by Sam Cheever
I felt her frown in my mind. Of course. What will we be doing there?
We need to find Dialle and bring him home.
It would be an honor to serve you, dragon fighter, Spence told me in his usual stoic, careful tone.
Stop sucking up, Snoopy. She already loves you because of me. You don’t have to kiss her ass.
I grinned. Now who needs the swear jar, Glynus?
It’s not my fault. The prophet told you not to swear in front of me when I was a baby.
Yeah, but she didn’t tell me why.
Well, now you know.
CHAPTER SIX
Oh, Hell no!
Into Hell young miss must go, to save the man she loves,
But stranger things than she could know, may bitch-slap her from above.
We entered the Hell dimension through a rift we’d discovered in the mountains that had once spilled green dragons into Olympus in huge numbers. The dragons had been trying to escape a steady buildup of sulfur in the air of Hell that was killing their young.
The result was that Olympus now had several new colonies of green dragons and Hell had lost most of its transport animals.
It sucketh to be them.
Slayer flew behind Glynus and me on a huge red dragon, compliments of Queen Persuis, the red queen. He’d been her dragon slayer for a couple of years and, as Glynus had informed me at the time, he had the queen wrapped. Apparently she’d still do anything for him because we currently had ten of her finest warriors flying with us.
Darma rode beside me on Spence and Emo rode an enormous red on Glynus’ other side.
Myra and my father would meet us inside the castle. They needed to speak to Hades Corporate before they could enter the Big Red Guy’s toasty environs, even on a rescue mission. The new regs had something to do with recent infighting between Heaven and Hell about porous borders.
Politics sucked.
I firmly shoved the niggle of guilt about the porous borders thing to the back of my mind. I might have had something to do with that.
Glynus headed toward the massive castle Dialle’s father had built on top of a craggy black mountain in the center of Hell. The castle seemed much the way it had when I’d been there before. I looked down and immediately regretted it. The ground beneath us boiled and smoked, like the inside of a volcano. The fiery liquid surface flowed around the wide, black mountains dotting its surface, which was where the wealthiest and most powerful inhabitants of Hell built their charred, soaring castles. Those who had come to Hell without power lived in caves, which were more like pockmarks on the sides of the mountains than actual caverns, and did their best not to go mad from the heat and the stench.
Glynus’ wide, black body swayed and dipped as she flew steadily forward. I felt the tingle of her protective magics as a constant force against my skin. Without it, I’d have burned to a pile of ashes within seconds of entering the place. Even with Glynus’ protective bubble of magic, the heat throbbed against me like a living thing, pulling moisture from my body like a succubus and leaving behind a shaky, husk-like feeling.
We couldn’t get to the castle fast enough for my comfort.
A distant shout brought my head snapping around and Glynus’ big body tightened with tension. We have company, mother halfling.
I sighed. Arrayed in an arrow formation, a small army of enormous, winged creatures flew toward us in the distance. They looked like some kind of dragon-gargoyle hybrid, with massive, brown bodies, wings that looked too small to be effective, and huge heads sporting oversized, tusk-like teeth. Each monster had a warrior devil riding its back. The red-and-orange flash of the fire below glinted off the long, deadly looking blades they held. Oh yummy, gargoyle surprise. Let’s head them off. We aren’t going to be able to outrun them.
I glanced back at Slayer and he nodded, pulling his dragon up and turning it as Glynus veered off. Emo shouted back to Gerch, Brina slipped into place beside Spence, and our small rescue party turned in lumbering formation to meet what to all appearances was a hostile force.
I fought back concern for Dialle. Every minute in that place was another moment closer to madness. I only briefly considered ducking out the back and letting the others fight the approaching army so I could go to him. But I couldn’t do that to my friends. Even for Dialle.
Badly outnumbered and prepped for speed rather than battle, our chances of winning against the ugly horde winging its way toward us were small. I couldn’t make it worse by leaving.
Spence turned his head toward Glynus and the two love-dragons shared a glance. I added a new worry to my long list of concerns. If either young dragon was killed—
Stop it, mother halfling. Spence and I aren’t worried.
