The Darkest Gateway

by Jeri Westerson

  Carefully she turned and narrowed her eyes at everyone in the coven.

  Doc opened his mouth in shock. “Ruth Russell?”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Kylie, you sure knew how to find trouble, I thought. Each set of the three-headed dog’s eyes was on me. Each mouth was snarled open, revealing very sharp teeth. I looked at my now feeble weapon and knew that even with all the Chosen Host skills in the world, I couldn’t defeat that creature with the Spear of Mortal Pain. He was too much animal for me to handle. Even with Shabiri’s help, there was no chance we could do it.

  I glanced back at her. “You should run.”

  She looked at me as if I were crazy.

  “No. You know the way. Save Erasmus. I can’t.”

  Her expression changed to one of astonishment. I had to turn away to keep an eye on Cerberus, who was stalking closer. “I don’t think I can hold him off. And I have no powers. So you should get out of here while you can. It’s after me, not you.”

  “In so much of a hurry to get rid of me?” she said uncertainly. But I could tell she was already retreating by where her voice was coming from.

  “Yeah. You…stupid…demon…person.”

  “So convincing.”

  I had fought off so many creatures. I took down the wendigo, the kelpie, even Draugr. The crossbow had been great. I had even handled the Dullahan with the spear. Including Baphomet… Wait.

  “Shabiri!”

  “What?” Her voice came from quite a way down the road.

  “I need you to take this spear. I have an idea.”

  She swore in a different language and cautiously returned. Once she was beside me, I handed the spear off to her and whipped around to snatch the Booke.

  “This worked before.” I held it up in front of me, hoping for another surge of power as it had done with Baphomet.

  One of Cerberus’ paws swiped toward me and struck. I went flying, gripping the Booke tight.

  I lay on the ground, remarkably still clutching the Booke, and thought furiously. What went wrong? Baphomet was a god. He was also throwing balls of power at me. But Cerberus was just a creature. Maybe it wouldn’t work the same way.

  Something was itching in my mind. An idea I couldn’t quite grasp. Come on, Kylie. You can do this. Definitely something to do with the Booke.

  “Shabiri, what day is it?”

  “What?” She was poking at the dog heads and keeping them at bay, but I knew it wouldn’t work for long. “Why in the twelve worlds do you need to know that?”

  “Just tell me!”

  “It’s…it’s Samhain. For all the good it will do us. That means nothing here.”

  “I’m not so sure.”

  I staggered to my feet and held the Booke before me, thrust forward. Listen, Booke. Now’s the time. It’s Samhain. You want to let loose. And for all I know, you’re already doing it back on my world. But how’s about a little Netherworld action? Let it loose. Let it loose on this damned dog!

  There was nothing. I couldn’t hear the Booke, I couldn’t feel it. Except…something was happening.

  It trembled once in my grip. A few seconds passed before it did it again. I licked my parched lips, waiting. And then…

  A light so bright I couldn’t look at it burst forth from the Booke. Shabiri screamed beside me. I clenched my eyes shut, holding the Booke forward as steadily as I could.

  When I was able to open my eyes again, things were flying all over the place. Lacy wings, some transparent like chiffon, all in black and dark purples. What were these things?

  “The Sluagh,” said Shabiri in wonder. She watched them fly around. They zipped and zoomed wildly in all directions in front of Cerberus. His three heads whined as he backed up, trying to nip at them, swat at them. But he couldn’t. It was almost like that magic trick we pulled on Baphomet with those multi-colored bat things. But these winged creatures seemed to have a destination in mind and were angry at the three-headed dog for blocking their way. As if he were responsible for their troubles. For all I knew, he could’ve been.

  Cerberus backed away, his snake tail between his legs. Like a naughty pooch disciplined by his owner, each head looked away, eyes downcast. He shook himself, black fur flying, before he bounded back up the trail into the foothills. Some of the winged creatures followed while others flew off toward parts unknown.

  I supposed they were heading for my world. I didn’t have time to worry about it. When the Booke was destroyed, they’d die. Or…if I died, the Booke would close. Either way, their time was short.

