Inside the pentagram were a huddled mass of Lemure, crouching low and emitting a high- pitched whine. And in the exact centre of the pentagram was the still form of Grace, lying unconscious.
Hope surged in Sam’s breast. They weren’t too late. Grace had not been taken yet. Wordlessly, he reached into the car and handed Joshua his baseball bat, then he moved warily towards the symbol.
He stepped over the burning outline of the pentagram, noting that the flames did not touch him. In fact, he did not even feel any heat. Behind him, Joshua followed, stepping carefully over the fire. He was not so lucky, yelping with the pain as the fires licked at him.
The Lemure had not seemed to notice them and remained where they were, oblivious to the intruders. Sam directed his gaze to the gaping hole in the church wall. Thankfully, there was no sign of the Astaroth or any more Lemure. His eyes sought out Grace and he began moving stealthily towards her, careful not to disturb any of the crouching Lemure. The noise they were making began to intensify. Something was happening. They had to hurry.
Heedless now of the Lemure in his way, Sam pushed his way through. Some of the demons roused themselves and clutched at his legs; he swatted their grasping claws away with his swords.
He finally reached Grace. Like Joshua, she had a long gash on her head, blood ebbing sluggishly from the wound. He put one arm around her neck and lifted her head gently.
“Grace,” he whispered. She groaned but did not open her eyes. He shook her again. “Grace,” he said urgently.
The Lemure whining had increased dramatically. Something was definitely happening now. Outside the pentagram, the walls of the church flickered and became less substantial somehow, as if a veil was being drawn before him.
They were almost out of time. Picking Grace up, he moved quickly towards the flaming outline of the pentagram, motioning to Joshua follow.
But they were too late. He knew what the Lemure were doing and a part of him could almost comprehend how — the knowledge danced tantalisingly close. He felt the impact of the change and staggered with the sheer shock of it. Then, before Sam’s horrified vision, the church outside the pentagram disappeared completely.
It was replaced with a vista of rock and diabolical fire, as far as the eye could see. They were standing on a large rocky plateau; further in the distance, Sam could see canyons, flickering with the light of the flames that roared in their depths. Above them, Astaroth circled and screeched beneath a fissured stone ceiling many miles distant, bathed in the crimson glow of the fires beneath.
With growing despair, Sam knew without doubt where they were.
Hell.
Almost as one, the twenty or so Lemure that surrounded them stood, their eyes suddenly locked on the unconscious form of Grace in Sam’s arms. He set her down as gently as he could and, standing above her body, drew his swords.
The Lemure attacked.
It was almost too easy — the Lemure seemed to completely ignore Sam and his flashing blades, intent on getting to Grace and, to a lesser extent, Joshua. Joshua provided little in the way of resistance. Something seemed to be wrong with him and he only managed to batter one or two Lemure aside with his baseball bat. Sam hewed them down with ease. Within moments, the Lemure were nothing but mounds of dust.
Sheathing his blades, Sam knelt down beside Grace. Her eyes were open. She opened her mouth to speak but suddenly coughed violently. Standing above him, he could hear suppressed coughing from Joshua as well.
“What’s wrong?” he asked both of them.
“It’s the air,” Joshua gasped. “Hard to breathe.”
Only then did Sam notice that the air was thick with the stench of sulphur. Sam had no trouble breathing, almost as if his body welcomed the smell. In fact, everything about this place seemed to agree with him; the constant strong breeze, the heat, the aromas. His body felt strong and powerful. Unlike his mind, His treacherous body responded to it eagerly. It was trying to tell him something and he was desperately attempting to ignore it. He couldn’t though.
His body was telling him he was home.
“We can’t stay here,”said Sam, ignoring the sensations. The glowing outlines of the pentagram were fading now that the Lemure had completed their journey. Nearby, however, Sam could see other pentagrams forming on the plateau, and several Lemure appeared within them. “It’s not safe.”
Lifting Grace into his arms and offering Joshua his shoulder for support, he led them towards a nearby cliff face. It was riddled with openings, what seemed to be passages. It was the best — and only — option available under the circumstances.
He chose one of the passages at random and led Joshua into it, constantly casting wary glances behind him. Instinctively he knew that he was relatively safe in this realm; the Lemure ignored him because of what he was. Grace and Joshua, on the other hand, were a different story. Demons could probably sniff them out in moments. Heedless of direction, he turned down other side passages in what was probably a futile attempt to confuse any pursuers.
At least the constant breeze was gone, and with it some of the intense smell of sulphur. Both Joshua and Grace seemed to be breathing slightly more easily. Eventually, finding a small cave in the wall of the passage, he called a halt and laid Grace down. Gasping hoarsely, Joshua settled down on the rock floor with obvious relief. Close by, Sam stood guard at the entrance, his hands never far from the hilts of his swords.
Struggling with the stifling heat, Joshua took off his guard’s jacket. Sam followed suit, despite not feeling the heat at all. He ripped some strips from the jacket lining and moved to Grace’s side.
“How are you doing?” he asked.
Grace attempted to smile but Sam could see that it was forced. “Fine,” she said. “My head hurts a bit though.”
The medical training that Hikari had forced upon him hadn’t really covered anything other than cuts and broken bones. His master had made it clear that his life could depend on such training, given that it was unlikely he would have access to a doctor or a hospital. However, everything Hikari had taught him stressed self-reliance. It was done with love of course; Hikari’s only intention to keep his student alive. His master had probably never considered that Sam might have to minister to others in need. He wrapped one of the strips of cloth from his jacket around Grace’s head and tied it up firmly. It was a field dressing but it would do for now. He suspected that Grace had concussion and there was little else he could do for her here.
“Thank you,” said Grace, touching one of his hands. “You didn’t have to come back for me.”
“Yes, I did.”
“It was very brave of you,” she said, her lips forming the ghost of a smile.
“No, it wasn’t,” he disagreed, feeling a little embarrassed. “It wasn’t brave at all. I was just doing what I was raised to do. What I was meant to do. You wouldn’t understand how many times I’ve failed in that simple task these last few weeks. I wasn’t about to fail this time.”
“Regardless,” she said. “I appreciate it. You are a good man, Sam.”
Sam felt himself blushing and turned away, unable to meet her eye. He used the rest of the jacket to make a pillow for her head, and when he was confident that he’d made her as comfortable as possible, he turned his attention to Joshua. The other boy was still sitting in the same spot, staring into space.
Sam sat down next to him. “What about you?” he asked.
“I’m good,” said Joshua gruffly.
“What’s eating you?”
“Nothing. Just tired.”
“Can you breathe alright?”
Joshua nodded. “It’s much better in here.”