by Holly Dae
Malakha sighed as she made her way down the long hallway, being careful not to step on any splinters in the wood. When she was at the end of the hall, she still hadn’t drawn any of the harpies’ attention, particularly Nancy. Maybe it was too early for the harpies to be up, so she decided it was time to check the rooms.
Malakha started with the door closest to her. The door was already cracked, and Malakha hesitantly pushed it outwards some. She poked her head in first and then slipped all the way inside the room. She guessed the room belonged to a harpy, but if she didn’t know any better, Malakha would say it belonged to a very messy teenage girl. Clothes and items were lying everywhere in the room. Upon closer inspection though, Malakha realized they were more like trinkets, most of it silver and shiny or with something silver and shiny on it. She may not have to find any of the harpies at all. She began to look through the items, shifting the trinkets aside with the scythe just in case there were more than just shiny trinkets in the mess. She did find shoes, but most weren’t in pairs and the ones that had both shoes weren’t practical.
When Malakha was sure there were no shoes she could take from the first room, she went on to the next room. It was less messy than the first and didn’t take as long for Malakha to sort through. She still didn’t find any shoes.
The next room was very different than the first two. Although it was messy and filled with things that shined, most of the trinkets were attached to items of clothing. The harpy this room belonged to appeared to have tried to keep the clothes in her closet at one point, but gave up after accumulating so much stuff that none of it would fit. The result was massive piles of clothes ranging from shiny silk blouses to silver chains and belts to shoes with shiny buckles on them.
Malakha began to climb over the mess and search through the piles. The first pile took forever to get through and though she found shoes, none of them were as practical as the ones she had seen Nancy wearing. Malakha would have even been fine with a pair of tennis shoes, but those weren’t typically shiny.
Malakha almost gave up as she climbed off the first pile. Even if the shoes were under all this mess, they weren’t worth searching for and risking running into one of those harpies. She decided to search one more pile though and turned around, stepping over clothes and kicking items out of her walkway. Just as she was about to climb on top of the next pile, she found she didn’t need to because laying right in front of the pile were a pair of boots, not like the ones Nancy had been wearing, but more practical than the many stilettos and flip flops and sandals she had been coming across. They were black, with a long sliver chain wrapped around the ankle and from the chain dangled various charms in shapes Malakha didn’t recognize. Malakha could see why they would appeal to the harpies. Undoubtedly they made noise when walked in.
Malakha knelt down to pick up the boots and then jumped back upon finding that the boots weren’t just laying on the ground. They were on something’s feet. Upon closer inspection, Malakha realized that the pile of clothes was actually sitting on top of a mattress and someone was lying under the covers that were covered by the pile. Her feet were sticking out from underneath.
Malakha sighed, thinking about checking another room, but chances were she wouldn’t find anything. She knelt down, briefly wondering why in the world someone would sleep in their shoes, put her scythe down, grabbed the boot and unzipped it before gently, very gently, slipping off the shoe. She moved to do the same for the next, except it wouldn’t come off as easily since the zipper was stuck. Malakha rolled her eyes as she tried to ease the shoe off anyway. She was starting to feel like she was Dorothy in some twisted version of The Wizard of Oz.
Malakha tried the zipper once more and only got it down three fourths of the way. Sighing, she tugged a little harder on the boot, a little too hard judging by the fact that she fell backwards into a pile when the boot finally came off. The harpy began to stir and Malakha froze, hoping that the woman would fall back asleep and not notice that her shoes were missing.
Malakha didn’t have that kind of luck.
The harpy sat up, causing part of the large pile of clothing to fall off the bed. While she stretched, Malakha grabbed the boots and the scythe, not wanting to stick around for the temper tantrum she knew was coming. From what she knew of mythology, harpies did not like when people stole their shiny trinkets from them.
It took Malakha twice as long to get halfway down the hall, because she was hopping on one foot as she struggled to pull on one of the boots. She hadn’t even bothered to look at the size before she left and was thankful that they were half a size too big rather than too small. Then she pulled on the other boot, the one with the stuck zipper, and was just about to yank it up the rest of the way when she heard the angry screech. Stealing from a harpy was definitely a no-no.
With both shoes on, which meant Malakha no longer had to watch where she stepped, Malakha raced down the hall and down the steps, rounding the corner into the next hall and then down the hall again. She was halfway down the steps to the next floor when she heard the flapping of wings behind her.
Malakha turned around just quick enough to clumsily swipe in front of her with the scythe. While Malakha didn’t hit the harpy, just swiping with it was enough for the harpy to pause and land a few steps ahead of her. It was enough time for Malakha to get down two more steps before the harpy lunged at her. Malakha fell down the rest of the steps in her effort to dodge the beast’s claws.
She landed on her back and the harpy wasted no time pouncing on her. Malakha lifted the scythe in front of her, using it as a rod to block the harpy’s talons. The harpy gripped the top of Malakha’s hands trying to force the scythe back so that her talons could reach Malakha’s neck. She was strong. Not as strong as Nancy but stronger than Malakha. The harpy’s talons were centimeters from Malakha’s neck when the harpy paused and then let up on the force she was pressing on the scythe. She was looking at something. Malakha wasn’t sure what, but decided she didn’t care as she pushed the harpy off her and into the stairs. Then she stood up and put the scythe at the beast’s neck.
