by Sheri Lyn
He focused back on the TV as he heard his brother curse and storm out of the room in a fit of anger. On the screen, the three men were walking carefully through the room, examining each of the boxes. One by one they ticked each box off until finally they stood surrounding the one they’d agreed on.
“You’re sure this is the one?” Rook asked softly. “I mean can’t we just walk through without opening one at all?”
“No,” Brogan stated firmly. “I don’t know why, but I know we have to open at least one. It’s a feeling inside telling me to pick this one. Maybe it’s Jericho, maybe it’s indigestion. But unless one of you two has a better idea….”
Jericho grinned for the first time in ages as he saw his mate standing in front of the box that would grant them passage through the room. “That’s it, Brogan. That’s the one. Don’t doubt yourself, my mate.”
“Did you guys here that?” Brogan asked as he spun in a circle searching for something only he could see. “It sounded like Jericho, but it was very faint.”
“What did he say?” West asked as he moved to stand beside Brogan.
“That this was the right box and not to doubt my choice.”
The three men glanced around once more before being satisfied they were alone for the time being and focused on the box once more. “What do you think it does?”
Jericho wasn’t sure which of the guys had said it as his attention was pulled back to the entrance to his room where his brother stood smiling in grim satisfaction. “I remember that look, it never ended well for whoever was on the receiving end.”
Aeron cackled in amusement, “Just be glad you’re tied up here with me. They may have found the passkey to skip the next section of hell. But that doesn't mean, my fun is over yet.”
“Where does it take them?” Jericho whispered in fear as he watched his friends open the box. He refused to look away even as he heard Aeron’s words.
“To see their mates of course.”
Chapter Fourteen
Brogan
Brogan hesitated as they peered into the box and saw something floating in the middle of the large box. He kept waiting for Jericho to tell him what to do, but his mate had gone silent again. “What do you think it does?”
West shrugged, “Not sure, but if you’re positive that Jericho said this was the correct box then I figure it’s safe.”
Rook reached out to grab the floating candle stick, when Brogan grabbed his arm and stalled him. “We need to be touching when we grab that thing. If Jericho said this was the box then it must help us some way. To me that means getting out of this room safely.”
“You think it’s like a portal or transport or something?” West moved to the opposite side of the object. “I don’t see any purpose for it, so I guess you could be right.”
“If it’s nothing then we don’t lose anything by holding on to each other, right?” Brogan moved his hand to Rook’s shoulder and glanced to West to make sure he was touching Rook too. “Okay, Rook. Go ahead and take it now.”
Brogan held his breath and waited, five seconds, then ten. “What the hell?” He murmured just as the air was sucked out of the room only to rush back in a moment later.
“Where are we?” West asked as he gasped for air. “That was intense.”
It wasn’t until then that he realized they weren’t in the room of boxes anymore. This was much, much worse. They stood in the middle of a sporting ring, the type he’d seen in old movies of gladiator fights. The stands around them were filled with hundreds and thousands of creatures of every size and shape.
“Anyone else ready to shit their pants at that sight?” Rook asked causally.
Brogan snorted at his friend’s warped humor, but he was right. There wasn’t many things in this world that scared him, but this was definitely at the top of the list.
West gulped audibly, “By all that’s holy please let the cage keep them out of the arena.”
It wasn’t until that moment that Brogan was able to focus on more than the eyes boring holes into them. West was right, there was what amounted to a large cage encircling the whole of the arena. It kept them in, but kept the demons out and that was enough for now.
“Don’t look now, but that entry way is opening. I think we have to fight our way out of here.” West said with a nod to the south end of the oval shaped space.
Brogan spun around and cursed as he saw at least a hundred humanoid bodies standing at the entrance, just hidden by the darkness that he couldn’t make anything out yet. All at once the mass of bodies ran out of the cave and formed a line in front of the three men.
“This is….”
“What the…”
“This is beyond evil….”
All three men talked over each other in their surprise. “Jericho if you can hear me, we could use some advice. Anything would be useful here.” Brogan pleaded as he stared at the clones.
“Am I seeing things or is that us over there?”
“Babe, if you’re seeing things so am I. Because I see all of us too.” West said in a whisper. “Any suggestions or ideas on what to do here?”
“Yeah, don’t die.” Rook replied sarcastically. “Think any of our supplies would work?”
“Wolves, listen to me carefully. Those creatures are just there to mess with your minds. In the midst of battle who is who will become hard to tell. Your only advantage is small. The doppelgangers will have slight imperfections. Brown eyes instead of blue. Right handed instead of left. Small things that most would overlook. Use your pack link to help as long as you can, before they figure out some way to block it.” Jericho’s words cut off abruptly.
“Brogan, are you okay man?” West asked as he stepped close to the other man.
“Yeah, just hurts.” Brogan gasped. “Really close, he was just hit for giving us clues.” He turned his head and spit out a mouthful of blood. “Through that door, he’s on the other side of the gate those things came through.”
West and Rook nodded grimly. “We’ll help clear a path. You get to him and cut him loose. We’ll follow as quickly as we can.”
