Page 25 of Destruction of Two
“Saint…” She lowers herself down my shaft. Her wetness coats his palm, and the incubus flicks his dark gaze from me to her.
Heavy, lustful breaths part my lips and when I Iook up at the beautiful woman,she’s gone.
Confusion washes over me. A chill settles over my sweaty skin as my stomach drops sickly.
Reality slams into me.
All of them are gone.
Because Izara’s in hell.
And I’m alone.
Ten
Izara
The first circle of hell is a ghost of a town. Here no demons roam, but the spirits do. They’re ghosts, moaning and weeping. Their bodies pass mine like soft wisps of light and air that chills this entire dimension.
This whole setting is just the definition of heartbreak and sorrow, and even I feel it press around me, seeping into my bones. It clings to me, and I shake it off.
The place is crawling with these phantom people, how am I supposed to find the leader of this dimension? I suppose I could just…
I take a breath and reach down for my magic. I haven’t really used it after Azazel healed me. Maybe I can create another direct portal to the Academy now that I’m healed.
I try it, picturing the sight of home, of crumbling buildings and dark skeletal trees… The air shimmers before me, forming the portal I need.
Smiling, I step towards it, only for a moment later to have it disappear into tendrils of smoke as someone steps right over my portal like it’s nothing more than mist and illusion.
It’s not a weeping person, not a ghost with haunting cries that echo through the night. It’s… a woman. A demon woman with beautiful, tumbling black hair and big violet eyes with slitted pupils. When she speaks, her voice is an enchanting whisper. “Welcome to limbo, the first circle of hell, home to the ghosts’ of mortals who have not crossed over, the denial dead, the unbaptised, and the tragic. I am Lilith, the first woman, mother of demons and dead children. Welcome to my domain, Izara Castillo, Princess of Hell—”
“Thank you for that warm greeting,” I interrupt quickly. Their disturbing introductions are becoming grating. It’s getting pretty old. “And I’m afraid my stay here will be entirely too short. I have to… go.”
She doesn’t even blink at my announcement. She bows her head. “Of course. I know how busy you must be, preparing for the reign of chaos.”
I’m sorry, the reign of fucking what?
Before I can ask about that ominous statement, she turns from me and starts gliding away. “The exit to this dimension is through the Forest of Woe. If you can make it across there, then you’ll find the doorway to earth and your precious Academy.”
Couldn’t you just... I don’t know... summon it for me now?I wish I could ask that, but I’m almost afraid she’ll zap me with eternal sorrow if I do. This is just another part of my test. I have to go through this fucking forest in order to finally get back to the Academy and out of this hell that is, well, hell.
She stops just at the edge of a dark, frightening forest. The Academy grounds have nothing on this place. The patch of woods is thick with a maze of trees so dark, I can’t see anything through it. But I can feel the unease, the indescribable feeling of sorrow, rage, and heartbreak so profound, it nearly cleaves through me entirely.
Strange things go bump in the night in this dimension, and it’s like all the nightmares I was ever told about are true. I can feel it in there, pulsing, reaching for me and threatening to drown me in despair.
And I have to travel through that to get to the exit.
My gaze goes up. Maybe I can fly over it? But even that seems impossible when the forest is as tall as it is wide. It looks too high to fly over.
“Best of luck to you, Izara. I’ll be seeing you again.” She turns away and just disappears like ash in the wind.
I’m left alone before the looming gloom of the forest. I don’t waste anymore time before I venture towards it and I’m swallowed up by the darkness. One minute there’s light and the next, nothing but shadows pressed upon darker shadows. The only illumination around me is the dart of ghosts rushing past, screeching, crying. After a while of wandering forward, hands out in front of me, that I realize the spirits are screeching words. I can’t make them out at first, but when I do, a chill slides over my skin. They’re crying their every torturous sin.
I can't help but feel like it’s a haunted Halloween walk. I jump and cry out every time a ghost pops out in front of me, shrieking into my face. Their sorrow is heavy on me. I can feel my footsteps lagging, feel my bones weigh down. I’m moving slower, even if I don’t want to. Like the forest is claiming me for its own with each slow step.
I pump my wings, physically trying to fight off the emotions threatening to take over. I hover off the ground and with a few strong beats of my wings, I push forward while my legs can’t. I move at a faster pace, desperate to get out of the haunting darkness, to make it to the portal. Here, my magic feels frenzied, like its waning, sputtering embers.
I tear through branches, and they snag against my skin, my smooth wings, until I smack straight into the trunk of a tree and slide down it, pain radiating from my face, down the front of my body. My palms dig into rocks and sticks, and I push myself off from the ground and stand, rubbing my palms down my front to ease the pain.
