Hell's Gate: Awakening - Book One

by C. A. Greyson

  Daniel came back looking at the two of them confused. She thought it was probably something to do with how her face looked, but then she got a closer look at his face. He was visibly pale. Something big just went down. His eyes locked on hers as he sat down. She did not like his expression. “What’s wrong?” she asked, her anxiety rising. “Celeste─” Her throat seized up and she latched onto the table. She had to hold on, she was sure if she didn’t, the floor would rise up to meet her chest.

  No.

  She didn’t want to ask, it was going to kill her─ but so would not knowing. Was this how parents felt? Helpless, alone, and unable to do anything except sit and pray? I don’t want to know, please don’t tell me. But the words still came out, small and quivering. “What happened?”

  * * *

  Celeste stared at her phone, and then finally worked up the nerve to call Matilda. She looked at the time, it would be almost ten o’clock at night in Dallas, but she needed to get an update on Lain before she could relax. The girl had been found yesterday morning, behind a local grocery store. She struggled with keeping her cool when Daniel told her how they had found her. Lain was stripped completely bare and unconscious. A rape-kit had been done, and thankfully the girl had been spared from that horror. Mike explained to Daniel that whoever it was must have gotten spooked by something and took off before they were able to finish. She didn’t even want to know what it was they had been planning to do to Lain.

  Matilda picked up on the second ring. “Was beginning to wonder if I was going to hear from you today,” she croaked. Her voice sounded shakier than usual, she must have been crying. “Hey Matilda. Sorry, I had a morning meeting. How is she holding up?” Celeste asked. “Well, aside for several bumps, scratches and malnutrition, I’d say she’s doing pretty well. They aren’t sure why she hasn’t woken up. The doctors think it might just be her way of coping with what happened.” Celeste breathed out a sigh of relief. She had been holding it the entire time Matilda talked. So she was OK, at least. “Honey, I know this is a strange thing to ask, but, have you heard from Anna?” Matilda asked. Celeste gasped─ she had completely forgotten to call her when she got into the country.

  “No─ why? Has she been calling for me?” Celeste inquired. There was a long silence on the other end. Static began to rise in the background, and a small yet distinct popping came from the other end. Where had she heard that sound before? It looped, then reversed and looped again. It almost had a pattern to it. She listened intently, trying to make sense of the noise.

  Then all at once from the chaos emerged several voices, overlapping one another and babbling like a brook. It was chaotic and insect-like with screams that sounded far away. As quickly as it arrived, the noise subsided and she could hear the whirring of the machines from the hospital room where Matilda was. “Hey, Matilda, did you hear that?” “Hear what, child? Lord, didn’t you hear me? I must’ve talked for a good five minutes.” She grumbled on the other end.

  The phone popped in Celeste’s ear and she pulled the phone away wincing. “OK, ow,” She called into her phone. “Can you not do that? Whatever it is you’re doing.” Celeste said. “Anyway, I was asking if Anna called you.” Matilda sighed on the other end, “You know what, let me just call you on a landline, it will be easier to understand one another. Where are you right now?” Matilda asked. She sounded different, Celeste couldn’t place how but something wasn’t right.

  “I can hear you just fine, and it sounds like you can hear me. So, this works.” She couldn’t shake her feeling of unease. “Well, yes, but I hate these darn things, the sound just isn’t as clear. Let me call you, just give me the building you’re staying at and I’ll call you there.” Matilda wouldn’t be so adamant about wanting to know where she was. She would have been more concerned about telling Celeste about Lain’s condition. Why had she been asking about Anna? She hadn’t mentioned her in well over a year. Warning bells started going off and Anna’s words came back to her, trust no one. She hung up the phone and dialed Anna’s number. It barely rang before she answered. “Celeste, thank the gods,” Anna breathed. Celeste laughed, “Well, it’s nice to hear from you too. Sorry I forgot to call, Matilda─”

  “Did you tell her where you were?” Anna said talking over Celeste. “No, I remember you─” “Okay, good we still have time. Listen to me and listen well. You need to be on the first train to Ise in Southern Honshu. You know the place, right?” “Yeah, our summer home. But,” “Look, I’m on my way there now. Meet me in four hours outside of Iseshi station.” Celeste agreed and hung up. What the hell was that all about? She wondered.

