Magic - Chapter 58

This is the second book in The Godsverse Chronicles, a portal fantasy series with mythological roots and action-adventure tendencies. You can search through all my work on my website.

Ollie wasn't looking for trouble, but after she saved the Antichrist from being slaughtered, it came for her.

Ollie lived by one rule. Never get involved with anyone for any reason; humans, demons, fae folk, it didn't matter. They were all trouble. Keeping her distance was how she survived in the criminal underworld for so long.

Keep your head down and don't piss anyone off. That was her motto, especially since her clients all had access to powerful dark magic.

She thought she had a flawless system for keeping her nose clean, so how did she wind up in a stolen car, with a demon spawn in her back seat, driving away from her ex-lover and a gang of demons ready to skin her alive?

That's a good question.

And why did she agree to help save the demon's life so she didn't get sacrificed to open the gates of Hell?

An even better question.

She had one rule. One stupid rule. And tonight...it goes right down the toilet.

Now, the only way for Ollie to get her life back is to save the girl, prevent the Apocalypse, and track down the people who betrayed her.

They will pay. Oh yes, they will all pay.

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The stench of charred flesh filled my nostrils as we made our way down the dirt roads of Hell. Even with my nose plugs, it permeated my mouth and spread deep into my lungs. Coal miners often got black lung from breathing coal dust. I wondered if there was an equivalent for demons working the ambered fires.

Even without the stench, Hell was a bleak place. I thought the stacks of souls were depressing when I first saw them from the streets of Dis, but it was nothing compared to seeing them close up. Thousands of souls layered one on top of each other like a shawarma spit, each crushing the one below it, which was, in kind, flattened by the one above it. On and on like that for hundreds of feet into the air, a wobbling skyscraper of pain and misery.

As we passed, the demons stopped their work to eye our caravan. The dead-eyed souls inside the towers reached out their arms and moaned at us, but there would be no help for them—not today.

“This is miserable,” I said.

“You get used to it,” Charlie said finally. Even though I never asked him a question, he must have seen the pained look on my face.

“How?” I asked, catching the face of a child, no older than twelve, screaming for help, reaching out with its stubby arm, the only appendage not crushed into submission by the souls above it, hoping against hope that maybe I would take pity.

“I mean, what are you going to do? Complain to management?”

“Yeah, man,” Aimee said. “Maybe bring it up with Lucifer. It couldn’t be any worse than this depressing stuff.”

“That’s funny, coming from a human.”

“What does that mean?” she asked, insulted.

“It means you acclimate to terrible situations better than any other being. That’s probably why you’ve survived as a species as long as you have. Think about it. You guys went through two world wars, and now you’re stuck in a nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. That is crazy. Any single second you could be blown to oblivion by a thousand nuclear warheads, and yet you still go to school, go to work, eat, screw, and complain, like it’s not bonkers that you live in a world that could be annihilated any second. How is this any different?”

“Because you can see it,” Bob said. “Everywhere.”

“So, out of sight, out of mind?” Charlie pulled the reins. “Lying to ourselves is exactly how we get through it, too.”

We came to a fork in the road far before the cliffs, and Charlie turned the oxen to the right, down a smaller dirt road, and into the abyss filled with cubes of souls in every direction.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Pit 8, annex 431, remember? I said you were new recruits, and they’ll be waiting for you. If you don’t show up, they’ll send a search party for you, and you don’t want that. Don’t worry, I got a friend inside who’ll fudge the books after you check in, but you still have to put in an appearance.”

“This wasn’t part of the plan.”

“How do you know the plan?” Charlie asked. “I told you we had a stop to make, didn’t I?”

“I guess so,” I mumbled. “I don’t like it, though.”

“Noted. Now, they are going to search you when you get into the pit, and if they find that dagger, they’ll know you aren’t a new recruit. Give it to me, and I’ll keep it safe until we meet again.”

“And when will that be?” Igor asked.

“Once you’re through processing, my friend will come and get you out. These pits are like a labyrinth, connected by all sorts of corridors. She’ll lead you through, and I’ll meet you on the other side.”

