Hell's Rayne (Book 1)

Chapter 7

Closing my eyes, I allowed the sensation of falling to grip my body as we plummeted downwards, miles and miles below the surface of the Earth; though not to its core, through the magical field of the Void and into a whole new realm. Deep into the darkness of Hell, the place I'd always called home. I'd like to say that I did it – closed my eyes – because it heightened the rush that came with the falling, but, truth be told, after years of travelling the Void I'd learned that the rushing darkness made me feel sick. Arriving in Hell in a pool of your own vomit was hardly a classy homecoming.

 Still, I seemed to have weathered the journey rather better than Shane – no substitute for experience I supposed – and as for him it would be a one way trip he'd never have an opportunity to learn. I felt the thud of solid ground beneath my boots and cautiously cracked open my eyes; giving myself a moment to allow my internal organs to catch up with the rest of me. It always felt as it I'd left my stomach behind. Once I felt whole again, I took a glance down at Shane who had landed in a heap on the dusty stone floor. He looked significantly green around the gills and was taking in great gasping lungfuls of warm air. It was easy to tell he was in the grips of a full blown panic attack.

 It wasn't really an unusual sight, many of the damned souls we brought to Hell would become rather overwhelmed by the whole experience, even before they'd learned anything of their coming fate. Normally I liked to hurry them along, get the whole show over with, but even as keen as I was to get the job with Shane finished I gave myself a few moments to soak up my surroundings. I'd wait for Shane to regain his composure and enjoy being back home – yes I'd been feeling homesick, and I wasn't ashamed to admit it, at least not to myself.

 I savoured deep breaths of the warm, acrid air and it soothed me like a balm. Everywhere in Hell the air smelled the same, warmed by the eternally burning fires from deep in the pits, and it rose through the rusty red rock – from which our home was carved – bringing with it the smell of charcoal smoke, hiding hints of burned flesh and scorched hair. It was like a complex perfume with deep spicy notes which made it pleasant to the nostrils despite the rancidness of it components, and the stench of torture and eternal damnation enlivened the demonic blood in my veins.

 Down in Hell my human side was stuffed away, far out of thought and sight, and the demon in me was empowered; so much stronger than I was on Earth. I looked down on Shane, his naked form quivering as he tried to catch his ragged breath, and I sneered. I felt about ten foot tall and he was but a bug to be crushed underfoot.

 We'd arrived in the Receiving Chamber. The highest point in Hell where the Void opened and welcomed its travellers back into the underground realm. It was perfectly circular, a high ceiling stretched up far out of sight into pitch blackness, though an occasional silvery streak of lightening would flash before your eyes should you stare up into the dark for too long. One single arched doorway was set into the stone wall, a dark gaping hole against the rough, unpolished red granite. The floor was of the same stone, though covered in a thin layer of dust from a millennia of use and erosion. The room was only used for this one purpose so no one cared to sweep the floor – unless of course someone was unfortunate enough to spill their guts upon arrival.

 “What the hell is this place? Where the fuck have you taken me?”

 So it seemed I wouldn't get that much time to bask in my return to Hell, not once Shane had finally regained the use of his tongue. I sighed and turned back to face the man, my prisoner I supposed I could call him. He'd regained some composure more quickly than I'd expected, though he was still knelt on the floor as if not fully trusting his legs to support the bulk of his weight yet.

 “Your first exclaim was far more accurate than you realise, Shane,” I responded, airily, as I scraped my dull red hair up away from my neck with one hand and relished in the warm air as it caressed my skin. The heat was glorious; that was the biggest problem with the surface, always so bloody cold.