Demon Gate: Beyond the 9th Circle: The Rapture Was Just The Beginning.

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Demon Gate: Beyond the 9th Circle: The Rapture Was Just The Beginning. Page 24

by Heath, Joel


  offered.

  Jessie took a deep breath.

  “It’s alright, Spencer, besides we’re fresh

  out of options.” Jessie said as the sound of the

  banshees wailing entered the scene.

  Spencer, Vince and Jessie scrambled

  aboard the boat and the oarsman shoved off. “Keep out of the water.” The oarsman

  warned. Spencer sniffed the water, it smelled of

  sulfur and rotting meat.

  “It’s acid.” Spencer guessed.

  The current carried the small vessel down the

  river of acid toward the first of the obstacles, the

  Sirens.

  As the boat drew near to the Sirens, their

  beautifully haunting song started to echo through

  the canyon and grew louder until the Sirens

  appeared on a rocky outcropping just out of reach

  of the acid.

  The oarsman seemed unaffected as the

  Sirens continued singing their perpetual song to

  draw in the souls of the damned.

  Jessie looked at Vince and Spencer and

  noticed that the song of the Sirens had them

  captivated them by the time they passed by the

  Sirens.

  Terror gripped Jessie as both Spencer and

  Vince started to walk toward the Sirens, in mere

  seconds Spencer and Vince would fall into the

  acid and who knows what would happen to them.

  Thinking quickly Jessie kicked Spencer and the

  gut, and then tackled Vince, as they tumbled to

  the floor of the boat their lips almost met. “Jessie, what…” Spencer began as he just

  came out of the spell.

  “COVER YOUR EARS!” Jessie snapped,

  Spencer and Vince did so, yet it only diluted the

  effects of the Sirens auditory assault.

  Jessie glanced at the oarsman, hoping he

  would be picking up the pace. She soon realized

  he would not need to; the current began to

  quicken and turned from rough to violent as it

  swept the boat down stream. The song of the

  sirens finally blended with the sound of the

  rapids.

  After a quarter of a mile, the rapids

  calmed but the danger was far from over.

  The massive volcano loomed over the boat, with

  each spouting of fire and smoke the boat would

  rock despite the erupting mountain being two

  miles distant.

  The boat slowly drifted downstream for

  another half an hour before the sound of an eagle echoed through the canyon. Spencer looked around and noticed a woman perched atop a stone pillar that jutted out of the river and

  extended halfway up the canyon wall.

  “Is that?” Jessie began, and as she did

  another shriek reverberated off the canyon walls

  as the woman leapt from the pillar and fell head

  first toward the acidic river, and pulled up to at

  swoop over the intruders, buzzing them. “IT’S A HARPY!” Spencer shouted.

  Spencer drew his sword for the first time since

  the sixth circle of hell. He held the sword up. “You cannot harm her, she’s a harpy, an

  immortal creature.” The oarsman warned with a

  raspy voice.

  “What do you suggest?” Spencer asked

  watching the sky for the harpy.

  “Soon we will enter the cave.” The

  oarsman advised.

  “What good will that do us?” Jessie

  demanded.

  “She fears what is beyond the cave’s

  entrance.”

  Spencer, Jessie and Vince exchange a worried

  glance.

  “There.” The oarsman said pointing at a

  cave that opened up to greet the river, the cave

  was forty feet wide and maybe ten feet high

  several jagged rocked jutted up from beneath the

  river’s surface. The cave was only a hundred feet

  away.

  The harpy had circled back and was on

  her way back for another attack.

  “Here she comes again.” Spencer called. The harpy went into a dive bomb head

  right at Spencer.

  “Do not attack her.” The oarsman warned,

  “Just get out of the way.”

  The harpy skimmed over the river’s

  surface heading straight for Spencer. Everything

  screamed for him not to attack their hunter, but as

  she got to within striking distance, Spencer

  attacked.

  The harpy shrieked, not in pain but in

  anger, she started to climb toward the roof of the

  canyon, shrieking as she went.

  “Fool, she’s going for the others.” The

  oarsman warned.

  “Can we get to the cave before she gets

  back?” Spencer asked, while staring at the cave

  entrance, which now sat sixty feet away. The current quickened and the boat

  moved more quickly though the choppy river. The cave entrance was now only forty

  feet away, they would be there less than sixty

  seconds. But time was running out the sun faded. “It got dark fast.” Spencer noticed.

  Jessie looked up toward the sun.

  “Um, Spencer.” Jessie started causing

  Vince and Spencer to stare at what Jessie was

  looking at.

  The sun still shone above the horizon, but

  a blackened mass had blocked out the sun. It was

  a mass of shrieking harpies, thousands of them

  moving in for the kill.

