Feathers and Blood (boyxboy)

Chapter Eleven

Unfortunately, my life isn't like any in the movies. I didn't just wake up only to be assaulted with bright light and my knight and shining armor standing above me. Nope, I had to wait, and quite tragically so. Antias didn't return, much to my relief, but I was still exhausted, and time in a timeless cell is horrifically torturing.

After a good half hour of trying to unstick myself from the floor, due to my dangerous nap, I had no choice but to just sit there and wait for someone to come rescue me. I hoped they wouldn't take too long; I might just go insane in here. I was almost ready to give up and fall asleep again when I felt it.

Sheer, concentrated terror. 

For a moment I went into a sort of frenzy. Was Antias coming back? Were they finally going to kill me? But then my rationality set in. I knew this type of sudden fear. It was Phobos! And despite the continuing aura of fright, I felt nothing but joy. He had come to save me!

The wall opened up, and my excitement soared - then drastically dropped. It wasn't Phobos, or any of his demons. Instead, it was the worst of the lot. Dripping in black blood and gross sweat was Antias. He looked like actual Hell, which was the only part of him that brought me satisfaction. A combination of the dream I'd had with Morpheus and that burst of Fear had revived me though. I quickly stood up, my fists clenched.

"Stay away from me," I hissed. "I'm not going to do this with you anymore, you psychotic bastard."

He had the decency to look surprised at my newfound rebellion. "We have to go!" he growled, launching towards me. "Now!"

"No!" I practically shrieked, hitting him with all I had. "No, leave me alone! Go away!"

But it was all for naught. He grabbed a proper hold of me and before I could react, he dissolved into green smoke. And so did I.

Going through the Tunnel was scary, but it was nothing like travelling as smoke. I had no actual substance, no solid body. I tried to move my hands, but there were none. I couldn't even see anything. All I could do was be conscious of the fact that we were moving at an alarming rate through a vast terrain. I couldn't control where I was going either. Something seemed to be pulling me, but I couldn't detect where they were moving from.

All in all, I hated it.

Then it was over as soon as it began. Antias and I materialized on a hard, red floor, both of us gasping in fatigue. For a few seconds, I closed my eyes and tried to rest, not even bothering to make sense of my surroundings. Then someone came and pulled both of us up to a standing position, and I laid eyes on Lyssios, King of Wrath, for the first time.

His throne room was almost exclusively red, with frighteningly realistic human skeletons littered along the walls. The seat of power was made of metal, maybe iron, but it was stained with suspiciously red liquids.

Most of the demons I'd seen so far were relatively young looking, but he looked to be in his late forties. His stringy brown hair and dull eyes added to the 'insane mass murderer' look. With a start, I saw that the skin around his hands was peeled back, leaving the flesh exposed. The same thing applied to his mouth. Lyssios looked like he had been flayed, but there was no visible pain.

"Johanna," he growled, and I realized that Johanna, Nemesis, and a few other Envy demons were also in the throne room, all looking equally scarred. "What a lovely surprise. Care to explain?"

Other Wrath demons huddled around us, as if anticipating an attack. "We were invaded!" Johanna cried out, wringing her wrists. "I never would have thought... Lucifer made us promise to never attack each other directly... So many are dead..."