Page 18

18

A DIFFERENT TYPE OF HELL

W aking up this time, I knew instantly that I was in a world of trouble. My memories told me this even before my new surroundings did. Running through the woods, feeling the swirling power emerge from behind me… The chill like an icy wall at my back before hands had gripped me… Before I had then been pulled under what felt like a blanket of suffocating night.

And now I was waking up to this room. One that looked like I was in some dark fairy tale, and I of course was to play the unwilling princess. Walls of dark, jagged stone surrounded me with mounted horned demonic skulls and black crests carved into the rock. Chains, that looked to connect with some kind of strange door above, also hung down from the walls. As if I was in some tower room that had a trap door above. Making me wonder if I pulled on the chains, would it open?

Perhaps this was the only way to let in some natural light, because there were no windows in this room. The only light came from the candles flickering in the crude, curled iron candelabra above. That and the sconces that held gothic holders for pillars of wax.

As for where I lay, this was all black, with sheets like suede flowing off either side of the large bed that rippled along the floor. This matched the curtains that were draped down the back of the bed, framing the elaborate headboard. One carved from black wood with what looked like a story being told of Norse mythology, if the Viking looking runes were anything to go by.

A side table held more candles, and a glass bottle of what looked like water with a fancy crystal glass goblet next to it. All of which I could see, along with my reflection staring back at me, from the large seven-foot mirror that took up most of the wall opposite. One framed in a gothic style that matched the rest of the dark, ominous décor. A huge armoire stood against the wall to my left and wooden screens sectioned off part of the room to my right.

However, my eyes snapped to the only door that looked thick and heavy, with very distinct bars at the latch of a window. One that obviously allowed a jailor to keep an eye on the prisoner. Speaking of which, I froze when I heard the voice that haunted my dreams.

“Is she awake yet!?”

At this and the sound of a metal scraping against metal, I lay back down and quickly pretended to be asleep. My nerves were so on edge and my heart beating so fast, it was hard to keep my breathing even enough to fake being asleep. It was especially hard not to react when I heard the door opening followed by footsteps as someone stepped inside.

I even found myself holding my breath altogether when I felt him approach the bed. The sound of the bed covers shifted against the stone floor as if to give way to the new masterful presence. Then I felt his weight sink into the bed next to me as if he had sat down.

“Mm, finally back to where you belong, my princess,” he said, making me struggle trying not to shiver at the words. But then, when I felt his fingers brushing back the hair from my face, I couldn’t help but flinch at his touch.

“Now why don’t you stop pretending and open your eyes, pretty girl,” he said, making me suck in a quick breath before doing as he asked.

Because I didn’t see the point any longer, not if he knew I was really awake.

His face was one I had now seen thanks to his last dream he had forced upon me. The scars on his skin now calm and nothing more than crimson jagged lines cut through the flesh. His once handsome face was a mixture of curiosity and calculating.

“There she is, my Anástasi,” he said in a tender tone, and when he reached out to touch me again, I sat up quickly and shifted from his reach.

“My name is Ella,” I told him firmly, making his hand fist before dropping to the bed.

“So even now, your memories are lost to you?” he asked as if saddened by this.

“I know everything I need to know.”

One of his brows raised in challenge.

“Is that so?” he asked in gentle mocking.

“You kidnapped me, brought me to wherever this Hellish place is, and intend to use me like some kind of weapon!” I threw at him, making him smirk.

“My, my, what pretty webs they have weaved around you,” he replied, now looking at his long black nails, like talons from a bird, sharp and deadly.

“Oh, so it’s not true then? Well if not, then I will just be on my way,” I said, getting up out of the bed and walking to the door to, indeed, find it locked. I looked back at him, to see him grinning.

“Needs must, my dear.”

“Your needs, you mean,” I replied, making him shrug, and without his cloak, I could now see his muscular frame dressed in an old-fashioned suit. As if he had just stepped out of a gothic ball to speak with me.

Every inch of him was dressed in black, his pale grey neck visible with the shirt he wore unbuttoned beneath his waistcoat. This showed the same scars that snaked down his face, reaching his cheeks, telling me they were most likely all over his body. His hands, however, were black, as if his skin had been soaked in ink. This was a glaring contrast to his shoulder-length white hair that had been pushed back from his face.

“Let us not quarrel, for tonight is a celebration of victory.”

I took a step back, my hand going to my heart.

“You won the battle?” I whispered, making his jaw harden for a moment before his features smoothed out. His mask of ease once more slipping back into place.

“It was never a fight I intended to win, merely a distraction.”

“To get to me,” I guessed, causing one side of his lips to curve upward.

“Although I have to admit, I was surprised to see the HellBeast had let you out of his sight. Your idea, no doubt,” he said, making me grit my teeth as I stayed silent. “How selfless of you.”

“Don’t mock me! At least I have a heart!” I snapped, making him suddenly move before I could react.

I was quickly pushed up against the door with his hand around my neck. I gasped as I was pinned in place, him looming over me with his much greater height. Then he ducked his head closer to my ear and told me,

“Oh, I have a heart, human Ella… a heart for taking pleasure and a stomach for inflicting pain… I suggest you not forget it, or you will find out which I choose to favor, when you are in my bedroom.”

