The Deal (23 page)

I was going to
have to move fast before they laid their crooked stone eyes on
me.

Darting to the
bookcase marked as number two, I could feel my heart pounding in my
chest and my breathing was more laboured than I would have liked to
admit. Beads of cold sweat formed on my forehead and dripped from
my eyebrows.

One more to go.
Number zero.

Sticking to my
current plan, I moved to the edge and studied the numbers. Nothing.
No zero to be seen anywhere. The guardian was now walking between
the rows that I currently occupied. It was only a matter of time
before he spotted me and it would be game over.

Thinking as fast
as I could, I darted out into the aisle and quickly changed
direction, so I was heading to the next row on my left. Once there
I waited for the guardian to pass me by.

I was certain
the bookcase was going to fall over on me as the thud of its feet
landed hard on the ancient stone floor and then suddenly
stopped.

I could feel
panic begin to rise up along with the bile in my throat. It had
sensed something. Most likely me.

The
huge creature sniffed at the
air
as if it could smell my fear. I could hear its
massive hands clenching into fists, pieces of rubble falling from
its knuckles.

‘
I
smell something,’ it bellowed.

From
where I
stood,
I could see the other guardian stop dead in its tracks and
turn to face its partner. There was a moment’s hesitation before it
started to stomp towards the area I was hiding in. Now the sense of
urgency was far greater than I had ever experienced.

As the other
stone creature made its way towards its partner, I dashed to the
end of the row and glanced at the numbers, praying that zero would
be close by.

My prayer was
answered as my eyes fell on the golden zero, but my heart sank as I
realized it was located further up, past the stone guard who was
still sniffing at the air.

The second
guardian moved to stand next to its comrade and it too sniffed at
the air, although his seemed to be more like deep
breaths.

‘
Yes, I too smell something,’ said the second
guardian.

That
was it. The game was over. In a few short
seconds,
they would start to move in my
direction and basically block me from my goal. At least, that’s
what I thought was going to happen.

Instead, to my
surprise, they both turned and started walking in the direction I
had come from, leaving the path clear for me to move.

Which I did at
almost breakneck speed.

Heart pounding I
ran to the row where bookcase number zero stood. I studied the
scrolls, desperation rising up from my stomach as I failed to see
anything that would separate Lisa’s scroll from the
rest.

If it hadn’t
been for the sake of making a noise and bringing the guardians full
attention down on me, I would have sat there and cried. All the
fear, panic and frustration I had been feeling leading up to that
moment had accumulated into a massive ball in my throat that I
couldn’t seem to shift.

Tears pricked at
my eyes as I looked up at the scrolls and at first I thought I was
seeing things. On the third shelve above me, I could see something
glowing.

I glanced over
at the stone creatures stomping their way back to the main doors
where I had entered. Once I was certain they couldn’t see me, I
climbed on to the first shelve and reached for the glowing
object.

Once
my fingers wrapped a
round
it, I lowered myself back to the floor and studied what was
in my hands. It was indeed a scroll, glowing in that same golden
aura as the ring I wore.

Unlike the
rest,
though, this scroll had a purple ribbon tied
a
round
it to keep it in place. I stood there, trying to
decide
whether
to open the scroll and check it while I was there, or just
take it and get the hell out of the library first.

I decided it was
probably best to do the latter.

The good thing,
this time, was that I could cut through the rows that led me away
from the gaze of the guardians who were now standing at the front
doors, sniffing the air like a pair of concrete dogs.

When I reached
the first row I gripped the scroll in my hand as tight as I could
and waited for the huge creatures to make their next move. I could
only hope that by leaving my scent further back in the library that
it would lead them away.

Although,
considering the volume of sweat that was dripping from my body I
felt certain they would pick up my location much
quicker.

As
it turned out, the guardians
were
not the brightest of Satan’s creatures. They both
turned to face the interior of the library.

‘
We
have an intruder,’ said the one with the nose on his
forehead.

I watched,
amazed, as they stormed off back into the direction I had come
from. As soon as they were working their way between the rows
again, hunting for me, I made my final run to the main doors and
the safety of the shadows that surrounded them.

Carefully, I
eased one of the doors open and slipped outside.

Once I was back
outside the library, confronted with the endless pathway of torches
and the sea of skulls, I ducked to my left and hid between two
massive pillars. I doubted it would be enough to keep me safe for
any length of time, but hopefully enough for me get myself together
again.

I
breathed hard as my heart tried its best to escape from my chest.
Droplets of sweat escaped from my forehead and hit the floor with a
silent
splash
before quickly fizzing away under the heat.

I
looked at the neatly rolled piece of parchment I held in my shaking
hands. I debated with myself for a few seconds on whether I should
look at it or not.
Eventually,
I guessed I had come all the way to hell to get it and
destroy it, so the least I could do was make sure it was the
correct one.

I
loosened off the ribbon, letting it float to the
ground
before I carefully
opened the scroll and studied the ancient and ornate lettering that
graced it.

Although I knew I shouldn’t have been surprised, I felt a
little disheartened to see that it was written in Latin. I couldn’t
understand a single word that was on the paper and
therefore,
I had no idea if I
was holding Lisa’s scroll or maybe some other poor bastards deal
with the dark lord.

‘
I
see you found it,’ said Pertilius, making me jump as he appeared by
my side.

