1
Nia
Compared to topside, there is only one thing that is the same about the Underworld, it’s time. A second, a minute, an hour, a day, a month…they feel just as long. They drag on and on and on. One day bleeding into the next. In two days, three hours, and a handful of seconds, I will have been here for a whole year. Feels like longer.
I look down at the shackle around my wrist. At the chain coiled at my feet. It’s shiny and bright, a stark contrast to my surroundings. I get to work on the shackle using my rock. It’s worn smooth on one side from daily use. The clasp around my wrist is silver and reinforced with magic, but if I keep at it…if I keep chipping away, I’ll eventually be free.
Free.
Now there’s a notion…since it’s not entirely true. Remove the shackles and the chains, and the invisible bonds will still be there. Holding me tightly in their grip.
I’m a fool. The biggest idiot who ever walked. My mam would have something to say if she saw me now. Although she could use the words ‘I told you so’, she’d do it in a way that didn’t make me feel like a fool, which I am. It wasn’t like I wasn’t warned, because I was.
If the old rumors are to be believed, there is only one person who is strong enough to help me. I need to get to him. Only then will I stand even a modicum of a chance of true freedom. Otherwise, I am doomed to be shackled one way or the other.
“Look what we have here, Jeff.” I don’t have to look to know that it’s a male and that he’s smiling.
“Look at that.” I’m assuming it’s Jeff who is talking now.
I glance up. It’s a demon and his sidekick. The sidekick was probably human once…a very long time ago. It’s funny how time and circumstance will change a person. “You may not pass,” I say as I continue to chip away at the shackle.
“You’re a pretty one,” the demon says, using his forked tongue to sniff the air. “I say we eat it. Some sustenance for our escape.”
“I say we play with it.” The sidekick licks his lips; he’s leering at me. “Then we can kill it and escape.”
I sigh, bored. I want to get back to trying to break the shackle. Maybe today will be the day I escape this mess. I sigh again as I put the rock down and get to my feet. I’m at one of the gates to the Underworld. It’s my job to guard it. No one comes in, and no one goes out. The latter is the most important. It would be terrible if demons, ghouls, and ghosts were allowed to roam freely among humans. Chaos and terror would ensue.
I glance at the pile of corpses to the right of the rusted old gates. They’re stacked high. A rotting mess. Topside, the stench would be unbearable. Down here, it’s par for the course. This is Hell, after all. “They all tried to escape. They refused to listen to reason. I’m hoping the two of you will have more brains than that.”
“You did that, little girl?” the demon asks as he peruses the pile.
I roll my eyes. “The last time I checked, I was a woman.”
“I can see that.” The sidekick leers at me some more.
I’m naked, dirty, and splattered with blood and…I think that’s brains. It looks like brains. Doesn’t matter. I’m disgusting. That Asshole Number One wants to eat me, and Asshole Number Two wants to fuck me is a testament to the lowlifes in this place. “I’m busy,” I snap. “You can walk away or get your asses handed to you, which will it be?”
The demon elbows the sidekick, who comes at me screaming. The loudest ones normally fall the fastest, and it’s no exception when it comes to this one. I wrap the chain around his neck in one easy move, and there’s a snapping noise.
The sidekick falls at my feet. Eyes blank.
I unwrap the chain. “What about you?” I ask the demon. “Ready to walk away?”
He shakes his head. “Jeff was an idiot,” he says. “I won’t be as easy to defeat.”
That’s what many of them say. Then he comes at me. The demon holds back at the last second and circles. I agree; this one will be tougher to beat. He’s using his head.
I wait him out. I stay calm and ready.
It doesn’t take very long, and he comes at me with a right hook. I can see he wants me to block and give him an opening. From the way he is standing, I think he will try a kick to my midsection, or maybe he’ll use his forked tail. It has a barb on the end.
I’ll bet I’m quicker than he is. I can block and retaliate at the same time. I love how they underestimate me. It’s saved me more than a few times.
I lift my arm to block…and unexpectedly, the shackle slips open. The chain falls to my feet. I am thrown back as the demon kicks me in the middle of my chest. I was caught off-guard. It won’t happen again.
I turn in the air, landing on all fours. I’m on my feet in less than a second, which is good since he is on me.
I’m free!
Change of plan. I need him alive. That makes it a little more challenging. I don’t wait for him to come at me this time. I run at him. I duck for his tail and punch him in the groin. It doesn’t matter what the species, there are always a couple of weak spots that remain the same. The eyes, the throat, and the groin are the top three. I block a right and punch his throat. Then I start in on his face while he’s struggling to breathe. I keep a half-eye cocked on his tail, which I have to deflect numerous times. I go at his face, aiming for his eyes, nose, and mouth. There’s blood…and some teeth. Sharp little buggers.
He shouts something at me in his demon tongue, blood dripping down his chin. I don’t have to understand to know he’s being a rude bastard.
“Cythraul llysnafedd!” I shout back in Celtic. Loosely translated, it means demon scum, which I think is appropriate. I feel a pang. I miss home. I miss my mam and my tad. I miss my brothers. I never thought I would ever miss those stinky, loudmouthed brutes, but I do. I didn’t think I’d miss my boring little village, lamb cawl or crempogs, but I do.
I knee the demon hard in the crotch, and he goes down. I see his eyes roll back in his head. The yell he gives is also pretty universal and means something along the lines of, “I wish I was dead right now.”
I snap the shackle closed on his arm with a click. When this bastard comes back around, he’s going to wish he was dead rather than compelled to guard this gateway. I’m hoping no one will notice my absence for a while. Maybe I’ll get a few days’ grace…maybe longer. I hope it will be enough.
I open the gate and make my way topside. Before long, I am running. Pushing myself as fast as my legs will carry me. I have to find him. I have to convince him to help me. I have a plan and a backup plan. I will do what it takes to win back my freedom. Make no mistake, it doesn’t matter that the wind is blowing through my hair or that the open sky is above me, I am just as tightly shackled as ever. Even now, I can feel the pull.
2
Rage
One week later…
“Don’t look at me like that!” I grumble, keeping my eyes on the road as I indicate to turn into the parking lot.
I know she’s looking at me. I can feel her eyes on me. It’s as if she knows where I’m taking her. “You should have gone back to wherever it is you came from,” I add as I park the car.