by Logan Jacobs
The Hellscape itself was no longer as appealing as it once was. I used to enjoy prowling around my void, and I was ravenous for the chance to be sent on missions and feed on the evil of the surface world. I wanted nothing more than to deliver the most hideous souls to the Dark King’s Hellscape, but things had begun to change lately.
The orders had changed, and the idea of returning to my void to fester didn’t hold the same deep satisfaction as it once did.
I never thought I would enjoy the feeling of the cold rain on my skin, or the way the air here filled my lungs. I was made for heat and fire, not the water and the cool air. The surface world was no place for a demon, and the form we had to take on to be up here was usually torturous and demeaning, but somehow, it didn’t feel too bad all of a sudden.
I continued down the street and followed it until I came across a rickety wooden dock that stretched out into the dark sea. The water looked as frustrated as I felt, and the downpour of rain caused waves to crash against each other and roll in over the docks.
A bird bobbed on the surface, but then it flew off when a wave hit its body.
It looked so calm and peaceful out here with only treacherous waves crashing, and no tarrish swamps in sight. There were also no shrieking minions around me, and this was not a feeling I was used to.
The notion almost made me jealous of that fucking bird.
One small thing happened that it didn’t enjoy, and it flew away without an issue. No strings attached. I bet that damn bird didn’t have someone call him a “good boy” every time he was trying to enjoy crushing a fucker’s esophagus, either.
I sat down on the edge of the drenched dock and looked out at a distant vessel rocking wildly on the darkened waves. Then I casted my eyes over the surrounding area as I continued to think about the situation I’d landed in.
To my right, the sea crashed up against the rocks that outlined the deep forest I had previously been in. Over the top of the trees, I could make out the rugged peak of one of the many mountains, and the sky above looked angry like the rain was only going to get harsher in a short amount of time.
I knew from my many missions that the clouds in this world were usually white, but I couldn’t see any white in these ones. They were a dense, dark blue in color, and some of them were turning black even as the dawn brightened around me.
To my left, past the docks, were the backs of some buildings. They all looked to have been made from stone many years ago, and I was suddenly intrigued to find out what was inside them. The water seemed to go on for miles, and I saw a large collection of docks much farther along, but even when the buildings came to an end on a distant shore, the water curved around them and continued going.
The Hellscape was vast, but the surface world already seemed far larger than what I was used to. Everything was different, and it all changed so suddenly. From the forest, to the streets, to the sea, and I knew more continued on from there.
I slipped off my jacket and rolled up the sleeves of my shirt so I could feel more of the rain as it hammered down stronger. It cooled me in a way I never knew I needed, or at least in a way I couldn’t remember ever needing.
But there was burning, too. The gold band on my upper arm was exposed now, and the many prongs that clamped it to me were burning my limb from the inside out.
It would force me to touch it.
Once I pressed the Dark King’s emblem, I would enter the portal which took me back into the Hellscape. It was as simple as that. One swift movement, and I’d be back where I belonged among the minions, but as much as I felt the need to press the emblem, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
I didn’t want to fester in my void until I was summoned again, and I didn’t want to hear one more fucking word about what a “good boy” I was.
I’d never heard of a demon escaping the Hellscape before, though. It wouldn’t be easy, and I was putting myself at a huge risk staying exposed up here on the surface world, but could it be worth it?
My Lord Captain would probably send others up to hunt me down and drag me back, but I didn’t know if he could manage to track my movements if I escaped my shackle.
I was willing to find out.
The shackle was pierced into me by prongs of hell gold that had been embedded in my sinews for longer than I could remember, but if I could remove it, I might stand a chance. I could find my own life up here and serve no one.
I could be my own fucking master.
The idea had barely settled in my mind for ten seconds before I jumped back up onto my feet and set off down the rainy dock.
I threw my jacket on again and broke into a run as the cool rain hammered my skull and reminded me what I was after. It distracted me from the burning in my upper arm, and I ignored the heat trying to recall me to my void as I kept one thing in my mind: I had to find a way to get this damn shackle off.
The heat was building, and the news I hadn’t returned would have already reached the Hellscape.
My countdown had begun.
Chapter 2
“Return to where you belong, Atticus,” my Lord Captain hissed into my head.
I did what I could to ignore his words as I continued to search for the object I needed. Anything that could potentially rip the cuff from my skin without me accidentally touching the emblem would in turn free me from the life I lived.
I used the word “life” extremely loosely.
Could I really call this eternal servitude a life? I couldn’t even recall how many eons I’d spent following orders and hunting down evil, only to be thrown back into my void once I’d siphoned them to the Hellscape.
“You’d be hunted within a day,” my Lord Captain snarled. “I’ll see to it. I’ll make sure your body is returned to me all mangled and broken, and then what use would you be to the Dark King? What will our master do to punish you, then?”
My anger only intensified the more he spoke. I knew this was his plan, too. My captain was trying to push me to my limits, but he only made me more determined to get the damn thing off me.
To rip myself from the clutches of him and the Dark King.
