When Hell Froze Read online

  When she finally reached the first slinger, she slid her sword through his head from behind, grabbing the body with her off-hand to ease it down to the ground. The next was harder to locate, dark reddish brown skin, the color of old dried blood, blending with a tree in the gloom of night. She dispatched this the same way she had the first, but hadn’t been aware of a stone held in his palm; presumably keeping it ready to be fired. When she killed him, he released the stone, and it clattered against a tree root. She immediately ducked down, and crept around the tree, hoping the remaining soldiers would think it had simply been a failure of their brethrens stealth, rather than an enemy combatant.

  Coming around to the other side of the tree, she found herself face to face with another demonic slinger. The sword she slammed into his throat was too late as his cry cut off mid-note. Several more voices rang out in the night, stealth apparently being dropped now that they knew for certain that they had been discovered. For her part, Benny slunk back the way she had come to emerge on the opposite side of the tree. That was her intention anyway. When she had reached the halfway point, small winged bodies dropped on her from above, two and a half feet tall, wielding small clubs that in the hands of a human-sized creature would be called a blackjack. The crack of wings unfurling saved her, causing her to look upward.

  Despite the fact that she had never seen one wield a club before, she knew what these were. Imps. The only demons capable of full flight, they were small, and quick; difficult to hit, but fully capable of dealing damage with a dagger against an unarmored opponent. She was less certain about their ability to deal actual wounds with their small clubs, but decided not to find out. Her blade struck out, quick as a flash, bisecting one of the imps as it fell toward her. Another quick cut which killed a second imp was all she had time for before the group reached her. As she swung at the nimble creatures, missing most of her strikes now that they were in proper flight rather than uncontrolled dive; four more descended on her from above, outside of the group. She was so focused on the flock that was currently harassing her that in the dark of night, she didn’t see this quartet of imps, or the net they carried until it had been dropped on her.

  That was when she understood the slings, and clubs. They weren’t seeking to kill her or her squad, only capture them, stunning them with blunt weapons. Of course somewhere in the woods, several adjudicators stood; extending their anti-magic fields to make sure she wouldn’t be able to escape or fight back to the fullest extent of her abilities. Determined, she fought harder, trying to cut through the net. Given time, her sword would have been sharp enough to slice through the thick rope, but the imps, seeing her predicament, were determined not to allow her that time. Hard blows rained down on her body, making progress difficult. One attempted to bludgeon her head, but a lucky thrust skewered him. The others avoided her head after that, focusing on the rest of her body. A blow to her arm hit a nerve, and almost caused her to drop her sword. Afterward she found it difficult to maintain the grip pressure necessary for the cutting motion. Before she had made it halfway through the net, her knees buckled, and vision swam, causing her to painfully fall on her face in the dirt. The imps used this opportunity to swing at her head, and blackness bit at the edges of her vision.

  Suddenly Charlie came into view; roaring a battle cry, he dissected several imps before the group disengaged. He knelt over her as soon as it seemed clear they had retreated fully. “Oh god, Benny.” He muttered. She saw the imps above him, and tried to warn him, but all that came out of her mouth was a groaning sound. Something felt as if it wasn’t working right in her brain, but her mind was too addled to determine what it was. Too late, Charlie looked up, and was caught in a net of his own. As the imps returned to repeat their brutal capture process on Charlie, he began sawing through Benny’s net. “You need to escape. You need to… you need to get out of here. Run, Benny.” His strong grip completed the work she had started before he succumbed to the blows. Despite her bruised body, and addled mind; she stumbled to her feet, and began running as fast as she could.

  The imps made the executive decision that there were only enough of them to handle one prisoner at a time, and redoubled their efforts on Charlie, who was unable to cut himself free before succumbing to the pain. Meanwhile, Benny ran, at times forgetting why she was even running, and though she felt as though she were going at superhuman speed; in reality it was something more akin to a loping stumble. Eventually, she tripped on a tree branch. This blow to the head proved to be too much for her already concussed brain, and she slipped into a warm, welcoming darkness.

  Chapter 5

  The first thing Benny noticed upon waking up, was that she was in a metal cage. Still feeling somewhat muddled, whether from sleep, or her concussion, she sat up; looking around blearily. She was inside a stone room. In other cages throughout the rest of the room, lay the majority of her squad; including the members of the camp guard shift who were apparently not dead after all. Noticeably missing were Jewel, Father Ellis, and two others whose names she was too befuddled to pinpoint right this second. She was the only one awake, until she began calling out to them.

  “Charlie.” She cried quietly, somewhere between a groan, and a hiss. He didn’t stir.

  “Charlie.” She tried again. He jerked in his sleep.

  “Charlie you motherfucker, get the fuck up.” This got his attention. He jerked awake, banging his head against the bars of his cage in his haste to arise before recognizing the situation.

  “Morning Benny.” *Thunk* “Ugh, what’s… oh.” He said, sleep-addled mind beginning to process the situation.

  “I thought I saved you.” He muttered dejectedly. “I thought I…”

  “It’s ok. I don’t blame you.” She muttered back at him. “We need to focus on what we can do now. Help me get the others awake.”

