Through Flame and Blade

Ch. 38 Sloth

*Chiara

Chiara didn't have time to finish her sentence. Between nearly tripping over a dead demon when Logan grabbed her to force her behind a stalagmite, and the sound of more demons prowling through the cavern, she swallowed her words.

In a blink, she took in the Hall—like an underground cave, it was slick, cold, and dark, with natural-looking formations and a river nearby. Above, the cave's ceiling was shrouded from sight, but from the echoing sounds, it was high. This must be Sloth.

It was not what she expected.

What had she expected, though? Mattresses piled on the floor? Pillows and cushions? Servants with trays of food and drink, seeing to your every need?

Yes, maybe something like that.

But not this.

Maybe she could fly through this one.

What she really wanted to do at that moment, though, was lie down and rest. She'd been running for hours. She had fought demons, barricaded a door, stolen jewels and rum, been mind-tricked in a dark tunnel, and had fucked Logan like he was the cure to a deadly illness.

"Logan," she breathed and touched his arm. He held up a finger for her to be still, his attention trained on something in the distance. She picked the scrape of boots on rock and the faint hiss of blades being pulled from scabbards.

Her eyes strained to pick up movement and shapes in the near darkness.

Several humans came into view, struggling to find their way over a series of deep ruts. They were streaked with sweat and grime.

She shook her head. Something wasn't right.

Instinctively, her eyes traveled upwards. As her eyes adjusted, she made out the ends of great stalactites and a long, winding shape stretched around them.

A hanging bridge.

A damned bridge to make the journey through the hall easy. So why were the humans crawling on the ground? And why didn't she and Logan use it?

"Don't." Logan's whisper cut through her thoughts.

"Don't what?"

He pointed upwards, but kept his eyes on her. "Don't even think about using the bridge."

"I was thinking of flying my way across this one."

"No, this is Sloth. Look around you, Chiara. There are no easy solutions, there is no easy way. Not in Hell. Not ever. You won't fly across this hall and that bridge is one thing only—a trap."

"A trap for humans perhaps, the ones with enough evil in their hearts to make it this far and want to go further into Hell. Not for me, an ang—"

His hand clapped over her mouth. "Don't say it. Not even to me in this place."

A shadow rippled on the rocky, slick floor. They both ducked reflexively.

A human screamed. Another answered. Then more screams. The sound bounced off the walls, seemingly coming from every direction at once. Then louder, falling towards the ground. Logan pushed her down, shielding her protectively.

The screams cut off in a horrible thud on the rocks nearby. Heart pounding, Chiara peeked out from under Logan.

The two humans she'd seen in the distance were right next to them, bodies smashed and mangled, and torn as if huge claws had ripped them open, lay on the rocky ground.

"Don't move," Logan breathed. "Wait for them to pass first."

Chiara shuddered at the thought that something was above them. Something with claws...