  Spencer, Vince and Jessie stared in

  terrified trepidation. The current was strong and

  fast, but could it carry them to the cave in time? With twenty seconds the first of the

  harpies dove into the canyon, in the mortal world

  all that awaited them is pain, but this wasn’t the

  mortal world, anything could happen, either way,

  at the rate they were moving, they would soon

  find out.

  “Excuse me.” Spencer said sheathing his

  sword and taking the oar before he began

  stroking as hard and fast as he could. Twenty

  feet…ten feet.

  As the boat passed into the cave, the

  harpies pulled up to avoid hitting the wall or

  entering the cave. The river continued to a dock

  another forty feet inside the cave. Just off the

  dock was an embankment holding up a massive

  rock wall, a tunnel entered the rock face. The oarsman moored the boat alongside

  the dock allowing Spencer, Vince and Jessie to

  disembark and enter the tunnel, the tunnel

  continued deep into the volcano entering a

  chamber where the brittle floor was the only

  protection from a fifty foot free fall into a riverof

  molten magma, a narrow land bridge offered

  passage across the lava.

  Spencer looked over the edge toward the

  lava, the distance of the lava offered no barrier

  from the immense heat from below, and then

  Spencer briefly examined the land bridge, it didn’t look stable, or strong enough for all three

  to pass over together.

  “Just my luck.” Spencer said walking

  away from the ledge.

  “Well,” Spencer said, “We have two

  choices: stay here or risk the bridge and possibly

  plummet to our death in the lava.”

  “I guess we cross the bridge, then.” Jessie

  said.

  “I’ll test it first.” Vince said then
made

  for the land bridge and slowly crossed. After he

  was safely across it was Jessie’s turn. As she

  made it to the middle a fracture appeared in the

  bridge.

  “Jessie, hurry, it’s not going to last much

  longer.” Vince demanded, concerned for her

  safety, Jessie’s feet lightly pattered across the

  bridge, but the crack had already expended to a

  threatening size.

  “Spencer, no, you’re not going to make

  it.” Vince pled.

  “Shut up, Vince.” Spencer demanded.

  Jessie slugged Vince in the shoulder, and then

  called to Spencer.

  “Take it slow, Spencer.” Jessie urged. Spencer nodded before he carefully

  stepped toward the land bridge and examined the

  crack.

  Spencer said nothing, not willing to admit

  that he did not expect to see the other side of the

  room. Spencer took his first step onto the land

  bridge and the crack further expanded. He took

  another and another.

  The sound of crumbing stone that came

  from the land bridge warned Spencer that the

  bridge would collapse any second so he leapt for

  the other side as the rest of the bridge collapsed

  into the lava below.

  Spencer clung to the edge of the side of

  the cauldron above the magma pool, his feet

  kicked free of the lava fifty feet below. Vince and

  Jessie raced forward to help Spencer out of the

  pit, but the small device that had provided the

  crucial knowledge fell from Spencer’s pocket and

  plunged into the lava.

  “The map.” Vince declared as he watched

  it sink and melt in the molten rock.

  “It’s okay, we’re almost done here.”

  Spencer said as he climbed to his feet and walked

  toward another tunnel that opened up after three

  hundred yards to a massive chamber, in the

  center of the large chamber there was a large

  underground lake, an eerie green light glowed up

  from the water.

  “There isn’t any other way out of here;

  this must be the way out.” Vince said marching

  toward the lake.

  Spencer stopped him.

  “The way forward is though the lair of the

  one who is many.” Spencer repeated.

  Spencer pulled out the map device,

  hoping it would shed some light on what they

  were about to fight, and how they could defeat it,

  Jessie pulled out the large book and started going though it hoping for some information, anything, but all they found was a simple passage in

  Jessie’s book.

  “The one who is many fears the eternities,

  and the fire within.”

  Spencer stepped to the water’s edge and

  looked down. The water dropped down a sheer

  drop hundreds, possibly thousands of feet.

  Spencer picked up a rock the size of his head and

  dropped it into the water, the rock drifted down

  until it could no longer be seen.

  A rumbling sound echoed through the

  chamber, and then an explosion of water

  drenched everything in the chamber as a large

  head shot out of the water. The head was attached

  to a long neck that must have been fifty feet long,

  and the mouth was filled with row after row of

  jagged teeth.

  The creature lurched forward attacking

  Vince, then Spencer then Jessie. Each time the

  creature’s target narrowly evade the creature’s

  teeth. The creature spied the slowest moving

  target, it was Jessie, and it lunged.

  “Spencer.” Vince and Jessie shouted.

  Spencer recalled what Jessie said just a few

  minutes earlier and drew his sword.

  The blade began to glow with great light;

  Spencer raised his sword and hacked at the

  creature’s neck. The neck did not sever with one

  stroke but it did get the creatures attention, and it

  was mad, so Spencer took a second stroke and it

  severed the neck causing the large head to fall to the ground, the body collapsed onto the dry ground, then slid back into the water, the carven

  grew quiet.

