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Darkest Souls

It was hard to remember exactly what happened. A scream, a squeal, a crash, a moment of pain. Then...nothing. I...died. Now, I wasn't the most religious person, but it's common knowledge that the world has a Heaven and a Hell. Angels and Demons. But something didn't feel right. I felt like I was being dragged away from where I was supposed to go. But I couldn't fight it. My body would not respond, I could do nothing to even protest the direction that I was headed.

My eyes opened, and a bleak, dark city greeted me. The only source of light was a blood red sun in the jet black sky. The buildings were ominous and imposing, and cast dancing shadows on the weathered black pavement. Strange and terrifying creatures passed by me, merely stepping over my prone body. I rose to my paws as soon as I could. My eyes met the burning eyes of a black and red lion. He grinned at me hungrily. More joined him, all looking at me with the same hungry eyes. I turned and ran the other way, heart racing. I smacked into something headfirst.

"Watch it!" a sharp, feminine voice scolded me. I looked up in fear. I had run into a vixen with a blood red pelt and a fire orange underbelly. She had feathered black wings and the same burning red eyes as the others. Suddenly, her expression changed. She looked to the creatures that had been trailing me. "Back off," she said in a commanding tone. "C'mon, Amity," one of the creatures replied, "can't we have a little taste?" I didn't like the sound of that at all. The one they called Amity got between me and them. "I said back off!" The other creatures frowned and slowly walked off. Once they were out of sight, the vixen turned to me. "What in the nine circles is a girl like you doing here?"

I was a bit taken aback by her sudden attitude. I couldn't form the words to respond, as I didn't really have an answer. Amity rolled her eyes and sighed. "Whatever, I don't really care. But you don't want to stay here," she advised, turning away and walking off. I mulled over my choices. She stood up for me, and from the way that the other creatures passing by were looking at me, no one else had the same plan. So I snapped out of my shock and padded after her. She glanced over her shoulder, but only shook her head and kept walking, making no attempt to stop me. I had a feeling that I would ruin it if I opened my maw, so I kept quiet.

I followed her to the outskirts of the city, where a run-down black-brick house stood like a tortured beast. She unlocked the door and walked inside. I hesitated at the door, arguing with myself. There was no doubt that Amity was a demon. Being alone with her was probably not a good idea. But what other choice did I have? She paused and glanced over her shoulder at me. A look of confusion crossed her face, and I had a feeling that it wasn't aimed at me. She quickly shook it off. "You gonna stand there all day or..." it crossed her face again. She looked away before saying "or do you want to come in?" The offer was quiet, almost like she was afraid of asking it out loud. I nodded and went inside.

For how weathered the outside looked, the interior was actually quite nice and cozy. Red carpet tickled my bare paws. The walls were a rich dark oak color, and the common room was nicely furnished to match. A dark red sofa faced an oblong black glass-top table that stood between the sofa and the empty stone fireplace. On the mantel above the fireplace stood the only personal-looking item I had seen so far. It was a small statue carved from a dark red wood. I couldn't make out what it was from where I was. To my left was a hallway with two doors, presumably the bathroom and where Amity slept. On the other side was a doorway that likely led to the kitchen. "Wow," I said, "you have a nice place."

"Oh, so you can talk? Yeah, it's alright."

"Your name's Amity, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"It's a pretty name."

She looked shocked for a second. "Whatever. Listen. You can sleep wherever the fuck you want, but my room's off limits, 'kay?"

"Wait, sleep? But aren't we..."

"Hell is just another place. You still have a body to take care of. Night."

Before I could respond, she walked to her room and shut the door behind her. I padded over to the sofa and collapsed onto it. The tears came without warning as the realization hit me like a freight train. I was dead. And in Hell. But the worst part was how there was nothing I could do about it. I sobbed into the pillows, crying for my life before. What had I done to deserve this? I curled up on the sofa and cried myself to sleep.

And instantly regretted closing my eyes.

. . .

I jolted out of my nightmare, a silent scream pressing in my lungs and tears burning in my wide eyes. I was in an open field, next to a boulder. All around me were burning, hungry, flaming red eyes and sharp white teeth belonging to creatures hidden in the darkness. But they didn't come closer. I looked up and saw a figure lit by the full moon. Even though her back was to me, I immediately knew who it was. Perched on the boulder like a guardian angel was a red and orange vixen with jet black wings--Amity. The creatures around me glared at her, but dared not come closer. A feeling of safety washed over me, as though the demon perched on the boulder was a wall that nothing could breach.

I stared up at her in awe and gratitude, but she never looked back. I noticed something below her left wing: a marking in her fur that stood out like black ink on white paper. It was a silver heart inside a black star with six points.

. . .

