Going to Hell, page 2
Squatting, I touched the stone floor beneath my feet. Unless Girderon had a basement, the druids had sent me somewhere outside of the academy but not outdoors.
I was in some other building within Uttira.
A tremble stole through me as I considered the danger. Leaving the academy meant there was no anti-death ward to protect me from whatever might lurk nearby.
Staying crouched, I listened. Not a whisper of noise disrupted the surrounding silence. I ran my fingers over the floor and heard the faint rasp. That meant my ears were working fine even if my voice wasn’t. But what about my eyes?
I debated the wisdom of using my phone to test my vision. If I could see the screen light up, so might something else. And wherever I was, the creatures here likely knew nothing of my presence. For now.
Yet, I couldn’t hope to find my way out of this place completely blind, and each second I lingered only increased my risk of discovery.
After several long minutes of nothing, I gave in and pulled out my phone. I didn’t even have to turn on the flashlight to see. The faint glow from the lock screen was enough to illuminate the grey stone beneath my fingers, and my breathing hitched at the proof my eyes were working.
Standing slowly, I lifted the phone higher.
The empty stone room looked exactly the way I imagined a medieval prison cell would look, right down to the wooden door with the old, beaten metal latch. The space lacked a window, furniture, and thankfully shackles. It had nothing but stone and the door.
Unlocking my phone, I considered what to send Eliana. My uncle warned me that human phones were monitored for our protection, and I didn’t want to say something that would get Eliana into any trouble. So, I settled for simple and hoped it would be enough to let her know I needed help.
Me: Marco!
I returned my phone to my pocket and went to the door to press my ear to the surface. While I listened, I tried talking. No sound emerged, regardless of how hard I tried.
Okay. No big deal. No voice meant that I couldn’t scream bloody murder when something scared me. That was a good thing. Of course, I couldn’t scream for help either, but I refused to let myself think like that.
Remaining focused on the positive, I quelled my fears as best as I could. Too many of the creatures in Uttira found the scent of fear irresistible, and the last thing I wanted to do was attract them.
All I needed to do was remain calm, figure out where I was, and find a way out so I could go home.
Calm. Figure it out. Go home.
No problem.
The handle lifted easily and soundlessly under my touch, and the door opened a crack, revealing more quiet darkness. As I stood there, details from the opposite wall began to emerge until I saw the stone hallway stretched in both directions.
Nothing stirred either way. I eased out of the room and, picking a direction, tiptoed down the hall. More details emerged from the darkness as my eyes adjusted. Metal torch brackets jutted from the wall barely above my head, though the flameless torches did nothing to light the tall, wide hallway or the wooden doors that dotted its length.
Yet, I could see.
I paused and watched more details emerge around me.
That couldn’t be right.
Frowning, I looked behind me and saw a glow reflecting off the gently curved wall. The light moved, growing brighter.
Shit. Something was coming.
I started walking faster, keeping my steps silent. However, the light didn’t fade. It continued to increase, leaving me with little choice. Running would be too loud. I needed to hide.
When I reached the next door, I paused and pressed my ear to the wood. A faint noise came from the direction of the light, feeding my need to hurry up and hide. Easing the door open, I slipped into the complete darkness and quietly closed the door.
The sound of my soft breathing didn’t drown out the scrape-thump of each step of whatever was coming. Something big. A troll maybe? It made sense. Trolls lived in close communities yet stayed apart from one another. A big building with a ton of rooms would be perfect for trolls.
The soft glow at my feet started to fade as the thing in the hallway passed, and I let out a shaky exhale. That had been close.
In the darkness behind me, something sniffed and a stomach growled.
My eyes went wide.
“Come closer,” a voice hissed.
I shuddered at the drawn-out S and grabbed the latch.
The stomach rumbled louder, and chains clattered against stone.
Heart pounding, I prayed that the thing in the hall was far enough away and blindly fled the room. Behind me, the creature let out a low wail, and the racket from its chains echoed in the dark hallway.
I fumbled for my phone while using my other hand on the wall as my guide. The dim light from the lock screen illuminated the hall. Behind me, the thing continued to make noise. The commotion incited more voices to call out.
“Help me!”
“Free me!”
“End my torment!”
The weak light showed a dark void ahead, and I found a spiraling set of stone stairs that sank into more darkness. I didn’t want to go down, but I couldn’t stay on this floor either. Not with all the yelling.
I’d barely had that thought when I heard a shout over the others.
“Quiet or you’ll lose your tongues!”
I fled down the stairs. The next landing was as dark as the one above but silent. My gut told me to keep going down even as my panic screamed at me to get out of the stairwell.
I could almost hear my uncle’s warning. “Listen to your gut. If it’s telling you something is wrong, it probably is. Hell, assume that something’s wrong all the time, and you’ll more than likely live to see another day.”
Willing my feet to keep moving, I passed seven landings before I finally left the stairwell.
When I emerged, I felt a slight breeze. No light though. That was still absent.
Using the light from my lock screen, I looked left then right. The stone hallway appeared the same as the previous one, but it had fewer doors.
