by S E Brower
Athalon nodded towards Suzu, “They will not surprise her, nor will she hesitate, should demons cross our path.”
Garret shook his head with frustration. Waving his hands, he explained, “You don’t understand. You shouldn’t fight them.”
Suzu disagreed, “Not fight the demons? If we are not to fight them, why then, are we here?”
“You are here to rescue Evan,” Garret told her, “fighting demons won’t get rid of them. When you slay a demon in the Middle Celestial Realm, they disappear. Where do they go? Here. They come here. Fighting them here won’t stop them, it will only slow them down and piss them off, and more will come. Only fight if you have no other choice.”
Suzu made a face. This was not what she signed up for, but she relented. However, not before making it clear, she would not relinquish her place in the lead.
“After you,” an irritated Garret waved her through. Britton-Del followed, and Garret fell in line, with Athalon after him. It wasn’t long before Garret noticed the dog had taken up a position next to Suzu, as she hastened through the desolate terrain.
The first difficulty they encountered, was a sea of people as pale and gray as their surroundings. Their eyes were empty, and haunting. Their bodies, though animated, seemed not alive. Some aimlessly wandered, while others stood staring at nothing. With no prompting, Garret offered, “No worries, these are the soulless. Worshipers of Lucifer topside, they came here when they died, only to have their souls devoured. Their bodies were cast aside, to wander for all eternity.”
“You know this how?” Britton-Del asked.
“During my time here, disguised as a demon mist, I asked a lot of questions. I got a lot of answers.”
Just then, the dog let out a soft, low growl. The group backed themselves into the shadows. Standing still, hands on weapons, only their eyes moved, straining to see what had caught the dog’s attention.
A band of demons, Athalon counted fourteen, pushed by in a noisy, disorganized, combative group, a mere twenty yards from where they hid. The stinking horde passed without incident, until a lone straggler slowed to a stop. Raising its head, it swayed back and forth as it sniffed the air. Suzu eased her sword from its scabbard, but Britton-Del placed a hand on her forearm.
She turned to him. Shaking his head, no, he mouthed the words, ‘not yet’. A deep guttural shriek emitted from one of the larger demons, and the straggler snapped back into line with the hellish mob. Britton-Del sighed, letting go of her arm, and she slid her sword back into its sheath.
“The closer we get,” Garret told them, “the more of them we’ll run into.”
They continued onward, keeping to the shadows when they could, and when they couldn’t, they lost themselves amongst the soulless, hidden from any of Lucifer’s spies. Garret was right. As they moved towards the spire, the more demons they came across. The dog’s warning growl saving them more than once.
The most harrowing encounter came jostled in among the soulless. Unbeknownst to the four companions, a band of eight demons was headed straight towards them from the opposite direction.
Before they came too close, the dog took on a defensive posture, warning them with a growl. The Angels spread out, scanning the throng for whatever caused the dog’s sudden reaction.
Hearing them before they saw them, the Angels watched and listened. The demons were shouting, hissing and cackling as they shoved their way through the mass of soulless. They slashed indiscriminately at the bodies they passed, with their jagged claws. Some they disemboweled, while others, they ripped away any extremity of which they could take hold.
One poor soul-less, even had its head and neck torn from its shoulders and thrown about like a ball. The Angels watched in horror, as they stealthily bypassed the demons and continued on their way. After a few more near encounters, they found themselves at the base of Lucifer’s lair.
Crouching down among some large boulders, the companions looked on, as demons of all sorts entered and exited the spire. The access was cave-like, reinforced with massive blocks of obsidian. The only adornment was that of a dragon’s head, carved into the spire itself, looking out over the opening. Upon close inspection, they could detect smoke emanating from its nostrils.
As they watched, Garret pointed out some of the more dangerous demons to note. “Now those over there with the wicked long claws, they’re Slashers, like the group we bypassed in among the soulless. You saw what they can do.”
Just then, three small childlike demons passed close by. The sound they made was a mournful, heart wrenching whine, which would make any Angel respond to their suffering.
