"Where Demons Abound" by Emma-Jane C. Smith

A howling cry split the still air and an instant later two glowing red orbs appeared in the black. The ebony fires roared to new heights, warming the black molten Beast who had stirred. It rose slowly, red sinewy muscle appearing, stretched across the surface of the Beast. Horns adorn its ugly head. The Beast fans out its dark wings of leather, causing the darkness to rouse.

Smaller orbs of red appear and chattering of guttural glees fills the once silent cave. The Beast companions have also awakened… excited.

“It is time,” said a voice, deep and ominous.

The Lord of the Pit had spoken.

Enolee fought against the ferocity of the storm. Howling gales and masses of sleet fell from the distant skies. And even though all around her were signs of a winter blizzard, it was hot. So unearthly hot that sweat constantly oozed out of every pore of her skin before being whipped away on the humid breeze. Although she had prepared herself for this trek she could not have imagined such an unhospitable climate.

Her eyes desperately searched the white, knowing what she sought was close. The sword at her hip had begun to sing softly, guiding her way. Figures of grey began to appear around her, shuffling past, intent on nothing. The spirits all looked the same. How will I be able to tell which is the right one? Enolee wondered nervously. Her hand lashed out to grab one of the figures. She caught it but it writhed in her grip, screaming.

Enolee took a closer look, it was a woman wraith, not who she was after. She let the spirit go and pushed deeper into the storm. Following the soft, melodious song of the sword she trudged on, her jaw set. Failure was no option. Suddenly the sword cried out shrilly for the briefest of moments and then sung quietly once more. The one she was after must have brushed past her. Enolee turned, grabbing hold of every grey figure she could. Many screamed and tried to get away, but none that she grasped caused the sword to shriek. She let them go and grabbed more, moving now in the direction they were all travelling.

Her heart was in her throat; she didn’t have much time. Enolee had to find him soon or it would be too late. She wiped her forehead with her sleeve. Enolee knew that the longer she stayed, the higher the temperature would rise and soon it would be far too intense for her body to survive. The sword let out its alarm again. Enolee frantically held onto the grey figure and rejoiced when it did not resist. She pulled it in closer and her eyes began to tear. This was the one she had been searching for.

The sword now sang a different tune, guiding her back to the entranceway, a note of hurry in its musical composition. Then suddenly there was a grumbling noise in the distance, emanating from the direction in which they were going. It struck a chord of fear into her heart.

“The Beast has been roused! We must hurry!” Enolee announced over the cacophony of the wind.

She briefly looked back to her companion, a wraith figure behind her. Enolee held onto its wrist and pulled it along behind her. The wraith, which had once been her husband, shambled along behind. Its eyes were vacant and tormented. He had been slain by the ferocity of the sea a little more than a week ago and was the reason for her treacherous journey. Enolee could not imagine her world without Nenoth and had travelled to the Silent Forest to claim him back.

When she had first announced her intentions to the people around her in the city, none had thought her brave, only foolhardy and without respect for the rules of the gods. But life without him and his love would be more cruel than death. And she had, as yet, one last thing to accomplish with him before she died. Enolee was determined to have his child.

Finally in the distance Enolee could make out the black hole, which was the entrance between this world of the spirits, and the realm of the demon gatekeeper. She picked up her pace, an expression of determination set upon her face.

“We will make it,” she whispered fiercely.

In front of her was now the ebony entryway, its black surface rippling like dirty, poisoned water. Enolee took a deep breath and plunged forward, pulling her husband’s pale spirit behind her. She would see them both to safety.

When they both reappeared at the other side, Enolee met the gaze of something massive, its two glowing red orb eyes were bigger than two of her hands put together Hulking red ropes of muscle rippled tougher than steel on top of onyx coloured skin.

“I guard the Gates of The Underworld. None may pass by me into the land above!” bellowed the Beast, his voice shaking the cave around them.

Enolee swallowed and pulled Nenoth behind her protectively. The Beast towered above her. It was a daunting figure, bent on increasing the numbers of the damned in the underworld. Enolee wondered how she had ever been able to slip past the Gatekeeper on her way in. With a deep breath she gathered her courage, having prepared for the eventuality of the Lord of the Pit awakening.

“Then I will fight you to claim his spirit back, for it was unjustly taken!”

Enolee held her breath after flinging the challenge. She would now have to gamble everything, and everything was too high a price to pay should she not succeed.

“No mortal weapon can harm me, nor has any immortal blade been forged which could kill me. I cannot die for I am the Lord of the Pit of Hell.”

“Then I will try my hardest. But be warned, the gods have blessed this blade at my side. It was the sword which slew the evil Orinica, the demigoddess who came to challenge High King Donnas.”

