by Ivy Asher
But out of nowhere, I feel the overwhelming sensation that everything is going to be okay. I study the unusual sensation for a moment, wondering where it’s coming from and why. I can’t help but think that maybe it’s my parents from the other side, somehow offering me some comfort. Maybe that’s just wishful thinking, but either way, I can’t dismiss the rightness I feel in this moment. I’ve been so anxious, confused, and scared. But right here, right now, I just feel like I’m finally where I belong. I release a peace filled breath and look up at the towering walls all around me.
Now that we’re level with the Rings that I saw from above, I realize just how enormous they are. They looked so much smaller as we made our way down, but the walls that make up each stone Ring border rise at least thirty feet above me. I feel like that kid from The NeverEnding Story as he walked through those creepy angel gates, only for me, it’s like I’m surrounded by a humongous circle maze. Hopefully it won’t shoot me with lightning bolts when I try to pass.
Collectively, we all seem to take a deep breath. Then, like we’re already a seasoned team, we stride forward together. There’s a very here goes nothing tone to our steps as they meet the shale-covered ground. The guys are tense and silent, attentively scanning our surroundings, but luckily, there’s nothing around. The Vestibule is deathly quiet other than our scraping footsteps over the loose rocks at our feet. We move steadily past the outermost stone wall, and I get my first glimpse at the portal that leads into the Fifth Ring of Hell.
I try to remember what the name they used for this Ring is, but I can’t recall if it’s the one that sounds like kinky or the one that sounds like quatro. As we pass by the Outer Ring, I make out what seems to be blurry shapes of buildings through some Stargate looking plasma shit, but it all appears very Picasso-esque, and it’s hard to make out exactly what might be on the other side.
“I know we voted, but with her bleeding, I think we need to go straight for Ūnus and work our way down. I have a feeling we don’t want to fuck around down here today,” Jerif murmurs.
“Agreed,” Echo, Crux, and Iceman all voice at the same time.
I blink at their quick unity but keep my mouth shut. If they want to go straight to the First Ring and see if I’m like Iceman, then I’m all for it. Now that I’m down here, I desperately want to know what I am.
Our group passes the second wall that separates Ring five from Ring four, and I have to practically jog to keep up with the pace that Jerif is setting.
“My family is going to be so pissed when I’m a no-show,” Echo grumbles, staring ahead of us at the plasma looking crap that makes up the passageway into the Trēs Ring of Hell.
Jerif grumps something back, and Echo chuckles, but I’m too busy watching the gooey metallic looking substance that’s spread from wall to wall on both sides of us as we pass through the Fourth Ring. I squint, seeing shadows and movement, the gooey material bowing out, almost as if something is trying to push through from inside the Ring.
I’m oddly reminded of a movie I once watched where Jim Carrey was birthed out of the ass of a robot rhino. Or maybe whatever is pushing through has more liquid metal Terminator vibes. Either way, I watch transfixed as the surface seems to start to bulge in more than one place.
“Guys?” I voice, but my worried warning gets drowned out as a terrifying baying sound goes off somewhere behind us.
All of the guys whip around to look. I have to lean to the side to see around Iceman, but I immediately wish I hadn’t, because all I can see are strange espresso-colored bodies pouring out of both sides of the Fifth Ring portal.
That can’t be good.
I don’t even wait for the order to run that explodes out of Iceman’s mouth. I’m already turned around and hauling ass to get away from the horde that’s suddenly pouring into the passageway behind us as demons hurry out of the Fifth Ring.
My feet fly forward, scraping against slippery rocks as I pump my arms, pushing to gain speed. But terror slams into me when I realize that more Outer Ring demons are climbing out of the Fourth Ring portals too.
A quick look over my shoulder shows that Iceman is standing in front of the horde, right in the middle of the aisle, with his legs spread and hands outstretched. He’s erected an ice barrier, blocking the demons’ way, but they’re pounding against it, and there’s so many of them that I know the wall can’t hold for long.
