Chapter Ten
How long had I been traveling? An hour at least. Maybe two. Lantyca faded far behind me, its light reduced to a dim glow on the horizon, nearly eclipsed by swelling stone hills. Somewhere along the road, my mount slowed from a gallop to a canter, then to a trot. Despite my efforts, the stubborn horse wouldn’t pick up the pace.
Why would she choose this, of all times, to stall? Here, the air grew thick with the scent of gunpowder, tinged by rot and metal. Angry cries and non-stop bangs echoed through the terrain. I regretted coming all this way armed only with my wits and a stolen kitchen knife. Faced with real danger, I’d be helpless. Trying to run from Sitri on my first day in Hell had been an educational experience. In a few short seconds, he’d given chase, caught me, and restrained me. The thought of a rival demon snatching me off my horse with equal ease sent a shudder down my spine.
When my steed’s fiery mane lit the first stones of the worn brick road—and the steep drop beyond it—I realized how far I’d come. This was it. The bridge Sitri intended to destroy. When I’d crossed it with Zaleos, his lantern hadn’t shown its bottom. Now that it was too late, I wished I’dasked him how deep it went. For all I knew, it could be truly bottomless, or scores of horrors could dwell in its depths, waiting for prey to stumble along.
My mount halted, and I glanced into the pit. It contained absolute darkness.
Light flickering on the other side of the ravine drew my attention from the gorge’s depths. From around a bend to the left came a horse with a flaming mane and tail, rider seated on its back, galloping down a narrow stone path that ran parallel to the gorge. I held my breath until they disappeared behind more towering cliffs to my right.
With every passing moment, the clatter of combat grew louder. Because of the echoes in the stone landscape, I couldn’t pinpoint the source. My horse snorted and swished its tail. Waiting to be spotted in the open was a fool’s game. Sooner or later, I’d have to pick a path.
I’d walked the leftmost trail with Zaleos. It likely led to his territory, and if one demon had come from that direction, there could be others behind it. To the right was uncharted territory, and potentially the warfare I wanted to avoid. I threw a glance over my shoulder, looking to the darkened road that would lead me back to Lantyca. There could be demons tracking me from the city, and though none had caught up to me yet, every moment I lingered risked compromising that.
I’d have to hope the left path was as safe as it had been the last time I walked it.
The horse began walking when I squeezed her sides, and she obeyed my tug on her reins with slow, measured steps. We’d already started down the leftmost road, flanked on one side by a rocky cliff and on the other by the gorge, when she halted. I squeezed her again, but instead of moving, she gave shrill, anxious whinnies. The mare stomped, reversing course as steel scraped wood in the darkness.
And then I saw it, glittering like a star overhead. A small spark of light plummeted towards the ground, aimed a few yards ahead of me.
My stomach sank as I recognized the impending danger. I moved toredirect my mount. There was barely enough space on the narrow path for her to turn around, and without my input, we rocketed off aimlessly into the dark. I looked over my shoulder just in time to see the flare land. An earsplitting boom rang out across the stone, bringing with it a blast that tossed my hair and clothes, leaving my ears ringing.
Fire engulfed a wooden blockade I hadn’t realized was there. Painted against the blaze were the silhouettes of monsters.
Demons with twisted horns and gleaming weapons rushed towards me down the path. There must have been dozens. The distance between us grew, but not fast enough.
If I’d gotten my way, we would have crossed back over the gorge, returned to Lantyca, and never set foot outside its walls again. My mount had other plans. Even as I tried to steer her, she ignored the bridge on my right and galloped deeper into the badlands. Stone blurred in the corners of my vision. As the fire faded behind me, so did my visibility.
A terrible shriek from above nearly startled me off my horse. I looked up, squinting to catch glimpses of the threat—small, flying demons, resembling some twisted amalgam of a bat and a man.
The monsters darted through the air, gaining on me, though the other demons lagged. They lingered at the fringes of my light, as if they knew I couldn’t see them, and took turns swooping at me with claws outstretched, grabbing me, pulling me in all directions. One seized my hair and jerked me towards the gorge, while a second knocked into me from behind.
My balance faltered. I grit my teeth against the pain, shutting it out. If they toppled me, they’d send me over the ravine’s edge and into its unforgiving chasm. That thought made my heart race, even as my blood ran cold.
I knotted one hand into the horse’s mane and slid the other between my waistband and my skin, searching for the knife I’d concealed. Its hilt fit effortlessly in my palm. When the next of the demons swooped down on me, I was ready for it. I lunged, my blade hooked into the creature’sfurred chest, and I tore it open.
Blood erupted from the beast, drizzling down on me like a fetid rain. The warm, vile fluid splattered my face and clothes, coating me in gore as the demon careened into the darkness. The smell alone made me retch.
I flailed as another bestial shriek alerted me to an incoming threat, but this time, I moved too slow to stop its needle-sharp claws from latching onto my shoulder.
Leather wings beat against me, tearing a scream from my throat as I fought to stay mounted. I had to cut its talons free, and I had to do it fast. Before I got the chance, a well-timed gunshot drenched me in crimson mist and left me choking. A third monster swooped in as I coughed and gasped for air. The tip of my knife connected with its wing and sent it flying out of the light.
My lack of horse-riding skills made it hard to stay mounted. With blood slicking my hands, my knife slid around in my grasp, and my steed’s mane began to slip from my fingers. As she came to an abrupt halt, my momentum nearly threw me from her back.
Halting would cost us precious seconds, but my steed sensed threats I couldn’t, saw things in the dark that eluded me. Something had stopped her here. I leaned forward, and that’s when I noticed it at the edge of the light—another steep drop into oblivion.
Fresh terror seized me at the realization. The sound of violence grew louder. Danger pressed in on me from the darkness, and in the thick of it, I was blind. Gunfire crashed through the badlands like thunder, and muzzle flash followed as its lightning.
My horse, now panicked, stomped and whinnied as she drew back from the ledge. Another glowing flare descended from above, hurtling towards the pit. I couldn’t afford to be this close when it ignited. As if deciding the same, the mare turned to run, only to halt once more in her tracks. I didn’t have time to force her to move. I locked my legs around her sides, gripped her mane as tight as I could, and pressed myself down over her neck.
An explosion rocked the ground, and screams howled from the pit. Flames ignited, racing toward the sky. The shock wave surged over me, bringing the stench of sulfur and burning meat. Heat licked against my skin as the fire roared. I was still too close, still at risk of being singed if it continued to grow.
I opened my eyes, blinking against the sudden brightness, taking in my surroundings. Figures danced with shadows on all sides; humanoid and crimson-skinned demons locked in the throes of combat, blades clashing, firearms drawn. Soldiers wore leather; others wore chainmail. There were beasts present too—more of the bat-like creatures, and hounds nearly as large as my steed. I had no idea how they knew their friends from foes, but it didn’t matter. They were all foes to me.
From the chaos emerged two demons; the monstrous, brutish type, gleaming tomahawks readied and sight set on me. Even on foot, their twisted, bestial faces were level with my own. Their animalistic legs and cloven hooves had been fitted with shimmering mail, and curling, goatish horns jutted from gaps in their helmets. They approached, one on my left and the other on my right. Flanking me. With war raging and the fire at my back already making me sweat, I had nowhere to run.
I readied my knife, weighing my odds. This was an impossible fight, but I had to try, had towin,or else find a way out.
