Road to Hell

by J. C. Diem

  How fortuitous, Morax said in a pleased tone. You will need demon blood to create the rune and here is a servant waiting for us. Try not to wound him too grievously, or he will be banished back to the first realm of hell before you can use his blood.

  I pulled my dagger before the demon could become aware of us. Sneaking up behind him, I slid my hand around to cover his mouth and stabbed him in the back. I aimed low, hoping to avoid his vital organs. He let out a muffled scream then went limp. I didn’t know how long he’d remain unconscious, but with luck, he wouldn’t rouse until long after we were gone.

  Helping me ease the lackey to the floor, Sam examined the demon’s slack face and unmoving chest and his jaw dropped open. “You killed him,” he said in a bare whisper.

  “How? I thought demons were immortal.”

  “They are. It should not have been possible for you to end his life.”

  My advisors went still as they contemplated this news. Not even the hellgates could kill a demon. Defeating them meant they were sent back to the first realm of hell. I had no idea how I’d managed to kill him. The name ‘Hellscourge’ suddenly took on an entirely different meaning. Only Sam, my unholy hitchhikers and I were aware of how deadly I was to demonkind. It would probably be a good idea to keep it that way, at least for now.

  Crossing to the window, I stuck my head out just far enough to look at the wall to our left. As I’d hoped, the room where the treasure was being stored had a window as well. Looking down, I saw the row of carriages lined up neatly below us, waiting for their masters to return. The lesser demons were still missing, presumably waiting somewhere inside. Like the guards at the back of the mansion, the soldiers below had gathered into a huddle. They kept a wary eye on the front door and paid only scant attention to the carriages.

  “I have a plan,” I told Sam.

  His expression was hopeful. “Does it include us being able to escape safely?”

  “Maybe. First, I need to draw the rune, then I’ll fill you in on the rest of the plan.”

  He helped me haul the body over to the wall then the hellscribe sent the rune that I needed to paint to the forefront of my mind. Dipping my fingers into the dead lackey’s blood, I drew a complicated symbol on the wall. Nicking my palm with my dagger, I pressed it against the rune and scarlet light flared. A door appeared that was just large enough for me to squeeze through.

  Listening intently, I didn’t hear shouts coming from the lords below. It only took a small amount of power to activate a rune. Using it would apparently be a different story.

  “Can you tell me the rest of your plan now?” Sam asked.

  “Help me move the body over to the window first.” We carried it over to the opening then I outlined the plan for him.

  “There is a good chance that you have lost your mind,” he said in disbelief when I was done.

  “Can you think of a better idea?” I asked and he shook his head miserably. “Then we’ll just have to go ahead with my plan and hope we don’t get caught.” Heaving the body up to the windowsill, I checked to make sure the carriage directly below us hadn’t moved. A pair of undead nags stood in the traces. If nightmares had been hitched to the coach, I wouldn’t have contemplated what I was about to do.

  We watched the guards until they were all looking away then tossed the dead demon out through the window. He fell almost gracefully and landed exactly where we’d been aiming. The roof of the carriage was made of cloth. As I’d hoped, the corpse tore straight through it.

  Startled by the thump, the pair of horses stamped their feet nervously. The guards looked at the horses suspiciously for a few seconds. One of them muttered something and they went back to gossiping. Nightmares were far more intelligent than their undead cousins. They would have known what had happened and would have immediately raised the alarm.

  “Now it’s your turn,” I said to Sam. Clearly terrified, he climbed up onto the sill and crouched in the opening. Turning to look over his shoulder at me, he opened his mouth, but I didn’t give him time to say whatever was on his mind. “Down you go,” I said and gave him a hard shove.

  He gave a startled squeak as he fell. Landing more lightly, but far less gracefully than the corpse had, he glared up at me through the opening that had been torn in the carriage roof. The horses didn’t react at all this time. Death had dulled their sense of curiosity.

