“Are you certain?” Boba asked.
“No, but things point that direction for sure.” John said. “Nothing like this has ever happened, so if it does, what comes next will be a shot in the dark.”
“Doesn’t that mean that you could also kill them?” Mitch asked.
“If it works the one way, I’d have to believe it would work both ways. The problem if that happens is that it could lead to a very nasty war between all the supernatural. If there’re no rules, then the mortal world could become a very literal battlefield.”
“Jesus.” Mitch said, his voice somber. As he thought about it, the image of the entire area of Warsaw being decimated flashed through his mind. He saw bodies laid out everywhere, and it caused him to shake.
There was a long pause between them before anyone spoke. Mitch took the chance to get his emotions in check. Once he did, he spoke up.
“It has to be me, doesn’t it?” Mitch asked.
John looked at him, scratching his chin in thought. “I don’t know, but your book said that it was you that killed him.”
“Then we need to find him.” Mitch said as he turned to John. “We need whatever reinforcements you can get, but if we sit too long, Ganith will have the same opportunity. If this is a trap, then let’s play into it. He won’t expect someone coming through each of these openings. Take that chance and let’s knock him off guard.”
“What are you thinking?” John asked.
“I’ll go with Boba. You go through one, and then Stil can handle the last one. If one of these doesn’t lead to him, we’ll meet back here.” Mitch said. “That’s possible, right?”
John nodded. “Reapers have free range. We don’t need the sigils to come back. They just act as a map to get wherever we are going.”
Mitch thought about the plan more than he unwrapped everything. When he couldn’t find the hole he was sure existed, he turned and looked at the three of them.
“Anyone have a better idea?”
John shook his head. “I’d rather you come with me, though.”
“He’ll be expecting that,” Mitch started. “If we both go in there together, it will make his job that much easier. This way splitting us up might divert his attention just enough.”
John nodded, turned to Boba and Stil, tapped the side of his head, and before Mitch blinked, he was gone. He turned to look at the other two. “What was that?”
“I’ll explain on the way.” Boba said as she walked up to one sigil on the wall. She reached out and drew something with her finger. Mitch watched as the wall split apart and cracked. Behind the wall, a walkway seemed to form out of thin air. The other side of the wall was dark and, even from where he was, Mitch could smell something faint, almost rotting. After a few seconds, Bob walked through the portal. He turned, gave Stil a nod and followed her through.
Once they got through the portal, Mitch’s eyes adjusted to the impending darkness. Once he could take in the entire scene, he realized he was standing in the best living embodiment of evil he’d seen. The rotting smell burst its way through his nose and burned his insides as he tried to breathe in.
“Do you have any idea where we are?” Mitch asked.
“Hell.” she said, her voice flat.
“Like…” Mitch trailed off.
“Yes, that hell. It doesn’t look like they’ve made it to in Hollywood or storybooks, but it’s so much more evil.”
“Did you know it would lead here?”
“I had a feeling,” she began. “The energy that came out of that sigil was dark. I knew something wasn’t right. I also figured this might have been the best place to look for Ganith.
The land stretched out ahead of him, barren and scorched. It was a wasteland the likes he’d never seen in his life. Mitch tried to breathe in again, but the acid in the air burned his chest and he coughed.
“You’ll want to be careful.” Boba said. “Everything about this place is dangerous, including the air. If you try to breathe in too deep, it could burn you from the inside.”
“Oh, joy,” Mitch said as the coughing fit subsided.
Boba started walking and Mitch fell in line behind her. They had gone a while when Mitch spoke up.
“What was the thing John did before he left?”
“It was a reminder. The reapers are all interconnected mentally. We share a mind network that works like a CB radio. The only difference is that we only hear it if we get the page. John hears all of it, though. He is the network. He used it to reach out to us and it’s how we found you.”
“So you guys know where other reapers are at all times?” Mitch asked.
“In a roundabout way, yes,” Boba told him.
They crested a hill and Mitch took in more of the terrible visuals. The ground cracked in front of them as they crested a hill, and Mitch took in more of the terrible visuals. Lava, flames, and bits of sulfur spewed out of the cracks into the air, creating a cascade of hot wind that blew back into Mitch, causing him to shield his eyes.
Wails of pain echoed through the wind and reached Mitch’s ears. The sound was so intense that it almost froze him in his tracks. The haunting voices continued as he shivered.
“Yeah.” Boba said with a matter-of-fact tone in her voice.
“Where are we going?” Mitch asked.
“I think I have an idea. There’s a chamber that houses souls for conversion. It’s where we’re required to deposit them. At the end of the chamber is the Judge. They determine how you spend eternity here.”
Mitch looked at her, confused.
“Not everyone becomes a demon. Sometimes the souls are just tortured. But if you wanted to start a takeover using demons, wouldn’t you want to be the one that determines who is on your team?”
“Wouldn’t he have to remove the Judge?” Mitch asked.
“Possibly. Could be that they’re on his side.”
“How do we get there?”
Boba cut a hole in the horizon in front of them and motioned forward. “Let’s go.”
Mitch followed her through the portal. When they came out on the other side, Mitch lost his breath again. They stood in a massive chamber full of hundreds of thousands of mulling their way through the line they were in.
Boba turned and pointed to the front of the line. Mitch saw Ganith sitting on a throne. From where Mitch stood, he saw the throne made of bones. Even in the darkness that was the chamber, they had a faint glow to them. Ganith was flipping his arms at lightning speed, judging each soul as they got to him. Mitch stood watching it in awe when the line stopped.
