FOR THE UNKNOWN KINGDOM | BOOK 1

CHAPTER 42

"They will not stay open forever. Only for a few minutes," Denfer began, his voice steady and loud enough for everyone to hear, his shoulders held back in determination. His eyes glowed, the light of the portals mirroring in them. I hadn't taken a moment to observe him earlier. Everyone's eyes had been on me and the importance of my mission had been greater than my desire to forever lock my stare with Denfer's. But now, they were all gazing at him, and I found myself doing the same.

He looked better than the last time I'd seen him. He'd gained muscle, as if he'd been training all day long, and now in his black and golden uniform, he didn't look like the king of an unknown from the mortal world kingdom. He could be the most fearsome enemy of the Devil. And that was something I didn't know Denfer was capable of.

"So let's do this!" he announced, and I was sure that he had never heard a more triumphant sound in the eons of his existence than the one the crowd generated at his words of victory. A chill seeped into my bones at the silent promise, at the impending success.

Jersen was the first one to take a step toward the wall in order to let the crowd run to the portals. The two swords that were tucked behind his back made me wonder if the final combat hadn't happened yet. I hoped that wasn't true. Following his example, I walked toward him and found myself immersed into an alternative form of apocalypse, just by taking in what was going on around me.

"I think we're witnessing the wildest moment in Hell's history right now," Jersen whispered in my ear, and I found myself smiling at that.

Not daring to take my eyes off the crowd, I spotted Soflea and Ibizrel passing through the shining portal with their hands tied. I was glad that the majority of people chose to delve into their new kingdom instead of the everlasting nothingness.

Tilting my head to the side, I asked, "How did they all come here?"

He observed the crowd with crossed arms, and I had to repeat my question to catch his attention.

He gave me a slight smile. "Denfer brought them. It was part of the bargain with the Devil . . . that he would be allowed to carry his people here only for today," he replied. I shot him a look that spoke of surprise and he would have said something back if we hadn't been interrupted by Amanda.

Her red hair shimmered in the sunlight and her burning red jacket made her look like she was Hell's Leader after all. She didn't speak though. With her back against the wall, she stood with a silent knowingness, a distant look written on her face. I didn't think further of that. I only leaned the back of my head against the wall and scouted the room once again.

Everything was okay. Everyone was okay. Denfer, with his head hung low and his stare focused on the floor, didn't seem to notice who was jumping into the golden portal and who into the black. He looked completely lost in some daydream or in the creation of a secret plan. I hope it was the latter.

People were running now, pushing each other to get into the golden portal first, shouting at each other to move faster and faster. Time was running out and the moment the portals started to slowly shrink, everyone's rushing steps and words of surprise made my heart lose a beat. What if the golden portal closed before we had stepped into it? What if we stayed forever locked in Hell, dreaming of moments of beauty to ignore all the cruelties?

"You will all get in!" Denfer shouted, his grave face showing no sign of fear, as if time was unlimited and hope never ceased to exist. With the Devil standing behind him and being so unnervingly calm for so long, I tried to take a step toward Denfer, but the running people made me halt for a long minute.

Rippling in the air, that feeling of panic was enough to make me ignore Jersen's hand on my shoulder. Instead, I handed him the rose and drifted through the wild crowd, becoming one and the same with the people who ran to save their lives, with the people who didn't know if Denfer's words about having enough time had been true or just another motivational speech of a king who had to remain hopeful for his kingdom. I didn't know either, because the sunlight was slowly losing its glory, the golden portal was shriveling, and the people were countless. And as I passed in front of men and women, as I made my way through the crowd to get to Denfer, I couldn't breathe.