“Don’t let them fool you,” Garret told the group, “and don’t get too close. I don’t know what they call them, but I call them Cryers. Whatever they are, I know to stay away. Too long with them, and they will suck you into their eternal hopelessness, losing the will to move.”
“Enough,” Suzu cut him off, “how do we get inside? Not that way.”
“Obviously,” Garret scowled, “that’s the main entrance. According to The Author, there’s a secret escape route known only to Lucifer himself and a select few to mask any comings and goings from prying eyes.”
“Is it guarded?” Athalon asked.
“Not from the outside. It’s a smaller tunnel entrance, only a dozen yards, or so. It leads to a thick metal door secured from the inside.”
“How do we breach it?” Britton-Del wanted to know.
Garret laughed despite himself, “A secret knock.”
“Winglet! Now is not the time to jest,” Athalon told him, a touch of annoyance in his voice.
“No, you don’t understand. Lucifer trusts no one enough to have a key. Instead, he gave each member of his inner circle their own private code. That way should an outsider get in, Lucifer would know who gave out their code. There would be Hell to pay.” Britton-Del chuckled at the pun.
“And whose code do you have?” Athalon inquired.
“We have The Author’s. Lucifer gave him one as a show of good faith to their arrangement. Whether he ever used the code, is anyone’s guess.”
Athalon nodded, “Then, we best be on our way.”
Garret guided them to just outside the tunnel entrance yet remaining hidden in the shadows. “From here on, we must move fast, and be quiet. There’s no guard out here, but there is one on the other side of the iron door. A Behemademon,” he whispered. Athalon and Britton-Del exchanged a look.
“Are you certain of this, Winglet?” Athalon asked.
“When I was here before, I never got into this area. So no, I don’t know for sure. I’m only telling you what The Author said. Have either of you seen a Behemademon?”
Athalon grunted, “Britton-Del and I encountered one during the Dragon Wars. It was big and slow, but most powerful.”
“I assume you fought it. How did you beat it?” Garret asked.
Britton-Del answered, “It lacked intelligence. There were five of us in all. It could only concentrate on us one at a time. We attacked as one, and the beast could not defend itself. The battle was short lived. We were victorious, but for a price, as one of our own fell to its might.” Britton-Del hung his head. Athalon placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Then here lies a chance to honor our fallen brother,” Athalon said. He nodded, signaling it was time to move. After making certain there were no demons close by, they made their way to the tunnel. Just as Garret promised, before long, they stood in front of a large iron door. All eyes turned to Garret, waiting for him to perform the secret knock.
Nervous, not wanting to screw up the sequence, he took his time. Inhaling, he rubbed his hands together like a safe-cracker warming up their fingers.
“Winglet,” Suzu scoffed in a snappish whisper, wanting him to just get on with it. Again, he hesitated. He didn’t care how stupid a Behemademon was, he didn’t want to meet one face to face. Raising his fist to the door, he stopped short. Turning, he looked at the ground as if searching for something.
> “What are you doing?” Suzu grumbled. Without answering, he spotted what he was looking for and bent down to pick up a fist-sized rock. Turning back to the door, he made two hard raps upon it. After a pause, he made two more raps, a pause, and one final rap.
The Angels waited in tense anticipation. Seconds later, there was a loud clang, the dog letting out a low growl, as they heard metal scraping on metal. The three Warrior Angels, their weapons at the ready, knew a confrontation was unavoidable.
The door had only just swung inwards when Suzu, katana in hand, darted through, Athalon and Britton-Del close behind. A single torch throwing dim, sputtering light, allowed sight enough for her to maneuver. She took flight as soon as she saw the Behemademon, hovering level with its monstrous head.
Taken by surprise, the great dimwitted monster, slow to react, only stared, as Suzu severed its neck with one lightning fast slash of her sword. Britton-Del stepped aside, to avoid the huge head bouncing off the chamber wall. Athalon jumped back, dodging the massive truncated body, as it fell forward.
Britton-Del scowled at Suzu, as she landed sheathing her sword. “What was all that about?”
