by John Everson
“No,” Helone said. “I did not lie to you about your friend Alex.”
“But she is dead; you’ve got her fucking skin hanging right there.”
Helone shook her head. “Her old skin is there, and today she wears a new one, just as you wear a new cock.”
“But she spoke to me from it,” Joe said. “She was just a spirit.”
“That… was a lie,” Helone smiled. “A little treat for your master.”
She rubbed the taut skin of her belly. “Let’s just say you cooked me breakfast after a hot night.”
“So that wasn’t Alex?” he said.
She shook her head. “No, only your fears given focus.”
“Why would you do that to me?” he whispered. He was still shaken inside from the things Alex’s ghost had said. Joe suddenly felt her invisible hold on him release, and sprawled backwards to sit on his ass on the floor.
“Your emotion gives me strength,” she said. “It feeds me.”
Joe noticed the sheen of her flesh was so vibrant today, it almost looked as if she’d been rubbed in oil.
Helone held out a hand, which he refused to take at first. But the look in her eyes made him think better of resisting. She pulled him to his feet, and then retrieved something from the couch. A black cape or shawl. She draped it around his shoulders. And then she put her hands behind his neck. He heard a faint click as something tightened around his throat. Joe reached up and felt it with a sinking stomach. She’d fastened a collar around his neck.
“And to repay you for your gift, I have something for you.”
“A robe and a collar?” Joe asked. His voice did not sound thankful.
“No,” she said. “But we’ll need to go out and I thought you’d be more comfortable wearing something. I will not have you walk without a chain, for your own safety. If you’d like, I can take the robe away.”
“No,” he said quickly. “Thank you.”
Helone smiled. “That’s better. Come along.”
She fastened a chain to his neck and then turned and led him out of the room like a dog. They walked down a hall to the door and a moment later they were walking down the demon streets. The buildings all around them seemed grey and indistinct, as if Helone was leading him through a watercolor painting.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“Patience, pet,” she said.
And then just ahead, he saw a mob of demons gathered around a building topped with a gothic spire. He recognized the place instantly. It was where he’d arrived in this world just the day before.
“Are you sending me home?” he asked.
Helone laughed. “Oh no,” she said. “We’re going to spend many, many enjoyable nights together. “But I’ve got something that might make your mornings brighter.”
She pulled his chain and the mob of demons parted without a word to let them through. They walked up a flight of stairs to an ancient-looking wooden door. It was carved in a complicated filigree surrounding what appeared to be an oval of seven planets. In their midst was a man, legs together, arms outstretched.
Helone pushed the door open and the demon guarding it stepped aside to let them pass.
CHAPTER 63
“THAT WAS JOE!”
Alex pointed at the door of the House of Doors ahead. “He was right there, did you see him? He was with Helone – she took him inside the door!”
Ariana looked at her with a frown. “Who’s Helone?”
“The demon I stayed with before I ended up in the skin factory.
“Wishful thinking,” Ariana said. “What would he be doing here?”
“No, it was Joe, I’m sure of it,” Alex said. She could barely contain her excitement. She had almost given up hope of ever seeing him again. With her internal voice, she whispered, “Malachai, that was him, wasn’t it?” The demon shifted inside her, and then a low voice said simply, “Yes.”
Alex turned to Elotan. “Please take us in there?”
The demon shook its head. “Do you not see the mob there at the door? They are all waiting their turn to get in. If we get in line now, it would take days before we got inside.”
“But Helone – the demon who was with Joe – she walked right in with him,” she said. “Maybe they will let you in since you have us? You’re obviously not here to get another human.”
“There is no way,” Elotan said. “Helone is the Queen of the Doors. She can go where she pleases.”
“Please,” Alex begged. He yanked on her chain and the collar turned her plea to a gurgle. When he released it, she whispered. “If you just try, I promise, I will do whatever you ask.”
“You will do that anyway,” he said. But his eyebrow raised. “Anything?”
She nodded.
Ariana shook her head with a knowing grin. “You don’t know what you’ve just agreed to,” she said under her breath.
“Follow me,” Elotan said, and strode towards the throng of demons. When one blocked his path, he waved the Curburide aside. “I’m taking these to the Queen of the Doors,” he said.
“I can take them off your hands for you,” a grizzled demon offered. There were grey scars across the black skin of his chest. And his “demonhood” appeared kinked and misshapen. Alex had a pang as she realized the danger here. If the crowd decided to divest Elotan of his wealth, she could end up in a lot worse hands than Elotan.
“Back off,” Elotan growled. “Unless you want to face the wrath of the Queen of Doors. She’ll boil your head and mine if I don’t get these two to her now.”
At the mention of Helone’s title, the older demon backed up a step. Then he motioned to the black form next to him. In a moment, Elotan led Alex and Ariana up the stairs.
“That was easier than I thought,” he admitted. “But I don’t know how we’ll get past the guard inside.”
“Just tell him to tell Helone that Alex is here to see her.”
“What makes you think she’ll want to see you?” Elotan said. “You escaped her house.”
“That alone will make her come; and hopefully she’ll bring Joe with her.”
