“Tray stop joking around. Where the hell did you take me!”
“We are near the gate. Come.” He demands to me and I follow him over to the boulder. “Take a look for yourself.” He says to me as he slides his back down the boulder.
I look at Tray, who now has his ass firmly on his haunches and scans the area we are in. His arms are calmly leaning on his knees, but I can see the strain in them as his eyes move over the landscape. I take a peek over the boulder, my eyes move over the sight that was hidden behind the boulder, I let out an involuntary shriek. And duck back down behind the boulder. I now see why Tray faded here. Why he hid us behind this stupid boulder.
“Is that- is that what I think it is?” I manage to stammer out. I feel the gem pulsing inside my clenched fist, as if it is happy about returning home.
“Yip, sure is. The gate to the demon world.” Tray murmurs out while he continues to scan the area.
“The demon world!” I squeak out! “Why are we going to the demon underworld?”
Tray gives me a blank stare, like pieces of the puzzle that are obviously clear are not clicking for me.
“Because that’s where Jacin lives.” Tray finally answers me, and I feel a set of shivers run through my body.
I nod my head. Trying my best to play it cool. But Tray clearly has picked up on my small discomfort and smirks at me.
“Are you afraid yet?” Tray asks me, his smirk still plastered to his face. He wants a reaction. He wants me to run screaming for the hills. It’s one thing to think you are going to the underworld. But it’s clear we are deeper, far deeper than someone like me has ever travelled and lived to tell the tale.
I knew Jacin wasn’t human, he is way older than he looks, to the point where I’m sure human remains would have turned to dust by his age. I knew he wasn’t a witch, we established that already. It can mean only one thing to live in the demon underworld.
He is a demon.
“And don’t think that because it’s called the underworld because he lives in the land of the dead.” Tray continues to tell me. “We call it the underworld because it’s hell for demons.” He simply states.
I keep nodding my head. I wanted information. I’m getting information. Does it make me feel any better? I’ve got to honestly say no it doesn’t. But I’d rather have the truth than carry on being lied to.
“Are you afraid now?” Tray asks me. And before I answer him with a quick no. I run through my options.
Am I afraid of what Tray is telling me?
Yes.
Am I afraid of the fact that Jacin is a demon?
No.
I can honestly say that I’m not afraid of Jacin. He is mine. Always.
“No.” I say to Tray with conviction. And he simply nods his head.
“Good. Cause If that small amount of information scared you. Then you have no chance of survival once we are through that gate.”
“It’s just more information than I expected to hear, that’s all.” I say to Tray as I try to act as if this doesn’t bother me.
“I thought you knew what the Gem of Dante does?” Tray asks me and I nod at him in response.
“Well yes, I knew it gained entrance into the underworld. I was just thinking the human version of it. I’ve also heard tales it gains entrance into the demon world. But considering I didn’t know where exactly we were going, it didn’t cross my mind, that I might actually be going into the demon world.” I grumble out to him.
“Fair enough.” Tray answers me and stands to look over the boulder.
Who knew I was going to the demon underworld? I certainly didn’t!
“Stay close and stay hidden. We want people to know you have entered here, but we don’t want to be ambushed.” Tray says to me as I start to slide down next to him, the gem is practically dancing in my hand at how happy it is to be returning home. “We are waiting on Weyland. Once he has arrived, we will fade closer, then enter.” He says to me and continues to watch the landscape; his eyes never stay still. Always moving, always searching, always on alert.
The dust gets kicked up by the wind that runs through the barren land that surrounds us and with it brings a stench of death. I cover my nose at the vile smell. But it’s too late. I’ve breathed it in, and my stomach wants to push it out.
I feel tray shift closer to me, our arms brush each other, but he doesn’t move away, instead to moves even closer to me. I chance a look at him, his eyes search the dusty land, but they land on nothing. The keep moving over the barren landscape.
“We need to move; the trolls are coming.” He says to me as he takes my hand in his and we fade.