  I waved at him cheerily then turned to the magical doorway. Made of the same black stone as the wall, it didn’t have a doorknob. Putting my hand on it, I shoved it and it opened silently to reveal a swirling gray fog. The scribe had failed to mention that I wouldn’t be able to see what was on the other side.

  Left with no choice but to proceed, I silently prayed that I wasn’t about to step into a trap. The moment I stepped through the portal, the demons stopped arguing and a short hush took over. Inarticulate shouts sounded and I knew I was out of time. The door shimmered then disappeared, just as the hellscribe had warned me.

  A quick glance around made me think that I’d made a grave error. At first, I thought the room was completely empty. Then I spied a small stone pedestal near the window. Crossing to it, I saw a flat piece of metal about the size of my palm lying on it. I picked it up and slid it into my pocket just as the door burst open.

  The Demon Lord who had been standing at the podium stared at me in confusion. Several of his brethren crowded behind him, peering through the doorway over his shoulder. “Who are you?” he demanded.

  There was no point in lying. They’d figure out who I was quickly enough, so I went with the truth. “The master gate called me Hellscourge when I defeated him,” I said and smirked at their shock.

  “But, you are just a puny human.” He seemed almost offended that the legend they’d expected had turned out to be so utterly underwhelming.

  “Would a puny human be able to take down a leviathan single handedly?” Their shock increased, but I didn’t wait around for an answer. Jumping onto the windowsill, I leaped down to the carriage below, making the hole in the roof larger when I landed.

  Scrambling into the driver’s seat, Sam slapped the reins against the horses and they reared up in surprise. Turning out of formation, they bolted down the cobbled street.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Forty-Three

  It was a rough ride and my teeth felt like they were going to come loose as we rattled and bumped down the hill. I clawed my way up through the torn roof to see we were heading in the opposite direction of where we needed to go.

  Lesser demons leaped out of our way with startled shouts as the ground finally levelled out. Hearing a racket behind us, I turned to see several carriages in pursuit. Instead of being pulled by nags, nightmares were in the traces. “We need to get out of the city!” I shouted to Sam.

  Clutching the reins in a death grip, he turned a panicked look on me. “I cannot control them!”

  We careened along the street as the horses remained in a panic. They were terrified of the nightmares and felt them hot on our heels. The carriage scraped the wall when we came too close to a building. Reaching an intersection, we narrowly missed colliding with another carriage. The driver shouted insults after us as we continued on.

  Running in a blind panic, the nags cut across the city until we reached another gate. Word had spread and the rusty wrought iron barriers were slowly swinging shut. “We are not going to make it!” Sam shouted.

  Calculating the narrowing gap, I sincerely hoped he was wrong. I held my breath as we closed the distance. The gate gave a tortured groan and sparks flew from the metal as we scraped past. Then we were through and the horses were galloping madly along a well-worn road.

  From the resounding crash behind us, it appeared that some of the other carriages hadn’t managed to stop in time. Nightmares neighed in fury at being thwarted. They wanted to catch us almost as badly as their masters did.

  Clambering out of the carriage, I thumped down onto the hard seat next to Sam. It took both of us hauling on the r
eins to change our direction. Leaving the path, we cut across the wasteland towards the road where we’d first entered the city.

  Looking back, I saw the palace perched on top of the hill in the center of the city. Scarlet light glowed from inside a dome on the tower. As long as we kept the beacon at our backs, I was confident that we’d be able to find the master gate again.

  My plan worked and several hours later, we neared the town where we’d hitched a ride on the captain’s carriage. My elation faded when we found our way blocked by a thousand demon soldiers. Seeing the blockage, the horses slowed and came to a halt. Standing up so I could see in all directions, a cloud of dirt behind us alerted me that we’d been followed.

  “Does the scribe know of a rune that will help us this time?” Sam asked.

  After a quick mental consultation, I shook my head. “Nope. We’re screwed.”

  Do not be so hasty, Morax said slyly. There is something you might be able to try.

  “If you know something that will help us, now would be the time to spill it,” I said.

