Sacrifice (3 page)

A rumble reverberated through the chamber the closer they drew to the dark, square hole; the identical demon statues guarding the entrance stirred to life, shedding their dull gray color. They towered over them, at least twice the height of Skybright, with bulging muscles that made Stone look like a boy. The demons wore nothing except a loincloth, and their arms were thicker than her legs. Despite her frustration with Stone, she kept close to him.

Stone halted in front of the exit between the demons. Conquering her own fear, she tilted her head back to gaze at them. The demons’ skin was a dusky blue, and although they had physiques modeled after mortal men, their heads were a different matter. Their hair was leaping orange flames, and the same fire seemed to fill their large bulging eyes so that they glowed red. Thick tusks jutted over their lower lips; their expression was a furious grimace. Both wielded giant axes, their silver blades so long and sharp she was certain they could split her in half with a single stroke.

The demons shook their heads so the flames jumped higher and thudded their axe handles against the ground at the same time. “Master Stone,” they ground out in grating voices simultaneously, and the chamber shook when they spoke. “Welcome back,” the demons said, and each fell onto one knee in unison, their heads lowered. Even in this subservient position, they were still taller than Skybright.

This close, the demons tasted like ancient magma against her tongue, filling her nose and mouth with the overwhelming stench of sulfur. She fought the urge to shift to serpent form, to slither away from the demons as fast as she could. Skybright realized that she had her hand pressed against Stone’s back, feeling his shoulder blade beneath the soft material of his tunic.

Stone bowed, his armor clanging, crisp enough to be heard above the rumble. She knew now that his armor was often an illusion. “Stay close,” he murmured without so much as a glance behind, his voice magically within her ear. She dug her fingertips into his back in response and followed him through the gaping entrance.

Skybright tumbled headlong into a black void, empty of everything except for the agonized screams of thousands that tore through her entire being. Her soul shuddered. She wanted to cover her ears to drown them out but had no hands. She tried hard to regain her sense of physical self, but there was only the reeling sensation of erratic freefall and that desperate howling, so intense, it seemed to buffet her spirit.

A red glow suffused her vision, bringing Skybright back into her own body again. Stone was grasping her hand in his; she recognized the heat of his touch. She forced her eyelids open, and it felt as if they had been stuck together with rice glue.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

The screaming had subsided to a din that echoed from farther off. She and Stone stood in the middle of a deep cavern that seemed to stretch endlessly before them. Its dark rock walls and ceiling were irregular, bulbous, and pulsated an eerie red—a bloodier hue than the color in the grand foyer. The floor was dirt and grit beneath her sodden shoes.

She swallowed, then nodded. “I’m thirsty.” Her voice croaked.

Stone conjured a flask and passed it to her. She drank the cold water greedily, angry that she needed to rely on him for something as simple as this. She wiped her mouth with her fingers after she finished, feeling more steady.

He had never been deliberately cruel since sealing their pact; actually, Stone often seemed to try to be considerate. But it was difficult to reconcile her attraction for him with the terrifying situation she found herself in: being his prisoner for however long his whim desired.

“I was not certain how you would travel through the entrance to the underworld, being half-mortal. Most demons are spawned in hell, but you were not. And mortals are not allowed here at all—not while they are alive.”

“It felt as if I had been torn from my own body.” She forced her voice even.

Stone peered down at her, curious. “I am glad you were allowed to enter. Your demonic nature was recognized.”

She stepped back from him and turned a small circle, taking in the giant cavern. She could see the ceiling but not an end to its length, the walls curving away from her into eternity. The entire cavern thrummed, like a beehive, calling to her. She wanted to respond, wanted to shift into her serpent shape and slither deeper into the abyss, to lose herself in its hypnotic song. It was liberating to
choose
to change rather than be forced, as Abbot Wu had made her do with a spell. The healed scars from the characters he had carved into the tender inside of her forearm could still be easily read:
Show yourself true
.

Skybright resisted that visceral urge to shift, rising like a flood and expanding in her chest. She didn’t know what to expect down here or who she might encounter. “What is this place?” she whispered.

“Are you afraid?” Stone asked, his black eyes following her every motion.

Skybright turned her back to him and did not reply. Two could play at this game.

She walked toward the wall and pressed her hand against the protruding rock. It was smooth and pulsated red beneath her fingertips. “What—” She looked toward Stone, and he tilted his head, quiet. “Is there something
alive
within the rock?” she asked.

The glowing cavern wall had looked opaque, but she began to examine it more carefully, running her hand along the stone. It seemed to respond to her, growing brighter where she touched. Skybright saw now that the wall wasn’t entirely impenetrable, that some areas were translucent, emitting strong light. Leaning closer, she thought she glimpsed something within—a snout jammed near the rock’s surface, and a snarling mouth with a dark tongue lolling out.

She jumped, biting back a scream.

“We are in the depths of the underworld,” Stone said. “The demons are spawned here.”

Skybright spun from the wall, arching her neck to take in the endless cavern again, finally understanding. Each bulge in the rock was like a pod, encasing a demon within. She flinched to see the face of a goat demon, dull eyes open but unseeing, visible beneath the translucent rock. Running down one length of the cavern revealed curved horns and giant hooves, the outline of a black wing cradling a beast within.