Once we land, my body adjusts to the fade. A horrible stench lingers here in the distance. I chance a look over the boulder we are now hidden behind. We are now closer to the gate. A lot closer. We are so close that I can make out the entire line that makes up the gate.
A massive black gate stands in the middle of nowhere. It’s so big that it will take at least hundred men standing hand in hand to cross it. I can’t take my eyes away from it all. The gate itself is gothic looking and looks to be made of some kind of crystal, which glows green in some. It has massive spikes that run the length of it, and the glowing green seems to escape the gate where it stands open.
I can also make out small figures, walking up and down the gate. One group in the middle stands still, another long line of figures waits, and eventually move through the gate as the large group steps aside.
Clearly, even in the underworld, they go through customs too.
I slide down against the boulder and sit beside Tray once more. I look over to him as he watches me carefully.
I clear my voice to break the awkwardness of the situation. “So, trolls. What’s up with that?” I joke at him.
The look he gives me is not a joking matter clearly. “Trolls are disgusting.” He simply states.
“Disgusting? How?” I question him. But it looks like he doesn’t want to talk much about it.
“Let’s just leave it at disgusting and hope we don’t cross them again.” He sighs out. “If Jacin hadn’t banned your soul from here, we could have just faded you in. But since he did, this is the only way and the creatures that pass through here are vile.” Tray continues to say.
“Okay, fair enough. When is Weyland supposed to arrive?” I ask him.
“He is already here, but he is being a chicken shit. The other four are minutes away from kicking his ass too.” Tray grumbles out.
“Why is he stalling? The longer we are out here, the easier it is to find us.”
“He just doesn’t want to deal with a situation, but he is just going to have to get over it.” Tray grumbles out.
“What is Weyland afraid of?”
“Amalia.” Tray simple states and stands to look over the boulder. Even from this distance we shouldn’t be seen, but who the hell knows what kind of eyesight these creatures have.
“Who is Amalia?” I ask him, now that he has gained my interest.
“Amalia is in charge of the gate. You don’t fuck with her. And Weyland put his dick where he shouldn’t have. Now she is out for blood.” Tray explains. But I have seen Weyland with women before. I wonder when this happened.
“So, what Amalia is his girlfriend? Wife?”
“No, most of us don’t date, we just fuck. But he slept with her then he went and slept with another chick right after. Word got out. Now she is pissed because it made her look like she can’t please a man. Now she wants Weylands head, or his dick. Either way, she wants his blood.”
“Okay. I guess. So how much longer are we going to wait?” I ask Tray. Because if this was going to take all night, then I might have worn different shoes.
“Not too much longer. They are on their way now. Let’s get a bit closer.” Tray says to me again and I’m torn from my spot I was in. I’ll never get the hang of this.
~ ~ ~
“Well, well, well. Look what the hell cats dragged in.” I hear a woman bite ou
t to the group of men. Clearly this is Amalia. And oh my god. Who in their right mind would cross her?
I watch as she confidently paces up and down in front of the men. She doesn’t seem to be afraid of them. But I watch the men avert their eyes elsewhere, as she has a stare down with Weyland.
“Amalia.” Weyland greets her. I watch as her thick black tail whips out from behind her and almost makes contact with Weylands face. Her evil black eyes miss nothing as Weyland dodges her attempt at an attack.
“Feisty as always I see.” Weyland continues to taunt her. I watch the men that stand behind her start to back away from them. Clearly this showdown is not going to end well.
“Fuck you Weyland. You have some nerve showing up here!” Amalia bites at him. Then the impossible happens. She fucking transforms into a unicorn!
I’m not talking about the white unicorn that shits rainbows and has beautiful fluffy wings like candyfloss. I’m talking black as night, with black eyes to match, her horn on her head is bent, bony and an off-white colour. Her mouth has skin peeling away from her gums and her teeth that stick out are razor sharp. Nope, definitely not the unicorn I’ve always wanted.
