Arcane Order's Adopted Son

CHAPTER FIVE: INFERNO

 After breakfast, Skrael and Phoenix were about to fly off before Bellroc stopped them.

"Skrael..." She said.

He turned around and raised an eyebrow.

"Why don't you invite Hisirdoux and Nari?"

"Ugh! Why would I do that?"

"Because it's nice, and well, he's our guest."

"Guest as much as an intruder," Skrael muttered. "Come on, wizard apprentice."

I stood up and held Nari's hand. I walked towards them, but Skrael did not look happy that we were joining the two of them.

"Where are you going, Bell?" Nari asked.

"Out. Protection," She said, jumping from the mouth of the cave.

"Why would we need protection?" I asked.

"I don't know, why are you HERE?!"

Phoenix put a hand on Skrael's shoulder. His face relaxed. He almost smiled before returning to a straight face. He gestured towards the entire room. "This is the living space/dining room. To the left, we have the living space. There's a fireplace, but no television or any technological devices...or wall sockets, so don't get smug with me, Hisirdoux."

I rolled my eyes.

"Bellroc kind of owns the kitchen space. She does all of the cooking. Now let's move onto the hallways." He walked down the dark hallway space lit by the candles. We followed him and looked at all of the doors. "Because Bellroc has better things to do than waste all of her abilities, we came up with the idea of portal doors. Each door opens up to another dimension." He stood in front of a random door and kicked it open with the end of his staff. A loud roar pierced the silence of the entire cave. It blew all our hair back. Skrael continued to have a smug grin on his face, even as hood nearly blew off. He corrected the skull on his head and closed the door with magic. "Now...moving on." He turned and continued the tour. "These doors can sometimes change, but only Bellroc knows what secrets lie behind them all. One minute you're here, the next a post-apocalyptic future."

"What about that door?" Nari asked, pointing at the one that had been sealed off with magic.

"That one?" Skrael said. He looked curious for a second, but then his face fell. "Yeah, no, sorry, that one's off limits."

"But why?" Nari asked.

"I don't know. Bellroc's sealed off her memories to that door, so I don't have access to them. It's in her handwriting, so that must make it important. The seals on the door have incredibly arcane magic. Trying to break through them would be like trying to break through a diamond with a fingernail. Only Bellroc can break through. Don't try to get any ideas either."

"I wasn't," I added, knowing he was gesturing towards me.

"You obviously know where your rooms are. Bellroc's is furthest down the hallway. It also has the largest windows. I'd love to show you if the doors were unlocked."

"Why are they locked?"

"I don't like snooping into Bellroc's business. Now, come downstairs." Skrael snapped his fingers and a secret door opened up in the stone wall.

"Something tells me this is not an ordinary cave," Phoenix said.

"Nope!" Skrael said gleefully and quite sinisterly. "Come, come, come, don't shy. The torture chambers are in another room."

We all paused and gave each other nervous glances.

"I'm joking, I'm joking. We don't have a torture chamber," Skrael said, turning around. "You guys can never have a little fun. Let's go."