Skybright ran until it felt as if her lungs would burst, sharp pebbles digging into the soles of her feet. The acrid scent of smoke filled her lungs, and she tasted the hard grit of ancient stone upon her tongue. She finally skidded to a stop, forced to press both hands against her knees.

She had run so far that she had lost sight of Stone. The red glow of the cavern thrummed on, spanning forever.

Stone manifested beside her, but his earthen scent had given her a heartbeat’s warning, as if heralding his arrival. For an instant, she was comforted by his familiar smell in this fathomless place. He wielded power in the underworld. It had been obvious from the way the giant demons had treated him with reverence in the grand foyer. No harm would befall her here. She might be his captive, but he would keep her safe.

“Is this where serpent demons are born as well?” she asked, out of breath. “Where my mother came from?”

Were these her brethren?

“No. I do not know how serpent demons are created. I have ever only known Opal, and now you. These demons are spawned with the essence of hell and are used for the Great Battle in the mortal world as well as for grunt work in the underworld. They are obedient but violent creatures. What they lack in intellect, they make up for in brute strength.” Stone tapped his knuckles against the glowing rocks. “These warrens protect the demons as they grow.”

The hypnotic thrumming and reddish glow in the vast cavern was beginning to drive Skybright mad. It seeped into her, as the water had during her descent into the underworld. She suddenly felt exhausted and overwhelmed. Then her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since the previous night. She was working on smothering her pride and irritation to ask for food when Stone whipped around, casting his gaze into the deep cavern behind them. Her eyes followed, senses on alert. Skybright smelled the demon before she heard him.

A demon with yellow wolf eyes and a wide muzzle emerged from the shadows. Although his face reminded Skybright of a wolf’s, giant horns jutted from his brow, and the floor echoed with the sound of his two hooves as he approached. He was taller than Stone by a head and wielded a pike twice her size, ending in three lethal points.

“Master Stone.” The demon inclined his head. “I was not expecting your visit … and accompanied by a woman.” His voice was rough.

Skybright tried not to twitch as those unsettling yellow eyes met hers, and the demon’s wide mouth pulled back in a grimace, revealing a row of sharp teeth and long fangs. He smelled as ancient as the rocks that surrounded them, perhaps older even than Stone.

“Ye Guai.” Stone gave a terse nod after speaking the demon’s name, his stance indicating that although he knew the demon, they were not friends. “I wanted to visit the caverns after our last Great Battle—to make certain the next generations are breeding well.”

“Yes. They are growing within the rocks, becoming stronger.” The demon made a guttural sound in the back of his throat, before saying, “Many of my brothers died in these last months, slaughtered by the monks. They fought courageously.” He pressed a fist to his heart, and Skybright saw that his nails were yellow talons, his thick knuckles covered with coarse black hair.

Ye Guai lowered his massive head, horns forward, waiting for Stone’s reply—as if he had posed a question.

Stone turned his back on the demon, a move that made the hairs on Skybright’s neck prickle.
Don’t look away from him
, she wanted to say.
He’s dangerous
. Instead, Ye Guai remained with his head bowed in subservience as Stone walked a length of the cavern, peering in on the monsters flourishing within. “They fought the same as they ever did,” Stone finally replied. “You know their role as well as I do. They are born to obey. Most are born to die.”

A long pause followed, in which Skybright could only hear and feel the soft vibrations emanating from the uneven walls.

“It is a hard life,” Ye Guai said. “Cut short.”

Stone strolled toward the demon, his hands clasped behind his back, a picture of ease. “You speak as if they owned their lives. As if you did not know exactly what they were bred to do.”

Ye Guai’s giant muscles bulged, even the cords of his thick neck stood taut.

“Look at me,” Stone commanded.

The demon lifted his head, and Skybright swore she saw hatred there before the demon blinked his yellow eyes and his powerful jaw softened a fraction.

“You have done a fine job providing the demons we have needed to rule the underworld as well as the mortal realm. Have the Immortals not rewarded you enough?” Stone demanded. “Are you dissatisfied with this honored role?”

Ye Guai sank to one knee, his fist still held against his chest. “Apologies, Master Stone. I am but a humble servant to the gods.” His voice was docile, but his scent was not.

Skybright almost leaned in, to catch a better trace of the demon’s true temperament, but Stone stepped forward, blocking her way. “As am I. We both serve the gods,” Stone said and touched the demon’s muscular shoulder. “All is well here, as I knew it would be. The demons are thriving. Come, rise.”

Ye Guai stood, his hooves clacking against the ground. “Thank you, Master Stone.” His gaze flickered in her direction. “How can the lady visit the underworld? She is not dead. Is she one of us?”

The observation was so unexpected that Skybright was unable to keep the shock from her face. What could this wolf demon know of her? She smoothed her expression but not before the demon leered. Stone’s hand shot out, his arm a blur of motion, and cuffed the demon on the side of his head hard enough that Ye Guai let out a hideous howl.

“She is not like one of you,” Stone said, and she would have sworn that the temperature dropped around them. “We are done here. Do not forget your place.”

When Stone wrapped an arm around her shoulder and conjured them from that seething abyss, the demon was still whimpering.