Some of the more impatient demons start climbing over each other to get to the top of the ice wall instead, but Echo is there, using his shadows to fling them back, snapping necks and throwing them off.
“Get her into Trēs!” Iceman yells as he tries to start building more ice at the top of the barrier like a ceiling, keeping them from climbing over it. But there are too many of them, and every time he adds another inch, more and more have already climbed up, muddy limbs flailing out, breaking the ice before it can thicken.
“Come on!” I get yanked forward by Crux, but I slip on the rocks, and I go sprawling. I land hard on the ground on my elbows and knees, but I haven’t even finished crying out before there’s a huge crash behind us. I look over my shoulder and see the ice barrier has completely shattered.
I get wrenched to my feet by Crux right as Jerif starts blasting the demons with fire like he’s a human-sized blow torch. Horrendous screams of agony rent the air, but even the fire isn’t enough to stop them.
I get shoved behind Crux just as a group of Outer Ringers breaks through the others to get to us. He fists his hands at his sides and then blood and guts go flying as he turns them inside out.
I grab my scythe in my hand just in time as another one races toward me on hands and feet like some grotesque spider. It bares its teeth at me and jumps, but I swing, catching it on my blade and making it disappear in a puff of ash.
Iceman is trying and failing to erect another ice wall, Echo is completely blocked from view by his shadows as they lash out at any of the surrounding demons, and Jerif is still blasting them with fire, but it’s not enough. We’re overwhelmed.
How did this happen so fucking fast?
My stomach sinks with heavy panic at just how many Outer Ringers are here to ambush us. Hundreds. Maybe even thousands. It’s too hard to tell with all of them scrambling around like locusts. There’s no end in sight, and they just keep pouring from the two Outer Rings, climbing over each other.
“We need to go!” I scream, hoping that the guys will hear me. White-hot fear has complete possession of me. If any of the guys die, I’ll never forgive myself. But I don’t even know if I’ll be able to live through this myself in order to feel that guilt.
“Crux!” Iceman shouts, though I can’t see him over the melee.
“I can’t!” Crux yells back. “They’re overrunning Trēs Ring! We can’t get to the portal!”
Iceman screams out in frustration, and I hear something crash before more demons cry out. “Jerif!” Iceman calls out. “We’ll hold them! Take her to Duo!”
I don’t know how he gets to me so fast, but one minute, I’m being shoved farther back by Crux, and the next, Jerif is there, blasting a line of fire between us and the horde, separating us from the other guys.
“No! They need to come with us!” I scream.
Jerif ignores me and grips my arm, pulling me back. “We need to go! Now! The guys will follow as soon as you’re in Duo.”
All I can do is hope that he’s right and that the guys will somehow get out of this, because the last thing I’m going to do is be stupid and try to argue or go back.
Jerif pulls me, keeping his upper body twisted so that he can launch fireballs behind us as we run. I don’t dare look back, because I can feel the demons right at our heels. Every time a fireball lands on one of them, the heat scorches my back, letting me know exactly how close they are.
Our steps pound against the ground, and I find it odd that I can still hear that amidst all the shouting, grunts, and death cries. When I see movement in my peripheral, I know the demons are gaining on us. I k
eep telling myself to just make it to Duo. I’ll be safe in Duo. But there’s this other assholish part of myself that keeps saying, what if you can’t get in? What if Trēs was my only hope? Maybe these guys overestimated me. Maybe I’m not powerful enough to pass through these Rings. Maybe—
Jerif yanks on me harder, breaking my panicked train of thought. As much as I have an instinctual reaction to yell at him and lob some choice swear words at his manhandling of me, I keep my mouth shut and try to move faster. Hope slams into me when I spot the stone wall separating Ring three from Ring two. We’re almost there.
Like that thought alone just invited all Hell to break loose, I hear a strange skittering noise above me. I should know better than to look up. Every scary movie in the history of the world has taught me the right protocols to enact whenever a weird noise sounds off around you. You either ignore it or pull the covers over your head and hope it goes the fuck away. But what does my dumb ass do? I look up.
