Pomegranate Parfait

Chapter 5

The last thing Aides needed was for something else to go wrong. And a mortal girl falling through the Rift? That qualified.

The soul wept before him, pleading mercy for his crimes. He should have known it was useless to beg before the Dark Lord. There was no pity in Aides' eyes. An eternity of judgement had erased such a human quality. No, the man did not falter as he raised his silver gavel. Remorse took no place in his ancient heart. The crash was thunderous in nature, but even still, it was a whisper compared to the howls that escape from the soul as he tumbled into an eternity of torment in the Fifth Realm. As quickly as they started, the cries swiftly ceased, leaving the throne room as still and silent as a tomb.

Finally alone, Aides wilted in his seat. His head was too heavy to be held up by willpower alone, and found its support in the palms of his hands. No one knew the weight of his burden. The Dark Lord held the fate of all souls in his hands: the power to save them; the responsibility to damn them. If only it was his only worry.

The walls of reality were crumbling. The moment the first Rift opened, a jolt of energy surged throughout the seven realms of the Afterworld, disturbing something long kept asleep. The Rifts were gateways: through them, the worst of creation threatened to escape. It was only a matter of time before there would be too many to close...

Soon, there would be nothing Aides, nor anyone else, could do to stop what was coming. Hewas waking. And when he did... mercy would be the first and last word on their tongues.

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Korey woke to the sound of breathing. She opened one eye and nearly jumped out of her skin.

The creature's hot breath scraped her cheek, escaped from a mouth with curved, razor-sharp fangs. Saliva dripped from its teeth and sizzled on the sheet, burning holes in the soft cotton. Its slitted green eyes stared intently at Korey, unblinking.

"Marvin, get back here!" A delicate woman barged into the room clutching a studded red collar. The creature – Marvin – let out a petulant whine. "You've already had your breakfast," she hissed, shaking the collar. "I promise I'll get you some damned souls to eat later – greedy ones, just the way you like." Marvin's canine ears pricked, and after one more shake of the collar, the creature leapt off of Korey and trotted over to the woman.

"What-what is that," Korey choked, wiping slobber from her skin.

The woman glared at her. "He is a Hellhound." She flapped Marvin's drooping chops, "the bestHellhound, aren't you baby." Marvin's scorpion tail thumped against the ground.

Korey sat up, though instantly regretted it. Her head swam and her stomach growled. It had been days since she last ate. "How long have I been asleep?" she groaned, looking around for a clock, but finding none.

The woman approached Korey's bedside, stepping into the dim blue light. She was short and slim; her skin was as perfect as a porcelain doll. The woman's ruby hair was long and straight, just brushing her hips. She wore the same attire as Jax: long sleeve muscle shirt, matching black cargo pants, combat boots. Dark green eyes matched the scowl of her downward turned lips. She was beautiful in the way storms were beautiful: devastatingly. "Three weeks," the woman said without any waver in her voice.

Korey could only stare. Had it really been three weeks? Her mother must have been frantic – and how would she explain her absence? Sorry, Mom, but I was teleported into an alternate universe where there are demons and hellhounds and gorgeous, obnoxious men. Well, she might believe that last part. But the rest? That was a one-way ticket to the mental hospital. "Where's my phone?" breathed Korey, trying to escape the tangle of sheets someone called a 'bed'.