I bent down and grabbed whatever it was that was under my feet and lifted it so I could see what it was. I could barely make it out, so I slowly lifted the dagger, just a tiny bit, so the light could reveal what it was.
Oh my God! I’d seen this before, but in a much smaller form. I knew exactly what it was.
A loud hissing filled the tunnel. A terrifying sound that could only mean one thing. A creature I feared more than any other. Snake. An exceptionally large snake, and I was holding its skin.
A shiver surged down my spine, and I dropped the giant snakeskin that was grasped in my hands. Danyel was right. Each level was getting worse and worse.
Out of nowhere, in the far right corner of the tunnel, bright yellow eyes floated toward us in the darkness. But it wasn’t the eyes that had me terrified. The thing that terrified me the most was what was connected to those eyes. Those eyes were huge. Like the size of my head huge, and I couldn’t begin to imagine how much larger the rest of it was.
Samuel readied his sword, and as much as I dreaded to let go of him, to be disconnected from the only source of comfort I had in this darkness, I did.
“When I yell, take out your dagger and run. Let the light lead your way, and don’t worry about me.”
I nodded, swallowing hard.
“Emma? Did you hear what I said?”
I realized he couldn’t see me because I was standing behind him. “Yes,” I breathed.
My eyes were glued on the approaching horror. Its devil eyes were targeted on us. From what I knew, snakes either used their tongues to taste their prey, or they had super keen night vision. I was assuming this one had night vision because it never wavered from our direction.
“You know what to do, right?” he asked again.
“Run, but don’t run too far. Stay hidden and avoid venomous fangs,” I breathed.
“Perfect.”
My trembling hand gripped the handle of the dagger. I ran the plan through my mind, and prayed that my feet wouldn’t stumble, and would take me quickly and safely to my destination.
The serpent suddenly appeared in the dimmed light. Samuel started to run in the direction opposite of my escape route, yelling and waving his sword above his head. The serpent’s eyes snapped in his direction. Its gargantuan body coiled into a striking position.
Crap! Crap! Crap!
“Emma - RUN!” Samuel yelled.
I paused, just for a moment, and watched the creature send its first strike at Samuel. It barely missed his arm, but its massive head struck the ground, sending rocks flying through the cave, like bullets from a gun.
I yanked out the dagger, but my heart fell hopelessly to the ground.
Its light was extinguished.
No!!! Not now!!! This can’t be happening!!!
I pounded it, like I’d seen my dad pound a flashlight trying to get it to work. And, even that didn’t help. Time was ticking and I was still in the same place. I needed to move.
I sucked in a deep breath and stumbled into the darkness, keeping the dagger in my hand and my arms out in front of me to catch me in case I fell again.
“Please dagger. Please light up. Please help me find my way,” I begged.
After a few more steps, I felt a tingling and a heat in my palm, and suddenly the dagger began to flood my surrounding area with light.
“Oh, dagger. Thank you. Thank you. You don’t even know how much I love you right now,” I whispered, not believing that I was actually talking to an inanimate object that seemed to respond to my wish.
I willed my feet to move quickly, and made it past Samuel and the serpent. The serpent struck at Samuel again and again. Its loud hissing echoed throughout the tunnel. Pieces of rocks flew all around me, like bomb shrapnel, as its long tail whipped back and forth.
Sharp fangs were exposed, dripping with a clear liquid. Snakes had venom, and I expected that this particular one was deadly.
I moved as quickly as I could, twisting through the rocky terrain, staying as far away from the serpent as possible. Just as I reached the end of the tunnel, I stopped. I’d reached my destination, and even decided to take a few steps back. I slowly pushed the dagger out in front of me.
A few feet ahead was a drop off. If I’d gone any further, I would have fallen. I held out the dagger even further, but was a bit too far from the edge to see how far it went down. There was definite movement, and lots of it. I slowly inched my way closer, and against my better judgment, held the dagger out over the drop.
