Inner Demon: The Dark Bloods - Book I ✓

Chapter 31 - Shades of the Fall

They arrived at another partly rusted metal door that was also embedded in the floor. It would have been missed if not for Dante’s pause by it. He bent down and pulled on the folded handle. The perfectly squared door soundlessly and easily lifted; it was several inches thick. The fact that Dante was able to lift such a heavy object with a single hand was quite a marvel.

He grinned at Reyna. “Master Amon will explain that too.”

“Right,” she spoke, looking down the opening. Only darkness was seen with the top of a ladder peeking through, but something was felt: Amon’s essence. It had been muted until Dante had raised the hatch. Even Mundus lifted an inquisitive eyebrow at the room below that definitely had a seal that prevented Magika presence from escaping. Perhaps if he was more in sync with his body, he would have realized it sooner.

Dante was the first one down the ladder. He stopped, his head peeking out. “I can help you down,” he said to Reyna and offered her his hand.

Reyna shook her head at him and simply jumped down the hole, her slim body easily slipping past Dante and down the black gap. The dull thump of her safe landing echoed up.

Mundus could not help but smirk. “She is no longer the damsel you believe her to be.” He too jumped down leaving Dante with the task of closing the heavy door. It briefly glowed white as it sealed and locked itself once more.

Again the room they were in was dim, but as they progressed it quickly became brighter. In the light, it was evident the hallway was made of the same metal material as the door they slipped through. The passageway soon opened up to a large room that housed the light seen from the hallway. There were several kerosene lamps hanging from metal hooks on the walls. Some were lit, most not. The furniture consisted of only three couches, all of them mismatched love seats and in poor shape.

Towards the back of the room was the layout of a crude kitchen. There was a makeshift table with four stools for chairs. A dozen of propane tanks were stacked up against a wall next to a small grill. A few feet away from that were three coffee tables roughly the same heights that were used as kitchen counters. Above them were homemade cabinets that probably held basic food and spices that could not quickly spoil. There was a small, humming fridge under an hovering sink with exposed plumbing.

As Dante and his guests walked in, the soft conversation that had bustling through the air hushed. Two girls, brunettes that appeared to be sisters in their mid-twenties, were sharing one of the couches. They had been talking to the older man with a familiar face that was seated across from them. Another woman around her forties was asleep in another.

All gawked at the two newcomers only to shift their eyes towards Dante, eager to know what was going on. It wasn’t till one of the young ladies noticed what Mundus was that a veil of panic sheathed the room.

“It’s okay,” Dante said as he came up to them, leaving Mundus and Reyna behind to awkwardly wait for him. “I’m here. Don’t worry.”

Their fright quickly died down as the people gave nods at Dante’s reassuring smile. It was obvious they were familiar and comfortable with him.

Dante returned to the curious yet concerned Reyna and the ever agitating Mundus and ushered them to another shorter hallway that lead to three doors: one to the right, one to the left, and one straight ahead. Dante opened the one to the left.

The room was small but cozy. The two kerosene lamps that hung from the wall provided enough light to see. There was a bed, a desk, and an occupied chair.

“Master Amon,” Dante said walking up to the seated individual. “She came back.”

Reyna was already crossing the room, beyond enthusiastic to see Amon, but when she saw him, she gasped. He looked ten years older. His scars and winkles overlapped each other, making his face look like old leather. The beard he sported –grown where the scars had allowed it to– was about a year old. His long black hair was held back with a grubby hair band. Despite his ghastly appearance, Reyna embraced him all the same.