We Are Always Forever

by Campbell, Jamie

  Trap trap trap.

  Would we even make it the hundred paces?

  I had my doubts but there was no time to argue. The devil turned into a cloud of smoke. When it cleared, he was gone. It was like being released from a heavy chain as the atmosphere returned back to normal.

  Well, normal for Hell, that is.

  The heat clung to us like a thick blanket, covering our bodies with a sheen of sweat that never seemed to dry. It made my skin slippery and I didn’t want any part of my skin to touch any other part of me.

  “So I guess we walk,” Jet stated bluntly.

  “It’s a trap,” I said.

  “Without a doubt.”

  “But we don’t have any other choice. You should stay here with Faith and I’ll go alone.”

  Jet started walking, hitching my sister higher in his arms every time she slid down. When he was ten steps away, he turned around to look at me. “Are you coming or am I fighting Kostucha alone?”

  I ran to catch up with him.

  We concentrated on counting the one hundred paces. It was all too easy to get lost and be turned around in the wrong direction on the planes. Everything looked the same and I was certain the place was playing tricks on us. We seemed to pass identical rocks too many times for it to be a coincidence.

  If the devil knew we were here in the first place, he was probably the one playing with us. He would get a kick out of watching us get utterly lost and grow more despondent with every step.

  “Ninety-nine… one hundred,” I finished counting out loud. “Now we turn left.”

  “Maybe we should turn right,” Jet suggested. “He might have been tricking us.”

  Either way looked exactly the same – red dusty dirt and more rocks than a quarry. I couldn’t see a trio of boulders like the devil described in any direction.

  “He wanted us to find him. I think he was telling the truth.”

  “We’ll turn left then,” Jet replied.

  My arm went out to stop him. “But maybe it was a trick. Perhaps we should go right.”

  Jet stared down at me, his brown eyes sincere and compassionate. “It’s your call.”

  Left or right.

  Right or left.

  Either way the devil might have been lying. Perhaps his sole intention was to keep us wandering around Hell until we died of hunger or heat exhaustion. There was no way to tell the reasoning of the evil.

  If I made the wrong decision we could be wandering to our death. If I made the right decision we would find Kostucha and have a swifter death.

  Either option didn’t seem as appealing as running away.

  In the end, I had to go with my gut. The devil wanted us to find the demon, he had to be telling the truth. “We go left.”

  We pivoted and started heading to the left. It was most certainly a trap we were walking into but we didn’t have a choice. All I could do was be prepared for anything. Gripping both daggers in my hands, I hoped they would be enough to kill Kostucha. I would not let anything harm Jet and my sister.

  I only had limited time to talk them into leaving me there alone. “Jet, you should turn back and wait for me.”

  “Don’t waste your breath, Ever,” he replied, refusing to look at me. His gaze remained steadfast ahead and fixed to a spot on the horizon that didn’t seem any different from any other spot.

  “Please do this for me,” I pleaded. “Keep my sister safe. It’s me he wants, it’s my fight. If you go now you might have a chance of making it back safely. That’s what I really need right now.”

  “Do you really think it’s an option for me to walk away from this? From you? I could never live with myself, Ever. Don’t ask me to do that.”

  “But my sister-”

  “I will make sure she’s alright. She won’t be anywhere near the fight.”

  “Jet, please.” I put everything I could into those two words, wishing for a miracle that he would listen to me. I’d already lost Oliver, my sister, my family, even Lilia still haunted my dreams. I could not lose Jet too.

  He shook his head determinately, still not looking at me. “If I survive this and you don’t… life won’t be worth living. You have been the only thing keeping me alive for the last few months. I’m fighting with you or we don’t fight at all.”

  The chances of me ditching him on the open plane was zero. The chance of him being sensible and walking away was even less again. I grappled for something that would convince him to change his mind, something I could use to change his mind.

  “We’re not leaving.” Faith’s tiny voice startled me. I hadn’t noticed she had woken up again and had been listening to our discussion. Or heated debate, however optimistically you wanted to look at it.

  “Go back to sleep,” I soothed. “Everything is going to be okay.”

  Her big blue eyes were watery. At least she could look at me. “I love you, Evie. I always have, even when I said I didn’t.”

  A reluctant smile spread across my lips. “I’ve always loved you, too. I’m going to get you out of here, okay? Soon.”

  “I know.” She nestled her head back onto Jet’s shoulder and closed her eyes. At least she had an unwavering belief in me. If I was even half as capable as my little sister thought I was then killing Kostucha was going to be a breeze.

  “Me and the kid are on the same page here,” Jet added. “It seems you’re outvoted.”

  “You’re both crazy,” I said.

  “That makes three of us.”

  “We could be walking into anything.”

  “And we’re going to do it together.” Jet finally looked at me, his eyes locking on mine. For that tiniest moment, I actually believed we could win.

  It was only fleeting.

  But it was magical while it lasted.

  “Well isn’t this cozy.” The voice startled us both. My body went rigid as I recognized it as belonging to Kostucha. The demon had found us, just like I thought he would. There were no trio of boulders in sight.

