Into the Hells

by Christopher Johns

  And my friends as well. I could save one of them, thanks to my collar, but not all of them. And that was highly upsetting.

  I felt a small tug on my sleeve and saw Maebe take a deep, calming breath and did the same myself.

  It was a ten-minute ride, as the basket traveled swiftly, before the figures on the ground began to resemble more than ants.

  I began to see a shape that looked like heat on the road when I used to run in the summer that ran the entire edge of the valley. Some sort of barrier?

  Five minutes after that, before I could make out faces and the same energy, but this time, a cool blue with earthy brown undertones around the outskirts of the city. Some sort of wall?

  I sent a mental call to the others to let them know. They let it go without comment—they couldn’t see it.

  And finally, three more minutes after that before we gently alighted on the ground.

  The youngest guard I had heard earlier, Nictol, opened the basket and offered a professional smile that showed no teeth. “Please, your Highness, mind your step as you disembark.”

  We filed out after him, and Maebe came out last. After that, we began our walk through the city.

  We moved into the inner wall, our lush green surroundings proving that there was a deep, natural magic at play here, and the enchantments that enhanced that natural magic around them were intriguing.

  Sure, it seemed these guys were asshats, but there was some ungodly talent here. If I could get some extra training from these guys, getting the next couple ranks in enchanting would be an easy thing, but it would be a problem to get them to part with it.

  That and we were needed elsewhere. My desire to improve my craft could wait if it had no immediate value.

  The outer portion of the city seemed to grow from the ground itself. Large, tree-trunk-like protrusions with wide, almost acorn-looking rooftops seemed to make up the outer ring. There were windows, doors, and other home-like additions that made it seem quaint.

  High elves of all sizes and ages stopped to watch us as we passed through. Signs hung above shops built from large leaves the size of a Dragon’s head with various items in windows, elves spoke to each other in hushed tones that ranged from passing conversation to heated debating or haggling.

  Those who did watch with more than passing interest seemed to be interested in the Fae-Orc, the Celestial Fae, and the weird fox. The Dragons were intriguing too, especially James and his wings, but I kept hearing hushed, angry whispers about gray skin.

  Whatever. I knew they were talking about Yoh. Why? I didn’t know, but fuck them.

  Haughty dicks.

  “This place is crazy, man,” Jaken muttered. “It looks like they grow all of their buildings.”

  Nictol piped in, “We do!” When none of the other guards stopped him, he continued, “We’re most in touch with nature and the magic of this plane. Favored by Mother Nature and the elements of long past.”

  “What does that mean? I thought the elementals had rescinded their favor from all the casters in all the planes?” I looked at him to see him narrow his eyes distrustfully, but he looked ready to answer.

  “Not that one, Nictol,” grunted the guard next to him. “Not your place to teach history, not your place to speak for the elementals. Or the queen.”

  The young guard nodded, a frown of thought on his face before he turned and simply stated, “Just wait for the queen to state what she is willing to share.”

  Smart kid. But now I was curious—why did no one seem to know about this? And how were we only just now finding out? I mean, the high elves had boasted about stopping human Mages from enslaving the elements and had punished them for their heinous magical experiments that resulted in the Beast-kin.

  Had they been rewarded for doing so? It would make sense.

  As we marched toward the inner city, crystalline structures grew in seemingly random places. They appeared to be hollow, and although they looked transparent, they obstructed view inside making each one beautiful and desirable.

  The colors ranged from crystal clear-ish to radiant golds, purples, reds, greens, blues, and other colors in between. It was truly a magnificent sight to behold, but the truly bewildering thing of it was the castle carved out of a milky-looking material. The arches, buttresses, and columns were odd but had a truly Elven feel to them. They were carved in the shapes of trees, leaves, and other vines and plants.

  The walls had grasping vines that looked so real that a stray wind could—wait. They moved. The plants were real!

  “It’s beautiful,” I whispered.

  “Yeah. It’s really fucking pretty,” James agreed.

