Nephilim Rising: The Complete Series, page 55
part #0 of Nephilim Rising Series
Eblis smiled, and as he did, I felt a sudden, agonizing pressure in my skull, as if a great force was slowly crushing it. Blood ran from my ears and nose. Then just as suddenly, the pressure stopped, and I gasped in shock, looking down at the blood running over my bare chest.
“Next time you lie to me,” Eblis said. “Your head will explode. Then you’ll be pieced back together again, before being tossed back in the Depths, where you shall remain forever.” His eyes were now a burning amber color. “It would behoove you to tell me the truth from now on.”
I nodded and wiped the blood from under my nose and off my mouth. “All right.”
“Good girl.” Eblis squeezed my leg, his eyes back to cold gray again. “Now tell me who sent you.”
Wave bye bye to your soul...
“A demon called Mullin,” I said.
Eblis’ face hardened for a second. “Mullin? That conniving sludgecock. Using my own daughter against me…” He seemed slightly furious for a second, his eyes glowing once more as his grip on my leg tightened to the point where I winced in pain. Then he seems to gather himself for a moment, until he finally calmed down.
“I thought you said I wasn’t your daughter?” I couldn’t help saying it, and instantly regretted it when I realized who I was saying it to.
Eblis stared at me a moment, then nodded his head approvingly. “You always were a spirited one,” he said.
“I’m surprised you even remember.”
“I remember it all. Every last detail. The downside of being as powerful as I now am.”
“You remember how much I loved you then?”
He seemed jarred for a second, then smiled as if he thought I was trying to get under his skin, which I was in a way. Not that it worked. “Mullin sent you here to kill me.”
I knew there was no point in lying. “Yes.”
He shook his head. “That doesn’t make any sense. Mullin knows there is nothing that can destroy me here.” His gaze intensified. “How were you planning on doing it?”
Just as I thought about telling him about the portal, something in me stopped me from doing so. The portal was the only edge I had left. More than that, it was my only salvation. If Eblis didn't know about the portal, then he was still vulnerable. Which meant I might still be able to complete the mission.
Any short-lived notions of not having in it in me to kill my father suddenly vanished. The person I was now speaking with was not my father, but a cold-hearted despot who didn't give a shit if I lived or died, or spent the rest of eternity in the bowels of Hell wallowing in my own suffering. My father, my real father, had died a long time ago. He was gone. I knew that now. Which is why I wasn’t about to stupidly concede the only move I had left to get out of Hell for good.
So I made something up. I told Eblis I had planned to transform into the demon, and destroy him like I did Abigor. After I told him, I did my best to hold his gaze, which wasn't easy, for I was well aware he could end me in a heartbeat if he thought I was lying.
But he laughed in the end: got up off the bed and laughed as he paced around the large room. "My dear girl," he said. "I think you've been played."
“What?” I asked, not having to act confused at all, because I already was.
"Mullin didn't send you here to kill me. That would be absurd. He sent you here because he thought in doing so, that I would somehow let my guard down in your presence." He walked back to the bed and sat in the chair, pulling it closer to the bed and leaning forward as he spoke, as though he was getting ready to tell me a bedtime story, though I didn’t expect his words to give me much comfort. "Mullin wants my throne. He's a politician at heart, you see; his ways are sly, more subtle than your average demon. This little ploy of his was obviously designed to throw me, to force me to take my eye off things, long enough for him to come in and take the throne from under me, knowing that I would be vulnerable. He's trying to play on who I used to be. He thinks that just because I keep your mother here, that I am somehow sentimental, and that I will therefore be sentimental toward you also." His smile chilled my blood. "He doesn't know me very well."
"He played me from the start…" I was genuinely dumbfounded. What had started out as a lie had somehow managed to turn into the truth, or so it seemed. Everything Eblis just said seemed to make perfect sense to me. I felt like vomiting when I realized there was a very real chance I had been played by Mullin after all. That inserting me into Hell to somehow throw the King off his game was his real plan all along. How could I be sure that wasn't the case? How could I be sure that I was not actually trapped in Hell after all, with no chance of ever getting out, or getting my soul back?
Eblis stood up. “Anyway,” he said. “I have other business to attend to now. I may return to speak with you again.” He ran his eyes over me like he still wasn’t sure of what to do with me. I looked up at him, still speechless.
Then just before he disappeared into thin air, he said, “Welcome to your new home...daughter of mine.”
4
Alone in the room, I didn’t know what else to do but lay back in the bed, which was pure luxury compared to the stone box I had endured for...how long? I still didn’t know, not that it mattered. The longer I spent in Hell, the more time began to lose its meaning, the concept fading away like a long forgotten memory. Now everything just was; a perpetual present. Liberating in its own way, but less so when I thought about what exactly I had been delivered into: a strange world that grew stranger the more familiar I became with it.
Not that I thought it possible to become truly familiar with a place like Hell. It was too vast, possessed of too many levels, too many depths, to ever know it completely. I doubted even Eblis knew all of the terrains, not with an entity like the Adversary running things in the background. An almighty entity of fathomless depth. The Adversary was the only thing that did and ever would know Hell completely. I doubted even God, if such a rival entity existed, could get to the bottom of evil and all it represented. Something told me the dark was here long before the light.
