns rose to a height of twelve inches before sweeping back over his head. The wickedly sharp points came together, almost touching at the ends.
