Glass Heart

Chapter 4

As soon as everyone was dismissed, I bolted from the dining room, went through the tedious process of opening the prep room and grabbing my spear, and ran to the library, sealing the door behind me. That might buy me a couple hours to figure this out. If I had cast the wards, it would last maybe a couple minutes, but I just activated the ones that already exist. What did the book mean by reversed? Draw it last line first, first line last? Upside down? Backwards? If I did it wrong, there was a chance that I could turn myself to ash.

Picking up my motivational paperweight, I asked, "what do you think? How do I draw this so I get to hell without destroying myself?" Never thought I'd ever say those words aloud. It beat steadily in my palm, not offering any kind of advice. But then a moment later, the light inside started to change. Normally it was just a wispy ball of red light that pulsed regularly, this was not that. Looking closer, the light was forming a shape.

On an instinct that it was trying to help me, I took out my rune chalk and drew the shape it made. Gradually it became more complex, I only recognized a few of the interconnected shapes, and it was far larger than anything I had ever cast before. I didn't know if I actually had the power for something like this. What was it trying to get me to cast?

I stepped back to observe the formation once the heart returned to normal. Finally, I recognized enough of it to realize what it was for, at least partially. It was a demonic rune, activated by the caster's blood, part of it would send me to hell—a small part—I had no idea what the rest of it did.

I didn't have time to figure out how to reverse a banishing rune without turning myself to ash, this rune would have the same intention and it was ready to be cast, all I had to do was activate it. The choice was simple. Knowing I would sound crazy and not caring, I murmured, "thank you, my trusty paperweight." Despite the risks, I trusted the heart. Setting it on the desk so it wouldn't come to harm in hell, the glow immediately stopped and I found myself missing it instantly. "I'll be back," I promised it.

Kneeling over the rune, careful not to smudge any of the lines, I cut my palm on the blade of my spear and pressed it into the center of the rune. As soon as blood made contact with it, I heard muffled intense screaming as if someone a great distance away was in pain. I was too preoccupied with what the mark was doing to be concerned about it. I was stuck to the floor, unable to move when my hand was violently jerked and suddenly I was falling through the rune. As I passed through it, I could only watch as the rune stuck to me and crawled over my body, covering me completely as I fell through it before sinking beneath my skin. Whatever this rune was, it marked its caster.

The falling sensation seemed to stick with me for a period of time that seemed both indefinite and all too fast. I was excited, but I also knew—or could at least speculate—what was waiting for me on the other end of this portal, and it certainly wouldn't be happy to see me. I enjoyed the sensation while it lasted, as soon as the rune was finished, the effects it would have on me were unknowable, but likely not pleasant given the precedent I had with rune casting.

I felt my hand getting tugged again, but this time when I was sucked through, the portal didn't open on the ground. It opened in the air. I screeched as I tumbled toward a massive moat of liquid fire, flailing my arms to land anywhere but there. My vision wavered as I descended, ah shit, the side effects were kicking in, better than usual, but looks like I'll still be fainting. Hey, at least I won't be conscious when I burn to death. That was the last thought I remembered having before I blacked out.

After that I didn't remember much until I woke up, just a snippet from a couple voices in my head.

"Why didn't she burn?"

"She's been marked. Leave her here."

"But the boss—"

"Don't worry, he knows. He'll come for her sooner or later."

When I woke up, I was alone, no one in sight. I was sore along my spine, my head throbbed wildly, and my clothes were in tatters, even a little crispy on the edges. What the hell had happened? Looking around, I realized my choice of words was particularly appropriate, I was in Hell. I did it, it worked! I definitely should not be as happy as I was about that.

The large awed smile on my face probably made me look delusional but there was no one around to see so why should I care? Hell wasn't as bad as Dante's Inferno made it seem, it had its own sort of beauty, an otherworldly one that could only be described as hellish, but beauty nonetheless.

The sky was transitioning from a deep red to grey to black, the sun didn't quite reach this realm so I guess that's what qualified for a sunset. It was actually quite beautiful. In the distance, dark jagged mountains pierced into the sky, and behind me, the river of fire gave off light low enough that it didn't ruin my night vision while supplying a source of heat in this otherwise frigid place.

In a foreign realm with night quickly falling and the cold setting in, I knew it wasn't safe to travel far from the banks of the river, which would keep me warm through the night and hopefully ward off any dangers. Though for whatever reason, I felt that I would be safe here—in the one place I should fear for every second of my life.

Exhaustion hit me like a truck, making my whole body feel heavy with fatigue. Just next to the river was a soft patch of grey mossy rock that I found just as enticing as my bed at home. Curling up, I allowed the heat of the flames and my fatigue to lull me into a peaceful sleep, feeling somehow safe even as I lowered my guard in the most dangerous place to ever exist. I guess I just had this feeling that something out there was watching out for me.