  The towers had spiraling tops that looked to be topped by gems the size of my head which seemed to scrape the sky.

  “Come along,” the elder guard who had rebuffed Nictol droned, motioning us forth toward the grandiose entrance to the palatial place in a borderline impatient and annoyed manner.

  Maebe stepped toward the front of the group, and I shrugged away the building wonder I could sense mounting inside my heart. This place was truly amazing, and I wanted to see more of it sometime, hopefully.

  We stepped through the doorway, the three guards in white robes outside eyeing us carefully and continued forward into the unknown.

  Inside, the building was breathtaking. The colors that surrounded the outside were amplified and spun throughout the inside a hundredfold. It was so colorful and vibrant that it was close to physically painful to look at one area for too long, partially due to the lighting but more so because as your eyes shifted and moved, so too did the colors.

  The entryway itself wasn’t a hallway, as would be expected, but seemed to come directly into a meeting hall the size of a large convention room. Along the side walls, there were murder holes with arrowheads glinting, warriors next to each one with dual astral adaptors naked in each hand. Their eyes murderous, even covered as they were in their helms.

  At the head of the room, a chair grown from a large tree carved from crystal and padded by leather and leaf. It took half the center of the room, around twenty feet wide at the base and rose far out of view.

  Four figures cloaked in white stood next to the throne, their cowls hanging over the majority of their features, their sleeved hands hidden from view.

  Whatever was going on, it was painfully obvious that these guys were ready to throw down big time.

  “Welcome, Queen Maebe, Lady of Shadow and Hoarfrost,” a voice that rang like chimes in the wind rang out toward us. A dull blue glow emanated from my left hand, Clarity, signaling the possible attack.

  “Silvanas, Queen of the high elves, Lady of the Stone Carved Tree of Life, descendant of the True Fae,” Maebe returned. “I see that you have built yourself quite the home.”

  “Thank you,” Silvanas answered as she stepped from behind the throne.

  The figure was lithe, athletically built and alabaster-skinned. She wore a ceremonial style robe that fell well past her legs on to the floor and dragged behind her dramatically. As she stepped, she seemed to dance along the base of her throne to the seat; she eyed all of us, her warm, honey-colored irises shifting slowly. Her pink lips parted softly, bowing at the corners in a small grin. It was captivating. Her hair was as white as the rest of her, though there were strands that reminded me of Maebe’s own hair with the many different colors that highlighted the front; they were tucked behind her high, pointy-tipped ears that looked to point almost directly up to the top of her head.

  “Tell me, great aunt, what brings you all the way from your realm, your place of power? Why have you sent emissaries to us after centuries of cold silence?”

  “Change, niece—glory to the Unseelie, a new path forward for our kind.” Maebe paused, taking the time to slowly consider the elves around us. “Most importantly, for now, is that I have thrown my lot into current affairs of all Brindolla and the realms attached in facing this new threat to our very existence.”

  “Ah, then I take it these are th
ose summoned to our world by the very gods who can do nothing to keep War and his ilk from taking over?” Her suddenly pointed question was disconcerting.

  “The Gods are trying their best, your Highness.” Jaken bowed his head respectfully. “They brought us here so that we could hunt where they cannot and so that they can focus on the threat at hand.”

  “I am well aware of the foolish notions you believe in, mortals.” She waved her hand dismissively. “I am also well aware of the fact that you truly believe you stand a chance at doing anything in a world you know nothing of. Of how you are siphoning power from Brindolla’s people and threatening our way of life.” She looked pointedly at us. “I know well the threat at our door, and the ones who should answer it are we.”

  I knew damned well what was coming next, but whose mouth it came from surprised me.

  “The true Children of Brindolla!” called a familiar, wizened voice.

  An older Gnome with gray, balding hair over sparkling, storm-gray eyes stepped from the other side of the throne, dramatically striding to stand beside Silvanas. His serious and wrinkled face hadn’t changed, but he did seem slightly more spritely than before. He wore a red shirt with metal links on it that looked like silk from a distance but clinked ever so slightly as he moved. This tucked into black trousers and boots of deep brown.