I swallowed hard, hating that I’d slept in his bed and wishing I had the strength to fight him. He tilted his head at me, as if assessing me once more, before letting me go and taking a step back, allowing me to breathe again.

“Now I am here to escort you to the celebration, for we have a kingdom that wishes to welcome their Queen’s return,” he told me, making me shake my head.

“I am not going anywhere with you!”

“Of course, as your King, I could command it of you. Oh yes, I could make a spectacle out of you in front of them all, show them how well I… bring you to heel”, he said, suddenly in front of me again, inches away from my face, making me flinch back as his cold breath hit me.

“Although I am surprised that you haven’t tried to fight me using your powers, nor have you tried to bring forth the book of souls. Is that because they told you not to, told you what would happen if you even tried?” he asked after giving me space again, making me say nothing. Because I didn’t know what would happen to me if he knew I had been stripped of these precious powers he craved so much.

“It matters not, for soon you won’t have a choice. Now as for your homecoming, let’s pick out something more fitting, should we?” he said, now walking over to the large armoire that was at least eight feet tall.

I was left standing by the door watching him in shock, as he opened the double doors and ran his fingers along all the dresses in there. All of which were dark colors, and he paused at an emerald-green one.

“Ah,, your favorite color of late perhaps… no, let us go with something more suited to my own attire,” he said, pulling a black and grey ballgown down from the rail and holding it out for me.

“Yes, this will do nicely. Here, go put it on,” he said, nodding toward the wooden screens in the corner, that like the headboard, held scenes of a story, and now I could see it better, it looked more like a war depicting Hell on Earth.

“I am not wearing that,” I told him.

“You can change by your own free will or I can do it for you, it is up to you, as I assure you, only one of those choices would I find entertaining,” he replied, making me shiver at the thought.

And because I really didn’t want him touching me, I stormed over to him and snatched the dress, making him look amused. Then I stomped my way toward the screens, seeing a pot there to do my business in and a bowl for me to wash. Both of which I needed to do, seeing as the last time was in our tent before the whole snake incident.

Gods but what would Jared be thinking right now? The thought was such a heartbreaking one. I knew he would be devastated. He would be furious, worried out of his mind and hurt that it had all gone wrong. His biggest fear had come true.

The one I had convinced him wouldn’t.

“Is there a problem?” he asked when he didn’t hear anything, because I had stopped dead as the pain of this had struck me. Making tears come to my eyes as I fought myself on trying to keep it together. I wiped them away angrily, not wanting to give the villain of this story the satisfaction of my pain.

“I need to pee,” I forced myself to say, hating the way my voice wanted to break.

“I think you will find the means to do that, my dear,” he replied calmly, making me glance around to find him now sitting in an armchair looking comfortable. The smug bastard once more looked at his claws before picking lint off his pants.

“I can’t pee with you here! You need to leave,” I demanded, making him chuckle.

“I have all evening, Ella, does your bladder?” he asked, making me sneer at him and again, he found my hostility amusing.

With a huff, I had no choice but start to undress, using the undignified ‘pot’ to pee in, making sure not to sigh in relief.

Then after I did this, I pushed it back under the hole it was meant for and started to put on the dress, keeping on the boots Jared had conjured up for me. Ones he had purposely made with a thicker, fluffy lining so as not to hurt me this time.

In fact, it made me feel better, because at least I had something of Jared still on me, as well as my engagement ring. But then, one glance at the man forcing me into this dress, and I knew that I was better off hiding it.

I was afraid that if Garmr saw it, he would take it from me and destroy it. So, despite hating to be parted from it, I pulled it off my finger and hid it in the pocket of the clothes I had been wearing, before folding it on the chair.

As for the dress, there was a lot of layers to the thing, making me huff and puff my way into it. The material was one I had never seen before, like thin translucent paper, its natural creases flowing downwards. As for its color, or should I say, lack of it, it gave off an ombre effect. As if the lower half had been dipped in black dye, letting it creep up as it soaked into the light grey.

The design made it look as if some dark entity was taking over my body, with intricate black lace around the edges of each layer. This continued curling upward from the darker bottom of the skirt, first to the shorter layers that gave the skirt volume. Then the pattern continued after first coiling around my waist in a swath of black and up to my breasts, like two lace tentacles had found their bounty. This emphasized the sweetheart neckline of the strapless of stress.

“Having difficulties, my dear?”

I shivered at his voice.

“No, I am fine thank you very mu… hey!” I shouted when he was suddenly there, making me hold the back pieces together because I was yet to tighten the ribbon that would hold the dress together.

“Turn around,” he said, twirling his finger and making me narrow my eyes at him.

“You will cut me to shreds if you come near my skin with those claws!” I protested, making him grin before purposely holding up both hands and flipping them around, at the same time, his nails disappeared back into his fingers. This left just the ends so they weren’t half as dangerous looking.

“Now turn around,” he said again, giving me no choice, and I didn’t see the point in fighting this. Not when I knew he would only win by force. Something he admitted he would enjoy, so I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. Which was why I turned around, giving him my back.