Enolee unsheathed the sword; it glittered brightly in the darkness, casting light through the cave and onto the hordes of demons who shied from it. It sang tenderly, reassuringly, to Enolee.

“You are a foolish woman. I am no demigod for you to be rid of so easily.”

“We shall see.”

“And why should I waste my energy upon such a weakling as you when I can have my followers to deal with you?”

The demon masses began to advance, exposing sharp wolf-like teeth, their claws extended. They were prepared to rend her flesh from her body in an orgy of blood and bone.

“Then I would call you a coward.” Enolee replied simply, knowing the Gatekeeper lived upon basic instincts such as rage.

She also knew she had no chance against the lesser demons, for they were far too numerous for her to best successfully. Her one chance was to challenge the Lord of the Pit and defeat him.

“Then you shall have your battle,” it spat.

The Beast swung around one of its strong, clawed hands. She dodged it, thanking the gods for making her so agile. The Gatekeeper was quick, much more than she would have thought of a creature of its size. But then again... She thought. It is one of the immortals.

She spun, dodging claws, and rolled to the left. Metal met claw with a frightening, and deafening sound. The Beast pushed her back, and she fought to keep standing. Enolee retreated, her breathing already laboured, and her arms beginning to tire. Gathering her strength she advanced, and feigned a lunge just before she quickly flipped head over heels and landed behind the great beast.

It roared in frustration, as the woman disappeared from its line of sight. The Beast whirled and side-stepped just as the flash of her sword shot toward its flank.

She ran around the Beast, using her speed and agility to avoid massive clawed hands and look for an opening. Finding one she lunged, the blade hurtling towards the Gatekeeper’s exposed hide. Instead the sword punctured the cave wall. The rough rock cracked around the sword, and sent fissures slithering in every direction, weakening the cave wall. Enolee pulled the sword free and moved back quickly as pieces of rock began to fall. She gave the Beast a look of daggers. Do not doubt that I will kill you soon, Monster.

The blade hummed with power as Enolee slashed wildly at the Beast, her movements a blazing whirl that made the demon dizzy. It growled its annoyance at his opponent. She showed amazing skill – for a woman. But the hellish creature had never lost its prey… and had no intentions of starting either.

Suddenly the Beast unravelled its wings and propelled itself upwards, away from Enolee’s swinging sword. It launched from its crater and streamlets of molten lava trickled off its hide. A few droplets landed on her skin and clothes causing her to cry out in pain. It burned.

The Gatekeeper laughed derisively. Puny human. The Beast lunged toward the woman, folding its massive wings in a dive.

As Enolee threw herself to the left, she swung her sword wildly at the monster, and her blade struck leathery skin and muscle, snapping the blade with a jolt that Enolee felt all the way from her hand to her shoulder. She staggered backwards, holding the hilt and a short shard of metal in her trembling hand. She stared in horror at the broken sword, then swung around in desperation to the hunched figure she used to call her husband.

“Nenoth!” she cried. “Get out of here while you still can!”

But before her husband could do anything the Gatekeeper gave a nod, the lesser demons rushed over to Nenoth, and began to chant their torment. Enolee watched them drain power through the entrance to the underworld. Thin black threads pulled away from the watery surface of the entryway and connected with each of the individual demons.

Nenoth cowered, covering his head with his arms as he tried to fight off their power.

“Noooooo!” he began to scream.

The sound wrenched Enolee’s heart.

“This is between you and me, Gatekeeper! Leave the spirit out of it!”

“In a war, all must participate.”

She stared at the creature, tears of anger clouding her vision briefly. She had gambled everything – and lost. She raised her chin and glared defiantly into the red orbs.

“You cannot kill me here within the Gateway. For I may not enter hell unless I die in my own world... or I die willingly. And I shall not do that unless we strike a bargain.”

“And what sort of bargain do you propose?”

“I offer myself in his stead. Let him pass unhindered and unharmed, and I shall take his place within hell.”

The demon was silent a moment, as if pondering the offer. Please, please, please. Enolee whispered in her mind for she knew now that she had no other way of getting Nenoth out.

“Then it is a deal. Let this battle be done with.”

Enolee heaved a sigh of relief and walked over to Nenoth, making the lesser demons scatter. They hissed at her but she paid them no heed.

“Nenoth,” she whispered quietly.

The wraith lifted its head, its eyes less vacant than they had been. Perhaps it was due to the length of time he had spent out of the underworld. She helped him stand and then embraced him.

“I will miss you,” Enolee whispered fiercely, tears streaking her cheeks. “And I will miss the children we will now never be able to have.”

She kissed him once on the cheek before turning back the Gatekeeper. The Lord of the Pit picked up the piece of her sword, which had broken on his hide. He examined it a moment before - in the blink of an eye - he sent it flying like an arrow through the air. It hit its target, sure and true.