HOLY -!
Hundreds…no, thousands of snakes were slithering in the depths of the pit. I had to step back because I felt my legs get weak. Samuel. Where was Samuel?
Why did it have to be snakes when I was alone?
I quickly turned back to the darkness of the tunnel and strained to find Samuel, but the darkness had completely enveloped him and the serpent. I could hear the swishing of the serpent’s tail, the thrusting of Samuel’s sword, and watched sparks fly as it clanged against the walls of the cave. I hated that I couldn’t see what was happening. At least Samuel had the ability to see clearly in the dark.
Suddenly, Samuel yelled and there was loud swooshing sound. The serpent screamed in pain, so loud, that I had to cover my ears. Something ricocheted off the ground and shot towards me. A long white object bounced a few feet in front of me. I held out the dagger to see what it was. It was one of the serpent’s fangs, and that was a close call. That thing was like a deadly arrow!
The fang was about twelve inches long. One side was jagged, where it had cracked off, and the other had a needle sharp point that was wet with venom.
The battle continued, Fallen against serpent, and they were moving closer to me. I quickly tucked the dagger back into its sheath, not that it mattered.
My eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, so I could barely make out the silhouettes of the serpent and Samuel slowly moving around each other. The serpent’s head was flared out, like that of a cobra, ready to strike its prey.
Samuel lunged forward, and pierced the belly of the serpent. It let out another ear piercing scream, and then returned with a quick strike of its own.
Samuel cried out, but I couldn’t tell if he’d gotten hit or bitten. My eyes strained for an answer, my heart thump, thump, thumped against my chest.
I watched the snake slowly withdraw, but there was no movement from Samuel.
What do I do?
I quickly unsheathed the dagger, which was still glowing, and headed toward him. I had to help him. I had to make sure he was all right.
Out of the darkness… two humongous, yellow eyes appeared in front of me, only feet away. I screamed, almost falling backwards, but regained my balance and readied myself, holding the dagger out.
There was no way I’d be able to outrun it. It had total advantage in this hellhole.
I tightened my grip on the dagger. Inside of myself, I was battling. It was a war against the old me and the fear that made me weak, against the stronger part, the newest part. The part that was still alien to me.
I had to stand up against this creature and fight for my life, even if it meant my life would be taken. The Guardians would have fought until death.
I suddenly felt myself crouch, as I’d seen Samuel and Danyel do when they readied themselves for a fight. I was ready. I was going to be strong. For them.
The serpent slithered closer. Its long, forked tongue flicked in and out. One, sharp fang glistened in the dim light; its venom was calling my name.
“Sssssssss-weet child,” it hissed.
What the-? Did that frickin’ snake just talk to me?
“I tasssssste your sssssssweetness. Your essssence lingerssssss in the air. Sssssssso sssssswweet.”
Holy shit, it did talk!!!
Suddenly, I felt pressure around my ankles. I glanced down and watched its tail coiling around them, quickly spiraling upwards. I was claustrophobic, and terrified of being in tight, enclosed spaces. The horror of the situation almost got the best of me, but I refused t
o go down without a fight. Hell if this creature was going to squeeze the life out of me without getting some damage first.
“Let me go!” I screamed, threatening it with my dagger.
“Sssssssweet child. You won’t feel a thing. I promisssssse.”
And then it suddenly stopped. Its pupils became dilated and started to glow bright red. Its head began to sway slightly back and forth, like it was mesmerized, and I could feel its grip on me start to loosen.
I’d seen this happen on before, on the Discovery Channel, to cobras when the snake charmers charmed them with movement and music. But there was no movement or music, so what was happening?
I glanced down at my chest. It was the Bloodstone. Its bright red glow was pulsing.
I gasped, looking back into the creature’s eyes. They were blank.
The Bloodstone was charming the serpent.
Its body was still wrapped too tight around me, keeping me from getting free. I tried to push out, as hard as I could, but then started to feel it constrict even tighter.
