The Mystery at Trida Academy | Fantasmical 2023

In a Handbasket

Alaina looked at the witch moping dejectedly on the floor. "What's going to happen to her?"

"She'll be taken to the Underworld." Cole told her. Jophiel nodded.

"Isn't that a bit harsh?" She hadn't hurt anyone – much.

"The dead are the domain of the Underworld. None may interfere." Jophiel told her seriously. 

"Really?" Alaina asked. She supposed it made sense, but it still seemed unnecessary. It wasn't as if she'd conjured anything particularly nefarious. Alaina gave a small wave to a group of spirits huddled by the window.

"I must admit, you do seem to have a sort of...way with the dead." Cole said.

"Why, thank you." Alaina replied.

"And as you might have noticed, there are still quite of few of them running around."

"I did notice that."

"Well, how would you like to help me get them back?"

"How would we do that?"

Cole thought for a minute. "Well, the problem is that clearly, the gates of the Underworld have been opened. The first step is to shut them."

"To just...walk in and shut the gates to the Underworld?" she asked. "Just like that?"

"Sure, why not?" He grinned wickedly. Then he leaned around her. "Would you like to come too, angel?"

Jophiel narrowed his eyes. Raising his wings slightly, he asked, "You don't think I might stand out a little in the Underworld?"

"So, we'll have to hide your wings. Details." Cole brushed his concerns aside and turned back to Alaina. "What do you say?"

Alaina thought about it. Going down into the Underworld with a demon she barely knew and an angel she didn't might not have been the best idea. Still, who was she to pass up the opportunity? She found herself agreeing almost immediately. Cole grinned at her.

He walked into the center of the room, tracing out strange-looking runes on the floor, mumbling in an unnatural language as he did. Alaina and Jophiel watched. When he was done, the runes glowed an eerie blue, and a deep, black portal opened up in the center. Suddenly, Alaina was afraid. What had she gotten herself into? But Jophiel stepped up beside her.

"You're really going?" Alaina was surprised.

"Well, I can't leave you in the hands of a demon, can I?" he asked.

"Excellent." Cole said, ignoring the insult. He fished around in his bag, pulling out a small jar. "Now, Alaina, help me with him."

He handed the jar to Alaina, and she realized it was filled with charcoal powder. The two went to work, covering Jophiel's wings until they were almost as black as Cole's.

"Feels strange." Jophiel mumbled under his breath, stretching out his wings.

"Don't do that." Cole told him. "Can't have any of that powder falling off, can we?"

Jophiel grumbled but did as instructed. Then, the three of them stepped into the portal.

Alaina's breath caught as she was plunged into darkness and unimaginable cold. The air grew heavy, pressing in from all sides, and she struggled to take in air. She looked frantically into the darkness, but she couldn't see anything. She didn't see Cole or Jophiel. Had they left her? Did something happen? She reached out into the darkness but couldn't feel either of them. She tried to force down her rising panic.

Then, it was over. The coldness gave way to uncomfortable heat, and the world was filled with a strange orange glow. She looked over and saw both Cole and Jophiel standing next to her. When she'd reached out for them, she must have missed by inches.

"A little warning would have been nice." Jophiel glared at Cole. Cole shrugged.

"Apologies." he said, but he didn't sound all that sorry. "I don't hear Alaina grumbling about it."

But Alaina was too busy looking out on the world below her.

They'd materialized on the top of a steep black cliff, a kind of city seemingly spreading out below them under the hazy orange sky.

"Is this...Hades?" Alaina asked, looking down at the strange glow of the city.

"This? No." Cole said. "Hades is much bigger. This is just a little town – where hardworking demons come to take a break."

A little town? It looked twice as big as the village Alaina grew up in.

"Hades is over there." Cole said, pointing off in the distance.

Alaina squinted, trying to see. It was quite a ways out, but the orange sky wasn't quite so bright there, and the buildings seemed to be tinged with a strange blue light.

"Is that where we're going?" Alaina asked.

"Uh, no. Not if we can help it. Actually, we'll be going this way." He pointed in almost the exact opposite direction. "I think it's best if we stay out of the cities as much as possible. Wouldn't want to attract attention."

"A wise decision." Jophiel agreed. He shifted his wings nervously, trying to fold them flatter against his back.

"So what's down that way?" Alaina asked. There were a few glowing lights in the city, and a few phosphorescent lakes and rivers along the way. But for the most part, the land was strangely dark and she couldn't make out much of the way at all. Was it a long trip? She couldn't tell.

They started down the narrow path in the side of the cliff. It was at the first bend in the road that Jophiel caught her eye. He looked worried.

"Do you realize we just let a demon literally drag us to the Underworld?" He sounded like he couldn't believe he'd actually let this happen.

"What will they do if they catch you?" she asked quietly. And what would they do to her? Maybe she should have thought about this a little more before she jumped at the chance for an adventure.

"I don't know." Jophiel said. "But I do know that it won't be good."

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Alaina said.

"It's a terrible idea." Jophiel agreed. "But I do believe I'll be the first angel to ever explore the underworld. I might get a commendation." He grinned at the idea.

"So we're really doing this?" Alaina asked, almost as excited.

"I believe we are."

"Then let's go find the gates of Hell." Alaina announced.

A/N: This story is being continued in Terrible Trials & Cunning Creatures: Fantasmical Competition 2024