“Mitchell.” Ganith said as he got up. Mitch noticed Ganith had returned to his inky dark appearance.
“Ganith. I guess you don’t need a vessel here?” Mitch asked.
The demon laughed. It reverberated through the chamber, and through Mitch. Ganith began floating toward Mitch. As the two got closer, Mitch debated turning to run, but held his ground. Over Ganith’s shoulder, Mitch saw two pairs of blue-eyed demons accompanying him. Ganith closed the distance and stopped just short enough where Mitch was locked in thier eyes meeting. A sick smile spread across the demon’s face. He snapped his fingers twice, like the laugh the echo of the gesture screamed through the chamber. Two of the demons on the left turned and stepped out of the way. On the ground, Mitch saw the outline of a human body. It huddled, making it impossible for him to determine if it was breathing.
“Alexis?” Mitch said, his voice faint.
Ganith laughed. “Ah, isn’t this precious? The damsel needing saved, and the hero coming along to act like he can get it done.”
“Let her go,” Mitch said.
“Now, now, Mitchell. I don’t believe you’re in any kind of place to be making demands.”
“You made a deal with me,” Mitch said. “I know one thing: demons keep their deals.”
“There is the matter of our deal. You’d be correct. That was until recently.” Ganith said.
Mitch stared on in silence. Ganith waited almost a full minute before he spoke.
“You expect me to believe that you know nothing about this situation, about what you’ve walked into?”
Mitch stood silently. His eyes darted from Ganith back to Alexis. With each flick of his eyes, he tried to determine whether she was breathing. After a few glances, he still couldn’t tell.
“The walls are weak. Just recently, I broke through one.” Ganith said.
Mitch felt the look of surprise and concern spread across his face.
“So you have done your homework.”
Ganith shifted his eyes from Mitch to Boba.
“Are you ready to join the winning team?” Ganith asked.
This time, she laughed. “You and I both know the answer to that.”
“That’s a pity. Soon we’re going to unleash the full might of hell onto the mortal world.” Ganith told her. “Now that the borders are weak and the power is free to flow, rules no longer apply. Death can die.”
Ganith turned to the group of amassed demons around him. Mitch turned and realized the group that had now formed, taking in a breath and readying himself. As a few of the demons stepped forward, there was an audible pop behind him. Mitch turned to see that a new portal had opened.
Stil stepped out of it, followed by about a dozen other figures, what Mitch assumed were reapers. Ganith waved a hand dismissively at the newcomers and had returned to his throne. He had dragged Alexis back, and she now laid at the foot of the thrown spread out across the ground.
Mitch took in a breath and, before he could move, Stil slid past him in a blur. As he did, he drew a weapon from his side. He slithered through the cavern, almost snakelike, the blade tilted forward as he moved. He cleaved a massive slice through demons in quick order before turning back to Boba and tossing her something.
The glowing light shot forward with a blinding speed. Mitch saw the blade swing end over end before landing with a thud that he heard in Boba’s hand.
“Get ready!” She yelled. Mitch snapped to attention, watching as Boba carved her way through the demons. Light burst out of the demons with each swing. Boba danced through the crowd, slashing and moving with a furious intensity. Mitch saw small bombs of light dropping around the field and detonating like a grande. Demons were cast out with each explosion, bathing the entire field in an unnatural white light.
Mitch surveyed the area and noticed Ganith still sitting on the throne, Alexis still unmoving at his feet. Mitch didn’t like their odds, but he had to figure out how to get Alexis out of there and keep them both alive. Before he could analyze anything, another audible pop echoed through the chamber. Mitch saw another portal open, this time near the head of the throne.
John landed right next to the throne. Mitch had time to see Ganith turn before the demons swarmed around him, causing him to divert his attention to mobs that were forming around him.
Two demons swept in, trying to knock him off his feet. He side stepped one of them before the other one reached out and hit him with something in the back, causing him to fall forward. Mitch turned his body and landed on his back. It knocked the air out of him, but as he landed, he pointed a hand at one demon. Mitch watched as the silver light streaked out of his hand. Somewhere he was sure he let out a breath, unsure if it would work. The light slammed into the chest of the first demon, where it froze. There was a moment before it burst outward into brilliant light. Mitch took the moment to push himself back to his feet. As he did, he surveyed the area. Stil, Boba, and a few others were moving through the room.
Bodies were strewn about everywhere, but Mitch also noticed the sand remains of the demons that were left behind after they died. He also noticed the sears into the concrete left behind by the boiling demon’s blood. Mitch went to glance at the throne but couldn’t before the second demon was on him. Its claws flayed out and caught Mitch off guard. He didn’t get knocked to the ground this time, but the demon tried wrapping its arm around Mitch’s neck. He threw an elbow back and caught the demon in the ribs, but it still held on.
Mitch moved around the smaller demon, still gripped on as tightly as possible. He reached down and grabbed the legs, locking them in place, before flinging himself onto his back. The pressure around his neck loosened. Mitch rolled to his side and threw two shots at the demon before letting out another blast of light.
Before the light dissipated, Mitch felt something grab him from behind. He tried to turn, but realized that he was floating. The world around him had disappeared, like a door closing. The next thing he felt was a rough concrete floor. He looked around, realizing that they weren’t in Hell anymore. Instead, they were in a large room lined with shelves, all of which were loaded with books. Mitch scrambled to his feet and spun around, expecting to find demons. Instead, he saw John, who was laying Alexis down on a table. To his right, Stil and Boba were examining Stil’s arm. Mitch took a breath, and the dump of adrenaline washed over him. The world went black.