“Fun,” she answered, brushing past him into the open chamber. Britton-Del shook his head, watching her disappear into the shadows of the cavern.
By the time Garret and the dog entered, the excitement was over. Looking down at the decapitated demon made him feel woozy and sick inside. He turned his head away, as his legs gave out from under him. Stumbling, he steadied himself against the wall. Athalon came to his side, lending a hand.
“Hold steady, Winglet. There is much yet to come, which way?”
There were two tunnels, one straight ahead leading upwards, one to the left leading down. Garret pointed to the left, “Down, The Author said to go down.”
So, down they went into the sordid underbelly of Hell, through the dark, descending tract, spitting them out into yet another cavernous chamber. It appeared what little light shone, emanated from various pools of an unknown liquid. Blue flames, dancing along the surface, lit the space giving off an eerie flickering glow.
They lost the exact depth and breadth of the cavern, to the darkness. However, the slightest sound reverberating back in an echo, showed it was massive. They could just make out the huge stalactites dripping downwards, mirrored by stalagmites pushing up from the cavern floor. Some of them met in the middle forming vast pillars, seeming to support an unseen ceiling above.
The group stood staring out into the gloom, straining to see anything at all. When there it was! A dim glimmer pulsing blue. It was like a beacon just visible on a foggy night. From what they could tell, it was centered in the vast space. Garret’s heart raced with excitement. They found Evan, at last. He was ready to bolt towards Evan when Athalon intervened.
“Winglet, I understand your eagerness, but it would be best to proceed with a cautioned haste.” Garret knew Athalon was right but couldn’t disguise his disappointment.
Britton-Del offered, “We have wings,” a slight smile crossing his lips.
Garret, wasting no time, was the first of the four to rise from the cavern floor when he blurted out, “What about the…”
But before he could say dog, he noticed it had already covered a third of the distance to where Evan’s soul lay captive. They flew towards it, watching for demons, traversing around and under various rock formations. Garret was doing his best to keep up, envious of the ease at which the three Dragon Warriors navigated the obstacles before them. When they reached their goal, it surprised all of them to find the dog sitting, waiting for them upon their arrival.
Meanwhile, one of Lucifer’s Lieutenant Demons was dispatched on an important errand. Opting to use the secret tunnel to leave the spire, he entered the chamber housing the now decapitated Behemademon. Upon seeing the headless corpse, scanned the area taking in every detail to report back to his Master. He was about to depart when he spotted something near the iron door, on the floor along the wall. Retrieving it, he raced back to Lucifer.
Deep in the bowels of Hell, Garret and his companions could see Evan’s soul radiating from within a softball-sized crystal. It was in the center of an elevated rock basin, suspended on the surface of a reflective silver liquid. Athalon reached for the crystal when Garret grabbed his wrist.
“No,” Garret cautioned, Athalon’s eyes questioning why. “The liquid is gallium. According to The Author, it’s a kind of liquid metal acting as an electrical conductor. There’s an identical gallium filled basin in Lucifer’s chambers. He has it set up that way, as an alarm. If we disturb the gallium here, it will alert them there. Lucifer will know someone is after the crystal.”
Britton-Del frowned, “What then, shall we do? Something will find Suzu’s handy work. We must leave before that happens.” As the Angels debated how they should proceed, they didn’t notice the dog approaching the basin, curiously sniffing.
At that exact moment, the Demon Lieutenant reached Lucifer’s chambers. Bursting through the doorway, holding a feather found near the headless Behemademon, he raised his fist shouting, “Angels!” The demon shout was immediately followed by the sound of splashing liquid. Lucifer spun around to look at his basin.
Suzu grew tired of waiting, “Just grab it and run,” she told them. It was then they heard the splash. The companions turned to see the dog sitting by the basin, tail wagging, the crystal globe clutched in its mouth.
“Well, now we must go, and quickly,” Britton-Del urged, as Garret reached to take the glowing crystal from the dog. It growled at him, taking a step back. Turning, it ran for the tunnel, still carrying the crystal containing Evan’s soul.