“And then what?” Elotan said.
“And then you can do what you want with me,” Alex said. “But I have to see Joe, even if it’s only for a minute.”
The guard inside looked at them with a frown. “You are not in line,” he said. “You are not even on the list.”
Elotan shook his head. “I’m not here for the door, I’m here to see the Queen of the Doors.”
The guard opened his mouth to say something, but Elotan quickly added, “Helone is waiting to see Alex. Please just tell her Alex is here.”
The guard looked unsure, but after a second, he said. “Wait here.”
The door closed, leaving them still outside, at the top of the steps.
“This better work,” Elotan said.
A moment later, the door opened, and the guard ushered them inside and pointed at a small side room next to the entryway.
“She’s busy at the moment. Wait there.”
They moved to stand against the wall of the small room, and a moment later, the guard let in a line of five demons, who walked single file past them and turned the corner. Presumably they were going to the door between worlds.
Ariana shook her head and looked at Alex with a smirk.
“I can’t wait to see what Elotan’s going to do to you tonight.”
Then she leaned against the demon’s arm and brushed her cheek against his bare skin. “Can I help?” she asked.
He answered her with a sharp yank of the chain, and Ariana yelped as the studs of the collar bit into her neck.
They stood in silence after that.
CHAPTER 64
CHEYENNE LEAPT UP from the divan and shouted, “Joe!” She crossed the room in three steps and threw
her arms around him. He returned the affection clumsily, but his hug was solid.
“You’re okay!” he said. His grin was so wide it looked silly.
Cheyenne nodded. She lifted her arm. “It hurts to move it a bit, but it’s attached! I woke up and it was back to normal. Can you believe it?”
Joe nodded. “Actually, I can,” he said. A shadow passed over his face. “I’m glad we ended up coming through,” he said.
“Now we just need to get home,” Cheyenne said.
Joe raised both eyebrows. “Yeah, that may be the tricky part.”
“Let’s not talk of leaving, just yet,” a dark-skinned woman said from behind Joe. Cheyenne realized, all at once that this woman – no, demon – held a chain that was firmly latched to Joe’s neck. Elation suddenly turned to a cold yawning pit of despair. She was healed and reunited with Joe; but they were prisoners of the demons. And God knew what tortures lay in store for them in that situation. It may have been better for her if she’d bled to death last night.
“My name is Helone,” the demon woman said, holding out a delicate, long-fingered hand. As Cheyenne grudgingly accepted it, her palm tingled as her skin slipped across the silken touch of the demon. A sensual tremor convulsed in her groin just from the faintest press of the demon’s skin. Cheyenne opened her mouth to reply, but felt strangely confused, disoriented. It was difficult to speak.
“You and Joe will be guests in my house, tonight,” Helone said. “You have had a difficult time, and I would like to get to know you before you talk of leaving.”
“I’ve seen the skulls on your mantel,” Joe said. “And the skins in your parlor. Will we ever talk of leaving? Or leaving alive, anyway?”
Helone yanked hard on his chain and Joe’s head jerked backwards as he choked.
“Don’t,” Cheyenne said, yanking her hand away from the demon’s and slipping both arms around Joe’s neck to grab the chain from behind him. She pulled it hard until there was slack between where she gripped the chain and Joe’s neck.
The demon smiled and stared hard at Cheyenne. Those eyes; they didn’t seem human.
Because they’re not! Cheyenne’s inner voice screamed. She will eat you alive.
“I won’t give him anything he can’t handle,” Helone said. Her voice was a shark’s whisper. “I enjoy having houseguests. I wouldn’t want to lose one prematurely.”
“Just let us go, Helone,” Joe said. “You got your kicks last night. There’s nothing more to gain from me.”
The demon laughed. “You have so much more to give, Joe. You have no idea.”
“I am not giving anything again,” Joe said. His voice was low and angry. “You can’t make me do that.”
“Oh, I won’t have to,” Helone said. “You will make the choice yourself. After all, you are a man.”
“What are you talking about?” Cheyenne asked. She pulled back from her embrace of Joe so that she could see his face. He looked more than angered. He looked bitter. Mad at himself as much as the demon?
“Let’s not have this conversation here,” Helone said. “We can talk over dinner. You should enjoy the fruits of the Curburide before you talk of leaving us.”
The demon reached out and took Cheyenne’s hand again. This time her touch was not soft, but firm. Cheyenne could feel her fingernails scrape the sides of her wrist. They felt dangerous as razors.
“Come with me,” Helone said. She pulled them forward, out of the small room and into the hall.
And the earth moved again.
Cheyenne saw a demon stumble in front of them, and then suddenly the floor beneath them raised and lowered and she felt her own feet leave the ground. Somewhere a scream echoed, and then was joined by a hundred voices all shouting different words, but all crying out in alarm.
Joe toppled into Cheyenne and they were suddenly both entangled on the floor. The shaking did not stop, but instead increased; Cheyenne felt as if she were being tossed in a frying pan, the bottom shaking fast over invisible coals.
