The Demon's Deal

Chapter Seven

Chapter seven

*

"Seamus?" Ivy stood in front of him, her face concerned. "Shall we keep going?" She stretched out her hand towards him.

Seamus smiled, took the hand, and got to his feet. "Yes. We can't waste any time." The others were already waiting for him. While not exactly rested, at least they had gotten a moment to recharge. Seamus strapped his sword back in place and shouldered his pack. "Onwards," he told them with a gesture towards the door.

The next circular room was similar to the others once again, with dark grey and white tiles across the floor. The walls were made of black stones with another stone door directly across from them. In the centre of the room stood a chest made of wood and iron. A large sculpture of an extremely overgrown snake lay curled around it. As he stepped inside,

Seamus saw that the thing seemed made entirely out of metal, with torchlight reflecting off the skin. Or was it armour? Seamus looked at Ivy, not sure of what he was seeing. "That's not a real snake, is it?"

She shook her head. "No, of course not. Sure looks like one though."

Seamus glanced around the room. "Let's try and go around it," he suggested. The others nodded in agreement and followed him, weapons drawn.

As they approached the middle of the room's edge, there was the sudden distinct sound of metal scraping over stone. The metal snake had perked up, its head facing them with two burning red gems as eyes staring menacingly. He carefully took another step and the snake hissed. It sounded very similar to a real snake, but Seamus heard the added sounds of metal grating against metal. He slowly drew his sword from its scabbard and took a step towards the thing. A hand on his upper arm stopped him, however, and he turned to look at the frowning face of Exadus.

"What are you doing?" the bald man asked him softly.

Seamus pointed at the snake with his thumb. "I'll distract it," he explained. "I don't think it will just let us go to the door. You go check out the door. Open it and I'll run through." His face darkened. "Besides, I really need to hit something right now."

Exadus thought a moment and then let go of his arm. "Just be careful, Seamus. I don't like the look of that thing."

Seamus raised his blade defensively before him and slowly approached the metal beast. The snake regarded him, its head standing upright at attention. The others behind him slowly moved onwards, and the snake's head snapped towards them. It hissed loudly and bared its sharp fangs, then lunged forwards with blinding speed.

Seamus threw himself between it and his friends, catching its bite with his sword. The strength of the metal creature forced him back a couple of feet and he roared, pushing back with all his might. He would not allow this thing to reach his friends. The snake pulled back, and slithered away from him, metal grating on the tiled floor. It was staring intently at him now, its previous quarry seemingly forgotten about. Good, he thought. Stay focused on me.

It struck suddenly, fast as lightning, and Seamus barely dodged the strike in time. His foot slipped on the smooth floor and he stumbled. That was enough for the snake to strike again. This time, its metal fangs sank deeply into his shoulder. Seamus screamed as he felt the blood run down his back and chest. The thing lifted him up as if he weighed nothing and tossed him aside as easily as a ragdoll. He grunted as he landed harshly on the floor, sliding to a stop near the door where his friends had just arrived.

Exadus quickly helped him to his feet. "You done being a hero? This door's locked, we can't go anywhere!"

Seamus rolled his shoulder and then spotted the solid steel lock. "I wasn't trying to be..." he started, but shook his head instead. "You know what, never mind. Let's just get this Dark-scourged bastard." He turned to face the snake, which had started to slither towards them slowly.