  Soon the entire squad had been roused, and all had confirmed that they were stripped of any useful tools including belts, and laces. They also confirmed that the cages were made of a strong steel with no rusted blemishes to indicate weakness, their powers didn’t work, and they had no way to pick the locks. Charlie seemed as though he was giving into despair when their captors finally arrived.

  The first into the room was a set of ten demon soldiers, wielding short swords that were suitable for the kind of indoors fighting they might experience in the prison. Next, was a Vindicator, massive, and muscular. Seven feet tall, and wielding a mace, Benny wondered briefly if he was in command of this prison guard group. That thought lasted until another demon walked through the door, of a race she had never seen or heard of. A few inches shorter than the Vindicator, his horns were mere nubs of bone that extended a few inches from his skull. His skin was a dark pink as if someone had combined the color of a white human’s skin with that of the demons, and ended up with the color of a gaudy dress. His eyes belied these traits, red and slitted the way most demonic races were. He wore his long dark hair in a braid that extended partway down his back, and Benny’s military training immediately classified that as a weakness she could exploit.

  “Greetings, my name is Azel. I have come here to offer you a choice. I will allow your group to live, so long as one of you is willing to reveal useful military intelligence. The level of luxury I allow will naturally be proportionate to my satisfaction with the information, but the mere act of speaking will ensure survival so long as you provide something of worth.”

  An uproar broke out among the prisoners who were clamoring their refusal. After allowing this to continue for a moment, Azel sighed, and snapped his fingers. A magically created booming sound blasted through the room, leaving the prisoners stunned, eardrums ringing. The demons also looked discomfited, but they carried themselves stoically as they watched the prisoners recover. Once their ears had recovered somewhat, Azel spoke.

  “If you force me to do that again, I will have one of you executed at random. Trust me, that was just as painful for me as it was for you. Now, let us continue.”

  H
e drew the sword from his belt, and held it to the throat of one of the prisoners through the bars. Benny couldn’t properly tell who was being threatened from where she sat, her cage being housed in the corner of the room behind a screen of demons.

  “Would anyone care to barter for this man’s life? No?” He moved the sword away from the prisoners throat, only to begin carving lines into the flesh of his arms and legs. After a few minutes, punctuated by several screams, Azel put the sword back to the man’s throat. “It is not too late to save this man before he bleeds out. If someone were to speak now, we could easily do so.”

  The room was utterly silent. “No? Pity.” Azel thrust his sword through the man’s throat, and out the other end, severing the brain stem due to the angle. He died instantly without even a scream. Azel motioned to the Vindicator demon, who drew a pouch from his belt.

  “To keep this fair, I have assigned each of you a number. I will draw at random from this pouch to determine who goes next.”

  Something that felt like an hour passed as two others were tortured to death before he drew Benny’s lot. She did her best to sit up straight, looking defiantly into his eyes as he slowly walked toward her. Finally reaching her, Azel put his sword to her throat. A shout preempted him before he could say anything.

  “Wait!” Charlie’s voice cried out.

  Benny turned to glare daggers at him. “Don’t you dare!” She yelled at Charlie, Azel glancing between the two dispassionately.

  “If you keep her safe, I’ll talk.” Charlie said, ignoring her.

  “God damn it Charlie, don’t! I’m not worth it! You’re going to get people killed!”

  He looked at her with a broken expression. “I’ve loved you for years. I’d burn the world to keep you safe.” He said hollowly.

  Tears streamed from Charlie's eyes as Azel withdrew his sword from her throat. “Indeed, and what do you have to offer me for her safety?” Azel asked him.

  “I’m the son of a general. I can share things I’ve seen or overheard around him. He… wasn’t very cautious with his secrets around me.”

  “Indeed?” Azel asked, looking intrigued. “And after you have told me all you know, would you be willing to return to your lands to continue feeding me information? Perhaps in exchange for special treatment of your friend?”

  Charlie looked pained for a moment, but nodded. “I would.”

  Benny wasn’t sure whether to feel betrayed or flattered as the two began negotiating her special circumstances. The rest of the surviving team members seemed to be watching Charlie with some of the same horror Benny herself felt. For his part he studiously avoided looking into anyone’s eyes. Finally, Azel released Charlie from his cage. Benny held out a momentary hope that it had all been a ruse so that he might get a chance to kill this demon lord, but her hopes were dashed when Charlie merely filed out alongside one of the demon guardsmen.

  “Now, a promise is a promise.” Azel said, nodding at one of the guardsmen, who unlocked Benny’s cage.

  Benny surged forward, and grabbed the sword from his belt. Stabbing it into his gut, she grabbed the key ring from his belt, and retreated into the cage, thinking to use the cage opening as a chokepoint to avoid getting swarmed. None of the demons moved, except Azel, who calmly put his sword to the throat of one of the prisoners. This time she could see who it was. Acolyte Mendez looked into her eyes determinedly. Benny looked around her. As good as she was, she couldn’t handle eight soldiers, a Vindicator, and Azel in these cramped conditions with no powers. Seeing only one way out, she put the sword to her own throat.