Brogan closed his eyes and grimaced, “Promise me you’ll meet me there as soon as you can and in one piece. I won’t be the cause of your deaths, or live with the knowledge I led either or both of you to your demise.”
“Here, take this potion. Cadence said it was camouflage. With luck, it’ll help you get through here quickly. Once you’re through the gates, we’ll wait a few minutes and take ours and follow you. I don’t know how much of a head start it will give you, but hopefully it’s enough.”
Brogan pulled each man into a fierce hug before he stepped back and downed the contents with a shudder. “Holy hell, that’s disgusting.”
“But it worked. I have to concentrate really hard to see you.” West replied with shock.
He hated to leave them, but he knew this was his best chance to get Jericho. He’d only taken a few running steps when he heard the screams and running feet begin. He wanted to turn and look but he didn’t dare take his focus off the path to Jericho. Hundreds of Rook and West look alikes flooded around him as he dodged and weaved around them. It was the most surreal experience of his life.
“I’m sorry.” He whispered to his two friends as he finally made it out of the arena and raced down the hall. He knew nothing he ever did could repay them for what they were experiencing right now. He could feel their pain, confusion and worry every time they punched, stabbed or kicked their “mate”. The emotional toil was weighing on them heavily and the fighting had only begun. Would any of them walk out of here still sane?
“If you can hear me like I think you can, I’m almost to you. Be ready. Our friends will be coming hot on my heels, but we won’t have long. If you’re not alone in there, I need to know what to expect. Talk to me, baby. Please.”
Chapter Fifteen
Jericho
He almost gasped as he heard his mate in his head for the first time. Finally, he knew what being whole felt like. “Brogan, be
careful. My brother Aeron is in here still. He’s the oldest and meanest of my siblings. He’s directly in front of me, about five feet from the entrance. At the moment, he’s staring intently at the battle on the viewing screen. But as soon as you enter he’ll feel you and the fight will be on. You must not engage him directly. He’s too powerful a demon, even for me.
“What do I do?”
Brogan’s response came back almost instantly now. Their connection was getting stronger and stronger. “I’m not sure. I’m tied up and will be of little help to you.”
“Your sister gave me some potions and we brought some things too. I don’t know if any of it will help though.”
Jericho smiled softly a that bit of news. They just might have a chance after all he thought to himself, “Quick tell me what you have. Maybe we can make this work in our favor after all.”
“Salt, salt water, holy water, silver, iron, a knife, a gun, rope, socks, duct tape, zip ties and a lighter.” Brogan recited. “That’s all I can think of off the top of my head. We might have a few other things too.”
Jericho wanted to shout for joy. They had the bastard now. “Find a spot you can hide for a second. You’re going to make a holy cocktail.”
“A what?”
“It’s what we call them.” Jericho said in delight. “I’m going to assume that the holy water is in some type of container, right?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Jericho knew it had been a stupid question, but in all honesty a necessary one. They could have put it in a canteen and that wouldn’t have worked for this. A bottle was best. “Okay, take the top off the water, scrape a bit of the iron and silver into the holy water.”
“Iron and silver, will hurt demons?”
“Some of them yes. All will react to the holy water. By adding them together we’re tripling our chances of it working.”
“Okay, it’s in. What’s next?”
“Cut a piece of the rope. Just make it long enough to reach down to soak up the water and stick out of the top. Tape it down if you need to for it to stay in place.” Jericho paused to let Brogan catch up and focused back on the viewing screen. “Your friends are still alive, battered and bleeding, but holding their own so far.”
“Thank you for letting me know. I hate that I left them behind. Okay, done. What’s next?”
“You said you had a lighter. Right?”
“Yes, a lighter and matches actually.”
“Have I told you how much I love you recently? Break the lighter and soak the rope with as much lighter fluid as you can. When that’s done, come as close to the entrance as you can get without coming inside. If you can see my brother from your vantage point that will be even better.”
“Okay, give me a minute.”
Jericho slowly counted the seconds as he anxiously waited for his mate to let him know he was in place and safe. The tension was making him stiffen up, and since he was hanging from his wrists, it was getting a little uncomfortable, even for him.
“I’m in place. I can see him, but he’s blocking my sight of you.”
“That’s fine. This is where it’s going to get complicated. You need to make slits in the bottle but try not to let much of the water escape. You’re going to need as much of it as we can get. Once that’s done, light the rope and throw it at Aeron.”
“Okay, hold on. I knew these socks would come in handy for something.”
“What are you doing with them, you’ve got me clueless and that doesn’t happen very often.”
Brogan’s soft laughter filled his head, “I’m wrapping them around the bottle tightly to hold in as much of the water as i can while I light the bottle. It’s not perfect, but it should slow the leakage a bit.”
“Brogan Taggart, you are brilliant my love.”
“Incoming.”
Jericho smiled as he saw the bottle sail through the air and splash against his brother’s back. Instantly the water exploded out of the bottle as the lit rope ignited and burst the bottle apart. Aeron screamed in agony and fell to his knees clawing at his back as his skin boiled and peeled.
“Now.” Jericho hollered, just before he saw Brogan come barreling through the doorway. “Cut the rope over there and the chains will loosen enough to free me.”
