A voice I'd rather not hear if I had a choice
“Calling the Devil's taxi – Quite the gamble.
Some might just call it a preamble.”
“Why are you here?” I ask, my body feeling heavy
Remembering the torment from that day
I thought I'd easily be able to attack him
Full of rage and adrenaline, but in the end
All I feel is the weight of fear
As the host of Death, my brother, stands here
“No need to be uneasy.” My brother's tone sincere
“I've no intention to fight, at least not here.”
“Then why are you here?” I ask frozen
“I was simply in the area on business
When our brotherly connection began to give me
fizzyness.
I just wanted to say hi.
And remind you that you'll soon die.”
“Who the heck is this clown?” Tom barks
“Enough's enough.”
Tom charges forward ready to attack
And instantly drops to his knees
I hear his bones crack
“Stop!” I call
My brother simply grins
As he pulls his gaze
To the other end.
“Why are you so hell-bent on my death?”
“Because dear brother, the key and the lock are a set.
Well, fun's been had. I'll be on my way.
Oh, one last thing. What is my name?”
I look at him confused. “What?” I say
“Pity,” He looks pained “I suppose I'll leave my friend to
play.”
He takes out a vial of ash and of blood
Pours them on the sand
Which begins shaking with a thud
Next thing I know my brother's gone
As something begins moving under the sand, strong
From the distance I hear the engine rev
As a yellow taxi pulls up fast
As from the driver's side window
A devil pops out his head
“Where to?” He asks, his voice coarse and deep
I reply “Get us to Dragon's peak.”
As we enter the taxi
The sand beneath us begins to churn
As a giant serpent appears with a lurch
I see it, but it's hard to believe
A basilisk, long sword like teeth
Enormous and scaly, nearly three hundred feet
And it clearly wants to eat
“Gun it!” I yell
Instantly, we're speeding along
From Florida to Missouri – An hour tops
But in the taxing taxi all bets are off
One of the fastest ways to travel in the mystic world
But it's not one I'd recommend, and it's not one preferred
Usually only used as a last resort
As we blast past nature, I glance to find
The basilisk is keeping pace a few feet behind
As if this ride wasn't stressful enough
Being chased by one of the deadliest creatures alive?
This trip's gonna be rough
Trial 9: Toil Town Trouble
Faster and faster, we gain enormous speed
As the taxi destroys everything – Rock and tree
It's a bumpy ride to be sure
As we flop around, our bodies thrown and sore
Catching glimpses in between
The fangs of the beast can be seen
Snapping it's jaws – Attempting to swallow us whole
And we're still twenty minutes away from the goal
“Can't this thing go any faster?” Tom bites
“Speed limit's two-fifty.” Our driver hisses
As with the jolt of a sudden right turn barely misses
A hiker stomping the forest trail
That would've been an instant fail
The basilisk still hot on our wheels
“Enough's enough.” Leigh snaps smoldering teal
“We need to get this thing off our butts.”
“And you think you can do it?” Tom asks
“You're nuts.”
“You got a better idea?” She responds
As the driver chimes “If you die, no refunds.”
I give her a look of worry and faith
Smiling, she says “It's a piece of cake.”
With a flaming blast of mana the back window shatters
“Hey!” Snaps the driver “You break it, you buy it.”
“Be careful,” I say as she peaks her head out of the non-
existent glass
“And don't-”
“I know, I know.” She chatters back
“Don't make eye contact.
You guys better buckle up.”
“Why?” asks Tom
I simply smirk “The impact.”
Leigh begins to weave her spell
Conjuring one of the sigils of Hell
“Is that-?” Tom gasps
“Yup,” I say “The third inferno. The one that keeps the
angel Michael at bay.”
“Oh, hell no.”
“Actually, it is Hell, yes.”
“She's gonna nuke the whole state.”
“Not if we conjure a gate.”
“Right...” He responds panicking inside
So we begin summoning runes from the other side
Careful not to look at the eyes
If we do, we die
“Nothing fancy.” I say
“We just need to put what's leftover into the ocean.”
“You realize we can't neutralize everything?”
“Let's have some fun. I'll start on the ring.”
“Guess I'll take the warp.”
Time for gate magic 101
It's just as it sounds and just as fun
The ring acts as a vacuum, pulling in what we designate
The warp is the destination
And man, the concentration it takes...
Not to mention the strength
Dealing with Hell's flames is hard enough
On top of that, the taxi's taking its toll
Sucking us dry
We'll be severely lucky if we don't die
Leigh chanting in Latin, the sigil burning hot
Dying is something I'd rather not
But this reptilian butt face needs to be skinned
And this is our best shot to win
“Gate's good!” Tom calls
It's now or never
This might just be the best magic trick ever
Suddenly, Leigh's sigil manifests flames of blue
A little concerning to tell the truth
Blue flames are something I've never seen her do
Putting it aside I yell “It's all you.”
At my words she lets out a yell
“Ignite!” Thus emerge the flames of hell
The basilisk let's out an enormous hiss
From here to Texas, candles burn to the wick
The beast wriggles and writhes as the flames engulf
Before they can spread, they're sucked through the gate
whole