My eyes adjust to the writhing darkness just in time to see that something is crawling on the wall high above us. A lot of somethings. Whatever the fuck is up there clings to the cavern walls with their hands and feet, and they’re getting ready to pounce.
I yell Jerif’s name, trying to pull back on his grip on my arm to get him to look up, but it’s too late. Bodies come leaping off the top of the wall at the exact moment that we cross the threshold from Trēs to Duo.
I feel like I’ve been hit by a meteorite as a body crashes into me. My arm is yanked from Jerif’s hold and wrenched painfully as I go down with a scream.
I can see Jerif being pummeled by more falling demons as I smash to the stone floor, a pained grunt leaving my body along with all the oxygen in my lungs. My scythe goes flying, but I suddenly smell ash in the air, and I hope the blade took out a demon or two as it went bouncing away.
Jerif bellows in outrage, and I feel the heat of his fury-fueled flames against my face as he starts trying to push up from the ground and burn everything around him.
I’m flipped onto my back by clawed fingers at my side, and I balk as I stare up at a demon that looks like a cross between a pterodactyl and an orc. It snaps its razor-sharp elongated beak at me, and I flinch, terrified of what it will feel like when it rips into me. I know it’s going to hurt, but will it be the kind of pain that overwhelms the senses and almost shuts the body down? Or will adrenaline be my friend and block it all from me as I’m ripped apart?
The demon snaps at me again, but its beak never makes contact. A long serpentine tongue slips out of its maw instead, and it licks the side of my scraped and bloody face. Revulsion pumps through me as it pulls its tongue back into its mouth, and I watch it swallow my blood down it’s throat, making a clicking, growling sound in apparent satisfaction.
Oh God, please don’t let it eat me alive.
I hear Jerif snarling and fighting somewhere behind me, but I’m too terrified to look away from the huge demon sitting on top of me to see if help is on the way.
“Mmm, delicious,” the pterodactyl demon declares, his voice too Mike Tyson for his size. I didn’t know this thing could talk, but that just makes it all the more terrifying. “The Ophidian wants you.”
My entire body is trembling. I can’t even feel the individual beats of my heart anymore because it’s thrumming too quickly. “The Ophidian?” I have no fucking idea what that is, but the name sends ice down my spine, holding me rigid with frozen fear.
The demon’s wrinkled gray cheeks pull back on either side of its beak in its own version of an eerie grin. “The Ophidian will be pleased with me for bringing you.”
A sudden sound of a high-pitched screech gives me pause, and rational thought sucker punches past my overwhelming fear. I buck my hips, but this demon is too big to really allow for much movement beneath it. By some miracle, another demon trips into us, and the pterodactyl-orc loses its balance. It snarls at the demon, who immediately scrambles away from us, but the second the orc thing on top of me is distracted, I strike. It doesn’t see my punch to its throat coming.
The demon lists even more to the side as I land another hit right to its creepy eye, and then I’m able to kick it off and crawl painfully out from under it. I can tell I’m hurt in a things are broken kind of way, but it seems adrenaline is my friend right now.
I push to my hands and knees, and a surge of shock flies through me when I spot my scythe on the ground a few feet away. I scramble to it, not even caring that jagged rocks slice into my palms and knees. I just barely clamp my palm around the shaft of the weapon when something grabs my leg and yanks me back.
I squeeze my scythe in my palm, shoring my grip, and swing as hard as I can. Relief wraps me up in a warm blanket as the curved blade of my scythe connects with the demon who grabbed me, immediately destroying it. I don’t get a chance to get to my feet before another one is on me, but I make quick work of this one too.
I hear Jerif scream, but this time it’s not filled with promises of pain and brutal retribution, this scream is anguished.
Terror pumps through my veins as I play ’ey batta batta with the demons trying to surround me. Through nothing but pure determination, I manage to get to my feet. There are so many faces rushing at me, none of them looking remotely human, that I can’t even make out what’s around me other than what feels like a swarm closing in on me.