Aeron’s screams continued to fill the air as Jericho jerked at the binds until they were loose enough for him to pull his arms free. He fell to the ground in a heap and grunted. “My legs are a bit weak. I may need some help for a few minutes.”
“Hold on, we’re here.” Rook called as he came running into the room still only partially visible. “Potion is taking a bit longer to wear off then we expected.”
“Nice to see you both again. Just wish it was under better circumstances.” Jericho winked as he was hoisted to his feet. “We must hurry. That will only keep him down for a short time and I’m sure his screams have alerted his minions.
The four men hurried as quickly as they could out of the room and down a side corridor. “Hurry, they will be looking for us in force now. This will lead to a shortcut out, but we’ll have to go through one last room first.”
“What type of room?” West asked breathlessly, “Because honestly I don't know if I can handle another one like that arena.”
“No, no more of those. I promise. But I’m not sure which room I’d prefer if I’m honest.”
“Brogan, stop for a minute. Cadence gave us a potion for energy and healing. I think Jericho could use some of both before he collapses.”
Jericho nodded his agreement, “That might be a good idea. Is there enough for you two to take as well. You look like you could use it.”
Rook squeezed his eyes closed for a second, “What hurts can’t be healed by that potion. Time will be the only cure for that one.”
Jericho nodded sadly, “I understand. I saw most of what you went through and for my part I’m sorry.”
Brogan didn’t say anything he just squatted down and started rummaging through his bag before handing Jericho a couple of the small bottles.
“Do they still taste as nasty as I remember?” Jericho asked with a grimace as he turned the bottle from side to side examining it.
“Like something died fifty years ago, rotted and then was boiled and left to rot all over again in the sun for another thirty years?” Brogan said with the first bit of humor he’d felt in hours.
“That sounds about right.” Jericho tipped the glass in a salute, “Cheers, mates.”
Chapter Sixteen
Brogan
He was almost afraid to walk through the door Jericho led them too. If his mate who was a demon was nervous, what chance did they as mortals have?
“You guys ready for this?” Jericho asked as he took a deep breath and opened the normal looking door.
Brogan, Rook, and West all gaped in astonishment at the room before bursting into laugher at the terrified look on Jericho’s face. “Babe, this is what you’re afraid of?”
“You mock me now, but we’ll see in a few minutes how you feel.” Jericho grumbled with a glare. “He who laughs last and all that.”
Brogan stepped farther in the room and took it all in. “So, what we have to find our way through the maze of mirrors?”
“Yes, the shortcut out is on the other side. It will lead us back to the forest where you arrived. Just be careful, looks are deceiving in here.”
Jericho grunted and moved to the entrance of the mirrors. “This is such a bad idea.” he mumbled as he stepped inside and there quickly became five of him. “Try to stay together.”
The three men followed him in and within seconds became disoriented and lost. Brogan saw Jericho and then he was gone. “Jericho?” he called only to turn and run directly into a mirror with a thump.
“Shit. what was that?” Rook hollered. “Did anyone see that shit?”
“What?” Brogan called back in alarm. “Where are you?”
“A creepy ass clown, with a bunch of helium balloons tied to his right hip and he was m
aking balloon animals. His smile was full of jagged bloody teeth too.”
“Clowns?” Brogan whimpered. “Seriously?”
“I saw one too.” West called. “Except mine was holding a bloody butcher knife and he was crooking his finger for me to come to him, oh, and he was a little person clown.”
“Jericho, what is this place?” Brogan demanded.
“It’s the hall of mirrors, your fears are projected and stalk you.” Jericho cursed as a loud thump filled the room. “Guys we need to stick together. Is anyone next to anyone else?”
“I see five of Brogan and two Wests. And oh fuck, way too many of those clown assholes.” Rook called as he turned and ran right into a mirror, “Shit that hurts.”
“Babe, can they hurt us?” Brogan asked as he put his hands out and took slow cautious steps feeling for the mirrors to try and save himself a smashed nose.
“This is Hell, hun. They can more than hurt you. They can make you suffer in ways you can’t even begin to imagine.”
“Brogan if we get out of this alive, do you think we can get a group discount on therapy?” Rook called in a shaky voice.
“Rook stay still. I’ve got you.” Jericho called. “Okay guys, we’re together. Now to find you two and avoid the fucking clowns that are multiplying. Are all three of you afraid of them?”
A chorus of hell yeahs filled the air making Brogan laugh. “Babe, they are the creepiest, evilest things we mortals normally face on our side of the veil.”
“Sheriff, duck now.” Jericho called. Brogan couldn’t see any of them, but he heard the thunk as something hit a mirror. “What’s going on?”
“I’m fine. Thanks man. That was a little too close for comfort.” West called to Jericho.
“Brogan, babe, sit tight and keep an eye around you at all times. A clown almost took West down. We’re coming for you.”
“Um, you guys might want to hurry. I’m kind of surrounded here and….” Brogan trailed off as his voice went higher and higher in fear as the clowns creeped closer and closer. “I’m going to die by bozo the clown. This is so not right.”