  When a demon conquers a gate in all nine realms and manages to escape from hell, they are elevated to the position of a Lord. As a reward, they can call on a nightmare as a means of travel whenever they return to hell. Since you have defeated the master gate, perhaps the same privilege will be extended to you.

  “At this point, I’m willing to try almost anything,” I muttered. It was a longshot, but I was just desperate enough to try it. “I, Hellscourge, have conquered the master gate and I require a nightmare to carry me to safety.”

  I said it loudly and Sam flicked me an amused look at how pompous I sounded. I felt like an idiot for a few seconds, then a pair of scarlet eyes appeared in the distance. A shadowy body coalesced into a galloping nightmare that skidded to a stop next to our carriage. Shadows writhed around it and I realized they were part of its flesh. Rearing into the air, it made a sound that was a cross between a neigh and a roar of defiance. It clearly wasn’t happy that it had to serve me.

  “I cannot believe you plan for us to ride that thing,” Sam said in a faint voice.

  “Let’s get out of here before the Demon Lords catch up to us.” It seemed that the regiment of soldiers had been put in our path to stop us. They hadn’t made any move to attack and were just acting as a blockade. The carriages were almost on top of us and we had to move fast.

  Jumping to the ground, I opened the carriage door and hauled the body of the lesser demon out. Sam clambered up onto the nightmare and I handed him the corpse. He dragged it across his lap then held his hand down to me. He was stronger than he looked and managed to pull me up behind him. I didn’t have reins or any way to control the nightmare, but it immediately took off at a gallop.

  Anguished shouts came from behind us when our pursuers realized we were getting away. The soldiers in front of us braced themselves for impact as we headed straight for them. Proving it was far more than just a shadow, the nightmare exuded some kind of invisible force field. Soldiers were thrown to the left and right as we barreled our way through them.

  Holding on for dear life, I looked back to see the small army of demons desperately chasing after us. My smug smile withered and died when a carriage burst through their ranks. Larger and far more ornate than the other coaches, four nightmares were pulling it. They strained in their traces, striving to catch up to us. A sense of malevolent evil exuded from the carriage and I knew who was inside it.

  “Go! Go!” I screamed at our ride. The nightmare put its head down and galloped even harder. We streaked past the town and the distance that had taken us a couple of hours to walk passed by in mere minutes.

  “There is the gate!” Sam shouted, drawing my attention away from the slowly gaining carriage.

  Willing the nightmare on, I thumped my feet into its sides. It didn’t have breath to draw, but it put on a burst of speed anyway. “Open!” I shouted at the master gate. For a long, agonizing moment, nothing happened. Then the gargoyles stirred and a crack appeared in the wrought iron.

  Only a hundred yards behind us now, the sound of the carriage’s wheels was overwhelming. I risked a look back to see great, glowing red eyes peering at me through the dark curtain. That one malevolent glance froze me to my core. Then we were streaking through the gate. It clanged shut before the carriage could slip through behind us. The nightmares roared in frustration and pulled up moments before they could smash into the barrier.

  I looked back to see the curtain twitch then slide shut. Apparently, not even the master of hell itself could compel the gate to open. It had to be conquered before it would obey orders.

  While it hadn’t been easy to defeat the gate, I felt a small kernel of doubt begin to fester inside me. If the master of hell was stronger than any demon in existence, then why hadn’t he conquered the master gate that ruled all others? A sense of doom took up residence in the back of my mind and I couldn’t shake it no matter how hard I tried.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Forty-Four

  “We made it,” Sam said incredulously. “I cannot believe that we are still alive.”

  My heart was lodged in my throat, making it impossible to reply. We galloped across the shadowlands at a slightly less breakneck speed. I caught a brief glimpse of the gigantic corpse of the leviathan in the distance then it was lost in the mist.

  I didn’t need to tell the nightmare where to go. It headed straight for the portal that would take us back to our world.

  “Should we not be slowing down by now?” Sam asked uneasily when the alleyway appeared.

