Page 4 of Sealed By Fire (The Nature Hunters Academy 2)

As dry and as hot as a desert at high noon, Osiris’s domain was not what anyone would consider a paradise. Even for a fire elementalist, it wasn’t a comfortable place to be. Though Ra didn’t burn the way others would, he wasn’t impervious to the heat. His skin was saturated with sweat, and he felt trickles roll down his back.

Ra heard a noise to his left and glanced out of the corner of his eye. A demon scuttled along the bank. It had been a quiet trip down the River Styx so far though, but Ra held no illusions he’d make the entire trip without confrontation. He breathed easier. The demon wasn’t terribly brave or powerful. He was simply curious as to whether Ra might make easy prey.

The demon hissed as it crawled forward keeping pace with the slow-moving craft. “Why does one of the living tread here amongst the lost?”

Ra didn’t acknowledge the creature’s words. Engaging the being in any form of discussion would be futile. Demons were known for their dishonesty and hatred of humans. They were terribly jealous humans were free to live in the upworld while they were stuck in the heat of the Underworld.

“You think you are too good to speak to me, child?” The demon growled. “You are nothing. Whatever reason you have for being here, I hope you packed a bag because you won’t be leaving.”

“S-s-shame on you, Bealious,” another demon said as it stepped out from behind a tall dead tree. “Don’t be so disrespectful to our guest. Heisone of royal blood, after all.”

It didn’t surprise Ra that a demon knew who he was. Osiris certainly knew the moment Ra crossed into his domain. And the underworld didn’t receive many visitors, at least not by choice. Word of his presence was sure to have traveled fast.

“What brings you to our lovely city, Ra, descendant of Ramses?” The second demon asked.

Ra kept his eyes on the river straight ahead and his mind focused on his purpose. The demons simply wanted a reaction of any kind. In a lot of ways, demons were like three-year-olds. Just a tad more bloodthirsty.

“How much farther?” Ra asked the guide on the boat.

“The river decides,” he said. “It might take you all the way to the requested destination, or it might require you to prove yourself worthy.”

“Worthy of what?” Ra asked.

“Of Osiris’s permission to be in his realm.”

As the river moved along, the bank on each side became populated with grey, decaying trees. Soon, more demons began emerging from the dead forest. Some followed. Others simply observed the boat as it passed by. A few more tried to hale the elementalist, but Ra continued to ignore them. The air hung heavy with a red haze. Ra was uneasy, but he wasn’t terribly afraid, at least not of dying. Death was just another part of the journey that was his existence. He was at peace with that, but he would much prefer to take the next leg of the journey later rather than sooner, especially now that he knew Shelly existed.

Finally, the boat began to slow until it drifted to a stop against the muddy bank. There was a rustling and a whispering amongst the trees. Ra glanced up to see the demons that had been tracking his progress seemed to have disappeared. Ra pulled the short sword from his back and the blade from his thigh and then leaped from the boat onto the bank of the river.

“Do you know how far I am from the resting place of my ancestors?” he asked the guide.

“You are on level seven. They are on level three.”

Looks like Osiris is going to make me prove myself.Ra forced his face to remain neutral though he was growling inside. The guide had brought him to the deepest level of the underworld, the bowels of hell itself. Fantastic.

“You’ve come at a volatile time, young pharaoh.” Ra turned back to the man in the boat and saw he was no longer a man. At some point along the journey, the figure had quietly returned to his skeletal form. “Osiris is angry with the upworld. He isn’t going to make this easy on you. Good luck, young pharaoh.”

The guide pushed away from the bank, and the craft began to float away. “Thanks a lot,” muttered Ra.

He tilted his head back and looked up. It was difficult to see because of all of the smoke, but Ra could make out tall mountains surrounding a deep crag in the earth. He knew that there was a trail that climbed up the steep cliffs, but no doubt it would be fraught with peril.

Ra took a few steps toward the path in the cliffs before he was stopped in his tracks by a demon that appeared to materialize out of nowhere. It stood a few feet away and stared at him with black, soulless eyes set in sunken sockets. The demon’s skin was black and leathery, and its arms ended in thick appendages that were more claw than hand. It stood upright on hind legs bent like those of a hooved animal. The thing’s neck undulated, and it reminded Ra of a serpent as it shifted from side to side. The motion was matched by a long, spiny tail trailing behind the demon’s body. Sharp, pointy teeth filled its gaping mouth, and a serpent’s forked tongue flicked out every few seconds.

“You sssshouldn’t have come here, young king,” the demon hissed. Ra was sure if a snake could talk, it would sound very much like the creature in front of him. He thought he recognized the creature from past visits, but he couldn’t place it.

“I have no quarrel with you. What’s your name again? You do look familiar.”

The demon spat. “Do you think me such a fool, mortal? You shan’t have my name.”

Ra shrugged. “Worth a try anyway. Regardless, I have no quarrel with you. I simply want to speak with my ancestors.” He tried to appear non-threatening to the creature but remained on the balls of his feet and kept his muscles coiled like springs, ready to take evasive action if the thing attacked. At the same time, he allowed his senses to try and detect the other demons around him. He knew they were there, even if he couldn’t see them at the moment.What was this one’s name?Ra wracked his brain trying to come up with the information he needed.

“I care not with who you quarrel,” the demon said. “I only care who passes through my domain and whether they’ve paid the appropriate price.”

“And what is the price?” Ra asked. He was pretty sure he knew the answer, but it was always good to be clear when dealing with beings that were, by nature, full of deceit.

“We only have one commodity down here, king. You know that.” The demon chuckled.

Ra shook his head. “My soul is not up for grabs.” He continued to search his memory.Xogorth? No, Xogrenth? No. He was sure it was Xo-something or other.

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