BURN IN HADES (40 page)

She called the rope back to her, but it wouldn’t budge. She heaved the rope with both arms. It was locked in place.

Raec held his hand out, and a shard of metal flew into his grasp. He chopped her dear Ropey in half. Its tail end went limp in her hands.

All the metallic parts of her wardrobe yanked towards the demon. She stumbled forward and slid across the dirt without ever her lifting her feet. She exploited the magnetic force and threw herself at Raec. Her top hat fell off as she tackled him to the ground. She wrapped Ropey’s limp tail around Raec’s neck and pulled it taught.

The demon flailed. He grabbed at his throat with one hand and reached out with the other hand that was holding his object. She couldn’t steal the object from him without loosening the rope.

The surrounding buildings splintered and plinked as though pieces were breaking off of them. Loose metal objects rose from the ground. Twisted shards of metal and poles and ball bearings dashed in her direction.

She flipped over, lifted Raec up, and used him as a shield. The projectiles ricocheted off him and his blinking aura. He head butted her in the nose. It cracked and went numb.

The rope slipped through her hands briefly, but she grabbed it again and tightened it. She flapped her wings and took to the sky, carrying Raec by the neck. He dangled.

She soared fast and high, not paying any attention to how close she was to the burning blue sky. Its heat seared her barbs, but she could withstand it until Raec passed out.

A piece of metal shot right into her wing and lodged itself into her ulna. She released the rope. Raec dropped. She spiraled down, fluttering her injured wing, trying to land safely, and crashed landed beside Raec.

He was dead. Curiously, the demon hadn’t burned. There was no mistaking the fact that he was dead, but the fact that he hadn’t shriveled to Nothing puzzled her. Was he born in the underworld? That would be impossible. Very few spirits possessed the ability to reproduce in the underworld, and demons weren’t one of them. Most demons were made somewhere else, and then sent to the underworld after being vanquished from the realm of the living. Others became demonic only after they had died. As far as she knew, no spirit had ever given birth to a demon while in the underworld.

She had no time to ponder it further. After all the ruckus, the other demons would be on their way soon, especially when Raec didn’t return to them.

She snatched the compass out of his hands. “This belongs to me,” she said.

She plucked the metal object from her wing and punched the ground in agony. The bloody object she had removed was none other than her very own dart. She was just about sick of the underworld’s ironic sense of humor.

She pulled herself from the ground and found her top hat. Quickly, she re-threaded the rope through the dart. Ropey sprang back to life. And she made her way to the pagoda where she hoped to find Cross.

Chapter 20 - A Match Made In Naraka

Cross rode above the surface of Oceanus on the slimy back of the sea beast, Grum
, heading towards the closest piece of land. The giant fish brought him as close to shore as it could without getting stuck on the reef. Cross swam the rest of the way through the bay’s calm waters.

The beach was littered with sparkling jewels of all colors. Rubies, jasper and carnelian replaced sand. He used to rob people of them when he was alive because they were extremely valuable. They were now worthless in death.

The only thing he knew about his current location was that he was somewhere deep in the south because Oceanus only touched the southern realms. Across the gulf of Oceanus, he spotted a faint hint of the light of paradise. Now, he knew which was east.

According to his soggy map, Skull Hill was west of him and was blocked by a mountain range made of knives. That sounded like a climb he wanted to avoid. But going around the mountains would require him to go north several miles out of his way.

He trudged through the twinkling stones of the beach, and miles inland he found himself traipsing through a city made entirely of gemstones and precious metals. There were palaces of emerald, temples of diamond, and houses of gold.

The only city of jewels he knew of was located in the realm of Patala, which was one of the coastal realms. He had never seen the colorful city with his own eyes though. It could have been in Paradise it was such a shiny and pleasant place. The air smelled of sweet perfume and there was slight hum of some music that swam in it as well.

He followed the platinum road for an hour until he came upon a mountain that rose up and down, slowly as if it were breathing. It was a colossus.

It could take him around the mountains of knives, but he had no objects to pay for a ride.

A woman with bright cherry red hair climbed down the foot of the beast. She was dressed in alluring satin and lace that barley covered her body.

He gripped his pistol and sneaked up behind the hetaera. Her heeled boots lifted her up to his height. He clasped his hand around her mouth from behind and poked the Peacemaker into her back. She stiffened.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he whispered into her ear. “I just want a ride.”

Several tribesmen swung and slid down off the colossus by ropes. They aimed spears at Cross and outnumbered him. He couldn’t shoot them all at once. One of them was likely to stab him.

“They sure are protective of harlots around here,” he said.

The woman tried to speak, but her words come out muffled, as his palm still covered her mouth. He removed his hand from her face. She spun around to face him.

“I’m the madam,” she said, roughly yanking the top of her corset upwards, adjusting it. She almost spilled out of it. “And the leader of this entire colossus.” She placed her hands on her hips and raised her chin.

“Look, I don’t want any trouble.” He holstered his pistol. “All I want it is ride.”

The spear wielding tribesmen kept their sharpened tips aimed towards him.

“If all you wanted was a ride,” said the madam, “There are better ways to go about it. We have a new policy anyway…” She paused, and through the green eye shadow circling her green pupils, she gazed into his face for a moment. She pointed one of her long, curly fingernails at him and wagged it. Her bracelets clinked together. “I know you. You’re the man who remembers aren’t you?”

He reached for his Peacemaker again. Before he could touch it, the tribesmen circled him, thrusting their spears at him from every angle, inches away from piercing him. They could have turned him into a sponge.

The madam made clicking sounds with her tongue and flicked her limp wrist, waving the tribesmen away with a jingle of her earrings and bracelets. The tribesmen climbed back up the ropes, keeping their eyes locked on the Cross.