  The passageway closed around us before I could respond. Just when I thought we would crash into the door, it was thrown open. Only yards away from the exit, the nightmare skidded to a stop and bucked us off.

  Sam, the corpse and I sailed through the air. Nathan caught me and Leo caught Sam, but Brie just stared at the corpse of the lesser demon as it swept past her. It made it halfway across the road before it hit the asphalt. Rolling and bouncing, it finally came to a stop in the far gutter. At first glance, it could almost pass for a drunk person. On closer inspection, it could only be taken as a monster.

  “Are you alright?” Nathan asked. His eyes raked over me, searching for injuries as he put me back on my feet. Seeing the tear in my jeans, he sucked in a breath. “You are injured.” He sent an accusing look at Sam, as if it had been his fault. The imp withered beneath his glare and I was glad my jacket hid my other wound.

  “I’m okay,” I said before he could unload his anger. “I’m sure a kiss from you would fix me,” I muttered not quite quietly enough. His glare faded and an intense look entered his eyes. For just a moment, his mouth curved upwards in a smile. Then it was lost beneath his worry.

  Still reeling from our close call, I turned to see Brie holding a demon lackey by the throat. Now I realized why she’d made no effort to catch the corpse. Fresh blood had been added to the rune and a gash had been made on the demon’s palm. “What’s going on?” I asked. “Why did you open the door?” They couldn’t have done it without the demon, but none of them could pass into the shadowlands.

  “Sophia was sent a vision that you were in trouble,” Nathan explained. “As always, she was correct.” At the speed the nightmare had been racing, we would have received broken bones, or worse, if the door had still been shut when it had bucked us off.

  “Now that you are back, we should leave before anyone becomes suspicious,” Brie said.

  My legs were wobbly, but I was pretty sure they’d support me. I crossed to the door and pulled it shut then scraped my dagger across the rune to deactivate it again. The scarlet light promptly flickered and died and the rune faded until it was almost invisible. Nathan took a step towards me to whisk me back to our base, but I pointed at the body. “We need to take the corpse with us.”

  “Why?” Leo asked.

  “You’ll see,” I replied mysteriously. With a shrug, he trotted across the road. After a long stare at the demon, he picked it
up and threw it over his shoulder then returned to take Sam by the hand. As a group, we teleported to Sophia’s store.

  Brie’s captive started screaming as soon as we materialized. She ended the noise with her sword. I barely felt it when the lesser demon’s essence was drawn inside me. After everything I’d been through, one more evil soul wasn’t much to worry about.

  Leo dropped the body he’d been carrying to the floor and we gathered around it.

  “I told you I’d bring you back a souvenir,” I said to the teen.

  He slanted me a look. “How very thoughtful of you. I must admit, this is not quite what I’d expected.”

  “They didn’t exactly have any stores that sell t-shirts or coffee mugs.”

  He gave me a half smile. “The demons are missing out on a lucrative enterprise.”

  Sophia moved to stand beside me. “Is this how demons look when they are in hell?” she asked.

  “Yep. That’s also how they look to me when they possess a vessel.” He was still wearing his threadbare black sackcloth outfit. It looked like something peasants used to wear in medieval times.

  “He appears to be dead,” Brie observed. “All celestial beings are immortal, including demons. How is this possible?”

  I shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  “Tell us everything that happened after you entered the shadowlands,” Nathan said.

  I was filthy, tired and starving, but I couldn’t keep them in suspense. We all took a seat at the table. Sophia entered the kitchen long enough to bring back food and a pot of tea. I managed to scoff down a plate of sandwiches and two cups of tea during my monologue. Sam added a few facts here and there whenever I left anything out.

  “What is this object that the new master of hell is hiding?” Sophia queried when we’d finished our tale.

  Reaching into my pocket, I showed them the piece of metal. Tarnished silver, it had an intricate pattern engraved on it, but I couldn’t quite make out what it was supposed to be. Like my bracelet, the images were too faded to be seen clearly. The edges of the metal were jagged and reminded me of a jigsaw puzzle.