Scouring my memory, I tried to recall if my uncle ever mentioned a building of this size. As the liaison officer, he’d moved around Uttira freely, but I couldn’t ever remember him mentioning any buildings this big. An over seven-story building was hard to miss. Then again, Uttira was huge, and many of its citizens had done their best to avoid my uncle.
Before I could decide which way to go, a scuffle of sound came from the right.
I retreated into the stairwell.
“What is that glowing?” a low voice asked from above.
Eyes wide, I bolted back into the hallway, veering left as I pocketed my phone.
“Run, run, run,” a voice said with a laugh.
The light in the hallway grew brighter, and over my own steps, I heard another set giving chase.
CHAPTER TWO
Without consciously deciding to, I quickly slipped inside the next door. Clapping a hand over my mouth, I smothered my rugged breaths and stared at the wooden panel.
Steps shuffled in the hall, and my eyes widened when I realized the creature had stopped just outside the door.
“Don’t hide. Play,” a voice begged.
I retreated a step. The need to look for something, anything to protect myself, clawed at me, but I couldn’t look away from the door. If it opened, I knew I would never see my stupid, stifling home again. I would never have to face hours of mind-numbing boredom while hoping that Eliana would stop by for a visit.
As awful as my life had been, it still had been a life, and I wasn’t ready to let it go.
Slowing my breathing, I forced myself to think of the positive. The door remained closed and was a barrier between me and whatever creature waited. I was safe for the moment. I willed myself to believe that and swallowed my fear.
The thing outside the door heaved a sigh and lumbered away.
A wavering exhale escaped me, and I closed my eyes for a grateful moment. When I opened them again, I realized there was more wrong with my situation than the creature in the hallway.
I could see.
Flickering golden light bathed the wooden door before me. Trembling, I listened. Not a whisper of sound emerged over my own.
Hopeful that I’d found a lit haven, I fixed my gaze on the ground and slowly turned.
In my peripheral to the right, I saw a bed. A wooden post rose from the corner nearest me and met with a beam draped with heavy fabric. A golden cord tied the dark red material to the post, making it easy to glimpse the splash of white amidst the darker colors.
Someone lay on top of the mattress.
I turned for the door before I froze, torn. The monster out there or the monster in here?
Think, Ashlyn. What does your gut tell you?
Facing the bed, I lifted my gaze a fraction.
What I saw nearly stopped my heart.
The woman on the bed had been there a very long time. Dust coated her white gown. The delicate fabric swathed her skeleton, except for her head, toes, and hands. Wisps of red-gold hair, almost the same shade as mine, lay on the aged pillow beneath her skull. She looked peaceful, based on the way her hands rested on her chest.
No, she looked human.
I didn’t let that fool me, though. Many of the creatures could change their appearances. It was merely another way to lull their prey.
Pay no attention to me, sheep. I’m no wolf. Just one of your own kind. I silently snorted to myself at that sarcastic thought.
However, my situation was no laughing matter. Why was she here? Human or not, it looked like she’d died in that bed a long time ago. Where in the hell was I?
I openly studied the rest of the room. Other than the huge, four-poster bed to my right, a narrow table waited to the left and a chaise sat against the far wall. Dust coated each piece. Yet, torches burned brightly from their holders on the wall. Exactly how long could a torch burn?
My gaze lingered on the surprisingly grand items on the table. Golden necklaces set with big jewels and bangles decorated with ornate designs lay on the surface, along with a hairbrush and small vials. Based on the shape of the glass and the decorative etchings, they looked like fancy bottles for perfumes or scented oils. Whatever they once contained had long ago dried to yellowed chunks at the bottom.
Above the table, a flattened gold disc roughly the size of a dinner plate hung on the wall. My wavey reflection glinted back at me in the torchlight, and I realized the purpose of the disc. A mirror. This room wasn’t old. It was freakishly old. I didn’t even know when in our history we’d used polished metal as mirrors. My gaze shifted to the straw-stuffed stool in front of the table. The material clinging to it was in tatters, the stuffing long decayed to nothing but a few pieces here and there. The chaise along the back wall wasn’t in any better shape.
I glanced at the bed, amazed it was so well-preserved in comparison, and noticed my shoe prints in the dust on the floor. My gaze flicked between the tracks I’d left and the lit torches. No one had been in here except me in a long time.
Then how were the torches still—?
Something rattled.
In the mirror's reflection, I caught a movement on the opposite wall. The head of yet another skeleton had tipped forward. This one wasn’t comfortably lying down but reclined against the wall.
I turned to look at it.
Cloth pants covered the legs stretched out on the floor. While the man wore no shirt, not every torso bone was bare to my gaze. Bits of dried skin still clung to him, unlike the woman. Also, unlike the woman, he was chained. Shackles encircled his dried wrists. The heavy links anchored to the wall kept his hands above his head.
The head swung slightly to the side.
I made a face, praying a rat wasn’t going to crawl out of him. Voice or not, I’d scream.
However, as I stared, I saw it wasn’t something inside of him making him move. He was moving. His withered skin twitched and plumped. Underneath it, bits started wriggling and knitting together.