“Come here? Have you fucking forgotten who the fuck you work for?” Weyland grinds out at Amalia. From where I’m standing, I can visibly see him starting to shake from the anger that is radiating from him. But Amalia doesn’t back down. Her hooves pace in front of Weyland and the four, while the other men have backed off some more.
And I realize why. They don’t want anything to do with the fight. I thought they were giving space for the fight, but they aren’t. Their heads have been bowed the entire time Weyland came into view. They are showing respect. Maybe this Amalia should have taken a page from their books.
“Yeah, you fucking asshole. And it’s definitely not you!” Amalia bites out. Her hooves continue to stomp as she paces in front of Weyland. I can cut the tension with a knife right now. The air is thick with rage and the monster inside me wants to come out to play.
No, no. Not now.
“I will make you fucking submit, right here, right now. Is that what you want? To make you submit in front of everyone?” Weyland warns her and for the first time I look around to see who the hell he is talking about. And I really wish I hadn’t. I really wish I had just kept my eyes on the fight between the two of them.
I hear the unearthly growl that comes from Amalia. I pay it no attention. My mind can’t process the monsters that are standing in line to enter through the gates. Is this what Jacin lives with? Is this what I’m going to have to get used to?
The man that catches my attention is not so much a man, but an animal. The only reason I know it’s a man, because this thing before me has his dick hanging out for everyone to see. His head is of a bull, with massive horns protruding out of its thick skull, with a massive bullring hanging from its nose. His skin is scally and looks to be peeling where his body isn’t covered in a thick coat of brown hair. It’s eyes are blood red, but don’t look about to watch the commotion that is going on between Weyland and Amalia. I watch as it limps forward, continuing to move until he limps right through the gates.
Next in line, is no better. The woman is bare chested, her bluish brown boobs hang loose with both nipples pierced. My eyes travel with the chain that is attached to the piercings, only for it to disappear beneath the tiny skirt she has on. Oh, I don’t even want to know. Ouch! Even though she is walking on two legs, she has a large spikey tail that moves behind her, with sharp tips that look as if they will do some serious damage. Her hands are like claws. I watch as she runs her fingers down one of the guards, who doesn’t seem to be fazed by her sharp claws.
“Welcome to hell.” Tray says to me.
I look over my shoulder at him. I want to freak the hell out. I want to run for the hills screaming. Because who am I kidding, how the hell am I supposed to get passed something like these creatures. How am I going to survive this?
Tray must have picked up on my inner turmoil. He pats my shoulder as some sort of comfort. “Don’t worry, these aren’t the normal you deal with. They are going into the jail itself.” Tray says to me. Which doesn’t make me feel any better.
“Okay, okay, I can do this.” I give myself a pep talk.
“Yeah you can. You were always meant to Natalie. Everything will fall into place. You will see. You are capable of so much more.” Tray says to me. But before I can answer, he raises his finger to his lips and indicates to be quiet.
The foul stench from before is getting closer. It’s so close that I want to throw up in my mouth. What the hell smells so bad.
“Oh, just fucking great. Fucking trolls are near.” I hear Weyland shout out. “Just step aside Amalia. Get over your fucking bruised ego. We fucked, it’s what we do.”
“Why the hell are you even here, Weyland. Your business never brings you near here.” Amalia says and I chance a look over the boulder at them. My hand still covers my mouth and I breath slowly through my nose. The smell is getting worse.
“My business has nothing to do with you.” Weyland says.
“Yeah, and the Five are with you. Well the four are. So that leaves the question hanging right out there. Where the fuck is she?”
“None of your fucking business.” Weyland says to her while leaning in closer to her.
“She isn’t allowed through. Jacin’s orders. Don’t think you are going to pull a fast one on me.” Amalia says as she takes a step back. Which I don’t even think she realized she did. She clearly does have some self-preservation left in her.
“I wouldn’t dream of it. Now step aside.” Weyland says and finally Amalia allows him through along with the other four men.