  “Let them go, or I kill myself, and your deal with Charlie is over.”

  Azel shrugged. “While I would prefer to keep my word, if I am forced to I can make him think you are still alive easily enough. The rules of honor do not apply if you break our deal.”

  Benny sneered. “Honor? From a Demon?”

  Azel cocked his head, and shrugged again. “Believe what you will, I don’t care so long as you abide by the terms of the deal I made with your boyfriend. Trust me, I could tell this was not easy for him either. Do not let his sacrifice be in vain.”

  Benny flinched, and lowered the weapon; a line of blood still clinging to her neck where the gore from her kill had transferred off the blade. A moment later she sighed, and dropped the blade, letting it clatter to the floor.

  “Fine, just… fine.” She mumbled, rubbing at her eyes as if trying to buff out the shame of defeat. “I’ll behave. For his sake.” Azel nodded, and held out his arm.

  “Hold onto me as we leave the dungeon. It will mark you as mine, and prevent my minions from mistaking you for a stray human escaped from the cells.”

  She raised an eyebrow at him, not moving. “Mark me as yours? What does that mean?”

  He waved his hand at her in a mixture of irritation and dismissiveness. “I meant that politically. It will give you a modicum of status which will protect you from the others. Fear not, I promised that no harm would come to you and I stand by my word. None here would accost you if they thought you were my consort, and I certainly do not wish to do so.”

  Benny snorted in irritation, but swallowed her pride. His warning about the danger she might be in was something Benny took seriously. Stone Faced, she took his arm as Azel led her through his fortress.

  The structure, as far as she could tell, was massive. Endless corridors looped through and around each other with a maze-like quality. The lack of any windows meant that there was no way to use external markers as a frame of reference either. Within ten minutes, Benny was hopelessly lost despite having an innately good sense of direction. It was strange to her, because she hadn’t seen any structures like this on the recent maps of the area.

  “Are we underground?” She asked him tersely, uncertain where the boundaries of conversation lay for her situation.

  Azel glanced at her, and observed her for a moment as if deciding whether to answer her. Eventually, he gave into the glare she returned his way. “Demons on the whole are a subterranean species. We prefer to live in underground colonies akin to interconnected fortresses. What humanity has yet to realize is that we conquered and colonized the depths of your world long before you ever noticed our presence. The territories we have taken from you are merely the areas we felt comfortable emerging from, and barely even a fraction of the actual demonic presence on your world.”

  Benny was shocked by this revelation, but then every demon ever captured died in captivity before anyone could interrogate them. It was one of the great mysteries of demonkind, and eventually, the army had stopped trying to take prisoners altogether.

  “I thought you arrived through portals from another world?” Benny asked, genuinely curious now.

  Azel nodded. “Initially, we did, but the arrival landed us in a cavern; under the crust of your world. We are suited to the pressure and temperature one might experience there. In fact, it is our preferred habitat. As we expanded through that space, this world drew in more and more colonists from the homeworld. Combined with the rather prolific rate at which demons breed, we soon outgrew even that space. Population limits were enacted by the primary government, but in the past century or so, the demons you know, a religious sect, split off from the primary population. I would estimate we represent about one percent of the total demonic population. My forebears, the initiators of this venture, used the same portal magic that brought us to this world to jump from their underground strongholds to points on the surface. To answer your question more directly, when your race first encountered us, they investigated the land beyond the portals. They found our underground strongholds, filled with magma flows, and a ceiling that was beyond the range of their vision. Naturally, they assumed they were on another world.”

  Benny had stopped walking, and was staring at him, openmouthed. Azel laughed at her expression in a tone that was not quite mocking. “Don’t look so put out. If we win we have no intention of committing genocide. We will simply integrate your race into ours. The
political landscape will likely change, but the day to day lives of the average human will not be much different. Our main goal regardless of your fate is to spread out into the stars, but as it is difficult to find suitable worlds without significant surface installations we have risen to the surface like foam that boils over from a pot.”

  “I’m… why are you telling me all this?” Benny asked, mind still reeling from the shock of having her preconceptions shattered.

  “While I don’t intend to give you military secrets, I have long felt that some form of discourse with your people would be beneficial to both sides. Unfortunately, your church has denied any overtures our people make towards peace. I fear they think us untrustworthy, or mad. To be quite honest though, our people have taken all the land we need. Though there are some among my faction who strive for power, and domination; I would rather be able to strike an accord. I fear that my people forget our holy calling to step out into the stars.”

  “What about Genesis? My people’s scriptures tell us that your invasion was ordered by the Goddess Genesis, who was jealous of Orion’s obsession with this world. That she wanted to win back his attention by destroying his creations.

  Azel shrugged. “We do indeed worship the Goddess Genesis, but there is no mention of Orion in our teachings. Among the pantheon, Genesis is the goddess of explorers, and pioneers. To worship her is to worship the creation of new life, a new family, and the founding of a new home. It is our holy duty, passed down through the generations, to journey to new worlds; seeding them with life so that the rest of our race might flourish in our place. To be honest your god does not fit into our religious doctrine at all.”