  He carried his same white, wooden staff covered in a single stripe of metal spiraling from a cap at the base to the top handle. The metal had runes engraved throughout it. It looked almost unchained but for an all black metallic addition just beneath the top of the item.

  “Tarron goddamned Dillingsley,” I growled and began to stride toward the little bastard.

  He looked at me with his trademark unimpressed scowl, unthreatened and unbothered. I would’ve finished crossing the now red-ringed room but for the cry of thunder above made that ground me to a halt.

  Kayda, now easily almost twenty feet tall and huge by all previous standards dropped from high up above.

  “Kayda!” I cried in greeting, my brothers calling out to her in equal joy. She landed before me, and as soon as she landed her, right wing snapped out and threw me back ten feet.

  I couldn’t feel our connection, and she had willingly struck me.

  That’s when I noticed it—a jet black ring around her throat that matched the one on the little bastard’s staff.

  “What the fuck did you do with my baby?!” I roared, openly fighting both the rage that threatened to take control over me and the urge to try to go to her again.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “A new kind of collar for the insufferable bird that just so happened to arrive before I did.” Tarron strode over to stand beside her massive bulk. He touched her on the side of her leg, and my blood threatened to boil over. “See how attentive she is? How she doesn’t shock or attack her betters?” He looked me directly in the eyes. “She knows she’s much better off with a true Brindollan.”

  Dude, you do what you have to to get tweets back, Muu growled behind me. The rest of us are ready to back you.

  I ignored that for now and instead turned my sights to the person I felt was truly responsible for this.

  In Druidic, I shouted aloud, “MOTHER NATURE! What the fuck?!”

  Kayda’s eyes blinked at me from above, and the sudden shift from cold blue to violet purple was evident.

  Mother Nature’s voice crept into my mind, I did not know that this would happen, Druid. It shames me greatly that Silvanas would think this way and be taken in by someone so consumed by their own petty hatred. I cannot take my blessing from her or her people and have it be of use to you right away—but I can tell you that for this instance and this instance only, I will lift the restriction of how many aspects you may have active to two. Consider it a trial. I felt a breath of power circulate into me before she continued in a deeper tone, I will also let them know of my extreme displeasure in my own way. Use this distraction to your advantage.

  I focused for a second on letting the rage clear from my mind before telepathically speaking to my friends, Mother Nature fucked up, and now she’s going to help us get Kayda back. She’s going to make a distraction. I’m going straight for that matching black band around his staff.

  We’ve got your back, brother. Get the damned bird back. I got shit I need her to eat for me, Yohsuke replied, surprisingly calm. We’ll keep the guards off you. James, Muu, don’t kill anyone unless you have to.

  Aww man, Muu groaned, and James just grunted.

  Bokaj took over from there, “Looks like the Lady you worship is pissed off about this.”

  “How could a lowly creature like you know what Mother thinks, Outsider?” Silvanas purred. Bokaj’s ring glowed, and he shrugged before pointing to the top of the crystal tree that shifted; the leaves I had thought were true crystal began to wilt and fall, shattering on the ground.

  I used the wailing and surprise of the elves around us to cast Aspect of the Hare, then Aspect of the Owl just as the gnomish bastard looked up as well.

  Error!

  You can only have one aspect active at one time!

  Error Lifted!

  The Primal Warrior has been granted great power by the Mother. Fight well!

  I didn’t wait to move. I completely ignored the changes sweeping through my body as I brought Magus Bane into my hand. Using my enhanced perception and superb hearing, I was able to avoid the worst of the falling crystal leaves. I stepped left, then blurred toward my target.

  I stood next to him a heartbeat later, his surprise apparent as he looked at me, but he seemed to be moving so slowly. I planted my right foot in his wrinkly face as hard as I could to try and separate it from his body. At that moment, I didn’t care if he died.

  But he only slid into the base of the tree, a small sliver of his health gone and a growing, cocky grin on his face.

  We found our enchanter and backer for the Children of Brindolla! I shouted mentally to the others.