  I snapped around to face him, every muscle in my body ready to fight. My legs were springy, the daggers were in my hands, my senses were on high alert.

  I was as ready I would ever be.

  But probably not ready enough.

  “Kostucha,” I snarled. “Your time is up.”

  I heard Jet move beside me, seeing him back away in my periphery. I prayed he would find someplace safe to hide my sister. She could not be in this battle. If anyone was innocent here, it was her.

  The demon was just as horrible as I remembered him. All fire-lit eyes and bumpy, hairy skin. The heat wasn’t affecting him at all, I doubted any part of Hell touched him like it did us.

  He had the advantage.

  I was going to have to be smarter.

  “You’re the reason I’m here,” Kostucha growled at me, a deep noise from the back of his throat. “You think I’ve forgotten about you? I’ve spent every minute here planning my revenge on you.”

  “Funny, so have I.”

  “Big words for a tiny girl.”

  “I have goodness on my side. You only have evil. Don’t you know good always triumphs over evil?” I pointed out. Even though I didn’t entirely believe that myself.

  “Good is overrated.”

  “So is evil.”

  I felt a hand slide into mine as Jet lifted one of the daggers from my fingers. He stood by my side, every inch of his body ready and willing to fight with me.

  There were no words to describe how grateful I was for Jet’s presence. No matter what I said, my heart would be forever thankful he had remained.

  The demon stood twenty feet from us, relaxed and smirking like he was looking forward to killing me. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. Not in a million years.

  I reached for Jet’s hand and our fingers entwined. My left with his right. He gave me a squeeze, silently reassuring me that he was there and we would fight as hard as we possibly could until this was over.

  One tap with my finger on his ha
nd.

  Then another.

  Then a final one.

  We ran straight at him. Together. To face either our death or our victory. It was too soon to tell which one it would be.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The demon was ready for us. Not surprising considering we had to run twenty feet just to get to him. He stood perfectly still the entire time, watching us and waiting.

  Waiting to kill us and exerting the least amount of energy possible. Not only was he evil, but lazy too. Kostucha only moved when we reached him, standing tall and getting ready to swipe at us in one movement.

  I let go of Jet’s hand as we raised our daggers. I still didn’t know if they would actually kill him, but I was certainly going to try. I would cut him a thousand times if it meant the end of all the spirits’ suffering.

  Using his oversized arm, Kostucha swung at us. I stepped back just in time to miss him but Jet wasn’t so lucky. He hit the blade of the dagger and sent it flying through the air. Unarmed, Jet scrambled to retrieve it.

  “You will never win against me,” the demon said, his breath hot on my face. “You may as well surrender now.”

  “Never,” I replied through gritted teeth. If Kostucha was going to kill me today, I was going to go down fighting.

  Until my very last breath.

  And I would take him with me.

  “Hey!” Jet yelled from the side. “You like picking on girls? Be a man and give me a shot.”

  The demon growled and tore his gaze away from me. His orange glower fixed him in his sights and my stomach dropped down into my knees. Kostucha lumbered over to him, managing to make every step menacing.

  He was never going to reach Jet. That was my sole thought as I ran and jumped on the demon’s back. My arms circled his neck, gripping on tightly to inflict pain and to stop myself falling off. I accomplished neither very well.

  I couldn’t move the dagger without losing my grip so I squeezed my arms tighter instead. I used all my strength to crush the life out of Kostucha but it was like trying to pulverize a brick wall. My actions were nothing to him but a mere annoyance.

  My knees connected with his back, then my feet followed suit. If I couldn’t move my arms, I would use my other limbs instead. I kicked and writhed against him, putting everything I could into my force.

  Jet rushed up to the demon, holding his dagger above his head while his jaw was set into the firm clench of determination. He ran and didn’t slow down. As he reached us he swung the blade. Kostucha wasn’t quick enough for him. The blade came down in the middle of his chest.

  My breath caught in my throat as the seconds stretched out interminably long. None of us moved while we were all frozen in place as we waited to see what would happen next.

  A dagger to the chest like that would kill anyone. Jet had dug it in to the hilt and let go of the handle. The weapon sat there in the middle of the demon’s ribcage like a light switch, ready to turn off his life.

  But he didn’t drop.

  He didn’t die.

  Kostucha reached around and pulled out the dagger with a roar. He threw the weapon away as if it was nothing more than a toothpick. It clanged to the ground at least half a mile away.

  “You’re both going to die!” he screamed, his voice loud enough to make the ground shake.

  He easily shook me off and I crashed down, landing in a red dust cloud. I sputtered out the dirt from my mouth, wishing for even a drop of water to quench my thirst.

  My ankle throbbed with pain, my earlier injury reignited as I stepped on it awkwardly. The pain was swallowed in a wave of nausea. I fought back the cry about to escape my lips.

  I would show no weakness today.

  When I turned back, Jet was in a hand to hand fight with Kostucha. Arms and legs were flying everywhere, the sick sound of skin hitting skin the only noise interspersed with the grunts and growls. It was clear who was winning the battle.