  “You did it, Spencer.” Vince noticed.

  Spencer was mildly winded as he replied. “Yea, now let’s get moving.” Spencer

  said.

  Spencer, Vince and Jessie moved to the edge of

  the water. A series of small bubbles rose to the

  surface of the water and popped.

  “What the hell?” Vince asked.

  The water suddenly became turbulent.

  “I don’t think it’s over.” Spencer said.

  With those words, the turbulence in the water

  increased until three heads erupted from the

  water.

  Spencer looked around, hoping for a

  miracle. The only option was a torch. The

  creature struck again and again forcing Spencer,

  Vince and Jessie to scatter. Vince noticed a hatch

  on the wall, then another one on the other side of

  the cavern.

  “The fire within.” Vince said illuminated. “What are you talking about?” Spencer

  asked.

  “Forget it, can you keep this thing busy?”

  Vince asked.

  Spencer nodded and lunged at the three headed

  creature.

  Vince pointed to the hatch nearest Jessie. All three of the creature’s heads focused

  on each of the three intruders, two held back since Vince and Jessie were not a serious threat;

  the third went for the attack aiming for Spencer. Spencer swung and sliced through the

  side of the creatures face causing it to shriek in

  pain. The remaining two heads turned to focus

  the attention of all three heads on Spencer. Vince

  and Jessie made their move, releasing a thick

  gooey substance that flowed toward the indoor

  lake.

  “Vince,” Jessie called “I can’t get to the

  torch.”

  Vince noticed that the river of gelatinous fluid

  was between Jessie and the torch.

  “I’ve got it.” Vince said as he made his

  way to the torch.

  Two of the heads noticed Vince was going for

  the torch, all three were moving away from

  Spencer, so he stepped into the water and began

  to swim towards the creature, the syrupy fluid in

  the water was making it difficult, but Spencer

  finally reached the creature.

  Vince reached the torch and put his hand

  out to grab it.

  “VINCE,” Jessie yelled, “LOOK OUT!” One of the creatures head lurched forward

  on the attack, but instead landed on the rocky

  ground, severed. Spencer hovered in the water

  then swiped and took off one of the other heads. “Get the torch and let’s get moving.”

  Spencer ordered.

  Vince grabbed the torch.

  “It’s going to be coming back any second, let’s get out of here.” Jessie said before jumping into the water.

  “Vince, into the water; swim down.” Spencer said holding his sword aloft to stave off

  the creature.

  “Get going, I’ll be right behind you.”

  Spencer decided not to argue with Vince and

  submerged beneath the water.

  Vi
nce jumped threw the torch towards the

  middle of the lake and jumped in, swimming

  down under the surface as it lit up, but beneath

  the water the lake started to churn and swirl

  turning into a huge cyclonic whirlpool. The

  creature was nowhere to be seen, but the water

  was starting to get rougher and rougher swirling

  around and around until one by one they were

  pulled down and down, deeper in the water and

  drawn down by millions of watery hands until

  they each lost consciousness.

  As Spencer lay unconscious somewhere

  between life and death, between heaven and hell

  he heard a voice.

  “Don’t leave me.”

  It was the voice of Gretchen.

  Spencer woke up screaming, the

  screaming quickly faded to deep panting as

  though he was roused from a terrifying

  nightmare, which was not far off. The nightmare

  had not yet begun.

  Spencer found himself alone in a prison

  cell, outside his cell he often saw black gossamer

  guards hovering back and forth, patrolling the cellblock. After several hours a pair of ghostly guards passed by Spencer’s cell escorting several dozen people, many he had seen in movies, some he knew as leaders, but one in particular caught

  his attention.

  “Eric.” Spencer whispered getting up

  from his cot.

  A guard came to Spencer's cell.

  “Get back.” The guard hissed. “Or you’re

  next.”

  Spencer caught a reflection that allowed

  him to see down the cellblock where the rest of

  the people were coming from, the wraithlike

  guards were taking everybody from their cells,

  but why, after a few minutes he saw Vince walk

  by, his head was moving, looking for Jessie and

  Spencer.

  “Vince” Spencer whispered catching

  Vince’s attention, Vince looked relieved, but

  only for a moment, he still did not see Jessie. “Where’s Jessie?” Vince mouthed.

  Spencer shrugged his shoulders as if to say “I

  don’t know.”

  Finally, Spencer’s cell opened and he was

  placed in column, then ordered to march. Spencer

  looked up to the next level where he saw Jessie;

  she had been stripped of her book, like Spencer

  was stripped of his sword.

  How were they going to escape, let alone

  fight back?

  A guard appeared in front of Spencer. “Lucifer will be pleased that we have

  captured you.” The guard hissed.

  They were lead to a large courtyard, there

  were tens of thousands of people in the

 

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