  Moving on the staff! I heard our Fighter growl through my mind.

  Muu’s spear shot straight beneath my left arm between my body and weapon and lodged itself into the crystal tree next to Tarron’s head. The gnome cried out despite knowing he would likely be okay.

  The best part was that he dropped his staff. As he bent to collect it, an arrow struck the weapon and sent it skittering out of reach.

  Get it, goddamnit! Bokaj shouted.

  Kayda screeched, and I heard wings beating the air.

  James called to her, “Here birdie, birdie!”

  A rent in the air that sounded like a sonic boom crashed off to my left, and I happened to see the two queens standing in front of each other, casting their hands toward each other.

  Jaken materialized on my right in time to block something. I heard a dozen pings of metal on metal, and he shoved me. “Go!”

  I nodded once and pushed myself forward, my insanely increased dexterity pushing me faster with each step. I bounded at my third step, flipping over a section of slowly arcing arrows with the staff in my crosshairs.

  My fur stood on end, and I whipped myself to the right using Magus Bane like a rudder as a silvery bolt of lightning rocked the area a foot from me. I wasn’t able to get out of the way fully, and the attack struck my left leg. My HP bar dropped by a fourth, and my leg went completely numb. It felt like I had been sitting with my legs crossed watching something and had tried to get up, that all-too-familiar feeling of dead leg taking over.

  Kayda screeched in outrage at missing her target; still, our connection was closed, and that spurred me on.

  Twelve feet from the staff, it began to slide back toward the throne, then stopped abruptly.

  Take a silence, you little bastard! Bokaj chortled into our heads.

  I brought my right leg under me and skipped toward the staff. James flitted into a crowd of gathering guards on the other side, barely avoiding their swipes and stabs with their astral weapons as he began to flow effortlessly from attack to defense. He parried an
d swirled, flowing from attack to attack, then defending. His body began to glow with his ki as he moved, and the longer he went, the more ki he would gain.

  Poor bastards had no clue what was about to– CRACK! Yup, he just put his ki-enhanced fist through one of their mana shields and tossed that guy into six of his buddies.

  Finally, I brought Magus Bane up and back in an overhead chop that I strengthened with an activated Cleave. The great axe crashed on to the weapon, once, then again, and a thin barrier crumbled to dust, filling my mana back up to 500 MP! FUCK!

  That was a huge return. I flipped the weapon and activated Devil’s Hammer, the ability that let me use a blunt portion of the axe to stun an opponent. In this instance—I wanted to break the fuck out of this damned thing.

  The hammer connected with the top of the staff, and I heard the wood give, the ringing of metal on metal peeling through the air in a clear note.

  I struck once more, denting the metal deeper this time. As I went for the strike I thought might end it, a gigantic bird crashed into me and sent me careening into the wall in front of me, my great axe dislodged from my grip.

  As she slammed me into the wall, I fought to turn around in her clenched claws. I just managed to turn around and fend off her strikes and jabs with her massive beak. I cast Heal on myself and began to try and muscle the damnable collar off myself.

  Here’s hoping I whacked it well enough to loosen his hold.

  As Kayda struggled against my grasp, pecking at the armor over my stomach, stealing slivers of my health despite it, I pulled and tugged for all I was worth.

  After what seemed like a stretching eternity, I heard a single voice among the mayhem, the cacophonous crashing of spells being cast, cursing and vile words, and the sound of battle.

  “ENOUGH!” bellowed Muu, his voice somehow amplified. “I am sick of this motherfucking bird ignoring her motherfucking daddy!”

  He hefted my great axe above his head and slammed it down on to the staff before him with the full benefit of his eighty-five strength. The item cracked and resisted still. A guard came too close, and Muu flung my weapon into him and shot the offender into the wall behind him. The Fighter angrily whipped his own hammer up with a tight flourish and brought it down one final time against the staff and black ring, destroying it with a mighty grunt; the heftily enchanted weapon’s magical discharge flung him back with a muted whompf.