  * * *

  18 Ise jingū

  Scott stared out of the window at all of the twinkling lights. He knew this was going to happen─ it was only a matter of time. He exhaled at length, and pressed his fingers between his brows. Celeste’s strength lately had amazed him. The past had normally resulted in a complete wipe of her memories. But she took Lain’s condition in stride. The girl was in critical condition, but she was stable at Children’s Hospital in Downtown Dallas. Celeste had wanted to fly back, but Matilda reassured her that she and Carrie would take care of Lain. It took him hours to convince her to stay, Celeste was livid. After her meeting in Downtown Tokyo this morning, he sent Daniel and Celeste to Hakone to relax. Scott smiled thinking of her tenacity. She had attended the meeting and got through the entire morning without a hitch. When had his little girl grown up?

  He felt guilty for lying to her, but he had to think about the entire world before his conscience. He hadn’t been entirely truthful about John, but he hadn’t lied either. It was best to keep things this way. Tomorrow night would be the Harvest Moon, he hoped that it signified the end of his worry for the year. They would find out. He made the arrangement for him and Celeste to continue their family tradition by visiting the Grand Ise Shrine. They usually went every so many years together to remember Kotone. What Celeste hadn’t known, was that was how she was given to the couple. He remembered it as if it were yesterday.

  Twenty years ago

  Kotone giggled and ran from Scott as she crossed over the bridge. It led into the forest that surrounded the entire shrines. They had just gotten back from their trip to Hakone and now they were visiting the inner Shinto shrine, Haikū, in what the locals called Ise Jingū. The inner part of the Grand Shrine of Ise was dedicated to Amaterasu Ōmikami, the goddess of light and order, who governed the plane of heaven. Kotone had loved the deity, so much that every year she had to walk the long path to visit the forests and feel the light wash over her. She felt deeply attached to the forest that surrounded the shrine. She knew it was against the rules to go within the shrine for the deity, only imperial descendants were allowed within the walls. It never stopped her from gazing outside at the walls that guarded the shrine.

  He laughed as he finally caught up to her─ she was peeking around a cypress tree and smiling. He swore Kotone was part woodland creature. Nature was her first love and music her second. To her, they fell hand in hand. He understood this part of her and never complained. The forest was not really his favorite place to go, but Scott had his own quirks and she always tolerated his.

  They strolled through the forest for some time, hand in hand. The forest was dense and hard to walk through, but Kotone seemed to know which way to turn and inevitably stand outside of the cleared area where Amaterasu Ōmikami’s shrine stood. It was fabled to have housed one of the three sacred treasures, Amaterasu’s sacred mirror, Yata no Kagami. It was wrapped in cloth or a box, and placed within a cupboard at the main shrine. Kotone dreamed of that mirror once and told Scott that one day their wish of a child would come true. The Goddess of Light had appeared to her and said that she would have a girl child. This child was special, ruled by both the Sun and the Moon, and to be loved without conditions.

  Amaterasu Ōmikami had stressed this last point and looked to a nearby river of stars. The stars separated the Earth from the Heavens and continued the length of the ent
ire Universe. When Kotone had turned to face Amaterasu Sama and ask what she meant about the special treatment, the goddess had vanished. Kotone was a deeply spiritual person. She believed that fate was something that was predestined and that inevitably, no matter which route you took, the roads would intertwine and you would be led back to the path you were always intended for. He loved her quiet energy and sunny outlook on life. It kept him from turning into a bitter person.