I sat up on the sofa. That marking was burned into my mind. Amity was sitting on the black glass table, facing away from me. My eyes were drawn to where I saw the marking on her in the dream, but the area was covered by a black, sleeveless leather jacket that had slots cut out for her wings. "Mornin', kitty," she greeted. A smile crept across my face. I wasn't exactly a kitty, I was a leopard. "Morning, Amity," I yawned. She looked over her shoulder, and I could've sworn that I saw a smile on her face. But it disappeared almost instantly. Her ears twitched and she tensed up. "Fuck. Find a place to hide and stay there," she said, her tone fierce and determined. I obeyed without hesitation, looking around for a place to hide. As my gaze turned to the hall, the door to Amity's room opened ever so slightly, letting golden light stream through the crack. I looked to Amity, but her focus was on the door. I ran to her room. But before I could even push the door, it opened for me and closed behind me. I watched in shock as the lock turned itself. "What the-" I exclaimed quietly. I felt a cold breeze blow through my pale grey fur, but saw no way that it could've come from outside.

I examined the room. It was mostly bare, a big comfy bed with dark violet sheets in the corner and a small table beside it with a lamp sitting on top of it. On the other side of the room was Amity's closet. Getting closer, I saw that the table beside her bed had a single drawer with a silver lock. I heard a click, and the drawer slid open just a bit. I really didn't want to snoop through somebody else's things, especially not Amity's. I heard a feminine giggle before the world went pitch black.

. . .

I came to sitting in a moving swing, my legs absent-mindedly moving to keep me swinging. Someone giggled beside me. I turned and nearly fell out of the swing seat. A wolfess with amber fur and ocean blue eyes swung beside me. "Don't be scared, Jewel," she said in a happy voice. "H-how do you know my name?" I returned shakily.

"Story for another time. Listen, don't take what she says personally. It really has nothing to do with you."

"What who says?"

"Amity. She's just scared."

"Her? Scared of what?"

"Scared to feel. You know, she really does care about you."

"But I only just met her."

The wolfess shook her head. "If you live life letting small things like that stand in your way, you'll really miss out on some great things. Give you one guess who told me that."

"Amity?"

"Yep. She wasn't always a demon, you know. I was lucky to have spent most of my life with her. We met on her first day of high school, and I was with her until...the end. My end. I promised to never leave her side, so here I am, spending eternity with her no matter what."

"Does she know?"

She shook her head. "No. She wouldn't be happy with me doing this to myself. And besides, I can't directly interact with her because of where she is. Anyways, I didn't bring you here to talk about myself. I brought you here to warn you."

"Warn me? About what?"

She stopped swinging, grabbed my wrist, and put my hand over my own chest. "You're in Hell, Jewel. You shouldn't have a heartbeat."

She was right. My heart was pounding like it always had, like it never stopped. I was speechless.

"That's why the other demons are after you, it's in their nature to kill living creatures that come in their domain."

"But what about Amity?"

"She's fighting against herself to keep you safe."

"Why?"

"I already told you. She cares about you. More than you know. She's just scared of what that means for you both."

"What does it mean?"

"Danger. Once more demons find out that Amity's protecting you, they'll come for her too. And she can't protect herself and you. But don't worry. Here. This will protect you from them."

She unclasped the silver chain around her neck and put it around mine. The weighty pendant hung down near my collarbone, but was too high on my neck for me to really see what it was. "You better be getting back. Just...be good to Amity. She needs someone like you. See you around, Jewel." She gave me one last smile as everything started to fade.

. . .

I woke up to Amity kneeling over me, a worried look in her red eyes. I watched as the worry turned to relief, and the vixen let a smile crawl across her face. In that moment, my heart ached. I craved to close whatever little space was left between us. But my own stupid doubts held me back. Everything in my body pulled towards her, but my mind forced it to stay. I had been told all my life that fairy tales were just that. That there was no 'love at first sight'; that listening to the heart was risky. But what was wrong with a little risk?

I let my heart take over, and my body pushed upwards. My arms wrapped around Amity, one around her neck, the other around her waist. I looked into her surprised eyes as our lips met. I tilted my head ever so slightly and pulled her body against mine. She stretched her wings out to keep her balance. After a long moment, she pulled back, panting with the effort it took. "What...what are you doing?" she asked nervously. "Amity," I began softly, "I don't give a damn about how dangerous this is. All I care about right now is you."

She looked confused for just a second, but then her eyes closed and she pushed her lips back against mine. I felt her relax, the worry and doubt vanishing. She pulled back to speak. "Are you sure you want to do this, kitty? With me?" I nodded my answer. Her arms wrapped around me and she picked me up without much effort. She set me down on her bed gently before shrugging off her leather jacket. She climbed on top of me, fingers undoing the buttons of the shirt that I hadn't realized that I was still wearing before moving down to my knee length sapphire skirt. She pulled down her dark daisy dukes.