  I threw myself into the throng, hitting the demon’s torso with both my hands. I pounded my fists into him, managing to do nothing but hurt my own knuckles.

  “You!” he yelled as he focused on me.

  I was glad to have his attention. While the demon was looking at me, he wasn’t hurting Jet. And I had to keep him safe at all costs. It was my fault he was here and he would be going home today. Even if it cost me everything I had.

  He would look after Faith.

  He would keep her safe.

  The longer I kept him out of the fight the better chance he had of surviving. “You should give up now, Kostucha,” I screamed, my throat almost too dry to get the words out. “One of us isn’t going to walk away from this and it’s going to be you.”

  A combined chuckle-growl rolled in the space between us. “You live in fantasyland. I am going to kill you all. And then I’m going to eat your soul.”

  “Yeah? Well, I hope I make you choke.”

  My arm swung and the dagger swiped across his skin. A red cut opened, oozing blood as black as a river at midnight.

  Kostucha took one look at his leg and then back at me like he couldn’t believe what I had done. “You bitch.”

  “You have no idea,” I replied, pulling the dagger back for another shot at him.

  “You are going to pay for that.”

  “I’m only just getting warmed up.”

  His black lips curled into a sneer that made my blood run cold. Whatever was going on inside his head it was not something I wanted to know about. I was making him angry and he was no doubt planning my long and painful death in retaliation.

  He grabbed my wrist before I could get another swipe in. He squeezed so hard I thought for sure all the bones in my arm were crushed down to nothing but dust.

  I yelped, unable to hold it in. Jet was suddenly at my side, pulling the dagger from my fingers and throwing himself at the demon. He collided with his side, managing to cut into his stomach. The skin opened, leaving another oozing wound just under the demon’s ribs.

  The action caused him to release his grip on my wrist. I fell backwards from the sudden movement, landing in the dirt once again. If I was wearing more clothes it wouldn’t have been so painful.

  When I looked up the demon had Jet in a headlock. He was stabbing at Kostucha, trying to find somewhere to connect blade with skin.

  But it wouldn’t matter.

  We’d already proven the dagger had no effect on the demon except to seriously piss him off.

  There was no way to kill him.

  We could fight for the rest of eternity and still not get anywhere. All we were managing was to get hurt ourselves. Kostucha was going to play with us for his own amusement until he grew tired of his new toys and finished us off.

  The entire thing was so pointless it was ridiculous. Everything we were trying so hard to do was not going to change anything. We were mice trying to bring down an elephant and we were going to be trampled.

  And it would be all my fault.

  Kostucha would find his way out of Hell.

  He would consume all the trapped spirits, one by one.

  He would grow stronger and stronger.

  Until he killed every single person.

  Including my sister.

  The future of the world flashed through my mind in less than a second. I could see all the kids dying, becoming spirits that would only be used to feed the demon and empower him to inflict more evil into the world.

  There was no way to stop any of it.

  Jet and I were humans. Two little, mortal humans. We had no chance of defeating a demon that had been around since the dawning of time. He had thousands of years to grow in power. We had barely more than thirty years between us.

  The odds were completely stacked against us.

  So far off the chart they were in another stratosphere.

  I wondered when the spirits would realize I had failed them. When the first of them was consumed by Kostucha? When their pain intensified again until they were paralyzed with agony? What would they all say
about me then?

  Would they know I fought as hard as I could?

  Would they mourn for me?

  Would my soul be the first one Kostucha ate?

  I felt the devil before I saw him, the same cold hopelessness crept over my skin and sunk into my bones. Like I didn’t feel hopeless enough. He was standing to the side, resting casually against a large boulder a duller shade of red than his eyes.

  “Well, this is exciting,” he said happily. His gaze took in everything happening, only adding to his pleasure. “I thought it might be all over by now and I might have missed it.”

  He wasn’t talking to anyone in particular, just himself. It was enough to keep him amused.

  “Nobody has ever won against the demon of hungry souls before. This is a nice change.”

  I tuned him, and his incessant narration, out as I looked to the opposite side of our informal arena. The planes were covered in souls. They were no longer crouched on the ground in despair. These ones were standing tall, watching the fight like their lives depended on it.

  It kind of did.

  Their souls, at least.

  They stretched out as far as I could see, all wearing the same white rags and desperate looks. They watched in silence, holding their breath for an outcome.

  When I failed, they were all going to be trapped here forever. There would be no happily ever after for them, no rest in eternal peace. They would suffer forever with no end.

  The devil would be delighted.

  The demon would be his new favorite pet.

  I didn’t know how to make sure that didn’t happen. I didn’t know how to kill Kostucha and I certainly didn’t know how to make everything right again.

  It was hopeless.

  And this time I knew the emotion wasn’t planted there by Lucifer. This despair was all mine.

  All. Mine.

  There were so many souls, too many. Were my parents amongst them? Were Jet’s? His sister’s? Every adult I’d ever loved and known, they were probably here and hoping just as hard as the others that I would succeed.

  But there was no chance.

  No chance in Hell.

  None at all.

  And then they started cheering. “You can do it!”

  “You have to kill him.”