  His own father had dumped him into the military as soon as he had turned eighteen. After traveling around and ending his service, he decided he enjoyed being a consultant and started his own company. At that point, Kotone was pregnant with their first child. Celeste had never known about the other children and he didn’t have the heart to tell her. After the second spontaneous abortion, doctors explained that Kotone’s body rejected and attacked the baby as if it were a foreign body. Kotone still had faith in Amaterasu Ōmikami’s words, however she finally agreed to adopt after a few years of trying without success. It had happened on their four-year anniversary, two nights before they traveled back to Tokyo to start the long process of adoption.

  Kotone had taken her camera and wanted to walk through to snap pictures. Scott let go of her hand and said he would wait there for her to return. He knew how she got when she wandered into the woods. Scott watched her disappear and then leaned against a tree and closed his eyes.

  He wasn’t sure how long he had been out, but he woke up very stiff. The Sun was almost down. He jumped up and called for Kotone. He knew the general direction she had gone and walked forward to see if maybe he could spot her. Scott was worried that she might have twisted her ankle or been attacked by an animal. It wasn’t common here, but it still happened. He followed all of the broken twigs and bent foliage. When he spotted her shoe imprint he sighed in relief. At least he could make that out, but it wouldn’t be long before the sun went down. He called her name every twenty feet, keeping to the paths that he could see she made. Scott was so caught up in his search that he almost plummeted off the side of the cliff in front of him.

  His balance shifted from one side to the other and he fell on his ass. Shaking his head, he got to his feet. She had to have come through here, her footsteps ended at the─ oh god. His stomach clenched. He didn’t want to look over the side, but he had to know. He braced himself and peered over the ledge.

  “You know, I hear falling from really high places is a leading cause of death in humans.” Scott jumped and turned toward the voice. “She’s fine,” the man drawled standing in front of him. He was tall and thin but good-looking. Scott could tell that the guy was ripped. His face was angular but his jaw was not weak, and his long black hair fell to his mid-back. He had never seen such a walking contradiction.

  “What?” Scott asked, “Who’s fine?” “Kotone, brainiac,” the man taunted, “She’s fine, she’ll return to your realm in less than, 3-2─” there was a blinding flash and Kotone stood next to a beautiful Amazon. Scott had barely processed what the strange man said. Humans? What the hell did the strange man mean? The fair woman that stood before him had onyx hair with a blue sheen. It reminded him of a scarab. Her eyes were the most unnerving. They were completely devoid of white. It was as if they were made entirely of an iris. They were an incandescent blue─ glowing and stunning. He couldn’t help but stare.

  “Forgive my subordinate, he finds pleasure in being matter-of-fact,” the woman said. Her voice was as smooth as velvet and her clothing reflected the light. Her robes were the color of the setting sun, complete with a golden sheen. Kotone walked next to Scott and laced her fingers through his. “This is Amaterasu Ōmikami Sama,” Kotone explained. Scott bowed stiffly, doing his best to remember how long to stay down before returning upright. The Goddess’s laughter was surprisingly airy and soft. “You need not be so formal with me, Scott. Kotone-San has told me all about you and her.” Scott was taken aback by the humbleness of the woman before him. To use an honorific, to a lowly human was something special. Did I really just accept this as reality? Scott started, looking to both of these otherworldly beings. His mind was racing uncontrollably. Was he dreaming? He managed a smile and inclined his head. “It is a pleasure to be graced by your presence,” he said.

  Amaterasu-San beamed at him and took his hands into her own. “It is real, I assure you,” she said. Scott gaped at her ability to read his mind and flushed a deep red. Kotone smiled warmly at him and hugged on his arm. She had a faraway look as her hand caressed her belly. Scott looked down dazed, and then back to the two deities. Amaterasu’s voice came out knowing and kind, “You will be blessed with a child─ One that will be born of this Earth, but not from its people.”