I turn back to Tray, he gestures with his hand to move. His hand takes mine once more, and I feel a weird sensation run over my body and when I look down, I see right through me. Where my legs and feet are supposed to be. Is nothing.
I’m invisible.
We sneak up to the line and silently walk pass them. I dare not even breath just in case that alerts them to my presence here. I just hope this plan works. Or we just wasted so much time doing this. The Gem of Dante beats steadily in my hand. Its starts to pulse faster the closer we get and once we arrive at the freakishly large black gates, the green glow shines right through us.
“God, I hope this works!” Tray mumbles out and we step through the gate. With the gem safely in my closed hand as the gate sucks us into the demon underworld.
Chapter Seventeen
“I lost myself, but then found myself all in the same moment.”- Natalie
~Natalie~
“Hold on tight.” Tray says to me as his hand is still holding mine. I’m once again pulled into every direction possible. My body stretches and is squashed in the same moment until we land feet first in a wide-open room.
I stumble a little, but Tray grabs hold of me until I’ve got my bearings. I feel the other four men fade in behind me while Weyland lands in front of me. I wait for the inevitable. The churning of my stomach from the fact my body should not be capable of doing what it just did. But it doesn’t come. The dry heaving doesn’t come and strangely enough, my stomach stays settle. Hey! I’m finally getting the hang of this whole thing.
I look to my now open hand to find the gem gone. I look about on the floor to see where I could have possibly dropped it. But it’s nowhere to be found.
“It returns to safety, Natalie.” Weyland says to me with a small smile.
“Sorry?” I ask him. I’m not sure we are on the right page with one another.
“The Gem of Dante. It returns to safety. Most likely where Jacin always keeps it.” He answers me and turns to look away.
I just nod. Not that he sees me doing it, but it gives me time to see what is around me.
I move from Trays grasp, as I take in my surrounding and to be completely honest with myself, I don’t think I will ever feel completely comfortable with another man’s touch, after Jacin. He was right. He ruin
ed me for every other man, and I can honestly say that I’m quite comfortable with the idea.
The room we all landed in, is massive, and I can hear the footsteps of the people that scurry around us, echo. They pay no attention to us, only a few bows at Weyland, but they don’t stop long, and they hurry off in the direction they were going.
The room is cold, high ceilings which seem never ending, are decorated with massive arches which look as if they are actually spider webs, but in reality, the design of them is just creepy. I peer over Weylands shoulder and the hallway is long, it doesn’t seem to end. There are windows that run the side of the hallway, that let in warm sunshine that highlights the creepy spider web type design of the ceiling.
I don’t know what I was expecting. But sunlight wasn’t it. I honestly thought we would be underground, like deep underground. That the pressure would be too much that it was going to blow my eardrums. The floor we are standing on, is stone, hard and cold. And walls are too made up of stone, which the spider web design runs down the walls.
I’m in a castle.
An honest to god, stone castle.
What’s next, they going to tell me Jacin is some sort of king?
He reigns. Those words echo in my ears, rattle my brain. Shivers break over my skin. What the ever-loving fuck.
I tap Weyland on the shoulder, he turns to look at me with a concerned look on his face. But I continue on.
“I thought we were going to Jacin’s home.” I ask him.
“This is Jacin’s home, Natalie.” Weyland says to me, and cocks his head studying my reaction.
“But it’s a castle. Right.” I ask Weyland as I turn to look at Tray for confirmation.
“It is a castle, it’s extremely old. It is passed down through his family.” Weyland replies and I watch as another woman, who is dressed strangely, runs off when she sees the group of us just standing here in the open.
“Right. And where is his family?”
“Well, you know he killed his own father and his mother is around, but she is not here. This building is from his father’s side. Daxtin cannot enter here, he was banned a long time ago and even if Jacin could change it, he won’t.” Weyland replies.
The Darkness in You (The Darkness Series Book 2) Page 17