That was a mistake.
The harpy let out another loud screech and Malakha instinctively knew it was a call for help. It also meant that Malakha needed to get out of there.
Malakha backed away, nearly slipping on something that was on the floor. She looked down and saw that Julius’ silver pocketknife had fallen out of her pocket. So that was what had distracted the harpy earlier… Malakha picked it up and raced through the hall that led to the foyer. Once she was in the foyer, Malakha didn’t stop to see how it was different from home, so it wasn’t until she got to the exit that she noticed there was no door, but a large board was nailed to the entrance, effectively trapping her.
Malakha only glanced at the scythe in her hand and figuring she didn’t have much to lose at this point, she lifted the scythe and struck the board with it. It sliced neatly in half down the middle vertically. The two halves were still nailed to the door though, so Malakha sliced one of the halves. The cut caused the half that wasn’t nailed to the frame to fall and Malakha wasted no time slipping through the opening and down the broken concrete steps.
The fact that she was out of the building didn’t deter the harpies though, and three flew out the opening after her, even as she was running away from the building. Hearing the wings behind her, Malakha turned back around and stood her ground. Then when one of the harpies was close to her, she raised the scythe and slashed it in an arch in front of her. The harpy she struck let out another screech, louder than the screeches from before, and then dissipated in a dusty smoke cloud.
Upon seeing what happened to their companion, the other two harpies stopped at a distance, screeching into the night sky before flying away. Malakha didn’t look to see where they had flown to and decided to put as much distance between herself and the harpies as she could.
Chapter Thirteen
Proposition
Malakha didn’t stop until she got
to a road a little ways from the old building and even then, she only paused to remember which way she went to get to town in her own world before heading in the same direction. As she walked, she started to feel more and more like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and half expected to run into a scarecrow.
Malakha didn’t run into a scarecrow.
But she did see something flying toward her from the distance and without even thinking about it, she knew it was Julius flying on the zombie eagle that he had tamed. It began to descend the closer it got to her and finally landed right in the middle of the road in front of her. The bird let out a loud screech, stretching out its wings before resting them. Then Julius jumped off its back.
Malakha opened her mouth to tease him about how he always managed to find her when she made her way into hell, only to be surprised into silence when he grabbed hold of her shoulders and said, “So you did get away from Lucifer. I wasn’t sure you had.”
Malakha took a step back, not because she was uncomfortable being close to Julius like this, but because she was a little too comfortable.
“Worried?” she asked.
“Concerned. You don’t exactly have a track record for following my instructions,” he said as he gave her a once over. “You’re much more… clothed than the last couple of times you came here.”
“Disappointed?” Malakha asked
“Yes. It was a good view. But I guess it’s a good thing since you lost my coat.”
Malakha rolled her eyes, even as she looked him up and down to confirm that his trench coat was indeed missing, and said, “Get used to it.”
“Used to it?” Julius asked. “You mean coming to Hell is going to be a regular thing for you?”
“Not if I can help it,” Malakha determined. “I need your help again.”
“When don’t you?”
Malakha ignored his comment and continued, “It’s getting worse at my school. The other day a group of students started a bonfire like they were worshipping Lucifer or something and one of them tried to dive into it from the top of the school.”
“And?”
“What do you mean ‘and’?”
“I mean you look like you have something else you want to add.”
Malakha sighed. “And now everyone at school thinks I’m crazy or possessed because I talk to myself apparently. Not like I can tell them I hear the voice and laughter of a demon from Hell.”
“So what? The worst they can do is talk about you.”
“Or exorcise me.”
Julius scowled. “I’ve heard of those. Ouch.”
“Well, I’ve convinced them that I’m demon free for now, but I don’t know how long that will last. Either way, I need to find the demon that’s causing this mess on my side of the divide.”
“Lucifer was no help?”
Malakha groaned. “I’m still trying to forget that experience Julius. Is there anything else we can do that doesn’t involve the king of Hell?”
“I can tell you going into town won’t help. Nothing good is every happening there at night.”
“Happening? It was practically a ghost town when I was there.”
“During the day. At night is a different more dangerous story.”
“Something tells me that’s where I need to go.”
“Why can’t you just trust me on this?”
“I’m not inclined to take things on face value, even from people I trust. I rather find out for myself. So are you going to take me or am I going to have to walk all night?”
“That’s an even worse idea.”
“I had a feeling you were going to say that,” Malakha said looking at the large bird. “So are you going to give me a ride?
Julius grinned. “For a price.”
“A price?”
“Well since I’ve been denied the view. Shouldn’t I get something in return for the trouble?”
Malakha rolled her eyes as she went around the back of the bird, using its tail feathers as a boost to climb onto its back.
“Now you’re sounding like Malak.”
