Hell's Revelation (Book 3)

Chapter 11

Frank was in his element. As the biggest target and most surely the biggest threat most of the Furies gravitated towards him in one great feathered swarm.

I'd turned to look for him, just in time to spot the immense shadow that was Frank hovering in the dark recess of the high curved ceiling. It snatched out two long tendrils of shadow towards one of the wispy Furies, entwining its smoky form in his dark clutches.

It was a bizarre thing to witness, two clouds of smoke and shadow, two things that by every right should not be able to move or think independently, fought against each other in mid air. Eventually the darkness of the shadow overwhelmed its assailant and it consumed the wisps of smoke. Swallowing it down into some dark and unknown recess of its being.

I suppressed a shudder at the sight. Nothing I'd ever seen in all of my years in Hell quite compared to that, not when I tried to comprehend exactly what had just happened. Where had the Fury gone? Had Frank eaten it? Or was that far too simple a way to try and look at things? Either way, the sudden disappearance of another of their flock stirred the rest of the Furies into a greater frenzy of action.

While attacking me they were virtually invulnerable in their smoky wisp-like forms, but when it came to the Whisperer, they were in fact much more at risk without a solid state from which to fight him.

It was quite something to see. At least five Furies suddenly burst into existence in a flurry of wings and feathers, transforming much more quickly than the one that had attacked me. And not a moment more passed before Frank was visible again too, right in the middle of the fray, batting away scratching claws like he was swatting at flies.

He grabbed one that had made a dive for his face, and proceeded to rip off the creatures wings; to the accompaniment of yet more horrifying shrieks. It was only then that I realised I couldn't find Lucas.

Frank was handling himself well enough, but it occurred to me only then that I wasn't sure how well Lucas was equipped to defend himself against the Furies. There were just too many of them for him to hypnotise, one or two he could probably handle, but if there were as many as Frank was contending with he was going to have some problems I was sure. I needed to find him.

With nowhere better to start looking, I would have to try and retrace the steps he might have taken, figure out where he would have gone; or perhaps where the Furies might have taken him. While they were distracted with Frank I made a quick dash for the stairwell where we'd emerged from. If I could just spot him somewhere.

I made it to the stairs unscathed, and I was pretty sure unnoticed. All the Furies continued to flock towards Frank while he methodically tore them to pieces. Looking away from what was rapidly becoming a bloodbath a dark shape at the bottom of the stairs caught my eye, and a flicker of movement had me suddenly running down them two at a time.

Lucas was sprawled out flat on the dusty floor, knocked out cold by the look of it, and a Fury leered over him. Its claws flashed out, scratching him over and over, teeth gnashing, and I'm pretty sure I saw blood flowing over the front of his shirt.

"Lucas!" I shouted, drawing nothing but the Fury's attention.

It hissed at me, snapping its sharp teeth as its wings started to beat and she rose into the air, furious that I had interrupted her fun.

The force left my hand before 'd even given it a second thought, coming more and more naturally every time I put it to use. It caught the Fury hard in the chest as she soared towards me, her wings crumpling and crunching beneath her weight as she hit the wall. I wasted no time in reaching out with my power again, it was easier the second time, already knowing it was possible and exactly what I needed to do. My fingers warmed from the touch of the flames as grasped the fiery light with metaphysical fingers and hurled the flaming ball towards the Fury before she could launch another attack.