The end of the cobblestone street led me to a large square courtyard. There was a circular well in the center, and while I recognized the general design from the wells in the Hellscape, I assumed this one wasn’t used for throwing demons straight into the pits.
Which was exactly where I would end up if the Lord Captain got his hands on me now.
Music could be heard playing from one of the buildings around me, and it sounded as though the beings inside were celebrating something. Loud, boisterous cheers boomed out along with the music, and I wondered what had happened to make them so excited.
Something caught the corner of my eye as I walked onward through the rainy streets. It was a small black building with an orange flame that glowed through one of the front windows beside an old oak door.
I didn’t know what was behind the door, but a sign that hung from the door said the word “Blacksmith” in white writing. However, it wasn’t the word that caught my attention exactly, but the metal spikes lining the front entrance. I ran my fingers across the tip of one of the points to get an idea of how sharp it was. With enough force applied, the tip of a spike could be the perfect instrument to use, and I wasted no time in testing it out.
I slipped my left arm free from my leather jacket and lined a spike up against the bottom of the shackle on my upper arm. The spike was rough and cold to the touch, but it was just thin enough to slip underneath the edge of the gold cuff. I felt the prongs pull against the deepest tissues of my arm, and a searing pain caused my face to wince as I locked my jaw against the sensation.
“You can’t remove the band, fool,” my Lord Captain sneered. “I’ll show you what a little bitch you are when you return here. Yessss… I will enjoy punishing you.”
“Fuck you,” I growled back through gritted teeth.
The stormy sky darkened even further around me as I continued to tear at t
he shackle. The prongs inside my skin were hooked backward, almost like snake’s fangs. It was impossible to take them out without ripping my tissue and some of my skin off in the process. Each pull against the outer edge of the shackle caused the prongs on my inner arm to bury themselves deeper, too, but I knew I could bear this and much more. It was mostly the burning of the hellish metal that was torturing me right now.
It refused to let me go.
The heat and pain shook through my entire form as I wrenched at the metal anyways, and I remembered the day it was clamped onto my arm as well as the sight of blood rolling down my arm in thick streams. The same red, congealed mess oozed out of me now. I’d come to realize mortal blood was thin like water, but mine ran thicker, almost like the lava that stormed through the Hellscape.
“That shackle will be the least of your worries if you don’t get your ass back here,” my Lord Captain continued to taunt me. “Mark my words, Atticus, your head will roll. I’ll scoop out your brains and use your skull as a bowl to shit in. This is your last chance.”
I knew this wasn’t just talk. I’d actually seen him do it before, but his threat did nothing to halt my efforts. I knew how this bastard worked, and I knew he wouldn’t send other commanders, or even Hellhounds, after me unless I somehow did get this band off. He still believed I’d obey his every order in the end.
But my days of servitude were over, and I’d rather die than return.
Someone else would have to be his bitch now.
The strong scent of my blood filled my nostrils, and that was when I noticed one of the prongs had finally pulled free. Demon blood had a distinct smell, and it was nothing like the iron that mortals bled. Mine smelled more like the burning flesh and fire from down below, and it permeated the damp air around me.
In the dim dawn light, I could see the deep hole the torn prong left behind, and I knew whatever scar I left this alley with would mar me for eternity. No shackle wound would heal as easily as others might, but I didn’t give a shit.
“Aaghhh!” I roared as the hell gold ripped at my bare flesh.
I could see the indents of the prongs as they attempted to re-pierce my skin, and they fought against my efforts until I was forced to find an alternative approach.
But I refused to let them win.
I needed to get the spike in from another angle, and the only option was to remove the spike from its place on the wall so I could finish this faster.
I tore my arm from the spike on the wall as I worked out what to do. The spikes were thin at the top and thicker at the base, but I wondered whether it would put up a fight if I used all my strength to try and break it off.
Most surface world materials couldn’t hold up to my strength.
I grasped both hands around the base of the spike and pulled it toward me with all my might.
“Yes!” I growled as I felt the metal give way. “Come on!”
A high-pitched screech rang through my ears as the spike slowly bent away from its base.
It fucking hurt.
I lowered my body slowly to the ground and pulled the metal with me as I went. I could see the gap between the spike and the base, and with a final pull, the whole thing tore off.
“Shiiit…” I stood up straight with the cold spike in my hand and let out an eager chuckle. The stinging pain in my arm was almost forgotten now that I’d found a better solution.
Then a few of the windows around me lit up, and I assumed the beings nearby heard the cries and calls I’d let out. I didn’t want to draw too much attention to myself, so I slipped through the first alleyway I could see.
There was a distinct difference in temperature in this alleyway. It was much colder and harsher than the open courtyard, but this wasn’t the first thing that caught my attention. A strong, foul smell wafted around me like the inhabitants of this place used the alley for their waste. I couldn’t distinguish one particular smell because they all mixed together to make something new, but I didn’t have the time to roam around and find a new spot.
If I wanted to get this shackle off, I needed to do it now.
I ignored the stench around me and the demon blood that had started to pool on the ground beneath my feet. Then I gritted my teeth and forced the tip of the spike through the top of the shackle this time.