My mouth dropped open, and I backed up a step. What in the hell could reanimate? Zombies weren’t real, no matter what the movies said. I knew that because I’d asked. Druids were powerful, but not this powerful. At least, I didn’t think they were.
My gaze darted to the bed as I shuffled back another step. The skeleton there remained in its restful repose.
Another rattle returned my attention to the skeleton that was looking more corpse and less bones as tissue closed over the gaps and re-forming organs. There was no blood. Only gross red. The thinness of his legs under the cloth dissipated as he continued to flesh out. On the crown of his head, the first sprouts of dark hair emerged.
The feeling that I was safer in this lit room rather than the dark hallway vanished, and I silently retreated a few more steps until the reanimated skeleton man disappeared from view. Then I turned and hurried to the door.
Struggling to breathe through my panic, I quietly gripped the latch. It gave a soft clink but didn’t budge when I tried to open it. I looked down in confusion and saw a hole in the solid metal surface. A keyhole? I needed a key?
Rather than overthink the reason why it was locked on the inside, I frantically turned and scanned the table for a key. Finding none, my gaze slid to the bed and the peaceful woman. A stick of metal protruded from the bony cage of her clasped hands. Of course, the dead lady would be grasping the key.
Hurrying to her side, I eased the bent, thin toothbrush looking thing with four metal bristles from her hold.
The fleshy skeleton, once again in my line of sight, lifted its head. The dark hair growing from its crown fell back, revealing empty eye sockets that glowed red.
My heart, which had started beating faster the moment he moved, tripled its efforts. Air soundlessly wheezed in and out of me. I knew I needed to look away, to follow the rules, but the terror of what I was witnessing held me transfixed.
Its jaw moved. Teeth flashed behind partially formed lips. The arms reached for me, as if beckoning me to come closer.
Finally, self-preservation kicked in, and I managed to retreat a step.
A pained sound tore from the creature. It flung its head back and fought against the chains in earnest. As I watched, its developing biceps flexed and one of the chain loops opened slightly.
I spun around and raced for the door. The lock and key weren’t anything like I’d seen before, and it took a moment of fumbling to understand I had to insert it and push down on it like a lever. When I did, the latch released.
Behind me, the rattling stopped.
“Let me help you,” he rasped, the words garbled by missing tissue. “You cannot torment dressed like that.”
I pulled the key free and fled out the door.
Something soft brushed my bare legs, stopping me in my tracks, and I looked down. There was barely enough light coming from the room to see that I now wore the same Grecian style dress the woman on the bed had. One shoulder was bare. A belt hugged my waist, and a band of material bound my breasts. And, from the feel of things, I wasn’t wearing any damn underwear.
That sent a new bolt of urgency through me. I did not want to find out why I was missing that piece of clothing.
Taking off again, I ran down the hallway. The sound of my bare feet slapping against the stone filled my ears. Nothing else. No rattle of chain or rasping voice. The silence was more terrifying than the noise.
The light faded, and I slowed enough to place my hand on the wall and keep it there for guidance.
What was that thing? It had obviously changed my clothes magically. Several creatures could do that. Druids. Various types of frost giants. I’d never heard of any kind of magic-wielding creature reanimating itself, though. What was I dealing with? Was this a troll house or wasn’t it? I’d heard of trolls killing humans, but not other creatures. At least, not like what I’d just witnessed. If this place wasn’t for trolls, then what had chained him to that wall?
More importantly, where was I, and how did I get out? Because I wanted out. Now.
I realized darkness had never fully bloomed around me. The vague shape of the walls stood out in the gloom, and the path ahead slowly grew brighter.
My gaze darted to the doors to the left and right, searching for an escape. But the last thing I wanted to do was step into a room with another chained creature. I wished I would have stayed in the place I’d started. Safely by myself.
The rasp and thump of heavy footfalls accompanied the increasing light, and my pulse picked up speed even more. If I couldn’t find a place to hide and calm down for five minutes, every creature here would smell my fear and come running.
Just as I was about to turn around, I heard a rattle of metal behind me.
“There she is.”
The rough words sent a spear of panic through me. With the reanimated man on one side and the light growing on the other, there was nowhere to go.
Think, Ashlyn. Most creatures will try to steal your free will first.
Eyes wide and downcast, I turned and leaned my forehead against the wall so I wouldn’t be an easy target. Those that wanted to kill humans only did so to consume human flesh, which was against the law. And very few creatures were dumb enough to break that law and risk attracting the wrath of a fury.
Stay facing the wall, I coached myself. They’ll lose interest and go away. You’ll be fine.
The reanimated man came close enough that I could see his feet on the floor behind me. Fully formed and covered with smooth golden skin, they paced back and forth.
“Look at her cower,” he said sadly before his tone turned tormented. “Game, game, game. I hate games. No, I love them. Pain is better than nothing. But nothing is all I receive. Look at her skin.” He paused his pacing to make an angry, wounded sound. “I want that skin. I’ve suffered to touch it. It’s mine.”
He wanted my skin? Terror like nothing I’d known before gripped me. There was no law against maiming or killing humans for fun, so long as the death didn’t expose the existence of mythical creatures living within human society. I imagined how he meant to take my skin and fought not to shudder in reaction.
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