I frowned. How the frunk did she always do that? I don’t want you to get hurt.
We fight battles like this every day on Olympus. We know how to fight. Concentrate on making sure you kill riders, Spence and I will take care of their beasts.
Knowing she was right, I did the only thing I could. I relayed the information to Darma.
Darma’s face looked a little pale as she viewed the approaching mass. “What are those things?”
I shrugged. “My guess is the Big Red Guy had to come up with something to replace the green dragons. ‘Goyles thrive in sulfurous air but they can’t fly for crap. Dragons can fly just fine. It looks like he just meshed the two.”
She wrinkled her pert nose. “Bleurgh.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
“Astra!” At Slayer’s shouted warning I yanked power into my hands. The air sizzled as an enormous ball of fire dived out of the sky toward my head. It hit Glynus’ protective bubble and exploded, spraying fire in all directions. In her surprise, Glynus wobbled sideways a few feet and, just for a second, her protective magics thinned enough for me to get a furnace-like blast of unfiltered heat. I gasped under the impossible heat, inadvertently pulling the fiery air into my lungs. It seared through me, the sulfur making me cough.
Another shout went up and more fireballs dropped from the sky. I looked up and saw the dark shapes high above our heads, hiding in the cloaking sulfur smog. “There are more of them.”
Slayer urged his dragon forward with a shout. “Half of you with me!” They shot skyward, followed by several of Gerch’s men.
Brina glanced at me. “Go with him,” I told her. She nodded, urging her dragon forward to catch up with Slayer.
Dialle’s Captain of the Guard turned to his remaining men. “Forward and fan out, protect the queen at all costs.”
I opened my mouth to argue as Emo moved in on the other side of me, where Slayer had been. “Don’t bother, Astra. Their duty is with you and Dialle. Right now you’re in the most immediate danger.”
I sighed, knowing he was right. “I guess we’ll need to shake them then, partner.” I grinned at him and he returned the smile, making my heart flutter with happiness. For that moment—that tiny slice in time—my Emo was back with me.
Emo jerked his head toward a mountaintop coming up fast on our right. I knew what he was thinking and nodded in agreement. Tadpole, we’re splitting off from the rest.
Yes, mother halfling. Are we going with the surprise flank attack?
We are.
That’s what I would do. Glynus and Spence shared a look and I figured they were communicating on their own wavelength. Glynus hadn’t just been trying to comfort me. The dragons spent a large part of their time in battle, enforcing boundaries and fighting off potential usurpers. They understood battle plans like few did.
As Gerch and his guards flew forward, swords drawn and a variety of other deadly looking bludgeon-type weapons clutched in their fists, I gave Emo a nod and we slipped quietly off to the right. We used our forward guard as a buffer as we flew hard and fast toward the nearby charred peak. We glided into its shadow just as the sounds of battle ensued in front of us.
I glanced at Emo. “We need to move fast. Gerch and his men are badly outnumbered.”
“Agreed.” We sliced through the thick, heated air, circling the black rock peaks with a plan to slide in behind the attacking forces. The thunderous sound of roaring had me jerking my gaze skyward as Slayer’s forces met up with the creatures bearing Satan’s guards. I said a silent prayer for Slayer. He was a damn fine warrior but they were probably as outnumbered as we were and he didn’t have a flank plan.
I fumbled for the cross around my neck and held it to my head, thinking Myra’s name.
After a moment, my mental drawers stirred and I heard her strident, ever-cranky voice in my head. What is it, Astra?
Where are you? We’re being attacked.
Damn. We’re still in negotiations. Can you hold on for a while?
If by a while you mean three minutes, then maybe. We’re pretty much hangin’ by a string here, angel.
Silence throbbed across our mental pathway and then finally she said, I’ll get there as soon as I can, and broke contact.
Darma had apparently seen me use my cross. “Are they coming?”
I shook my head.