Staring up at the scenes of battle painted on the ceiling, many of them portraying Eblis in full battle gear, wielding a great sword, I thought about what the King had said about Mullin; about how Mullin was just playing games, and that I was a mere pawn in those games. I had no reason to trust Eblis, but neither did I have reason to trust Mullin. They were both demons, and only out for themselves, both bent on gaining more power at any cost. I didn’t know who to believe. The only way I would know for sure was to find the portal Mullin was talking about. If there really was a portal leading straight to Earth somewhere in the King's palace, then Mullin was telling me the truth, and I would get my soul back. Most of all, I wouldn't have to spend eternity in this wretched place, which would be my fate if Mullin was lying and there was no portal. The only way to find out was to look for it, which I decided to do the first chance I got.
I sat up on the bed, my head still reeling from my time spent in the Depths; and from the fact that I was no longer down there, but was now a guest of sorts in the King's palace. The King who was not my father.
That fact was twisting me up inside. What made it worse was that I couldn't let go of the idea that there may just be some part of my father left, buried deep inside this Eblis character that he had become. Going from what I had seen so far, the chances of that being true were practically zilch. I had looked into Eblis' eyes, and there was no trace of my father in them. Truth be told, he scared the shit out of me. How my mother had spent so much time with such an obvious monster, I had no idea.
Unless she was now a monster as well, a possibility I didn't want to entertain just yet. Now that I had finally found her after all these years of believing her gone for good, I had to believe that it was still her, and that she at least still felt something for me, even if her time in Hell had changed her in other ways. Knowing my mother was still my mother at heart was the only way I could endure the wretchedness of this place. Without the security of knowing someone here was on my side, Hell really would become hell for me.
After a while, I got up out of bed and padded naked across the hard stone floor, which felt warm under my feet. My legs were a little shaky, but I was otherwise steady as I walked to the ironclad door of the room. It was locked, which was no surprise. Can't have me wandering around the palace unsupervised, now can we? I thought.
Turning away from the door, I wandered idly around the spacious room with the blood-red walls and the strange, gnarly looking furniture. A big double wardrobe stood over in one corner. As I ran my hand down its surface, I realized it was not made from wood, but from some other substance that was waxy to the touch, like hardened skin. But before I could examine the wardrobe any further, the door to the room was unlocked, and I instinctively backed away toward the opposite wall, suddenly afraid that it might be Eblis returning. I stood expectantly as the door opened to reveal a woman standing in the hallway outside, a bundle of what looked like clothes held in her arms, boots and all.
The clothes barely registered, though, for my attention was more taken by the woman's face…or lack there of. One half of her face was almost completely missing, from her temple to her chin, as though acid had been thrown at her and her face had melted off. The other half of her face held a single blue eye, half a deformed nose, and a lower lip that was just barely hanging on. It made the woman—who had blond hair combed across the good half of her head—look like she had a grinning skeleton inside her waiting to get out. The worst thing was that the woman's injuries appeared to have happened only moments ago, so fresh looking were her wounds. As gruesome as her appearance was, however, it didn't shock me much. She was the least of the horrors I had seen in my time here so far.
The woman also had on a maid's uniform, which I found strange. "I've been instructed by Countess Seraphim to bring you these garments," the half-faced maid said, her voice no more than a throaty gurgle thanks to her melted vocal chords.
“Who is Countess Seraphim?” I asked after a moment of trying to understand the woman. You would think they would send someone a bit more intelligible, and a bit less…melted.
The woman looked at me with her one good eye, which might as well have not have been there, so lifeless was it; like a dead fish eye staring back at me, its outer edges milky “Your garments,” she gurgled. She thrust her arms out, holding the bundle of clothes out in front of her, waiting.
After a moment, I walked to the door and accepted the clothes from the maid. "Thanks…" I said awkwardly, before stepping back into the room just as he closed and locked the door again.
I placed the clothes on the bed and examined them. There was a black catsuit that appeared to have been patched together from what I hoped was leather, and not human skin. Not that it mattered what the suit was made out of. What was I going to do, walk around naked for the rest of my tenure in Hell?
The knee high boots appeared to be made in the same fashion, patched together from leather that was slightly thicker than the leather of the suit. The soles were made from a harder material that could have been rubber, or just as easily, knowing this place, the compressed charred remains of some dead thing.
I felt strangely better after I’d donned the clothes. Amazing what being fully clothed can do for your confidence. Of course, I had no idea of how I looked, or what harrowed state my face was in, as they didn’t seem to have much use for mirrors in Hell. Even if there was a mirror in the room, I wouldn’t have had time to look at it anyway, for I soon heard the door unlocking again, and I spun around to see two Hellwrathians standing there. They both looked identical, as though they were nothing but clones, having the same ogre-like faces, huge mouths, and teeth like building blocks protruding from thick, rubbery lips; teeth that looked like they could easily crush bone. Dark green skin and fierce yellow eyes completed the look of monstrous intimidation. "Come with us!" one of them barked.
When I didn’t move, the other guard said, “Now!”
