“That's not what this is for.” Then before I could ask, the flat glowing blue disc started to spin. my eyes widened at the sight as I no longer had the capability to follow its movements. Seconds later I heard the grinding of stone against stone, a sound so loud it made me believe there was an earthquake beneath us, for the land shook. I looked back over my shoulder to see that we weren't the only ones affected as the hounds of Hell had to contend with some ground they walked on as it split and ruptured.
However, this didn't stop them, it was only a means of slowing them down as they now had to jump over large cracks. I looked back to Nero to find her stood steady whereas I had to have my hands out and my knees slightly bent trying to stay on my feet and gain back my balance. I watched as the bottom of the staircase started getting closer and closer like the whole spiral of stairs now acted like a giant corkscrew. She was unwinding the staircase until eventually the blue spinning disk stopped and the bottom became level with the rest of the land and was one we could now step onto.
But first she raised the large flat disc of glowing blue light enough for us to walk under it. I followed her as she stepped into the centre before making the glowing disc start to spin again only this time in the other direction. This was when the staircase started to go back down, unscrewing itself from where it had been raised up.
I had to admit the motion of this made me feel slightly sick and I found myself having to close my eyes against the dizziness it caused me. As for Nero, she seemed unaffected and completely unfazed by the motion, concentrating instead on the spinning flat surface above us that she continued to keep in motion until we reached the ground.
Once we did she sucked back the power making it form back into how it was first made. First it started to shrink back into a smaller disk until forming that of the ball that she had started off with. One that she eventually could cup between her hands before absorbing it back into her skin. Her eyes slowly morphed back to normal and she took a deep staggering breath making me catch her as she started to fall. I caught her under the armpits, and said,
“Whoa, easy there.” This made her giggle as if she was slightly drunk.
“Are you okay?” I asked helping her back to her feet.
“Oh, hell yeah, I feel great,” She said with a ridiculously big grin.
“Well, I don't know what that was, but it was bloody brilliant!” I shouted, looking back up making her smirk and she granted me a wink telling me,
“That was my game face for magic time.” I had to laugh at the words used, but then looking around the large space I found myself questioning what we were seeing. I bent down to pick up a little gold shell I recognised as a bullet casing.
“Now what could this do be doing down in Hell?” I questioned before scanning the area and seeing that the floor was littered with them. But that was not all to be found scattered around the large circular space.
“Wow, it looks like a lot of things died here,” Nero commented, kicking over one of the bones that looked decades old. I held up the bullet casing and told her,
“Yeah, and I think I know how. Look, you can see all the bullet holes in the walls too.” Nero glanced at what I was looking at and then back down at the bodies before picking up one of the long thin bones that looked more like grey sticks with a sharp end.
“I think these are Harpy bones,” she told me, making me look at the bone again in a different light and seeing that yes, its light curve would lend itself to being that of a wing.
“Hey, you don't think this is where your mum could have…?” That sentence died in her throat the second we heard the demonic roar above us. we both looked up in time to see one of the Hellhounds hadn't stopped in time and had literally run and leapt off the edge of the staircase. We then watched as it fell down the centre, scrambling with its legs trying to reach the sides so it could stop itself. This was to no avail as it landed with an echoing thud that kicked up dust and broke the bones of the dead Harpies it had landed it on.
The Hellhound whimpered as it wasn't yet dead, but it was wounded enough that it still moved but couldn’t get up. The glowing lava in between its cracked skin was also starting to extinguish, telling me it didn't have long. A howling haunting sound from above made us both look up to see the other two hadn't made the same mistake and were now circling the edge while snapping down at us.
“It won't take them long before they discover a way to get down here,” Nero said, and I knew this was true as I could see them testing ways through the drapery of the soul weed trying to get through. then suddenly one of them took a brave leap and landed on the lower levels of the staircase having only one hind leg get tangled in the thickest of the thorns.
It snarled angrily back at its leg, chomping at the soul weed trying to free itself whereas its brother had decided to make the same jump also. Only this time it managed to go that little bit further, so it missed not only the soul weed but also his trapped brother. After this he pounded down the staircase, telling Nero and I it was time again to be on the run.
“We haven't got long before they'll be down here, and it seems to me like there's only one way out,” Nero said nodding to the broken door that looked as if it had been opened with a battering ram. I felt Nero taking the last of our weapons from behind my back and before I could ask what she intended to do with it, she gave me her obvious answer by thrusting the sword down into the Hellhound’s head.
I raised a brow in question, making her hand the sword back to me as she walked past telling me,
“Just in case.” I had to agree because in this place you couldn't be sure if anything was really dead. We both ran through the doorway and along the corridor, making me wonder what would face us on the other side this time. Of course, when we finally made it through, I could barely believe my eyes.
What faced us the moment we were through was literally a river of fire, cutting off all means of escape. We also looked to be in the belly of some mountain that’s only purpose seemed to be where this raging river of blue fire cut through the tunnel. It started at one end and disappeared through the other as it crossed the space like a flaming blue snake.