The scream from the wounded pierced the air. Enolee fell, her chest heavy with the weight of the blade. Blood spewed from the wound, saturating her garments. The lesser demons watched, their eyes glowing with excitement at the sight of the crimson elixir. They salivated at the thought of feasting on a soon-to-be corpse.

Enolee whispered three last words to the Beast before she turned her head to look at Nenoth and died. Her last words rang in the air.

“Keep y-your promise…”

The Beast burst out in laughter. It looked down at her body which lay crumpled and blood soaked on the ground.

“Oh foolish woman, to die and to have your last wish not granted. I keep no promises to the dead, for it is their souls I keep and feed upon. They are my prey, as you have now willingly become.”

The Lord of the Pit’s face grinned in triumph. He had never yet lost a battle and to think that the human woman had tried to bargain with him was laughable. Demons never kept their word, let alone the King of Demons. The Beast turned to its minions.

“Take their souls and cast them through the entrance way into hell.”

“Stop!” ordered a voice suddenly.

The Gatekeeper paused, knowing the voice’s powerful owner. It snarled. The lesser demons scattered, fighting amongst themselves to obtain the darkest crevices in which to hide. A figure appeared, bathed in blinding white. It was one of the Ancients, his snowy white hair and beard flowing like a shimmering river to the ground. He was an imposing person and yet he stood no taller than an average mortal man.

“Do not interfere, old man,” the Beast replied aggressively, “This is between me and the dead.”

“They are now under my protection and I shall take them from you. If you resist I will banish YOU through the gateway and into hell.”

The Lord of the Pit lowered his head in submission, although his red eyes were aflame with anger. It would have fought the Ancient, if it believed that it might have even a remote chance of winning. But the apparition before it wielded a power too great to be reckoned with. This man had power over life and death of both mortals and immortals.

“Then take them Enolet, High God of the Heavens,” the Beast said, and retreated back down into its crater of molten lava to slumber once more.

The god turned towards Enolee’s body as it lay cradled in the spirit’s lap. The wraith’s eyes were no longer vacant, but held within them sadness deeper than any other. Tears of smoke ran down Nenoth’s cheeks only to be quickly snuffed out by the intense heat within the cave. He lent down and pressed his icy lips to her cold cheek.

“I-I love you En-olee.”

“Weep no more, Child,” said Enolet, walking towards the poor mortals. “I shall resurrect this champion of light and I will return you, Nenoth, to your body as well.”

The High God Enolet then placed his hand upon Enolee’s forehead and her eyes flickered open.

“Arise Enolee, Blessed Child. I have bestowed upon you the greatest of gifts. You are to join the realm of my angels.”

Enolee stood, her face shining. Upon her back was a set of pure white wings, like those of a giant dove and on her forehead was the symbol of the High God Enolet, two white wings joined, and ready for flight among sun-kissed clouds.

Enolet then walked forward to Nenoth and placed his palm upon Nenoth’s head. In the next instant his wraith form had disappeared, and his flesh returned. The symbol of wings glowed briefly on his forehead but disappeared. Nenoth turned to embrace his wife. They came together in the purest form of union they had ever known, their souls united.

“Now go my Blessed Children, but before you do, I have one last thing to bestow.”

He clapped his hands and the two shards of the Blessed Sword appeared. He placed them together and they fused.

“Take this, my angel, it will protect you and your children to come.”

The High God held the sword out to Enolee and she bowed and took it with abundant gratitude. In that very instant her hand touched the newly reforged sword the world turned white, and evangelical singing pierced the blackness of the cave. The Gatekeeper within its pit screamed in agony.

As Enolee and Nenoth emerged from the entrance of the cave, they found only a few remaining soldiers camped a little way off. The rest of her entourage seemingly had fled. Those who had stayed looked frightened, tired and ill fed but when they saw their king and queen, their faces turned to joy. Every man instantly fell to his knees.

“Blessed be the King and Queen of Erinoth!” they said in unison.

Enolee could not help but smile, her heart bursting with joy at seeing the kingdom’s loyal soldiers.

“You few who have been loyal to us will be honoured. I thank you for coming with me to aid in my retrieval of your king.”

“Yes,” added Nenoth, “And now let us stay here no longer. We shall return in triumph homewards.”

The wedded couple shared a smile, and held tightly onto each other’s hands. They had been triumphant and the world looked all the brighter for it. And so they travelled back to the royal city, the news spreading with speed unmatched. It was the story of how a queen challenged to devil to reclaim her king. And in return she was blessed –in more than one way- by the gods.

The End

Epilogue

Nine months after their return, Queen Enolee gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. It is said the High God himself came down from the heavens to witness the birth, and cried with joy. He touched each of them on the forehead, leaving the mark of two pure white angel wings.