The Demon's Deal

Chapter Six

Chapter six

*

Seamus stepped through the open doorway and once again into darkness. He took a few awkward steps further in to make room for his friends. Ashes brought up the rear of the party and the door swung shut tightly right after he had stepped through. That left them in a void of complete and impenetrable black. Seamus swore softly as his eyes did not adjust as they usually did.

"Anyone else having more trouble than usual with this darkness?" he asked in the direction his friends were standing. They muttered back affirmatively.

Ashes' deep voice came from the impenetrable black around them. "Hey Exadus-"

"If this is about that damned helmet again, I swear I'll box your ears," the paladin interrupted him quickly. No reply came from the wizard save for a soft sniggering.

Seamus cleared his throat. "So, braziers in the corner again?" he suggested.

"Could be," Rux replied. "We should stick to the walls and find a corner. Split up maybe?" Seamus was about to protest when Ivy spoke up with a serious tone.

"I don't think we should split up," she warned them. "This room, this dark, it feels...wrong."

Seamus nodded and immediately felt slightly stupid for doing so. "I agree," he said instead. "Let's stick together. Put a hand on each other's shoulders as we go along. I'll bring up the front, Exadus you take the rear." He heard the rustling of clothes and the clinking of armour as he and his friends moved to the wall. Seamus put his right hand on the wall and waited until he felt a hand on his shoulder. It felt calloused, which made him guess it was Rux'. "Alright," he said. "Everyone ready?"

They walked slowly and with small steps. It was the first time in his life that Seamus could see absolutely nothing, and he hated it. He could only rely on his hearing and smell, but those did not do him any good in this strange dimension. Because of the slow going, it took them a little while to reach a corner. Seamus felt around with his hands and feet for a moment and sighed when he felt nothing.

"No brazier here," he told the others. "I suppose we look for a door instead?" His friends agreed and he continued on, keeping the wall to his right.

A little further, Ashes suddenly whispered, "I don't think we're alone in here."

Seamus stopped and listened, then felt a rush of air. Next thing he knew, he felt a searing pain on his chest as something slashed his skin open. Hot blood dripped down and he heard it splatter down on the floor. A sudden wave of fatigue washed over him, which caused him to stagger. It took all his might not to sink to his knees. From behind him, Seamus heard Ivy cry out in pain as well.

"The Dark!" Ashes shouted, "The Dark itself is attacking!"

"It got Ivy!" Exadus cried. "I think she's down!"

Seamus roared and drew his greatsword from the scabbard at his back. He moved to stand in front of Rux.

"How do I shoot what I can't see?" the ranger said angrily, more to himself than to his friends.

Seamus grunted in response, then shouted in the direction of the wizard. "Ashes, think you can do something?"

The deep voice of the wizard came back at him out of the void. "Short of maybe holding whatever it is off for a bit, not really. Need to see what I'm doing."

Seamus suddenly felt the hairs on his neck stand up and instinctively ducked, a rush of air swooping over him. He swung his sword in a blind arc in the direction the air came from and felt the blade catch on something for the briefest of moments. He heard a soft scream, almost a sigh, coming from where he slashed, followed by silence.