“At least it's not lava,” Nero commented and she was right, it was black water with a blueish flame flickering on the surface, as if there had been an oil spill and this had been set alight, creating the unusual colour of flame due to some chemical giving it that blueish green tinge. This in turn reflected off the cave walls giving the appearance of being under a blue moon. There were also holes in the rock that created flaming waterfalls as this strange liquid was gushing from the top and feeding this river to Gods only knew where.
Basically, this also meant we were screwed because there was nowhere to go, and stranger yet was the weirdest feeling of déjà vu. It was the same feeling I had felt when seeing the Lost Temple of Olympus. Was it because Nero had been right…had my mother been here before? Was I now walking in the footsteps my parents had?
It almost seemed too unreal to actually believe, but then what else could have caused such a deep sense of feeling?
“Oh, come on, where is it?” Nero said, looking left and right before suddenly she found something attached to the side of the rock. It was a large black, shining round disc that hung from chains held by a wrought iron demonic hand.
“Hey, help me swing this,” she said, motioning me over and as she took one side, I mirrored her action by taking the other. This meant the large round disc, that on closer inspection was deeply pitted and was the size of a bed, was in between us,
“Ready?”
“Yeah, but for what I don't know,” I admitted, before doing as she did when lifting the Gong up and letting it crash down so it swung back into the rock. It hit against what I could now see was a jagged piece of rock big enough to hit its centre. When this happened, the sound it created was almost like a haunting roar, that gained in strength the further it travelled. The cave also acted like an amplifier, and became so loud that both Nero and I had to cover our ears
as it sounded like the souls of the dead were screaming.
After this I heard the cranking of a gate I couldn't see, and seconds later the tip of a strange black boat could be seen emerging. It barely looked like one that was able to float let alone exist at all, because the closer it got the more horrifying it became.
“Oh, thank the Gods.”
“Seriously, you're thanking the Gods for this?” She ignored my comment and instead walked over to the point which was made obvious as to what its purpose was, especially when the boat stopped next to a protruding ledge over the flames…a dock. As for the boat, it looked as if it was made from iron held together with crude strips of twisted metal with charred wood on the inside. The shape was a long wide rowing boat that was being powered by six bodies, all mutilated for the sole purpose of rowing. Where they’d once had limbs, these had been replaced by oars in the water for propelling the boat forward. Not that any of them could complain or even look to see what level of Hell they had been doomed to, not considering their eyes and mouths had been sewn shut. I wasn't ashamed to say that I felt like gagging and this was only made more so when I looked at who was charged with controlling the boat.
The female demon at the stern of the boat was also missing her limbs and had a large portion of her body mounted in an iron contraption. Her arms had been replaced with long whips meant for lashing out at the tortured creatures that rowed the boat. Her large breasts were encased in crude metal cups that looked to be connected to the hooks in the bottom of her chin.
She was terrifying, with missing lips permanently forced into a grimace of teeth but when turned your way, she looked as if she was smiling at you. She, too, had had her eyes removed and thin hair displayed large patches of her scalp and floated around her as if she were underwater. She was utterly horrifying.
“Well, it ain’t no Mississippi river boat,” I muttered, wondering where the thought had come from as if I had heard it being spoken before. Or was this place merely echoing the past, making me pick up on parts of it.
“No, it isn't, but it is our ticket out of here, so get your ass on the boat, Chickadee!” Nero said making me go first. I did as she asked, stepping off the ledge and down onto the deck that was only a step below. There was a strange worn Chesterfield couch that looked oversized, with a high back that curled around the top like a scroll of paper. The old leather looked cracked and well used over Gods only knew how many years this ferry of the flames had been travelling for.
I stumbled forward the moment the roaring of the Hellhounds could be heard echoing through the tunnel we had travelled through, and it brought me face to face with one of the mutilated souls chained to the boat. It turned its head in my direction slowly, before it sniffed for this was the only sense it had left. Its skin looked burnt and puckered, and it was also stitched in ways that didn't make sense, especially when parts of its cheek had caught up in the stitching, forcing it to lift closer to the eyes. It moved its head around in quick little movements reminding me of old black and white movies where actors flickered across the screen. I quickly scrambled back to the centre, making sure I was well away from either side. Then I looked to see Nero who hadn't yet got on the boat but instead was staring at the opening as if waiting to take on the Hellhounds by herself.
“What are you doing, come on!?” This seemed to draw her into action as she followed me onto the boat. Then she blew on the palm of her hand and a coin suddenly appeared, after which she threw it towards the ferry keeper who caught it in her mouth and swallowed it whole. It was only then that the boat moved away from the stone dock to start its journey.
