The Quarter Moon (Afterlife saga) (26 page)

“He is still known for being Master of the G
ates and that is why she is sending you to him. You say you want into Hell to bring back lover boy, then this is the only flawed way.”

“Flawed?”

“Oh yeah øjesten, most definitely flawed as its damned near impossible.” I took a deep breath and then let it out in a hiss as something from my love of mythology hit me. Hell, it didn’t just hit, it near knocked my bloody teeth out!

“Wait! No, it can’t be…it can’t be possible but…his last name, that’s not anything to do with…?” It couldn’t be, could it?

“He’s the one and the same. Cerberus is the Alpha Hellhound and before the bastard was forced to retire on earth, he used to guard the gates of the Underworld to prevent those who are stupid enough to cross the River Styx trying to escape.” Well yeah, that just confirmed it!

“Oh shit
!”

“Oh shit is right
.” He confirmed.

“So what, he looks like a man but is in fact a three head
ed vicious dog?!” This was not good…so not good!

“Oh no sweetheart, he doesn’t have three heads
.”

“Oh well that
’s something.” I said sarcastically.

“No, when the beast takes hol
d and transforms his body, the Hounds of Hell will play and they play pretty damn fast. His head can move so quickly that it seems as though he has as many heads as your eyes can see but
dog
he is not.” All the air left me.

“And this is someone that
the Oracle thinks can help me...? She really is crazy isn’t she?”

“Yep,
‘fraid so.” I lifted my arms up in a defeated motion.

“Well then
, I have no choice, do I?” I said getting up and smoothing my skirt down.

“About bloody time
, lille øjesten, you’re making the right decision.” Oh yeah, he was jumping the gun.

“I’m glad you think so. Let’s go
.” I swear if I could have seen his eyes they would be framed by slashed eyebrows frowning.

“But you just said…” he trailed off and then exhaled a big sigh when he realised what this meant.

“Right, of course… but what was I thinking? I tell you how we have to ask Hell’s Alpha for an escort into the Underworld and you are what...? Ready to go? I swear only you sweetheart.” His deep voice took on that masterful tone as he rose to his full height, adding to the intimidation that still affected me.

“So
, you in?” I asked and added in secret the ‘Oh please say yes, oh please, oh please.’

“Ah shit! Yeah I’m in
, but if you get me killed I swear to you then I will be coming back to drag your ass to Hell myself!” He walked over to me and before he passed I stopped him with a hand on his jacket.

“Umm, wouldn’t it just be easier to…you know…” I made a slitting throat action with my hand and tried not to laugh as his lips made a tense line.

“Don’t even say it little girl, as you wouldn’t want to see what I look like in Hell!” He growled and I released my hold on him.

“Kidding! Just kidding big guy! Hey, you need to chill out a bit, maybe when this is all over that vacation to Florida might not be such a bad idea
.” I joked as he walked to the door.

“Shut it
, Shorty!” He said trying to keep the smirk from his covered face.

“No I’m serious, you could hang with Mickey and his missus, go watch killer whales jump over crazy people, a rollercoaster or two, then dinner and
a show.” I said trying to keep a straight face.

“I think I would rather death
.” He commented dryly making me laugh.

“Well that should be relaxing, although definitely not as
much fun.”

“Oh
, I think any death you bring sweetheart, would definitely not be of the boring kind.”

“Ha
ha, well this is your last chance tough guy. Florida or demonic fight clubs run by Hell’s beasts?”

“And there’s a difference? Get your bag
, øjesten.”

“Yes Sir
!” I said, happy he had chosen to stick with me in this. I got my bag and wrapped the long strap across my torso.

“You know I think you should call me that from now on
.” He said closing the door behind me.

“Not a chance
, sugar plum.” I smiled when I heard him groan behind me. Well this was a good start, I thought as I took in the night through a passing window. London was lit up in all its beauty reflecting an orange glow across the river and I just had one thing in mind... I hoped that the same city would be holding more for us than just pretty lights.

So here I was once again, back staring at the same door I did the night before. The only difference this time was the comforting muscle I had at my back. Getting out of the hotel had been an experience in itself, so this was going to be a blast I thought sarcastically.

When walking down into the lobby I quickly realised no one could see Sigurd walking by my side. Which was a very good thing considering he kind of looked like death, minus a trusty scythe tapping next to him. Of course, the fact that Death actually wore a beige suit and carried a briefcase didn’t exactly scream ‘Horror’ which made me wonder where that misconception actually came from.

The reason that no-
one was able to see Sigurd was down to his talent with shadows, which had me hoping it didn’t look like I was walking with a black cloud next to me. Thankfully though, my fears were unwarranted as no one batted an eyelid as us, that was until the concierge stopped us. He just wanted to ask if I needed anything but the growling sound that came from thin air had him nearly tripping up over his own feet to get away from me. The last look he gave me before backing away told me he not only thought of me as strange looking but now he could add to that, growling crazily.

“Yeah
, thanks for that Sigurd.” I commented through gritted teeth, one he ignored.

So now here we were, stood outside the Cheshire Cheese pub and once again it was closed up tight for the night. Only at least this time I had reinforcements, I thought with a little mental ‘Boo yeah’ on the end. I knocked on the door and waited but nothing.

“Allow me
.” Sigurd’s deep voice rumbled behind me. One long arm came forward over me and pounding on the door until the old wood rattled on its hinges.

“Do this often by any chance
?” I remarked mockingly just before we heard a familiar,

“Piss off, we’re closed!” from b
ehind the dark door.

