Page 15 of Hell-Bound

Leo shifted his cloak and produced a glittering dagger. The blade was about a foot long, and the hilt was solid gold. He turned the blade delicately in his hands, passing it to her, hilt first.

She weighed the weapon in her hands.

“This won’t be useful,” she said, surprising herself. “The gold hilt will be too weak for the pressure needed to break through bone.”

Leo smiled.

“There she is. The warrior we’ve been waiting for.”

Claudia and Brennan exchanged relieved glances.

“But this isn’t a mere Mortal instrument. It is a holy relic. Her name is The Holy Transgression. She will help you.”

Now that he had mentioned it, she could definitely feel a warm, magical vibration radiating off the dagger.

With that, he stepped back, clasped the hands of his fellows, and began to chant.

She couldn’t understand the words, but she found them nonetheless comforting as she listened to the cadence of their voices, their own type of musical interlude.

In fact, she was surprised that her anxiety hadn’t ratcheted up to an intolerable level. This was happening all so fast. It had barely been a day since the ship had docked, andthere she was, leaving the only world she had known.

Her thoughts shifted. Was it really such a loss? She had only been herself, her current self, for a few weeks. Learning from scratch was all that she knew. This would be just another challenge she’d have to adapt to. She would have to fumble around to get her bearings either way, whether it was a new city or a new plane of existence. If she had learned anything last night, it would be to trust her instincts, and at this moment, her instincts told her togo to hell.

Continuing to chant, Leo’s face began to look pained as it creased, and a bead of sweat appeared on his forehead.

There was a flicker—a small spark like someone had lit a match—and a low rumble thundered through the sky before a fiery circle suddenly appeared. Seven feet tall and just as wide.

Feeling the immediate heat, Renata sprang back.

Claudia and Brennan hit their knees dramatically, continuing to mutter while clutching their holy symbols. Behavior that, despite its apparent effectiveness, seemed a bit theatrical for her tastes.

Leo, still standing, looked towards Renata.

“You must go. Make haste. I cannot concentrate on the portal for more than a minute. Good luck, and please, do what you must, whatever you must, to achieve your goals. The Hells are dangerous, but I have faith in my god, and he has wisely chosen you for this task.”

Renata swallowed the lump in her throat, nerves finally revealing themselves.

“So I just—”

“Yes, go!” he blurted, and without another second of hesitation, Renata ran towards the portal.

The heat intensified as she threw herself inside.

The odor of the alley vanished and was replaced by the equally overpowering scent of sulfur and soil. Renata expected to feel like she was whirling through some sort of tornado—but instead, she felt frozen in time, seeing only the slight shifts in the red flames. The only other discernible change was thegrowing noises around her beginning to dissipate and reform before a pop and a yank, halting her abruptly despite the apparent lack of motion. It felt like hitting a wall.

As her vision cleared, new colors began to take shape. Even in her first seconds of clarity, Renata knew there was no doubt that she was in Hell.

She found herself standing in a forest clearing, if this sad foliage could still constitute a forest. The trees had no leaves and were scarred by fires. Nothing was growing. The soil under her feet was ash, and the only color she could see was gray. The sky, too, had only dark gray clouds hovering above her. There was no sun. Instead, the sky was streaked with stagnant lightning, making no sounds but lighting the plane with a purple glow.

Renata clutched the strap of her bag, standing perfectly still, half expecting someone to attack her again. But there was nothing. Oddly nothing. No animals rustling, no rippling brook, not even the shift of her hair in the wind.

All was still.

Vacant.

The only sign of life was about a half mile in the distance, where she spotted a collection of angular-shaped buildings. She crouched low, trying to not make noise as she cautiously approached.

She needn’t worry, though. The lack of vegetation made her movements essentially silent.

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