  “The Sluagh,” said Shabiri again. It sounded like she said ‘slaw.’ “Spirits of the restless dead. Welcomed neither in Heaven or Hell…so it is said.”

  “And that came from the Booke?”

  “The book is a gateway to many places. Where do you think all of those creatures come from? They don’t all come from here. Particularly on this night, they come from all over. You were lucky.”

  “No,” I said, grabbing the Booke out of the air and looking at it again. “I can almost control it.”

  “Don’t start getting ideas. It’s only because of Samhain. You know darned well you don’t have control of the book. Don’t for one minute think that you do. It’s only fooling you into thinking so.”

  It was very convincing. I knew Shabiri was probably right, but the Booke was telling me otherwise, that I had become a powerful mage and there was far more I could do. I was the longest living Chosen Host in history, it insisted. That proved it.

  “What’s it telling you?”

  “Huh?”

  She put a fist to her hip. “You’ve been standing there in a daze for quite a while. What is the book telling you? Is it contradicting what I’m saying?”

  “N-no.” I bit my lip. “Y-yes.”

  She made some gestures. “Why don’t you…let that go for now, Kylie.”

  I didn’t want to. But I knew in my heart of hearts that what the Booke was doing to me was bad. So I summoned up the courage to release it. It scooted a few feet from me and stayed there like a good little Booke.

  I shook out my head. “I know what you’re saying is true. But boy. The Booke is telling me all this stuff and I want to believe it.”

  “You are the oldest living Chosen Host ever,” she said, a weird echo of the Booke itself. “It’s got to be dicking with your mind something awful.”

  I put a hand to my forehead, massaging the conflicting bits of information away. “Yeah. A good way to put it.” I rubbed some more. “I thought you didn’t know much about the Booke. You led Doug to believe…”

  “I was using him, you know. I wasn’t quite sure what it would do to a human. Now I do.”

  “You took a chance.”

  “Why not? Look, now that Cerberus is busy elsewhere, do you feel up to continuing?”

  “Oh. Yeah, sure.”

  “Erasmus, remember?”

  “Yes. Oh God, yes.” Boy, it really was dicking with my mind if it could make me forget him.

  We were already close to the black marble land bridge and were ready to cross it. I looked down into the muck of whatever was in the slow-moving river below.

  My stomach was tied up in knots, and I rubbed it to ease the roiling sensation. I’d been here two days in Moody Bog time and I wasn’t hungry. I guess constant fear could do that. But I would soon see Erasmus again, and I planned on his face being the last thing I saw.

  The thought of him made me hurry. He must be here already. He had to be. He knew his way around. God, I hoped he was still alive. I didn’t know who to pray to anymore, but anyone who would listen and grant my wish was all right by me.

  The Booke suddenly nudged me hard. I whipped around. “Stop that!” While I watched, it did it again. I was trying to go to the left, but it kept herding me to the right. I reached down and grabbed it, but it started bucking wildly. “What is wrong with you now, you stupid Booke?”

  “Kylie Strange.”

  I stopped. That wasn’t the Booke
. “Shabiri. Do you hear that?”

  She had stopped too and was clenching her fists.

  “Kylie Strange,” said the chorus of voices again, all speaking in the same tone.

  I supposed there was no point in not answering.

  “Um…yes? Wh-who is this?”

  “We are the Powers That Be. Come forth and present yourself to us.”

  I glanced toward Shabiri. She was shaking her head furiously. I glared at the Booke. Little snitch.

  “I’m a little busy right now,” I said to the ether. “Can I talk to you later?”

  In answer, the Booke yanked me to the right of the land bridge, nearly tossing me over the side. I still didn’t know what that sludge was down there but I didn’t think it would be healthy for me to be in it. Still, the Booke pulled me along toward where Shabiri said I shouldn’t go. It didn’t seem as if I had a choice anymore.