“Let’s start over,” said the madam. “I’m trying to keep a distance from any reputation we’ve had in the past. Things are different now. First of all, I don’t want your memories. I used to want them—or at least I thought I did—but not anymore. They wouldn’t have helped me. I’m not sure I even believe it’s possible for anyone to take them from you actually. But the reason I’m so surprised to see you is because someone was right about you, and I can’t believe it.”

Cross leaned his head back. “Who was right about what?”

“Many months ago, I saw you in Amenthes. You were lying on the crystal altar about to….” She dragged her painted fingernail from one side of her neck to the other. “But someone told me that you wouldn’t lose your head that day, which seemed rather unlikely. We all left before your ceremony ended and didn’t get a chance to see how it turned out. But apparently, you’re still in one piece, just like she said you would be.”

The Raven had mentioned that she ran into an old friend in Amenthes. That’s why she was late rescuing him.

“It was a woman with black wings wasn’t it?” he said.

“A woman, yes. But not with wings. This one had tiger claws.”

He glanced at the ground and muttered to himself: “Diamond Tooth was in Amenthes that day?”

The madam clapped her hands together and brought her hands to her busty chest. “Oh, you know Diamond Tooth?” The smoky, green eye shadow stretched around her widening eyes.

Her excited reaction was unexpected. It was rare to come across a spirit who didn’t recoil when they heard Diamond Tooth’s name, and the madam sounded as if she had a positive encounter with the demon of pain and suffering. Perhaps he could use his past relationship with Diamond Tooth to his advantage. He could probably get a free ride or something.

Cross nodded. “Oh yeah. Me and Diamond Tooth, we’re old friends. We go way back. I’m meeting her in Naraka. I’m a little late because I had to take a detour. She’s waiting for me, and I don’t want to disappoint so I’m traveling as fast as I can.”

“Well, any friend of Diamond Tooth’s is a friend of mine.” The madam wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “Because of her, we are free. Well, about as free as you can get in the underworld. But we’re no longer captives to the Nwa-Efé. None of us are forced into their slavery anymore. Everyone is now here by choice. We decide our own fate. We’re all free to go anywhere we want now, thanks to Diamond Tooth.”

Somehow, he found that hard to believe. That didn’t sound like Diamond Tooth at all. She didn’t care about anyone but herself. She would only do something like that if it would benefit her in some way, not out the kindness of heart. She didn’t even have a heart.

“We thought about settling here in Patala,” the madam continued, “but it might be time for us to move on again. Maybe to Tuonela or even beyond. I wonder what’s out there. If you’re still interested in that ride, it’s free—all the rides have been free since I’ve lead the colossus—but we can’t take you into Naraka.”

“Why not?”

“The Tribulation and Anarchists are having their great battle there. We don’t want to get tangled in that web. I’m a little curious as to why you and Diamond Tooth would even want to go there.”

“How far can you take me?”

“As far as we can. The border perhaps. And like I said, the ride is free, but we usually charge extra for those souls who want a little company in their hut. Since you’re a friend of Diamond Tooth’s I can provide you one of my lovely ladies for free also.” She winked. “It’s on me.”

He only wanted to feel the touch of one woman: his ebony bird. He was sorry he ever gave her up to Diamond Tooth. When he took her through Yomi, it was for revenge. He had to pay her back for what she did to him. But he had no score to settle with her this time. He betrayed her purely for his own survival. This time he placed her afterlife in danger and regretted it. If a single one of the Raven’s feathers was harmed because of him, he’d never forgive himself.

“Company won’t be necessary,” Cross said to the Madam. “I’ll just take a hut to myself.”

The colossus carried Cross around the mountains of knives, and within a couple sleep cycles, and dropped him off at a ghostly village in the realm of Naraka called Lokantarika. Anarchist soldiers marched down the road in between fleeing villagers.

Cross sneaked into an abandoned building and hid, in case Diamond Tooth was with the troops. He spied outside through a face-sized hole in the wall, looking for the demon.

Lava splashed directly in front of his hiding spot. He ducked, and by the time the steam cleared away, his spying hole was big enough for him to fit his body through. The lava had eaten through the wall. He climbed through the hole, and blended in with the retreating spirits.

A tiered structure towered over everything in the village. He skipped up its stone staircase and dipped inside. Soot covered what was left of the crumbling walls and dirtied the golden statue, sitting in the lotus position. All the windows were shattered. Steam rose up from the floor. The place had been ransacked and left for dead.

In a corner, an Ankou rocked a cradle. A baby rested inside it.

Cottontail was the youngest soul he had ever encountered in the underworld. This was the first time he had come across a baby. He’d never even heard of a baby being damned.

He stepped closer to the cradle wondering if it were some illusion. How could a baby ever end up in such a wretched place? What sins could an innocent child commit in life? It didn’t make any sense.

“Is that really a baby?” he asked.

Slowly, the Ankou poked a bony index finger out its sleeve and raised it up to its hood which cast a deep shadow over its entire head.

“Shhhh,” it hissed and held up a boney palm for Cross to not step closer.

The wellbeing of his child entered his mind. He never got a chance to hold it or kiss it or love it. It must’ve grown up missing him as much as he regretted not being a part of its life. That pained him. He would have been a great father.

He backed away from the cradle, empathetic towards the infant, but it was safe in the Ankou’s deathly hands. All who had ever fought the ferrymen burned or were annihilated.

Cross headed up the rickety staircase, stepping carefully. The stairs ended at the third level of the tower, but there were many more floors above. The tower rose to at least thirteen stories. The way up further was barricaded with too much rubble and impassable.