Joe grabbed her by the shoulders and held fast. Cheyenne returned the embrace, clutching him as if he were the rock that could save her from the avalanche. The world around them seemed to shiver with shadows and light. She could barely focus on Joe’s face as the tremors escalated.
But then she looked beyond Joe’s shoulder and saw that the demon had fallen hard; Helone’s body had slid all the way across the floor to stop at the legs of the divan that Cheyenne had been sitting on earlier. The demon no longer held Joe’s chain.
Cheyenne grabbed it and pulled the loose end towards her. When she had the end in her grasp, she yelled in Joe’s ear above the surrounding din. “Get up, now!”
She thrust her hand with the chain in his face so that he understood, and then struggled to roll to her feet. In a moment, Joe’s hands were on her waist, both helping to support her and to steady himself as he got to his feet. The rocking of the world seemed to be slowing, and while things were still crashing to the floor all around – rocks and furniture and more – somehow they regained their feet.
“Come on,” Joe said and took her hand as they stumbled out of the corridor and into a larger room. There were demons and humans alike rolling about on the floor, and others staggering back and forth across the bodies, trying not to fall down.
In the center of it all was an arch of blackest stone. There were symbols carved in it, but Cheyenne couldn’t tell what they represented.
But she could tell this; there were people stepping out of the air beneath the arch. People who had not been there a moment before. People who fell onto a growing pile of humanity writhing back and forth on the still-shivering floor before it.
“That’s it,” Joe pointed. “That’s the doorway home!”
CHAPTER 65
“APPARENTLY HELONE wants to see you,” Elotan said, as they walked through the doorway into the hall that held the door between worlds. “I’m surprised they let us in. If I was you, I would be afraid.”
“Why do you say that?” Alex asked. “Helone was nice to me. Mostly.”
“And you made her a fool. She will not forget that. Believe me.”
“But I thought I’m yours now; so you’ll protect me, right?”
Elotan opened his mouth and laughed. It was about the most un-amusing sound Alex had ever heard in her life. A chill ran up her spine.
All around them demons milled; most appeared to be headed in the same direction – down a corridor and turning to the right. There were almost as many heading back in their direction, but the difference was striking. The line moving forward was made up strictly of demons. The line that returned and passed just a couple feet away from them was a procession comprised of demons with humans. The demons looked ecstatic; the faces of the humans – were locked in masks of terror.
“Where are they taking them all?” Alex asked.
“The bloodmines, the skin shops, the lust stages… some will be private toys, for those who can afford it.”
“I thought you didn’t have money here.”
Elotan shrugged. “Something always changes hands.”
Ariana ran her hand up Alex’s shoulder and made a face of exaggerated innocence. “Just imagine how many hands you could end up in. And how many of them might have knives.”
There was a rumble as Alex raised her hand to slap Ariana away...
… and then she found herself lying on the floor. There was an explosion. The force of the blast smashed Alex and Ariana and Elotan to the floor. All around them the air was filled with shrieks of pain and fright, and Alex struggled to put her palms flat on the ground to hold her body in place as the earth and walls all around them shook. Chunks of rock and tile fell everywhere to the ground, a pelting, dangerous hail.
But Alex realized almost instantly that while she was possibly about to be killed, she also had what might be her only chance
to get away.
“Move,” Malachai demanded from deep inside her. “Get to the door.”
She could feel him feeding her energy and she didn’t hesitate. Alex leapt up and yanked her chain. Elotan had let go of both chains as he grabbed at the wall to regain his footing. The floor continued to buck and roll beneath them all, but Alex didn’t waste a moment. She pulled the chain away from Elotan’s reach and turned to run.
A tremor tilted the earth and she fell into the wall, gouging a gash in her arm. The pain only galvanized her. Alex half-ran, half-stumbled around the corner to the next room.
“Wait,” Ariana yelled. “You can’t leave us!”
Alex would have laughed at that if she’d had the time. But instead she ran into the room beyond. A heavy rumble threw her off her feet again, but she pushed herself back up. She was in a long, wide room, and in the center was a throng of people and demons. Most were lying on the ground, but some were staggering to or from an archway that dominated the center. It was tall and carved out of black stone and seemed to be vomiting people out of its hollow. They fell from it in a constant stream to land on top of others already prone on the ground.
Demons picked up some and threw them away from the center. That was the source of as many of the screams as the earthquake. One man fell right on his arm and Alex could see the bone break; his sleeve suddenly bent in a completely wrong direction for an arm to move. The man let out a gut-wrenching cry.
And then, as Alex forced her eyes away from that man’s pain, she saw the man she’d forced her way in here to see.
“Joe!” she called for the second time in five minutes. He and a woman were running toward the archway. Alex didn’t waste breath – she began to run after him.
“Stop, damnit!” a voice screamed from right behind her.
Ariana. The bitch wasn’t letting her go. Alex tried to run faster, but suddenly the collar tightened around her neck, and she choked.
Ariana had grabbed a swath of the chain. Between that and the moving earth beneath her feet, Alex slipped and went down.
Ariana fell with her, and then rolled on top of Alex, leaning in until they were almost nose to nose. “You are not going anywhere,” Ariana hissed. “Elotan has plans for you.”