Trying to remain calm, I walked toward the guards, exiting into the hallway. Then one guard pulled the door closed while the other stood in front of me, effectively sandwiching me between them. My experience of the Hellwrathians so far hadn’t been good. Each time I encountered them, they always represented a threat. I was hoping this time would be different, and that they were just escorting me to see this Countess Seraphim woman mentioned by the maid.
“Move,” growled the guard behind me, as the one in front started walking with heavy footfalls down the hallway. I followed in the dim red light, unsettled by the guard behind me, who although I couldn’t see him, I could still feel his burning gaze on my back.
I was lead down a maze of hallways at a quick pace; so quick in fact, that I barely took anything in as I walked, being too busy trying to keep up with the guard in front. I was aware of passing doors, of openings into other hallways, and of paintings hung on the stone walls that I only observed in a flash. This manic marching went on for some time before we went through another door that appeared to lead to a courtyard outside the palace. The guard in front opened the door, and then stood aside to let me go through, while the other guard remained back in the hallway.
Slightly fearful that I was being led into a bad situation, I stepped out into the stone courtyard, which was bathed in the familiar reddish light I had grown so sick off while traveling through the levels. Being exposed to it again triggered an anxious reaction in me, and I jumped when the door was slammed at my rear. My anxiety only increased when I heard a loud snort that sounded like it came from some animal. Peering into the dull light, I noticed for the first time that there was something at the end of the courtyard; something that was throwing massive dark shadows onto the surrounding walls.
Then I heard a voice. "Come here!" It was my mother’s voice.
Forgetting my fear and anxiety for a moment, I walked quickly crossed the courtyard until I could see exactly what was in front of me: two massive black steeds with burning red eyes that sent chills down me when I looked at them. Mounted on one of the horses was my mother, who wore a dark cloak with a hood that covered most of her head. “Mom?” I said quietly.
She pulled her hood down to reveal a mask of coldness on her face, gripping the reins as she towered over me. "You will address me as Countess Seraphim, you understand me?"
The harsh, commanding tone to her voice was like a slap in the face. The only response I could muster was to simply nod.
“Good,” Countess Seraphim said. “You are to accompany me on some business.” She tossed a dark cloak at me then, which I caught before it hit the ground. “Put that on, and then mount the other steed.”
I swallowed as I took in the huge black beast staring back at me with angry red eyes. “I...don’t ride.” That was an understatement. When I was a kid, one of my foster parents owned a horse. When I was taken to meet it, it bit my hand when I tried to pet it, nearly taking my fingers off. I’ve hated horses ever since.
“Get on,” the Countess said, her steed rearing up just as the courtyard gates were opened by persons unknown. “The steed will do the rest.”
Sure it will…after it’s bitten me in half…
After putting on the heavy cloak Seraphim gave me, I approached the fearsome beast meant for me, and stood there looking at it like I didn’t know what to do next. My anxiety was made worse by the fact that the Countess and both horses were getting impatient with me. "Hurry up!" she shouted.
Once again, her tone forced me into complying, and I stepped toward the massive steed. I put one foot in the stirrup and tried to hoist myself onto the saddle, but the steed was so big—much bigger than any normal horse—I could barely reach the saddle with my other leg. I looked apologetically at Seraphim, expecting a torrent of abuse in return.
“Enough of this!” she said, and shot a hand toward me. Next thing I knew I was being lifted into the air by some invisible force, and then dumped unceremoniously onto the hard saddle. Now groping for the reins, I tried not to think about how impossibly high up I was. “Don’t let go of the reins…”
A second later, the Countess bolted through the gates on her steed. Almost at the same time, the steed I was balancing precariously on made a blood-curdling screaming sound as it shook its huge head, pulling with terrific force on the reins I was struggling to hold on to. Then it bolted after the Countess, taking off with such acceleration that I thought my neck would snap. After that, it was all I could to hold on for dear life as the steed took off like a bullet train, carrying me a destination unknown.
5
Trying to remain atop of the demonic steed as it raced behind the Countesses’s at breakneck speed was a terrifying experience, to say the least. All I could do was grip the reins as tight as I could, while bracing my thighs against the saddle beneath me.
With most of my attention taken up with trying to fall off my ride, I barely had time to take in where the Countess was leading us. Away from the palace, I knew that much; and then through the maze of streets in Pandemonium for a time, before racing out of the city to head up a mountain of some sort, a mountain that was shrouded in mist from top to bottom. Several times as the steed strode fearlessly through the thick mist, I felt things fly past my head; winged creatures giving off unholy screeches as they by belted past us.
We had been moving up the mountain for quite a while when my steed finally started to slow down as the Countesses’s came to a stop just up ahead. When I saw her dismount gracefully from her steed, I did the same, only without the grace. My foot caught in the stirrup as I tried to dismount the towering beast, and I ended up swinging off the side of it by one leg. The Countess approached after a few failed attempts of mine to free my foot from the stirrup. She stared at me a moment, then helpfully dislodged my foot, letting me drop onto the rocky ground. I lay there for a second, feeling like an idiot as I looked up at her, half expecting her to take her sword out and kill me right there.