“There,” Emo shouted over the battle sounds. A huge green dragon, looking exhausted and miserable, flew by a half mile away, pulling some kind of container behind it. If we were careful, we could all fly behind the container and dive out to attack once we’d passed Satan’s guards.
“Go!” I squeezed my thighs and expected Glynus to go shooting forward. She didn’t. I frowned. “Glynus?”
It’s not necessary, mother halfling. Spence and I have been working on a special cloaking magic. I can make us invisible.
Are you sure?
We’ve used it several times at home. We’re very good at it.
I looked at Emo and realized he wouldn’t be able to cloak.
“What’s going on, Astra?” Darma, who’d been suspiciously quiet since we’d entered Hell, was visibly antsy. I ignored her, knowing I was quickly running out of time. If Emo gets behind us will he be hidden? I asked Glynus.
Glynus frowned in my mind, seeming to confer with Spence. I’m not sure, but we can try it.
Emo was staring at the quickly growing distance between us and the green, frowning. “Astra? We need to move or we’re gonna lose our opportunity here.”
I chewed my lip, undecided. It would certainly allow us to get into the battle more quickly if we could head directly toward it. Seeing one of Gerch’s soldiers go down, his red dragon screeching in pain as its wing was nearly severed, I made my decision. “We’re going with Plan B. Glynus and Spence are going to cloak us. You need to stay between and behind us.”
After years of working with me, Emo didn’t even argue. He just held his dragon until we’d passed and then fell in behind us.
Okay, Tadpole. It’s up to you and Snoopy now.
A silver sheen coated the air around us. It seemed to pulse and quiver, reflecting the smoky sky above and the fiery chasm below. I looked around, enjoying the way the light diffused into billions of tiny, silvery squares through the magic.
It’s very pretty, Glynus.
Thank you, mother halfling. Snoopy and I came up with it ourselves.
The extra layer of magic also gave me some respite from the intense heat for a couple of minutes, allowing me to breathe deeply for the first time since we’d maneuvered through the rift to enter the furnace-like dimension.
I glanced toward Emo and was relieved to see the love-dragons had managed to encompass him within their enchantment.
He grinned, his dark eyes sparking with good humor. “Frunkin’ cool.”
Laughing with him, I turned around and blinked. A smallish flying creature was heading directly toward our bubble. The thing looked to be about ten feet across, from wing tip to wing tip, and had very few feathers on its scrawny body. If I didn’t recognize the charcoal-colored scales coating its body I would have thought its feathers had been burned off. The few it retained, mostly on the crown of its pointed head and the end of its pointed butt, were ragged and slightly bent.
The Snape, one of only a very few birds that inhabited the skies of Hell, was a goofy-looking creature, but I’d heard they had razor-sharp claws and beak and could be especially aggressive when hungry or scared. The one heading toward us at that moment had fixed an angry, dark-red gaze on me and was flexing its claws.
Glynus?
She turned her elegant black head toward the much-smaller creature and shuddered slightly. Some creatures are able to see through the magic, mother halfling.
Can it pierce the shield?
Doubtful, Spence offered. But just in case... The big dragon whipped his tail around and smacked it into the Snape, sending the nasty creature flying through the air in the opposite direction with a husky squawk.
“Home run,” Emo said with a laugh.
Unfortunately the Snape’s strange flight pattern drew the attention of one of Satan’s warriors. He turned away from the rest and started heading our way to investigate.
Watching him come, I started to pull my stored magic forward. “Remember, aim for the warriors, the dragons will take care of the things they’re riding.”
Darma leaned down and spoke quietly to Spence then glanced toward me. “Let me get this one, Astra. You save your magic for when you need it.”
I bit back an angry retort, unused to letting my sister fight my battles for me. But I knew she was right. Unfortunately, my magic was currently finite. While hers was not.
We continued steadily forward, my gaze torn between the approaching warrior and Gerch, who was standing on the back of his red dragon, slashing at the devil’s soldiers on either side. He showed an incredible amount of balance and skill as he continually adjusted his footing to stay upright while the red twisted and lunged at the nasty creatures surrounding it.