Athalon shouted, “Do not lose track of that dog!” In an instant the four Angels were airborne.
Back in Lucifer’s chamber, the Lord of Hell, screamed at his Lieutenants, “To the basin cavern, all of you. Stop them from taking the crystal!” The demons dispersed, descending on the secret tunnel. Lucifer stopped the one who brought the feather, ripping it from the Lieutenant’s grasp. It was white, but Lucifer noticed the thin red line. His brow furrowed, as he turned the feather this way and that, inspecting its crimson core. With critical deliberateness, he raised it to his nose and sniffed. An evil smile formed upon his face.
The Angels threw caution aside as they flew, speeding their way through the cavern, to keep site of the dog. They approached the tunnel leading to the upper chamber at top speed, while being forced to land, hitting the ground running as they entered. Garret slammed hard into the cavern floor, but scrambled to his feet, chasing after the others through the tunnel.
When they reached the chamber with the beheaded monster demon, the dog was sitting by the still opened door. Athalon approached the dog, placing his hand in front of its mouth. The dog dropped the crystal into Athalon’s waiting hand. Placing Evan’s crystal into the empty satchel he used to carry the brimstone dust, he turned to Britton-Del, handing it to him.
“You are the fastest flyer among us. No matter the consequences, you must see this soul to Drummondax,” Athalon said.
Britton-Del clutched the satchel in one hand and nodded just as they heard a commotion heading towards them from the other tunnel. The companions slipped through the opened door, making a run for it.
Only Athalon remained. He was just about to exit the chamber, as Lucifer’s demons entered from the opposite side. They stopped, distracted by the headless Behemademon sprawled across the cavern floor, giving Athalon just the reprieve he needed. With one glance over his shoulder, he raced down the tunnel in the wake of his companions. Behind him, he heard the First Lieutenant shout, “After them!”
Athalon caught up to the others at the mouth of the tunnel. “They are right behind me,” he shouted. Looking at the dog, he gave the command, “Home!” In an instant, the dog was off and running. Just as quickly, the Angels were airborne, flying fast, keeping the dog in sight. Britton-Del was in the lead, followed by Athalon, then Garret, with Suzu bringing up the rear.
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br /> Their wings allowed them to move with speed, but in the air, they were now visible. The sight of the Angels sent the demons below into a frenzy of jumping and screaming, as they raced along the ground in pursuit of the companions.
Garret was concentrating hard to keep pace with the others and not crash into anything while he did it. He recognized landmarks from when they first entered Hell, and knew they were nearing the portal. Excitement coursed through him, as he realized they would make it. He would reunite with his brother.
Just as he believed the worst was over, there was a bright flash. The screams of the demons became deafening, as he looked around trying to figure out what was happening. Just ahead, he saw Britton-Del flounder. His wings collapsing in upon themselves, his body sparked as if covered by tiny lightning strikes.
Garret knew an energy ball when he saw one. He had lived through an attack of that sort in the Guardian Library. He and Suzu both spotted the demon responsible when she sped straight for it in a blur. When it attempted to unleash another, she cleaved the vile thing in half, incapacitating it.
Athalon had been following behind Britton-Del when he took the blow. Upon seeing the satchel containing the crystal slip from Britton-Del’s grasp, he shot downwards, snatching the bag before it struck the ground. Garret, watching the scene unfold, followed their injured friend below to Hell’s floor. Looking up, he shouted, “Go, I’ve got this! Get my brother to safety!”
Without hesitation, Athalon shot towards the portal. Garret knew the demons approached, as he knelt by Britton-Del to see how badly he was injured. He was unconscious, but alive. Garret was struggling to lift his injured companion, to get him to safety when Suzu appeared by his side.
It took her no time to assess the situation. Working together, they were able to lift Britton-Del enough to half carry, half drag him towards the portal. Moving as quickly as they were able, they were nearly there when they were ambushed by a horde of demons.
Charging in from the shadows, they looked at the three angels as easy prey. Garret paused, looking at Suzu for guidance. She shoved him towards the exit shouting, “Get him out of here!”