“Obviously not often enough, as I think I am losing my touch
.” He replied light heartedly. Then he let rip.

“Open the fucking door, NOW!” His tone broke no messing with as the locks on the other side could be heard turning. I looked up and slightly behind me to find the big guy grinning close to my shoulder.

“Guess I still got it.” He whispered then turned his attention back to the slight crack the door had opened. Then it was like déjà vu all over again as a sickly looking hand snapped out like it had a mean bite. Bony fingers covered with translucent skin uncurled requesting payment. I was waiting for Sigurd to place something in its hand, like an old coin or maybe some kind of ancient relic. But when the time came I couldn’t suppress the scream his actions caused.

And just like the spider that attacks the fly, he sprang into action. The same hand that had knocked to request entrance was now a deadly predator over my shoulder. He grabbed the out stretched hand, yanked hard and then sunk his teeth into the papery
skin and powdery flesh. This all happened with me wedged in between them, too stunned to move.

A great howl came from behind the door where the owner to the savaged hand was still hiding behind. I then watched as Sigurd retracted a set of fangs I hadn’t seen before
, but he didn’t let his prisoner go. No, instead he let the shadows that ruled half his body flow over his hand down to his fingertips. The darkness seeped from every pore and overflowed onto the palest hand, creating a living Yin and Yang of the flesh.

I was so close to both their hands I was seeing every de
tail lit only by the faint moonlight and the flickering of the old round sign above us. The black liquid oozed into the deep gash his teeth marks had made and when one single black drop was solely consumed, Sigurd finally released his victim.

The hand snatched back through the door with a slam and I was about to turn to unleash my anger on the big oaf when we both heard the door swing open fully.

“Well that was subtle.”

“No sweetheart,
that was payment and proof. Now, after you” He countered.

We both walked through the door and I looked around to try and finally see who the hand belonged to. The pub didn’t open up into a large room like I would have thought, more like a hallway you would find in an old house. The walls were lit with candles which added to the eerie gloom and I looked to my left to see a door. Above it an old sign said ‘Chop Room’ and above that was a painted portrait. It was a picture of an elderly woman with her arms folded as though even she disapproved of me being here. She even looked like a strict headmistress, with her grey hair, regal demeanour and three st
rings of beads hung around her neck.

That door
way had one opposite it, so I turned to see what lay hidden there but doing so nearly stopped my heart dead from ever beating again. Now I could see who the hand belonged to and it was one action I wished I could have taken back!

The creature stood in the doorway and no amount of mental fortress my mind had built could get the image to fall back. A tall thin figure was like a
hellish bone snowman against the background of a night sky. Its body was made from a twisted set of endless bones all entwined with no reasoning behind them. It reminded me of a body made from hundreds of white elastic bone bands but wrapped around and around bigger bones of its long limbs.

Its head was simila
r to its body, only more elongated at the back of its skull. Again this was covered in the same bands of bone and an opening for its mouth was its only facial feature. Other than that it appeared blind.

I took a step back and was comforted by the hard chest my back found. When an arm secured me tighter to him I felt my body instantly relax into the hold.

“Lead on!” Sigurd commanded the large albino stick man.

“Very well you bastards, this way
.” The thick London accent didn’t really match the picture I was seeing. Then he started to move and when I looked down I realised the humanoid figure was tapping away on the floor with bone stumps as he was missing his feet. I had to make a conscious effort to hold down the bile.

I little nudge from behind me told me that it was time to move and I had to force my grateful feet to follow the white ghostly form
in front of us. As I passed both doorways I noticed another sign on the left. It had different names Like ‘Court Bar’ and ‘Johnson Bar’ on the wooden board and underneath, written in chalk whether or not the places were open. I didn’t take a genius to gather this place must be a honeycomb of different rooms, if they needed a sign by the front door.

“Keep going
, sweetheart.” Sigurd told me gently as I stopped to look up at the sign. I nodded and walked past but as the flames flickered with my movement I saw something twist in the words painted on the wood. ‘Cellar Bar’ was there one minute in yellow paint and with my next blink, it had been replaced with ‘Hell’s Bar’. It looked as though some small child had finger painted the words with blood. A chalked arrow pointed down and I shuddered when I saw the tangled bone man disappear down the small staircase.

I think Sigurd heard the frightened l
ump I swallowed as I received a reassuring squeeze on the arm. I looked down at my feet that only half willingly moved towards the stairs and I noticed a strange type of sawdust on the floor. It was almost like the creature in front was leaving a trail of tissue or skin like breadcrumbs for Hansel and Gretel to follow. But somehow I doubted I would be finding a cute little gingerbread house at the end of this road.

I turned fully back on myself to climb down the narrow staircase and noticed another sign painted on one of the steps above. This one, like the others, once again morphed the words, so instead of saying ‘Mind Your Head’ as I passed it said, ‘Mind Your Soul’.

“Careful!” Sigurd said behind me as I nearly slipped on a narrow step because of it. I looked back and saw that to get down the steps he had to almost bend in two it was that tight a space. I saw the snow figure waiting for us at the bottom. It was a small square room with a dark stone slab floor and four shut doors all close together. To my right there was an open doorway which is the way I thought we would go.

There were two doors straight in front of me with only enough s
pace for a fire extinguisher in between. Then to left there were two more other doors, one Ladies, the other Gentlemen…neither of which I was expecting to find where I was going. When I saw the grotesque figure stop by the two doors in front, I thought this is where we were to continue on alone. Well, a girl could only hope.