Underworld (Dark Passage)
Page 18
Finally we reach the edge of a great mountain and make our way inside. The place is so dark I can see nothing and Tyler pulls out a small flashlight. Huge stalagmites hang down from the dark ceiling high above and the sides appear to have been hollowed out purposefully. We walked along for a while and then came upon a tunnel. We stopped and heard rustling in the shadows. I thought I heard someone scream from far away and listened closely. Silence. We start forward again and suddenly I hear another scream.
“Help. Please help us”. There is no mistaking Jen’s voice this time. I bolt forward and feel Tyler’s hand on my arm. I roughly try and pull free and he holds tighter. I whirled around to break free of his grasp. His face was tight and his eyes shone with concern. “You don’t have to do this. The likelihood of all of getting out of here is slim to none. Once we find her we will probably all be killed. Or something even worse may happen to us”. Said Tyler
“Yes I do. I am the only one who can help her and I won’t leave her here to die”. My voice was firm but tears sprung from the corners of my eyes.
“Let me go Tyler. If I don’t go she will die. Please understand that I owe her this”. He let go of my arm and I laced my fingers with his for a moment. We then dcontinue forward and after a time a light appears. I can hear voices in the distance. I stop and turn to look into Tyler’s eyes. I give him a sad smile and reach up to kiss him. His lips meet mine, and I wrap my arms around his neck, burying my head in the crook of his arm. We hold each other this way for several minutes and I can’t help but think this is goodbye. After so much time apart, we find each other, only to be separated once again. “Stay here with Jast. I will need your help getting them out of here”.
Tyler opened his mouth as though to object but I shake my head. We both know that we will never leave here alive. His only chance is to listen for the inevitable and then ride back out the way we came.
“I must do this alone Tyler”. He met my gaze and finally conceded. With that I turned on my heel and walked forward alone. I had walked just a short ways and I heard him speak.
“I love you Ivy. Don’t ever forget that”.
I didn’t look back but wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. To my surprise I no longer felt afraid. This was my destiny all along and in a way I am glad that it is ending this way. I will have done something worthwhile in my life. For Jen’s sake, at least I’ve tried.
I stumbled forward and pull Anathema from the sheath. I think back to all the people I have met along the way that have helped bring me to this moment. Tom, Lizzy, Maggie and so many others have guided me. Each gave something of themselves and I took their wisdom with me. I am not afraid to die and know that beyond the veil there is an eternity waiting for me.
In front of me I hear a roar and the sound of rushing wind is deafening. It’s as if a great furnace was opened and then a great stench like burning flesh filled my nose. I fought back the bile that was threatening to escape, and put my sleeve across my face, to ward off the stench. The hairs on my neck stood on end and I could sense that something was just ahead of me. I held my small blade tightly and felt a surge of energy course through it.
Then there was a great crashing sound and an intense heat coming toward me. Then a sudden movement caught my eye. Not more than 100 feet away was something so frightening that I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest. A dark creature alight with fire was coming toward me. His skin moved with the light of fire and great flames were reflected in eyes of blackness.
The creature was enormous and had a manlike appearance except for great black wings which were fanned out behind him like sails on a great ship. It was magnificent to look at but when it spoke in its inhuman voice I was truly terrified. The features were perfectly sculpted and I became acutely aware that I was seeing a fallen angel in all its terrible splendor. He gazed down at me with hatred burning in his eyes.
“I told you we would meet soon Ivy. Did you think you would come and simply take her away from here?”
The voice was rough like thunder and the force of it shook the place. He tilted his head back and chuckled to himself. The heat coming from his breath burned my face and I wondered what I was thinking coming here. Did I actually think I could have a ghost of a chance against something like this?
Then I heard muffled cries and Jen and the others were brought forward. Bill stood next to Jen with his arm around her shoulder and behind them I saw David and Lisa. My heart fell when I saw David. His skin had been peeled from his body and he was disfigured almost beyond recognition. Despite his ghoulish appearance Lisa held onto his arm and helped him walk. My gaze fell and I could no longer look at David.
I could hear Lisa calling to me to help them and sobs threatened to explode from deep inside me. The lives of people I had loved and known were in the balance and I could do nothing to help them. What was I doing here and why did I think I had any hope of helping them? The tears I had been holding back streamed down my face now. My head hung down and I called to the creature.
“Please. Take me and let them go. It’s me you want not them”. I could hear Jen scream no and then laughter from the creature. I forced myself to meet its gaze and was going to plead with it but something in its eyes stopped me.
“What makes me think I want to bargain with you? I could have had you years ago but you weren’t worth the effort. Not even your own kind wanted you. They sent you down from the first realm and forgot about you. I watched your miserable existence for years and you did nothing to impress me. Nothing
more than a misguided child that nobody wanted”. “What do you mean? Who sent me down here? What do you know about it anyways? I shouted the words at the creature and it simply smiled in amusement. I became angry and screamed at the creature to answer my questions. I felt rage in my heart and the fear I had felt previously vanished in an instant. The creature refused to answer me.
“Let them go! I’m warning you to let them go”! I screamed to the demon. Anger sprang up in the demon’s eyes and his face turned dark. He pulled a great sword from a sheath and held it out in front of him.
I held my own weapon out in defiance and the demon roared with laughter. Then something happened that surprised even me. Anathema began to glow with an intense light and the shaft sprang forth several feet. I felt something like hot oil wash over me. It started at the top of my head and spread down my body. I closed my eyes and began to murmur.
“I may be nothing and not even worth keeping as one of your own but I beg your help now. Not for myself but for the others who don’t deserve to be here”. I heard a voice answer me in return. It was a great voice like a great multitude spoke to me in a language I had never heard before.
“You were never forsaken Ivy but chosen for a day such as this to lead the people out of the darkness into the light. You were destined to do great things from the beginning of time. Look into yourself and find your destiny”.
I looked up and saw the most beautiful being I had ever imagined. The force of his presence brought me to my knees and a love that was beyond anything I could comprehend washed over me. The force of it felt like a mighty rushing wind and in that wind I heard a still, small voice.
“You are my child and I am always with you. The gates of hell shall not prevail against you”.
Immediately I feel a surge of power so great that I am unable to contain it. White hot light burned all around me. I could feel it coming from the core of my being. From within that light emerged a host of warriors so vast that they could not be counted. I looked into the sea of beautiful faces and saw Grandma June. Her eyes burned with love and I could hear her speaking inside my head.
My sweet Ivy, You were chosen and you will now be equipped. Each leg of your journey has unlocked doors for you and now you stand with the host of Heaven.
I smiled at her and she nodded at me as though she knew what would happen all along. Then I felt a nudge behind me and my horse pushed his nose into me. Once I had mounted he did a half rear and whirle
d on his haunches. With my sword held high we sprang forward toward the demon and a terrible fire shot forth and pierced the creature through the heart. I turned back to the light and the warriors had parted on either side to form a stairway into the sky. Jen and Bill were walking toward the light followed by Lisa and David. Then Tyler was at my side and I reached down to him. He pulled me from Jast and held me tightly in his arms. Then we both mounted and made our way to the great light before us. I am a child of the light and when Jast jumped onto the stairway I knew intuitively that I had found the part of me that had been missing.
My name is Ivy and I am not your typical 19 year old girl. I am a free spirit and I finally know who I am. I am a child of the light. If you look high into the sky you will find me among the stars.
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