“Who’s Malak?” Julius asked climbing on in front of her by jumping onto the bird from the ground.
“Just take me to town.”
“After I get my payment,”
“And what’s that?”
Malakha barely got the question out her mouth before Julius had planted a kiss on her lips. It wasn’t long. Almost chaste really… almost.
Julius pulled away, grinning at Malakha’s shocked expression.
“I think that will be sufficient for now.”
******
Julius hadn’t been kidding when he said nothing good happened at night in town. The buildings were still old and dull, and there was still a perpetual overcast in the sky that covered the stars, if Hell even had stars, but everything was lit up by streetlights Malakha hadn’t even noticed the last time she was here and people were everywhere. Malakha wasn’t even sure if they were people considering most of the people she had met had some kind of beastly form. Music was playing from many of the rundown buildings and the entire area reeked of alcohol, smoke, and a musky scent whose origin Malakha had an idea, but didn’t want to be certain.
Malakha had to admit though, she was a little overwhelmed and quite honestly, a little inclined to join the festivities below. It reminded her of the rave she went to almost a week ago.
“Still want to see if you can find the demon terrorizing your school?” Julius asked as they walked through the streets.
His hand was wrapped around her waist, keeping her close to him to deter anything from bothering her. Something about his grip though wasn’t entirely protective though. Something about it was possessive, and if Malakha weren’t more wary of the people they passed by, she might have pushed him away from her, especially after that kiss; the kiss she had enjoyed more than she cared to admit. Everything in Hell was entirely too tempting to her and if she weren’t on a mission, Malakha didn’t think she’d mind indulging a little in that temptation.
“Yes,” Malakha replied slowly; uncertain.
“Well, if you want to do that, we’re going to have to blend in a little.”
“What? Do I stand out?”
“We stand out,” Julius said.
“Why?”
“Because we aren’t having fun like everyone else,” Julius said and let go of her waist. He grabbed her hand instead and pulled her to one of the ruined buildings with the loud music.
Not everyone was human or completely human anyway. Everything reminded her of a less grotesque Samurai Jack setting. Even some of Lucifer’s minions were present, scythes in hand. Speaking of scythe…
“What do I do with this?” Malakha asked raising the weapon.
Julius shrugged. “Lucifer’s guys usually have a loop attached to the back of their cloak.”
Malakha reached behind her to feel for the loops, hoping Ashley didn’t cut them off. She hadn’t and Malakha slipped the scythe through the loops.
“Now what?” Malakha asked.
“We dance,” Julius said beginning to drag her into the thick of the dance floor.
“Dance?”
“Well you’re never going to find out anything standing off to the side. You’ve got to get in the thick of things,” Julius said turning to face her.
Malakha blushed. He couldn’t be serious…
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this was part of your payment.”
“Maybe,” Julius said. “Now stop talking. I like this song.”
He tugged her closer to him and began to sway to the music. Malakha wasn’t completely cooperative though. Her mind as elsewhere. As a result, any movements she tried to do were stiff and noticing this, Julius laughed at her, leaning his forehead against hers and setting his hands on her hips.
“Loosen up and relax. You’ve got time.”
He began to guide her hips to the beat of the song, closing the distance between them. Malakha blushed again, trying to pull away, but
Julius would let her, and she laughed a little at his insistence, humoring his playing around for the moment while trying to be aware of what was going on around her at the same time. That was hard to do when Julius was staring at her like he was. It was different than when she had accepted a dance from that random guy at the rave last week.
Relaxing for just a little, Malakha put her hands on top of Julius’ and began to guide both their movements. Then feeling emboldened, by the movements and the general atmosphere, she grinned up at Julius mischievously and said, “Is this enough payment?”
“Haven’t decided yet,” Julius replied.
She tilted her head up at him.
“Oh yeah?”
“I’m open to ideas,” he said shrugging.
Something was wrong with her. Something about this world made her feel bold. Whatever it was, it erased her initial shyness and apprehension so that she could close the distance between them and press her lips to Julius’.
If he was surprised, Malakha didn’t detect it for he didn’t hesitate in kissing her back, pulling her closer to him as she draped her arms around his neck. For a moment, Malakha forgot where she was, what she was supposed to be doing, until she heard it again. The laughter of many. But it wasn’t accompanied by the deep Bowser like chuckle that Malakha had become the bane of Malakha’s existence for the last week. Still it was enough to snap Malakha out her trance and pull away from Julius.
“Shit,” she muttered.
“Was it that bad?” Julius asked grinning at her.
It was far from bad. Now she knew what the big deal behind kissing was. She could do that forever. But not now. Malakha mentally scolded herself for getting distracted and then scowled at Julius, suddenly irritated at him for being the distraction.
“You know what I’m here for,” Malakha snapped at him. “If you’re not going to help, I’ll—“
Malakha cut herself off, staring past Julius’s shoulder. She thought she felt someone staring at her earlier, but she brushed it off as paranoia. It wasn’t. Nancy was nearby, in another part of the crowd, staring at Julius and Malakha with a grin. It was almost knowing…