We both started to breathe a sigh of relief, that was until the first of the Hellhounds broke through the entrance with a leap. One snarl our way and it didn't take long for it to realise its prey was floating away. I thought that this would have been the end of it, that it would have had to have given up the kill and go back to the dying Harpy Queen without its prize. But then something unexpected happened as it leapt into the water and instead of going under, each step it made formed a black crust like cooling molten lava after it had started to roll down the mountain side. It began to stalk towards us, letting us now realise that even on this boat escape was not going to be an option.
We were dead in the water
I watched as Nero closed her eyes, at the same time she grabbed my hand and then she told me,
“Tell Vern I love his annoying ass and that I'm sorry I never kissed him that day,” she said, before standing up and just as I opened my mouth to ask what she was doing she ran the length of the boat and flung herself off the edge barely just making it back to the cave’s floor.
“NERO!” I screamed her name in horror realizing what she had done. She was sacrificing herself to draw the beast away and save me!
“It's been fun, Princess,” she said, calling me the name I'd asked her not to but giving me a wink and even from the boat I could see her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
“No!” The whispered plea came through my quivering lips, that I had to bite to stop from bursting into tears. We'd come so far and to lose her at this point was unbearable. Unbearable and utterly heart-breaking. But then the Hellhound turned its head away from the boat, now seeing easier prey stood waiting. It turned its back to me and then again to her, as if weighing up its options. A sob broke free the moment it made its decision and slowly stalked back to Nero's side of the River.
I looked back to see that we were nearly at the other end and would soon disappear through an arched tunnel. So, with nothing else to do, I called her name and threw my weapon through the air, swinging it as hard as I could so it would reach the other side. It fell with a clatter on the stone floor a few feet away, meaning the last sight I had of my friend was as she rolled on the ground to retrieve the sword, at the same time that the Hellhound pounced.
I closed my eyes as the darkness of the tunnel overwhelmed me and I could only breathe again when I finally heard the whining sound of death coming from the Hellhound,
Not of that of my friend.
Chapter Twenty-Two
A Boat to Nowhere
For a good while after this I found I could do nothing but hang my head in shame. I couldn't believe I had come all this way just to lose Nero. It was a bitter blow and all I could hope for was that she’d managed to kill the two beasts that were after us. After that I had no idea how she was going to get back home.
I went through every possibility in my mind. Asking myself how many coins she had, and if there would be another boat headed her way. If not, would she be able to make her way back up the spiral staircase and find another way out? I wondered if there were any portals and if not, whether she would brave using the gateway in the Lost Temple of Olympus and enter the mortal realm.
I don't know how long I sat on this old Chesterfield with my head in my hands trying to ignore everything around me, like the haunting sounds of two whips lashing out and cutting through the air before hitting the flesh of those that powered the boat. I wanted to drown it all out, every single minute of it. Simply put, I wanted to go home.
But the truth of the matter remained that I had no idea where I was going, and I had nothing to guide me. It wasn't as though anyone on this boat was going to start being chatty anytime soon. And well, the one who seemed to be in charge of whipping people didn't exactly look like the approachable type, despite the eternally creepy smile. No, my only hope was that this boat was headed to another dock somewhere and where there was another dock then surely there would, hopefully, be a point to it, meaning a town of some sort.
Of course, another hope I had was that I didn't starve to death or die of dehydration before I actually got there because for all I knew, I could be on this boat for weeks. After all, it wasn't as though there were many mortals in Hell who required basic needs and when you were dead, you didn't really need to eat. Embarrassingly enough I was also desperate for a pee and was regretting not using the wooden bucket in the cell after killing the Harp
y.
Gods, but it had been one fuck up after another and now being on this boat I wasn't even sure if Lucius had any way to track me, even if he did discover that the Harpies were the ones that took me. The only saving grace for this thought process was that if Lucius did turn up at the ruined castle, then he might be able to track our scent enough to find Nero, if she was still alive. After all, I had to pray for something and what better than the life of my friend.
I lifted my head when I heard a different noise ahead, other than the brandishing of leather on skin. it seemed as if we were heading through a wasteland of some kind. It was a swampy landmass of black lakes and brown moss-covered stone. The river snaked through it, a flickering blue flame as far as the eye could see, telling me that we had a long way to go. The boat wasn't exactly fast, which surprised me considering the motivation was pain. Hell, but by the time I got to wherever it was we were going, I would have tortured myself from my bitter thoughts and these guys would be sick of me.
I didn't know how long it was until the scenery started to change and we left the swampy wastelands behind us. The sky had started to darken, no longer a red hue to dust the clouds. this time it was all dark greys seeming as if there was a storm about to roll in, which was when my day went from bad to worse as the rain started.
“Well, at least it will wash the blood from my clothes…small pleasure and all…not that you guys know anything about pleasure anymore…poor bastards.” I muttered this last part as I lifted my hood up to at least make a slight attempt to keep my face dry. Something that lasted all of about ten minutes due to the heavy downpour. Forget about starving to death, I was going to freeze to death before that happened.
Roots Of Rage: A Vampire King Paranormal Romance (Transfusion Saga Book 9) Page 17
