Tribulation (5 page)

Some
indeterminate time later, Sam reached the bottom. He was sweating
and his fingers were torn and bleeding, but he’d made it. It hadn’t
been the easiest of climbs – the rock was treacherous and kept
crumbling away even after he’d tested it, but here he was. He had
also discovered something interesting during the descent. The
sharp, volcanic rock here in Hell had the ability to pierce his
skin – something that would have been impossible on Earth. At
first, he’d thought that the rock must have contained a high
content of iron but that made no sense. He certainly couldn’t sense
or smell iron, which he often could. Also, all demons were
extremely sensitive to iron. Why would Satan create a place that
was filled with it? It might have been a cruel little joke,
something that his father would find amusing but it would also
serve to continuously antagonize his followers. Not to mention that
it would probably inconvenience Satan himself.

That wasn’t it.
Sam knew there was no iron here. It was something else. And then he
realized. Humans needed the sun to live but it also had the
potential to kill them, just like the water in seas, oceans and
lakes. The natural environment on Earth could be deadly to its
indigenous inhabitants. For demons, their environment in Hell had
the same effect. Sure, some of them had more immunity to fire than
others, but the actual landscape seemed to be a different story
entirely. It had the potential to kill him. Good to know. Sam was
suddenly glad that he hadn’t followed his impulse to jump straight
into the sea of fire. If the rock could harm him, then being
immersed in that sea probably wouldn’t be good for his health.

What made it
interesting, however, was the speed at which he was healing. He’d
felt it before, of course, but never seen the process repeated
again and again. During the climb down, he’d cut himself on rock
numerous times. Each time, he’d bleed for a bit and then the wounds
would rapidly seal over, and now the wounds were almost gone. He
rubbed his hands together briskly in an effort to remove the last
traces of blood. The healing process much faster than last time he
was here, almost as if his body was becoming even more accustomed
to his natural habitat. He wondered what other surprises his body
had in store for him, here in this place.

His hands
finally clean of blood, he looked around carefully. Like everything
else in this place, the platform was made of rock. It was also
rather narrow – about five feet wider than the actual column,
creating a walkway around the base. Flames lapped continuously at
the edges, threatening to spill over and engulf the platform
completely. Sam stretched out one arm experimentally and immersed
his hand in the flames, ready to pull back quickly if needed. He
didn’t. Surprisingly, the flames tingled rather than burnt. He left
his arm in there and started to count. After about two minutes, he
felt an itch. After three, a vaguely painful sensation started to
intrude. After four minutes, it became almost too painful to bear
and he hastily withdrew his arm. Interesting. It seemed he could
survive for a few minutes in the fiery sea if required. Of course,
that was if he could survive the attentions of the fire serpents
...

Almost as if
the thought of them had served as a summons, a massive head slowly
emerged from the sea of fire about fifty feet from the base of the
rocky column. Waves of flame surged about it, disturbed by the
passage of 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 close enough to reach
out and touch - he realized that they weren’t human at all. Small,
black, bat-like wings adorned their backs, and horns twice as large
as his own jutted from their foreheads. They weren’t even
half-breeds or Cambions like himself. To him, they smelt like fully
fledged demons - just a type he hadn’t encountered before.

His ancient
tome of demonology mentioned creatures like this - much like
Succubi, they were demons that could almost pass as humans, demons
Satan often sent to Earth to complete his bidding. They must be
high-ranking, Sam figured. There was definitely a pecking order in
Hell. Surely Satan couldn’t control his legions all by himself. He
must have an officer class that Satan could use to dominate the
others. Even Samyaza had mentioned that there were other Princes or
Princesses of Hell.