While both of them were covered in blood and showed obvious battle wear, they seemed to be holding their own. Scanning the boiling mass of fighters, I was able to spot several more of Gerch’s men still hanging in. That was good.
In about another minute they’d have some help.
The approaching warrior was very close. I glanced at Darma. She had a massive ball of energy spitting in her pale palm and was waiting, her clear blue gaze locked on her target.
The warrior flew on, only a few dragon lengths away. I resisted saying anything, not sure if Glynus’ magic bubble deadened sound as well as sight. But as he came within a few feet of us I opened my mouth, unable to hold my tongue any longer.
Darma screamed, “Now!” and Glynus and Spence pulled apart, sucking the warrior into their bubble. Darma immediately planted her magic in the warrior’s surprised face and Glynus and Spence slammed sideways, stunning the gargoyle surprise with dual solid blows to its entire length.
The soldier’s head snapped back and he toppled off his mount, falling silently toward the fire below.
The gargoyle creature didn’t even have enough air left in its body to roar as Spence and Glynus gave it another two-sided body blow and then slipped apart, allowing it to fall toward the boiling ground below.
I glanced toward the battle and was relieved to see we hadn’t been noticed. Darma’s tricky little maneuver had bought us an extra few seconds of surprise. I grinned at my sister, actually feeling proud. “Good job. That was pure genius.”
Her lips twitched but she quickly hid the smile behind a scowl. “Don’t sound so surprised, Astra.”
A pained shout brought me back to the reason for our headlong rush across Hell’s smoky skies and I looked ahead. We were close enough to drop Glynus’ pretty magic and join the fun. I climbed onto my feet, spreading them to balance on Glynus’ wide back. Pulling my sword, I glanced at Emo. “Ready, partner?”
He was already on his feet, a sword in one hand and a long, platinum chain coiled loosely around the other. “Ready, boss.”
I looked at my sister. She was still seated, looking slightly green around the gills but she had energy spitting in each hand and appeared determined to fight the battle. She no
dded.
“Good. Then let’s get in there and kick some red hiney.”
~SC~
My sword slashed down and a quick jolt of power from my left hand sent the warrior screaming off his monstrous ride, to ping against the mutant head of the creature flying just below.
I watched with satisfaction as he was snagged out of the air, caught in the intractable jaws of the gargoyle creature, and flung away again like a chunk of moldy cheese, coated in oily gargoyle spit.
Glynus made quick work of the soldier’s nasty ride just as a sword slammed toward my head from the other side. I turned to meet the heavy-handed thrust with my sword, sucking in a strained breath as the blood-coated blade drove my sword back toward my face.
The attacker’s blade stopped a hair away from my nose. Using a power-enhanced strength I wasn’t sure I could sustain, I looked into my attacker’s beady, black eyes and slowly forced him backward.
Under attack from three riderless gargoyle surprises at once, Glynus bobbled slightly and I fell backward, my attacker leaping onto Glynus’ back to drive me down. The razor-sharp edge of his sword sliced into my throat, burning like the fire roiling far beneath us.
He held the sword against my throat and looked down at me, a wide smile forming on his craggy, lips. “At last we have you. He will be pleased.”
“You don’t have me yet, gargoyle breath, and trust me when I tell you Satan will be anything but pleased if I ever meet up with him again.”
The soldier’s black eyes widened slightly just as a silvery coil of metal snaked around his throat and jerked him backward and into the air. I looked up and saw Emo, smiling down at me from his dragon several yards away. “Take a load off, boss.”
I shook my head and flipped to my feet. “Thanks, partner.”
Emo flicked his wrist and the magic-enhanced lasso unfurled, dropping its cargo, kicking and screaming, into molten death below.
“To Hades with you fool, for God hath tired of you,” I screamed after him.
Emo laughed, seemingly enjoying himself. I guessed after months in Heaven, surrounded by endless peace and mind-numbing serenity, he was enjoying the chance to kick some ass again.