The charm was wearing off.
I watched as the serpent’s eyes began to flicker from red to yellow and back again. I didn’t have much time.
Adrenaline shot through my veins, so I took a deep breath and started to slash away at all of the parts of the creature that was constricting me. Its tail was beginning to coil around my waist, squeezing tighter.
The dagger was sharp and had no problem slicing right through it, but it was so huge and thick that it barely made a difference. The creature let out piercing pain. Its head flared, its eyes were back to total yellow… pissed and focused on its target. Me.
Its fang was dripping with venom, ready to strike.
I quickly dropped my entire weight to the ground as its head whizzed right over me. I felt the brush from its movement, as it passed over me. I quickly thrust my dagger upward into the bottom of its head and pulled downward toward its stomach, tearing its flesh apart. It screamed again. Piercing.
“Ssssssstupid child,” it hissed, ready to strike one more time, “you can’t kill me!”
“But I can,” a voice rang through darkness. I suddenly heard a loud swish, and then watched the serpent’s head sever right from its body. Blood splattered all over me. I lifted the lighted dagger, and saw Samuel standing there. He looked weary, and tired, but managed a smile.
“Samuel,” I cried, as tears cascaded from my eyes.
“I told you I’d be fine. Killing serpents is a piece of cake,” he laughed, trying to pull the creature away from me.
“Yeah, sure,” I said, exhaling in relief, attempting to free myself from the weight of its tail which was coiled around me.
He walked over to me, pulled me up, and wrapped his arms around me.
“Look at us. We’re a mess, but we’ve traveled more than halfway. I think we make a pretty great team,” he said, wiping my face with a rag.
“I guess we do,” I answered. “But how are you? Did you get bitten?
“No, but he caught me a good one in my jaw, and knocked me out for a bit,” he said, rubbing the right side of his face.
“Thank God. I thought you’d been bitten. If you hadn’t come when you did, I would probably be dead right now.”
“I think you could have taken it without my help,” he responded.
“I’m just glad you’re still here,” I breathed. And it was the truth. I wouldn’t know how, or what to do without him.
“So, what do you say we finish this mission and get home?” He held his hand out to me.
“Deal!” I said, firmly and shaking it.
“I never thought I’d get the chance to meet you face to face, let alone be on a quest with you, traveling into the depths of Hell to take you to speak to Lucifer. But I have to admit, I am very proud of you, Emma, and I want you to know that I will be here to protect you until my last breath,” he said with deep sincerity in his eyes.
“Thank you,” were the only words that escaped my lips. But they were also sincere.
“I just want you to know that I love you. I have always loved you and Alaine.”
I nodded. Tears filled my weary eyes. I didn’t know how else to respond, but I could tell that my tears had spoken the words that I couldn’t.
We started to move forward toward the end of the tunnel when I remembered the drop.
“Samuel, we can’t go that way. There’s a huge pit full of snakes ahead,” I said, holding his arm back.
“I know,” he said, tightening his belt and tucking his sword away.
A quieted hissing suddenly became louder and louder, and there was movement in front of us. Samuel reached in his pack and cracked a light stick and threw it about 20 yards ahead.
The ground was moving, slithering, and completely covered with snakes.
They’d found a way out of the pit!
There were snakes of every kind, color, and length quickly slithering towards us. I backed up, but Samuel grabbed my arm and held me in place. We were completely surrounded.
“No sudden movements,” he whispered.
“Don’t worry. I won’t,” I said, already frozen in place. A pang of horror shot through my body, knowing I was surrounded by one of the things I feared the most.
“Emma,” he whispered.
“Yes?”
“I want you to climb onto that rock to your left. Very slowly.” I turned my head a bit, and saw a rock to the side of us that was about three feet high. It was very uneven and had sharp pieces jetting out all over it.
Great. I was already having a hard enough time trying to stay balanced on solid ground.