‘
I
thought you couldn’t be here?’ I said, still trying to understand
what was on the scroll.

‘
I’m
not supposed to be, but most of the kingdom heard the guardian’s
alarm, so if I was you I would get out of here as fast as you can,’
he said, in his usual calm voice.

‘
Is
this Lisa’s deal?’ I asked, my hands still shaking from the
adrenaline.

‘
Yes, but there is no point in destroying it here. You have to
be in front of her when you do it, so she knows that she is free,’
he said.

I
glanced towards the seemingly unending pathway lined with
torches
and figured that
must be the way I was going to have to leave. The only problem was,
I could clearly see approaching objects. Very large objects with
wings.

‘
Touch the red letters at the bottom of the scroll,’ said the
monk, his gaze following mine.

With
a trembling
hand,
I reached out to touch the ornate red letters, a word in
Latin I assumed, and as soon as my fingers touched the paper and
the raised ink the world spun at an alarming pace.

Torches became
one with the black clouds and the library seemed to melt into a
vast mixture of varying colours. I could feel myself getting dizzy,
and at one point I wanted to vomit but was able to hold back the
rising bile.

As the world
spun around me, I looked down at my hands and noticed I was still
touching the sacred letters. Quickly, as if I had been given a
shock, I pulled my fingers away and the world stopped its dizzying
movement.

The
library, the torches and more importantly, the Grimoyle’s, had
vanished. In their place was a small room, a bedroom of sorts. I
could see a bed big enough for one at the far corner of the room.
A
nightstand
stood next to it, and a small chair next to that. There was
no decorations or ornaments or anything that would make the room
personal to the soul who slept in it.

I was starting
to feel confused when I heard the soft click of the door being
opened. I could feel my eyes and my heart swell with joy as I
watched Lisa shuffle inside and close the door behind
her.

‘
It’s been a long time
babe
,’ I said, trying to offer my best
smile.

Lisa
snapped her head up and looked straight at me.
At first,
there was hatred in her eyes,
but once she recognized who was doing the talking, that smile I had
dreamed of for the last five years crossed her lips once
again.

‘
Samuel, is that you?’ She asked, tears welling in her eyes as
a delicate hand reached out to touch my face.

I closed my eyes
and enjoyed the sensation of her fingers taking in every contour of
my face. I kept them closed as her lips touched mine, gently, but
it was enough to send sparks flying through my body.

Then her touch
stopped. When I opened my eyes I could see her take a step back
from me and her smile changed to an expression of
confusion.

‘
What’s wrong?’ I asked, feeling worried that she was going to
reject me after all this time apart.

‘
You
can’t be here. If Satan finds you he’ll destroy your soul,’ she
said, her expression changing again to one of worry.

‘
Well, he is going to try, but I think I could beat him,’ I
said.

Lisa moved
towards me once again, her eyes tracing the intricate tattoos on my
wrists and forehead.

‘
I’ve seen those marking before. The monks have them on their
robes,’ she said, sounding confused.

‘
You’re right,’ I said, feeling my smile falter.

‘
Samuel, what’s going on? How did you get here?’ She
asked.

I was unsure how
much time we had left before Satan got wind of my little plan, but
I inhaled a deep breath and explained everything as quickly as I
could to Lisa, right up to the point where I had stolen the scroll
from the Library.

‘
You
did all that just to free me?’ She asked, as her eyes fell on the
scroll I was still holding.

‘
I’ve spent the last five years thinking you were in heaven
and instead I found out you were here in hell. There is no way I
can let the woman I love spend her eternity here,’ I said, feeling
tears prick at my eyes again.

‘
You
know he’s not going to let us leave just because you tear up that
scroll,’ she said and I nodded in agreement even as she
spoke.

I
had omitted
telling
her that the grand plan involved me becoming the next ruler
of hell, again, as it would turn out.
Instead,
I gave her the abridged
version:

‘
Once I tear up this scroll, you will be taken to the realm
between here and earth. When that happens, Satan is going to come
looking for me, and I will have to beat him in order to return you
to your body,’ I explained, understanding just how awesomely insane
it all sounded.

Lisa shook her
head in disbelief. I couldn’t really blame her for not wanting to
believe in it all, but she had been in hell for much longer than
me, in this life at least, so I thought she would understand better
than me.

‘
Samuel, he’ll tear you apart,’ she said.

‘
Well, the monks seem to think I have enough firepower to wipe
him off the face of the earth, or hell, as the case maybe,’ I said,
feeling unusually confident, ‘they believe I can beat
him.’

‘
Do
you believe you can beat the dark lord?’ she asked, her beautiful
eyes staring deep into mine and beyond to a part of my being that
only she has ever been able to reach.

‘
Up
until now, no. I didn’t think I was strong enough. But seeing you
for the first time in five years, I know I can hammer him
into
the ground to make
sure you never see this place again.

‘
I
don’t understand why I have to become a nomad soul though Samuel?’
she said, her eyes searching my soul for the answers.

‘
Because you have been here for so long, heaven will not
recognize you as either a tainted soul or a soul of light. The same
concept will work here in hell too, so you have to go to the never
realm where you will have to wait out your eternity. But, if I beat
Satan I will have the power to put you back into your body on Earth
and if I can do that it will basically reset the balance for your
soul. A fresh start so to speak in the eyes of the higher powers
anyway,’ I explained, starting to feel a little drained with it
all.