“This is new, so many curls… so soft,” he said as his hands first came to my hair, grasping it all and twisting it up out of his way. Then with one hand holding it all in place, he brought his other hand to the front of me. This was so I could watch as he produced a delicate black glass flower attached to a hair comb. It looked like a delicate rose in full bloom.

“Is this to your liking?” he asked me, and I had to clear my throat first because it was unexpected that he would even care what I thought.

“It’s beautiful,” I admitted, because anything else from my lips would have been a lie and I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of that either. So, he slipped it into my hair, effectively keeping it up in place as my curls spilled over the top of the twist.

After that, he put his hands on my shoulders, this time making me tremble because it reminded me of all those dreams he had forced upon me.

“Mm, not as beautiful as you,” he told me softly, and I closed my eyes against the compliment because coming from him, it meant nothing. I continued to keep them closed, trying to hold myself ridged and still as he started to tug at the corseted back.

“Relax, you’re so tense,” he told me, making me want to snap at him, ‘I wonder why!’ but like before, I held my tongue.

Instead, I focused not on his hands as they brushed against my bare skin, but on the way the dress kept getting tighter and tighter, wishing for the whole ordeal to be over with.

“There, all done,” he said, now stepping back and giving me room to turn around. His eyes glowed a brighter crimson the second I did, his gaze traveling the length of me, the sight giving him reason to grin.

“I knew it would be perfect when I had it made for you,” he said, again surprising me, making me look to the rest of the clothes in the armoire. Of course, he followed my gaze and told me,

“I had them all made for you, knowing you would soon return back to me.”

I felt my jaw tense at this, but again, I didn’t want to provoke him further by lashing out. So, I remained quiet, despite how hard it was to hold my tongue.

After this, he held his arm out for me to take, something he knew I was hesitant to do.

“Take my arm, Ella,” he ordered in a darker tone, making me do as he asked. “Our people await,” he said, now unlocking the door with his mind and leading me from the room.

It took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust to the dark, giving me no choice to grip on to his arm tighter. But then I tripped, and he turned suddenly to stop me from falling. His strong hands moved to my waist as my own hands went to his chest. His breathing at the contact deepened, and I felt his muscles tense under my palms. His hands tightened at my sides and the second I lifted my hands from him, he reluctantly did the same, ensuring I was steady before doing so.

I was forced to continue to let him lead me, the slight glow of his red scars being the only thing I could see. But then came the rhythmic pounding sound, one getting louder and louder the further we travelled.

“What is that sound?” I asked, because it became near deafening.

“You will soon see,” he told me in a knowing tone, and again because I had nothing else, I tightened my grip on his arm, unable to help myself.

Suddenly, doors must have opened because light flooded the hallway, making me close my eyes against the brightness of outside.

We continued to walk forward, forcing me to blink against the light until suddenly I could see him leading me toward an open balcony. The sight made me gasp.

“Oh God.”

Something he chuckled at as my mind tried to make sense of what I was truly seeing.

An army of not just HellHounds… but legions of different demons and creatures all spanned out, covering the vast land below. There wasn’t just thousands of them, but what looked like hundreds of thousands! All there, in formation, in different ranks, at the ready for war. One that now looked like…

We would never win.

“ON THIS DAY WE REJOICE, FOR OUR SUMMONING QUEEN HAS FINALLY RETURNED!” Garmr bellowed, his voice traveling out across the immense space and reaching the ears of everyone.

I felt my hand being lifted as my arm was thrust up in the air, causing the army to all shout as one. The cheers were again deafening, making me snatch my hand down and cover my ears to save myself. Garmr glanced down at me before holding up his own hand and shouting,

“SILENCE! FOR NOW IT IS TIME FOR A DEMONSTRATION OF MY QUEEN’S POWER!”

I swallowed hard at this, taking a step backward and wanting to run. However, my hand was snatched up in his once more, yanking me back by his side. The balcony looked to be cut out of the side of a colossal wall carved out of the sheer drop of a mountain side. The sides concaved into rows of giant dark grey spikes traveling as far as the eye could see.

“Now it is time to show them what will really win this war and what will MARK THE BEGINNING OF RAGNAR?K!”

At the bellowing of this statement, the army went crazy again. Roars, snarls, growls, all merging together to create an ear-splitting sound.

“It is time, my dear, for you to truly emerge,” he told me, squeezing my hand and not letting me escape.

“No… I… I won’t,” I said, trying to pull back and yank myself free, when he gritted his teeth and threatened,

“If you do not do so freely, then I will force it upon you and it will be painful, Ella.”

I shook my head, telling him that I wouldn’t.

“Very well, I had wished to do this without causing you pain, but needs must,” he said, sounding truly regretful which surprised me. But then, my mind didn’t have long to focus on asking why, as he brought up his hand. This before it became engulfed in a green flame as his fingers started to slowly make a fist.

He was trying to pull out my powers as if they were attached to strings and he was the puppet master. Just like he had been in my nightmares once.

But when nothing happened, his eyes glowed dangerously, and he snarled as realization hit him…

“You have no powers!”