“I don’t like this,” Drownt said.

“This is Hell, you’re supposed to hate everything about it. But your boss trusted me, so maybe you should, too.”

“Chapman is an idiot,” Aimee said. “She barely knows how to tie her shoes.”

“She knew enough to get you this far.”

“No,” I replied. “Aimee and I did that.”

Charlie pulled the reins of the oxen and stopped the carriage. “You can get out right now if you want. I already told you how to get to the Black Gate. If you think you can navigate Hell without me—if you have the balls to think you can do this better than me—then go.”

I looked back at the rest of my team, and they all shook their heads. I saw the distrust blazing in their eyes, but the imp was right. We were in a new place, and we had no idea what any of the customs were. We had to trust that Charlie had our best interests at heart. Trusting a demon. What was the world coming to? An end, if we didn’t destroy the dagger.

“Okay.” I reached into my robe and pulled out the dagger. “I’m sorry. You’re right. We’re with you.”

He grabbed the dagger from me and snapped the reins, prodding the oxen to move again. “Good.”

The road jutted dozens of times before we reached our turnoff. At the end of each road, there were a series of mounds that looked like ant hills, black bile spewing out of them into the air, like the exhaust from a coal plant.

Eventually, Charlie turned onto one of the smaller roads, then to a smaller road still. By the time he pulled up to the edge of a pit, the Black Gate was little more than a speck in the distance.

“Come on. Leave the armor and weapons. I’ll keep them safe.” Charlie jumped down from the wagon. “Can’t keep your new job waiting.”

We followed him toward the pit’s entrance. A crook-nosed hobgoblin sat behind an obsidian desk at the edge of it. A squad of demons stood behind her, clad in full battle armor, carrying huge swords on their belts.

“Morning, Gl’adr’e,” Charlie said, walking up to the hobgoblin. When she saw him, she let out a mournful sigh.

“More scrubs today,” she said. “I am so sick of the B-team. I remember when the pits were an honor, and demons fought each other for the honor of working them.”

“I think we’re on the D-team now, Gladys. These ones might be the F-team, actually.”

My lip twitched. I didn’t like to be insulted, even if it was part of a ploy. I decided to eat my pride, just this once.

“These three are 4-6,” Charlie said, pointing to Drownt, Igor, and Bob. He thumbed over his shoulder at Blezor. “6-1-2.” He pointed to Aimee and me. “These ones are 9-7-8.”

The hobgoblin chuckled as she wrote into her book. “Well, well, well. Prisoner labor. That’s a new one.” She looked at us. “What must you monsters have done to piss off Et’atal? The pits are bad enough, but prison labor…welcome to Hell, I guess.” They both chuckled.

“Prisoners?” I shouted. “What’s going on here, Charlie?”

He tipped the dagger to me. “Et’atal will very much appreciate this gift. He’s been searching for it for ages, and here, you brought it right to him.”

“Pigyn obsidian!” I shouted, but nothing happened. “Pigyn obsidian!”

“Your magic don’t work down here, toots,” Charlie said.

“Mine does!” Aimee snapped her fingers, and the fire of Hell rose into her hand and spewed towards the imp. He opened his hand, and the fire danced in his hand playfully before he snuffed it out. “Cute.” He turned to Gladys. “Be careful with these ones. They’re trouble.”

I had no power except my fists. When the demons gathered around us, I prepared to attack. Aimee stood at my back, and the others stood ready to fight, as well. However, the demons moved faster than I had ever seen them do on Earth, and before I knew what was going on, I was on my knees, head slammed onto the ground along with the others.

A demon stood me up and shoved me onto a slanted ramp leading into the pit. As I made my way forward, I vowed vengeance on Charlie and Et’atal.  

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This is the second book in The Godsverse Chronicles, a portal fantasy series with mythological roots and action-adventure tendencies. You can search through all my work on my website.

Paid subscribers can access the entire archive of this series from the beginning, along with other series and every article I’ve ever written.

If you are not a paid member, you can read everything with a 7-day free trial, or give us a one-time tip.