Ophidian. Take her. Get her to The Ophidian.
I hear the cluster growling and clicking, their words garbled as they all speak about taking me, my surroundings a cloud of ash as I keep attacking and taking them out.
Jerif bellows again, and the need to get to him grips me, body and soul. I can’t let fear stop me, so even though I want to run away and hide, I surge forward, trying to get to him. I scythe demons left and right, clearing a path in the direction of where it sounds like Jerif’s screams are coming from.
I have no idea where the other guys are, and I’m shaky with fear and adrenaline, but I don’t think anyone is coming for us, so it’s up to me. My weapon is the only thing that keeps me from being overwhelmed by Outer Ringers who keep trying to snatch me. I wonder if anyone is trying to take the guys too or if their agenda is to end them instead. My jaw sets with determination. I’ll just have to take out as many as I can to make sure that doesn’t happen.
After ashing dozens more of them, I continue to push my way through the overwhelming crowd, and the horde surrounding me begins to hesitate. It seems they’ve smartened up, and they’re second guessing about how wise it is to keep rushing at me.
I’m panting, covered in ash, blood, and sweat. I blow the hair out of my face and turn in a circle, gripping my scythe. “If you hurt my demons, I will fucking kill you all,” I promise through haggard breaths.
I feel murderous. Violent. Black ink bleeds into my vision as I’m filled with all-encompassing rage, and I don’t care how outnumbered or inexperienced I am, I will dust all these fuckers if Jerif and the others are dead.
I push through, swinging the scythe and feeling buoyant with satisfaction when they back away with growls and squeals, but another group of demons shoves ahead in challenge. “Get her!”
Poof. I swing the scythe like a bat, smacking right into the demon who issued the order.
Three more go down right after him, and that seems to scare some, because a good number of them suddenly launch into the air and take off.
With the pathway somewhat clear, I can just make out a circle of demons surrounding the lava asshole that I just swore I’d protect at all costs. I’m so relieved to see that Jerif’s still standing, albeit shakily, that I rush forward, ashing four more Outer Ringers who close in on me and try to keep me from seeing what’s going on.
Through a gray cloud, I watch as several demons in the circle around Jerif go up in flames. But just as he’s burning some of his attackers, others swoop in and slash at him. The blades they’re using are as long as my arm. They’re black and shiny, like they’re made out of jewels instead of metal.
&nbs
p; Jerif is stabbed again when a demon lands on his back, and another pain-filled cry pours out of his mouth as he goes down on one knee. He’s already bloody, exhausted, and wounded in multiple places. Even his flames are starting to sputter, as he only tosses out small spheres of fire that don’t even come close to landing on any of his assailants.
As soon as Jerif manages to throw off the demon on his back, another one is there, taking its place, stabbing straight into his side. This time, Jerif doesn’t manage to get back to his feet. Another one tackles him from the other side too, sending him crashing to the ground, barely stopping the demon from slitting his throat.
Tears fill my eyes, and rage fills my heart.
They’re killing him.
He’s going to be murdered right before my eyes, and the horror of that realization makes the black edges of my fury intensify.
Outraged by what I’m seeing, I start slashing my way to him. I take out dozens, but there’s dozens more ready to flood in to take their place. It takes me too long to move mere feet closer, because the horde is closing in, and that’s when I see the net.
They’re going to trap me like I’m a fucking animal and haul me away.
I scream, impotent fury bouncing off the walls and echoing back to remind me just how helpless I really am.
I ash everything around me, tears streaming from my eyes as I try to get to Jerif. He must hear me coming, because he turns to me from where he’s lying on the ground, bleeding, fighting off more of the attacking demons who brave the dimming fire surrounding him.
His firelit eyes meet mine, but instead of seeing hope in them, because he knows help is coming, I see stony resignation. “Run,” he mouths to me, his voice lost to the cacophony of snarls and hisses around us.