  I let the Booke go and it floated along, beckoning me. I looked back and Shabiri hadn’t budged. I opened my hands to her, beseeching, but she wasn’t going to help. Fine, then. I figured if I refused, the Powers would just send some other sort of hellish creature after me. Or maybe they’d be happy that the Booke was going to be destroyed. Yeah, and how was my luck so far?

  I girded myself. If they killed me, the Booke would close, but Erasmus was human now, so he wasn’t tied to it anymore. Maybe…just maybe he was my backup plan. He’d bargain with Satan and get it closed for good. Unfortunately, the both of us would be dead. There was no benefit from that. But maybe that was okay. Maybe, in some other world in some other form, we’d meet again. Why not? I could put my hope in that. Because the tears I was angrily wiping away wouldn’t do me any good. I’d wanted to at least see him one last time, but that didn’t seem possible anymore.

  I stalked forward into the shadows and came to a huge arch of rock, where a hallway had been roughly hewn out of the stone walls. Torches were set in niches to either side of me. “Because this isn’t creepy enough,” I muttered. I followed the long corridor and finally came through another arch to open sky. Before me was an altar made out of black stone, which didn’t reflect the flames behind me or the sky above. It seemed to absorb all light. “Because that’s not creepy either.”

  I waited, listening to my panting breaths. The waiting was almost worse than anything I could possibly see. I didn’t know what was supposed to happen now. These Netherworld creatures really seemed to enjoy my terror.

  Something stirred on the altar. At first, I thought it might be my imagination, but a small green flame, no bigger than that of a candle, hovered right in the middle of the black stone. It began to grow until it was the size of a small bouquet. It just hovered inches above the surface of the altar, flickering, dancing. A green flame with no purpose. Until it talked.

  The chorus of voices spoke in a measured, precise tone. “Kylie Strange. The Chosen Host.”

  So, no fooling these guys.

  I made an awkward bow. “Um…greetings, Powers That Be.”

  A chuckle on the wind.

  All of my neck hairs stood up. This was crazy dangerous, but not more so that meeting Satan himself, I guessed. This was just an appetizer…if I survived it.

  “You have lived a long time, Kylie Strange. Longer than any other of your kind.”

  “I know. I’ve had help.”

  “No doubt. Where is Erasmus Dark?”

  They didn’t know? Maybe that was a good sign. “He’s…on another mission. For me.”

  “We cannot sense him. Where did you send him?”

  “It’s, uh, a secret.”

  “We like secrets. Teeeelll ussssss.”

  “Look, I’m on my way somewhere important, and there’s kind of a time crunch, so if you don’t mind—”

  A thunderclap sent me to my knees. Why did these guys always send a thunderclap?

  I tried to rise but it felt like hands holding me down. I looked up but there was nothing there. Nothing that I could see, anyway.

  “A human in the Netherworld,” they said, voices like liquid velvet. “It is unheard of.”

  “What would you say if I told you I’m trying to destroy the Booke? It’s plagued you for a long time and I’m going to get rid of it. Wouldn’t that be a good thing?”

  “What have you done with Erasmus Dark?”

  “I didn’t hurt him. I would never hurt him.”

  Their voices rushed all around me in a whirlwind. I felt and heard it all at the same time and I cringed away from it. The flame on the altar jumped and pulsed with their words. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH ERASMUS DARK?”

  “I didn’t do anything. I love him.”

  A furious whispering crescendoed around me and I covered my ears. “A human in love with a demon?”

  “I can’t believe this is so out of the ordinary. Surely there have been…enigmatic demons before.”

  “He has failed in his mission. For the first time in over four thousand years, he has failed.”

  Their voices sounded darker, more menacing.

  “He’s human now. Unbound from the Booke. You can’t push him around anymore.”

  The sounds of their voices swirled around me. I decided to stay on my knees. Maybe it would endear me to them.

  “Why is he human?”

  “He did it to himself.”

  “Why is he human?”

  “He…he needed a…a soul.”

  They paused. Only the rushing sound of wind blew over the top of my head. The wind whistled, then formed into the sound of voices. “Why did he need a soul?” they spoke at last.