The cold metal hit off my shoulder and rubbed away at my more human skin. The same stinging pain returned as the prongs were forced from inside my arm, but I continued to push through the pain, the burning, and the seething taunts from my Lord Captain.
He was still snarling in my mind about all the sick shit he’d do to me once he dragged me back to the Hellscape, but half of his threats were the same kind of treatment I’d been trained to dish out.
I knew all about peeling the flesh off muscle tissue and tearing internal organs out with one unforgiving pull, and even the possibility of being eaten alive by my peers didn’t faze me. The more twisted his words became, the more I grinned against the pain, because I could hear the fury grating in his throat.
And I knew I could escape this. If I couldn’t, my Lord Captain wouldn’t have begun to panic.
I also knew I was strong enough to survive once this shackle was off. Even if I spent the next five eons running for my life, I’d do whatever it took to keep my freedom, and my Lord Captain would never be bitching in my ear ever again.
This idea alone kept me prying at the burning prongs that tore at my sinews.
I used all the force and power I had inside me to dig the metal spike further down between the pronged shackle and my skin, and an exasperated grunt left my mouth as I fought through the pain. I could hear the gradual cracking of the gold along with the ripping of my skin as half the cuff tore from my arm. Then I pulled the spike away, realigned it, and pushed it down once again.
Only two more prongs to go, and then I’d be free.
The metal blazed hotter than ever as I let out an almighty roar and slammed my fist against the base of the spike to force it into place. More congealed blood seeped down my arm, but once the spike aligned with the prongs, I wrenched it around and shoved it back and forth to tear the prongs loose. Then, finally, the last of the shackle flew from my arm, and the excruciating heat ended as it clanged onto the rain-slicked ground.
I threw the metal spike away from me and rested my tired body against the wall. It had taken all of my energy to complete that mission, but a blissful smile spread across my face as I realized I was free.
I was free from the clutches of the Dark King.
I had spent my last day in the voids of the Hellscape.
But most of all, I was free from the bullshit that used to fill my head on a daily basis, and the commandments that were constantly thrown at me by my absolute fuckwad of a Lord Captain.
My mind was silent and completely my own. I was just a rogue demon on the surface world now, but this came with its own complications.
Because of the differences between my demon form and the human form, I never possessed the same amount of energy up here that I usually lived off of in the Hellscape. The lack of blood had already caused my body to feel somewhat lethargic, but this could have been an effect of the Dark King’s emblem being torn from my being.
I couldn’t be sure.
Either way, I had to do something quickly to keep my strength up. I’d sure as hell need it if my Lord Captain did decide to make good on all his threats and hunt me down, force infernal acid down my throat, and hang me by my tongue until I blistered from the inside out.
I started off by ripping the sleeve from my shirt, folding it in half, and wrapping it around my torn-up arm to try and control the bleeding. The white cloth quickly turned a dark red as the congealed blood seeped through, but it was better than nothing.
My wounds never took long to heal, and this was true no matter where I went or what form I disguised myself with. The pain continued to throb in my arm, but I barely noticed anymore. My focus was on my next task, and hunger filled my mind.
/> Not the kind of hunger I usually thrived on when I did the Dark King’s bidding, but the raw, carnal kind that meant I needed food. I knew most surface beings didn’t hunt quite the same as we did in the Hellscape, though.
I sniffed the air and hoped I would catch onto someone edible, but apart from the foul stench of the alleyway, the pools of my blood, and the musty rain, nothing else caught my attention. Then I recalled a small animal that had passed me in the forest, and I decided this seemed like a solid solution.
If I wanted to keep going and fight off everything the Lord Captain sent after me, I needed to regain my full potential, and I had to act fast, too.
I’d arrived in this world within the forest, and it was only a matter of time before more demons would arrive by the same path.
The sky continued to thunder above me, and the droplets of rain splashed off my body as they fell. The music from earlier had stopped, and now, the only thing I could hear was the swooshing of the wind, the crashing of the distant sea, and the water that seemed as though it constantly fell from the sky.
I headed back through the grim courtyard and observed the surrounding buildings as I passed them by. Some had signs that hung by the door like the blacksmith, indicating their trade or craft, and some of the structures were made from wood and straw instead of brick. I didn’t see anything that indicated the place sold food, or I would have broken in and stolen some.
It was probably best to just get back to the forest and hunt before the town woke up and began their day.
The Lord Captain knew about my escape, and the spiteful bastard would be after me soon enough, but whether the Dark King would be informed, I had no idea.
What I did know was that I had a small window of opportunity to escape these parts and leave before any of them could close in on me. They couldn’t track me now that my shackle was off, but if they knew where I was when I removed the band, it wouldn’t be long before they sent up someone to root me out.
I thought through my options as I walked through the streets. It wasn’t hard to find the forest again, since it encroached on the outer edges of the Port of Rengfri, but I knew what this meant. It meant a sea of demons could hide out in these trees if they wanted to, and escaping this land would be a challenge.