Bentley Hellbourne was the worst demon in all of Hell. Good thing she's dead now... right?
Her death at the hands of her angelic arch-nemesis ended the war between Heaven and Hell. And now, eighty-five years later, the world is finally getting used...
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RJ's Note: Sorry for the temporary absence. We're back now. Hopefully this longass chapter makes up for it.
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There was nothing else hidden in the garden that they could find, so they once again followed the path back into the gloomy maze. This time, nobody was in the lead. Atticus and Bentley stayed side by side while Leslie followed a few steps behind, contributing very little to the direction the group took. Not that it really mattered anyway. They had no map or guide or indication on where to go, so really all they could do was wander until they found another obelisk or perhaps even a door.
While they were walking, Atticus started thinking. The rhymes written on the two obelisks had managed to mention himself, Bentley, Lucifer, and Hazel —though none directly by name. The second line of the first rhyme had to be talking about the change in dynamic between Atticus and Bentley, how they were no longer at each other's throats all the time. It was accurate. But the second line of the second rhyme seemed a little more daunting. Atticus wasn't sure how to feel about it yet.
As though she had been reading his exact thoughts, Bentley suddenly spoke up.
"So what do you think?" she asked, "The writing on the obelisks is definitely for us, right?"
"I can't think of any alternative," Atticus answered, "The second one mentioned us saving the four realms. Is that why you've come back from the dead?"
It was the first time he had really guessed at her motivation out loud. Unsurprisingly, she waved him off with a vague answer.
"Oh trust me, if my job was to save the four realms I'd rather die a thousand times over. Earth stinks, Heaven stinks, Hell... stinks. Purgatory has nothing in it so it also stinks. None of them are worth saving,"
Atticus wasn't sure if it was just his own mind playing tricks, but the fog around them seemed to turn a deeper shade of blue. The air felt heavier too, like everything had just become even less inviting than it had been a minute before.
"I disagree," he said quietly.
"We disagree on everything," Bentley replied,
"Hey, guys?" Leslie voice came from behind them. He was ignored, as always.
"When I was resurrected, I was told to stop the war. Do you think the writing could be elaborating on what's gonna happen?"
"You've just been blindly following orders from an unknown source without knowing the intended outcome?" Atticus asked.
She turned to him.
"Isn't that exactly what you've been doing these past couple days? Following me without any idea where we're going?"
"Guys!" Leslie nearly shouted.
The volume of his voice jolted them back into reality.
Both of them froze. Atticus' mind had been so deep in the conversation, he hadn't noticed that the fog surrounding them had become so dense, they couldn't even see three feet in front of them. While they had been talking, they had been swallowed completely by the haze to the point where the two of them had become the only things in existence. Even the towering hedges on either side were barely visible. Every molecule of Atticus' being was suddenly on high alert.