  “To bargain with. With…Satan.”

  The wind hissed, moaned, cried out. I had been hot the whole time I was in the Netherworld, but now I was suddenly cold. I hugged myself, staring at the altar and its green flame, even though their voices came from everywhere but that fire.

  “He is beyond us now,” said the voices. I felt a little relief for him. “He has failed but we can do nothing.”

  “Okay, then.” I started to rise. Nothing seemed to be pushing me back now. “I’m trying to get to Satan too.”

  They seemed to have lost interest in me. The flame was getting smaller. I didn’t wait. I turned to go.

  And then their voices whirled around me again, rising and lowering in pitch and volume. I held myself tighter.

  “The book. You have brought the book.”

  I spun toward the flames. “Yeah, I did.” I glanced over my shoulder and there it was, just hovering. “And why the hell is it even a thing? You could have taken it to Satan yourselves at any time! Why did you have to create Erasmus and keep him a prisoner just so he could kill the next person who opened it? It’s stupid. It’s the dumbest thing I ever heard of, and it makes you sound weak! You’re all weak!”

  The floor began to rumble. Okay, maybe I had gone a bit too far, but honestly, I was so done with these guys.

  “Oh, make an earthquake. So what? Send more creatures after me. Go ahead. It’s still stupid. It will go down in history as the stupidest thing ever done. And you could have done something really great with your great collective minds, but this is all you could come up with? Well, I am the Chosen Host and I’ve been alive for a full month and I walked into the Netherworld myself and told you bitches off. Etch that in stone somewhere.”

  I stomped away even as the ground continued to tremble. The torches in their sconces wobbled and bits of stone rained down on me in that corridor, but I continued on adrenalin alone, marching through that hallway and out the arch that cracked as I walked under it, and made it out to that marble land bridge and looked back one more time. I gave them the finger as a final, “Fuck you!” and moved forward toward Shabiri, who was looking at me with astonishment.

  I don’t know why I survived that. Maybe they were all talk and really couldn’t do anything to me. Maybe they never could’ve all along. Maybe they couldn’t even have hurt Erasmus. I guessed I’d never know. And you know what? I didn’t care.

  “Let’s go,”
I said to Shabiri, and took the leftward fork down toward Satan.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Ruth Russell sheathed her sword in the scabbard on her belt.

  Jeff’s instincts were taking over. He could feel the wolf scratching to come out, felt his ears stretch to points, his hair grow, his nails turn to claws. He wanted to do her harm, maybe…maybe…tear out her throat.

  But the wolfsbane thundered in his ears too, pulled him back against the doorframe, burned in his blood and made his ears shrink and his teeth retract. He listened to it and calmed himself, told his blood not to boil, not to want. His claws became nails again and dug deep into the door jamb.

  “Ruth,” said Doc in a voice so taut that Jeff could almost feel his anger bubbling below the surface. “I think it’s long past time we put our cards on the table.”

  “You’re right, Fred.” She took the rest of the coven in with one glance and strode to the front door.

  She passed Nick, who couldn’t help but let out a low growl. She stopped and looked at him carefully. “Is he a werewolf?” She jerked her head toward Jeff. “I know he is.”

  “Hey, lady,” said Nick, clutching the ginger jar and getting in her face. “How the hell do you know all this? Who do you think you are?”

  “Mr. Riley, could you please stand aside. It’s rude to get into someone’s personal space.”

  She shouldered past him and squared on everyone from the middle of the room. Jolene sidled up to her, examining the sword. “Unless I’m mistaken in my legendary Irish swords, that’s Fragarach, ‘the Answerer,’ isn’t it?”

  Ruth’s lips moved into something like a curt smile. “You do know your mythology, don’t you, Miss Ayrs.”

  “But…how did you get it?”

  “Never mind that, Jolene,” said Doc in a rush. “Ruth, darn it!” Doc wasn’t having it. “You need to explain yourself. We’ve got the sheriff out looking for you as a suspect.”

  “A suspect of what? I don’t think any of this is in the law books, do you?”