“You can do it. Just move very slowly,” he coaxed.
I couldn’t look at the ground, so I lifted my leg, placed my foot on the rock, and took in a deep breath. Samuel’s hand gripped mine.
“You’ll be okay, Emma. Go.”
I slowly shifted my weight to the foot which was on the rock and pushed myself up. My ankle was twisted, so I looked down to secure it to a spot that was a little more even. When I glanced down, the whole ground around the rock was moving. The snakes had already surrounded it.
“Up,” Samuel said evenly.
I pushed my body away from his grasp and made it onto the rock. Just when I thought I was safe, a piece of the rock cracked, twisting my ankle and sending me falling backward. I hit the ground with a thud, and in seconds was surrounded by dozens of snakes.
Shit!
I froze. I knew snakes responded to movement, so I stayed as still as possible, trying not to breathe.
“Emma, don’t move,” he yelled. He didn’t have to worry about me. I was a statue.
I watched him attempt to slice the snakes around me, but as fast as he slayed one, it seemed another two would take its place.
There was a sharp pain in my leg, and when I looked down a snake had sunk its fangs into my right shin. Then another, and another, struck at my legs and arms. I tried to shake them free, but their jaws were locked on tight.
I felt the bites, but wasn’t feeling any side effects of toxins. Maybe the suit was helping. I needed to get up and the very moment I thought it, Samuel was above me, kicking and pulling the snakes off of me. He reached down to me, and I quickly grabbed a tight hold of his hand. In one swift movement, he swung me around to his back. The snakes were striking at him, but his boots kept their sharp, venomous fangs from his flesh.
I instantly felt pressure on my chest, and then miraculously, two of the most beautiful, silky, black wings appeared on Samuel’s back. I gasped, and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Are you ready to fly?” Samuel called back to me.
“Heck yes,” I answered, and wrapped myself tighter around him.
With one flap we were in the air, and my stomach felt weightless. With another flap, we were up about fifty feet off the ground.
“Hold on,” Samuel said.
“I am!” I answered. He suddenly leaned forward and with another flap, we were soaring above a huge p
it of thousands and thousands of slithering snakes. The sight made my skin crawl.
I was flying!
I was actually flying on my Father’s back, and he had wings! It was the most amazing and exhilarating feeling, and literally took my breath away. Aside from the fact that my first flying experience had to be in these horrifying conditions, I was glad to have been given the chance. And with my father! It was a moment that was beyond description.
In a matter of a minute, we were at the fourth gate. Samuel landed softly on the ground, just before the tunnel, and helped me off.
I had a smile plastered to my face, at least for a moment.
“So I take it you liked the flight?” he smiled.
“I think like is an understatement.”
“Well, hopefully it won’t be our last,” he said with a saddened smile.
“Why can’t we just fly the rest of the way?” I questioned.
“If it were that easy, I would, but they’ve taken that into account. It was easy to fly over the snakes, because they cannot fly or attack us while we are in the air, but there are other things, things much worse, which can possibly injure, or even kill us if we take to the air. I won’t risk it,” he said, “especially when I have my daughter on my back.”
I smiled, because I was proud of that fact. Proud to be his daughter.
Chapter 11
Level 4:
“Samuel, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, but the keepers of this fourth gate will smell our presence soon, so we should get moving. You can ask on the way.”
“Okay,” I gasped, and completely drew a blank.
We were about ten yards away from the gate and Samuel was being very cautious. Moving slowly and deliberately, sniffing the air. He then sat behind a large boulder.
“Go ahead, Emma. Ask away,” he whispered.
“Shouldn’t we be moving?” I asked.
“Yes, but I want you to have my full attention,” he said. “Once we enter the cave, we will not get a chance to speak.” I swallowed hard and sat down next to him, and pulled out the dagger.
“The symbol on this dagger, is it Michael the Archangels?” I questioned, lightly tracing it with my finger.