something as utterly massive as this creature. Sam froze as the head rose higher and higher into the air, revealing a huge snake-like body beneath. The head itself looked more humanoid than serpent, with pointed ears and even a hint of a chin. Instead of a nose, it possessed vertical slits. White fangs, larger than Sam’s entire body, protruded over the edges of its gaping, lip-less mouth. When it was about fifty feet in the air, the fire serpent stopped rising.
Sam realized he’d stopped breathing as the things huge yellow eyes slid this way and that, as if searching for something. Ponderously, it swung its head towards the rocky platform that Sam huddled on and stared directly at him. Sam took a breath and sprang into action, turning to face the rock. He was pretty confident about its intention and he didn’t want to be around to be on the receiving end. He looked around desperately. His first option was to climb up again. No chance. Too slow. Far too slow. He’d only get a few feet before the creature would be upon him.
At that very moment, Sam sensed movement behind him. Without conscious thought, he was suddenly moving, leaping behind the relative protection of the rock. He rolled, his body brushing against the boiling flames of the ocean just as a massive tail hurtled down from above, smashing into the rocky platform with bone-jarring force. The entire rock column shuddered under the impact. Fragments of rock rained down upon Sam and if he hadn’t already been on his knees, the force of the blow would’ve knocked him down anyway. Fire washed over him, burning smoking holes in his jeans and hiking boots. Quickly, he peered around the rock. The fire serpent was only about twenty feet away now, towering above him — its size almost a twin to the rock column itself, its sheer physical presence so intimidating it almost made Sam vomit. As it gathered itself for another strike with its tail, Sam knew he only had moments to make a decision. The rock — and himself for that matter — probably wouldn’t survive another direct hit like that. He was beginning to panic, but he couldn’t control himself. It was either into the sea where death was almost inevitable, or stay on the rock and die right now. He stared at the rock in front of him, wracked by indecision.
It was then that he saw it. A vertical line in the rock. He hadn’t seen it before because he hadn’t had time to venture around to this side. He traced the line and then he knew what it was.
A door.
Of course there was a door here. What other reason would you have for carving out a platform in the middle of nowhere? Like everything else, the door was made of rock but didn’t have an obvious handle. Sam hurled himself against it. It didn’t give an inch. Didn’t even budge. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the tail of the serpent rising into the air, dripping fire. Seconds of life remained to him; unbidden, the warning of the Watcher, Samyaza, came to him. If he died here, he would be trapped in Hell forever.
Desperation opened a window in his mind — a window which he hadn’t been able to pass through before, a power that hadn’t been accessible to him before he had moved the chalk. Suddenly he sensed what was on the other side. The door mechanism. He could picture it, he knew how it worked, how all it would take would be for a latch to be lifted. He imagined this happening and suddenly he knew for real that it was. His mind, tapping into the potential only revealed to him hours earlier, moved the latch telekinetically. The door flew open as if on a loaded spring and Sam darted into the welcoming darkness within, heedless of what could be waiting for him, desperate to escape the fire serpent.
As soon as he was through, the door slammed shut of its own accord as if programmed to remain open for only seconds in such a harsh location. A split second later, the tail of the serpent struck the rock once again. It was as if an earthquake had hit. Sam was thrown about like a rag doll. He tumbled through the darkness, aware that he was falling, conscious of a hideous roaring sound that could only have been the serpent screaming its frustration.
He must have blacked out. When he regained his senses, he was lying on cool rock. He sat up warily. Directly before him was a darkened stairwell, its steps carved from stone. Massive chunks of granite almost completely covered the upper steps. That must have been where he’d come from. The rage of the fire serpent had finally been too much for the tower. It must have collapsed, filling and blocking the stairs forever. No-one was going through there anytime soon. In fact, there was now no way back, which probably wasn’t a bad thing. He didn’t exactly relish the thought of another encounter with such a fearsome beast.
The shadows flickered. In the back of his mind, Sam had been aware of some light source. It was just that he had been slightly disorientated after his fall. Now, the thought that he was not alone suddenly washed over him, a bucket of cold water over his dulled senses. He sprang to his feet, his heart pounding, hands already reaching for his weapons.
His reaction was an over exaggeration. Thankfully, there was nothing behind him.
He was in a smallish chamber. Other than the staircase — which was now out of service — there was only one other exit: an opening in the rock indicated a passage. That was the source of the light. The flickering would indicate movement. A living creature was possibly moving within the passage, or maybe it was just a hellish breeze. Sam wasn’t prepared to take any chances.
Cautiously, he crept towards the opening, making absolutely no sound whatsoever, and glanced around the corner. The corridor was empty and lit by fire burning in evenly-spaced sconces along the walls, each made out of a human skull.
He passed a number of turns and openings. Where it was possible, he tried to keep going straight. Not that he knew where he was going. He had no idea and only the vaguest of notions about what he was going to do. It was just good to keep moving, just in case his mental and physical blocking techniques failed him. For all he knew, every demon in Hell might already be alerted to his presence, thanks to the attentions of the fire serpent.
He trudged on. The tunnels he was in seemed to be deserted. He senses told him he was alone but he wasn’t about to take that for granted. For all he knew, the rock underground could easily disguise the presence of demons.
He soon learnt that his demonic senses were working — just not all that well.
He must have been walking for an hour when he heard it. The sound of misery. Human misery. The tunnel he was in stretched on for another forty odd feet in front of him before reaching a t-section. The noise was coming from that end and getting closer. It was only then that he detected their presence: humans, of course, and many of them — but not just humans. There were several demons with them, including at least a dozen Lemure and probably two or three horned demons. Thankfully no Astaroth or Hellhounds, but there were others he could sense — extremely powerful, and clearly quite different from the others.
Just ahead on Sam’s left was an opening. He’d encountered a few of these alcoves during his walk, all as deserted as this one. He’d investigated them as he’d moved along. Some contained various grisly items that Sam could only surmise was torture equipment. Others contained skeletons and various other human remains. With each new discovery, Sam’s demeanor grew even more grim.
He darted into the alcove — just in time. The column of humans and demons rounded the corner, shuffling, limping and stomping down the tunnel towards Sam. This alcove, thankfully, was completely empty. It was unlit — the only light coming from the diffuse illumination of one of the corridors wall sconces. Sam crouched near the entrance in almost complete darkness. He slowed his breathing like Hikari had shown him, feeling his heart rate slow as well. The figures passed by his hiding place, giving no indication that they had seen or sensed him. The humans went by first. Collectively, they were a miserable and wretched group, chained together by their necks, eyes downcast. They didn’t look undernourished, however. Either they had just arrived in Hell or they were being sustained in some fashion. Their clothes were in tatters, though, and the scorch marks and tears in their clothing were abundant. Many had scarlet smears all over their body, and Sam could see bloody claw marks on almost all of them. A few were sobbing uncontrollably but most were completely silent as if resigned to their fate. Clearly, they had suffered from their time in Hell.
The last of the humans passed him. Then came the Lemure, jerking and gibbering as they lurched down the corridor, gleefully prodding the humans in front of them with their clawed hands. The horned demons came next, lumbering along on their massive limbs, almost rubbing the sides of the corridor with their sheer size. Their black, goat-like faces were impassive as they moved past Sam, clutching their huge stone mallets. But it was the last two figures that most interested Sam.
At first glance, Sam thought they were human. They were, however, slightly larger than regular people, dressed in tight fitting black armor, with swords buckled on at the waist. One appeared to be male while the other was female. Their faces were blacker than the deepest night — a black that clearly was not earthly in nature. Sam couldn’t see their eyes, but something told him that those would be black, too. As they passed by Sam — almost