  * * *

  John lunged forward, and was easily thrown to the ground. He was getting tired─ sloppy. Rashnu sighed as his moss creatures pinned John to the floor. He sauntered up and placed the end of his scythe to John’s neck, “I can’t let you pass, Uriel. You no longer have a soul. I can’t pass judgment, if you have nothing to judge.” Michael lounged behind them sharpening Excalibur. “You know, you could at least cheer me on,” he called back, “it’s getting a little embarrassing over here,” John muttered. Michael left and then came back, brandishing his phone. The garish pop music started playing, “Hey, I just met you─” John roared and burned through the moss creature he had been fighting. He manifested beside Michael, threw the phone to the ground, and crushed it with his boot. Michael sighed and crossed his arms, “You do know what the pause button is, right?” John rolled his eyes and walked back to Rashnu.

  “Look, I don’t know where she is, who she’s with, and what they may be doing with her. But I do know this─ the Harvest Moon is tonight, and unless I have the binding spell, we’re all fucked.” “Language,” Rashnu said irritably. He sized John up and looked to Michael. “This true?” Michael inclined his head. Rashnu pointed his index finger and repeatedly poked John in the chest while he spoke, “If you get caught─,” “I snuck around and squeezed through the crack between the thirteenth and fourteenth post where Zael sleeps every third week of the year.” Rashnu straightened up and thought about it, “He does that?” Michael and John lost it, “Dude, you seriously didn’t know that?” John asked. Rashnu’s face burned scarlet. “I thought it was common knowledge.” “Looks like someone is getting demoted this month,” Michael whispered loudly. Rashnu turned his back and stormed toward the gate entrance.

  John furrowed his brow at Michael, panic setting in. If he didn’t agree to this, it would mean that John would have to find another way through. And they were out of time─ no more second chances. They may have laughed earlier, but this was very serious. As much as he hated to admit it, he couldn’t get anything done without the Angel of Judgement allowing them in. Gabriel was in charge of safe passage, but it was Rashnu who ultimately decided who got through the gates. Rashnu paused and turned back to them, “You have ten minutes,” he growled, “Not a second more.”

  * * *

  19 the gates of hell

  Daniel rested his hand on Celeste’s shoulder as they emerged from the train. She reached up and squeezed it, letting his warmth sink into her body. It was the only bit of warmth she felt today. She was on the other side of the world, barely able to process anything that had happened. Let alone just sit, and think. Who had Celeste really been talking with earlier? Mike had said that the girl was safe, but was she really?

  She felt sick to her stomach, what had happened to Matilda and Carrie? The last time Daniel and her had visited, she never saw or spoke to Carrie. The absolute worst part in all of this was knowing that Lain was OK, but not being able to help her. It was so frustrating not knowing what was going on, but she was going to get some answers.

  Anna knew something, so hopefully she would get here soon and they could finally talk. She scanned the platform, stretching her legs. It felt great to be off of the train. She felt a little guilty for not telling her father where she went, but Anna had made it sound extremely urgent. They
had to switch over to two different lines to actually get to Iseshi station. It had taken over four hours, but they finally made it. So much for shopping in Akihabara today, Celeste thought.

  They found a bench and sat down. “How are you holding up?” Daniel asked. She looked up at Daniel and sighed. “As good as I can be,” she answered. He nodded and squeezed her hand, “We’ll find out what is going on and then hopefully make some sense of it.” She smiled at his words. Celeste was glad Daniel had come to be so close to her lately. By the end of the second week, John had stopped trying to get a hold of her. He must have realized what she saw. She still couldn’t understand why he had proposed. If he had just been honest with her she would have been hurt, yes, but at least she could have moved on and accepted the truth for what it was. People never made sense─ why couldn’t they just say what they meant. Daniel pulled her close and she sighed leaning into him. Even if things didn’t make sense right now, at least his friendship and support was there. She was lucky to have met him. They would eventually have to have the talk. She wouldn’t be one of those girls that strong a guy along. She knew exactly how painful that could be.