Bound by Hellfire

Chapter 18

The streets were filled with cat people, all of them scurrying to a destination known only to them. Each moved with grace, coming so close to running into each other before slithering past as though the obstacle was never there. I found myself staring deeply at each person who walked by, studying the peculiarities in their fur, their height, their tails, all of which hammered into my head that this was another species. Something local to this world, and for me to understand them it would take a lifetime.

So instead I pushed on to the next, and arguably more important question; what was hunting us? 

Hakura had said it was a Sin. Some kind of demon that was stronger than all others. One that could turn civilizations to rubble and make lesser demons look like pets. My brain racked at those words. It was hard to understand something so unfamiliar, something so otherworldly. I was a novice at this, and if I wanted my questions answered I would either have to wait for Hakura to tell me or find them myself.

I turned to my left, stepping away from what seemed to be a bustling main walkway into a thinner dirt offroad. No one was down this way, but the unrest of the other street didn't seem like the right place to find my answers. So I walked down the path, staring off into the endless stretch of huts and homes before reaching a building that blocked me from stepping further. 

This building was bigger than the market stalls that lined the main thoroughfare, even bigger than the homes in the street I now walked on. Its walls were made of stone, much like the ones of the village main hall. On the left side of the building was a large overhang that showed the structure's hollow insides; from the top, a large stream of black smoke blew into the sky.

I stepped hesitantly toward the opening on the left, peering into the darkness of the building. From the depths, I could hear the faint crackling of a fire burning in its midst along with a strange sizzling noise.

"Hello?!" I yelled meekly.

There was no response. Despite its uninviting nature, a gust of wind blew me closer to the opening. The cold air sent another wave of shivers down my back, causing me to lean closer to the gray stone wall.

"Hello?!" I called again.

Still no answer.

Hakura said that if I had any questions, I could ask people in the village, but maybe this wasn't the best place to start. I stepped back into the street as another flurry of wind and snow swirled through my shirt. My teeth clamped together at the freezing air and I instinctively jumped back toward the opening in the building. Snow began to trickle down once again and the thought of mindlessly walking through the cold was far less appealing than the darkness within.

So I stepped softly into the building, unnoticed, and uninvited. 

The opening led to a long horizontal hallway that looked to stretch to the front and back of the structure. I stepped into the corridor, rubbing my arms furiously at the goosebumps that peppered my skin. There were three openings in the hallway, two being completely dark, while the other shined a faint orange light into the blackness. The sizzling noise appeared again, louder now. 

I swallowed a lump in my throat and I found myself sweating as I approached the room, despite the plague of cold wind that whistled behind me. My hand gripped the stone door frame as I peered through. It was large and cluttered with all sorts of tools and gadgets. Scraps of metal and frayed leather clung to the floor and the air was blanketed with a thin layer of smoke. In the far corner was a large furnace that burned a bright light into the middle of the room; the smog and darkness covered the intricacies of the walls.

I stepped toward the center, bathing in the golden light of the furnace as I let its warmth wash over me. I raised my hands, allowing its embrace to thaw them and I couldn't help but sigh in relief.