Amity brought her lips to my neck, sending a jolt down my spine. Her eyes met mine once more as she pressed her body against mine.

. . .

I pressed my bare back against Amity's chest, snuggling into her arms. That's when I felt it. Deep inside the vixen's chest, a pulsing rhythm pounded away. Her body gradually became warmer against mine. "A-Amity..." I spoke softly. She shuffled behind me, poking her head out between my shoulder and neck. "Your...your heart's beating." Her maw went slack and her eyes went wide. "And you're...warm." She looked at me in disbelief before bringing a shaking hand to her chest. "Holy shit, kitty," she started in shock, "damn, that's a weird feeling. I kinda like it." She smiled. Then her face filled with concern. "That means they'll come after me, too."

"Why?"

"Because, demons don't have a heartbeat."

I thought about that for a second. "Is everyone in Hell a demon?"

"Yes. Or, that's the way it's supposed to be. I mean, living people sometimes come through here, but they never stay."

"Amity, you said that demons don't have a heartbeat," I said, bringing her other hand to my chest, "But we do. How do the living get out?"

"They usually bring something that lets them travel between worlds. A long while ago, I met a girl who had a ring that let her literally open doors to other worlds. She told me that it works like a key."

I heard a click followed by the slight grating of wood against wood. I pulled out of Amity's arms and looked to the table beside her bed. Sure enough, the drawer was open slightly. I prodded her shoulder and pointed to it. "Um, I don't even have the key to that drawer," she said in confusion. She leaned over me and pulled it open the rest of the way. Sitting inside the drawer was a bound, crimson leather book with a familiar design etched into the cover--a silver heart inside of a black star with six points. Her eyes widened even more. She tentatively pulled the book out and sat up. I risked a glance under her left wing and saw the marking from my dream. I sat up beside her. "Hey, I was wondering what that symbol means," I said gingerly. I heard her take a deep breath in. "The heart represents my name. Amity means kindness in some forgotten language. The black star represents darkness. Together, it means hope."

Following a hunch, I wracked my brain. "Amaince." The binding separated from the cover. Amity jumped back in surprise. "What did you just say?" she asked me.

"The Co'ahn word for hope. Literally, it means 'cursed gift'."

"That's...peachy."

She opened the book and flipped through the pages. "Holy shit..." she remarked. The pages were covered in symbols and hand-written notes, all seemingly focused on traveling between realities, what it called 'Remnants'. "What in the nine circles is this?" She turned to a page that had nothing but writing on it and started to read it.

Six. That's how many Remnants are left. My research suggests that this is represented by a six-pointed star. Travel between the Remnants is possible, but only under a certain circumstance. The one opening the gate must possess one of two things--either at least a small amount of magic energy within them or an item capable of piercing the barriers such as my gateway ring. Though I have had no experience with the former, the latter is well within my area of expertise. These items act like keys, and are capable of transforming physical gates such as mirrors or doors into gateways between Remnants. Only a few of these items exist, and they are nearly impossible to make. I know of a recipe, however, but I will detail it on another page.

I recently uncovered information about another one of these gateway items. An amulet that is not only able to open a gate between Remnants, but is uniquely capable of forming a dimensional field around the wearer and anyone that the wearer is making physical contact with to protect them. The field is automatically activated when the wearer feels that his or her life is in serious danger, and can be deactivated with the command "De'ahm" meaning "break" or "shatter". The amulet can also place itself between dimensions, so that it does not appear to be actually on the wearer. However, it reappears when the dimensional field is activated. Once it appears, its current wearer cannot return it to the Between. Only the current wearer can remove the amulet from themself, and if it is taken by someone other than the wearer, the amulet travels through the Between to return to its wearer. The amulet is only capable of changing wearers if the current wearer willingly gives it to another.

My research has also revealed that the gateways opened by this amulet are so powerful that a sigil is burned into whatever physical barrier is used to travel through. On that topic, the amulet can only open a gateway if the wearer is completely submerged in a body of water.

My final piece of information was that the amulet can be pulled out of the Between with the command "Tzalmeah", meaning "appear" or "come".

As she spoke the command, my neck started to feel hot. I yelped in surprise. A loud pop like a firecracker echoed through the room, followed by the acrid scent of burning metal. Amity put down the book and stared at my neck in wonder. The heat faded, leaving behind a solid weight that had appeared out of nowhere. "Well," she spoke after a moment, "that's convenient." I felt something rise within me, like a slumbering beast finally waking up. "Amity, where's the nearest body of water?" I asked her.

"The river Styx. It runs through all nine layers of Hell. But that's risky. It's not exactly water, it's pure magic, neither good nor bad. There's no telling what a swim in that would do to you."

"What about you?"

"Perks of this body. I'm resistant to magic."

"Well, it's the only shot we got. I'd rather risk taking a swim in magic than get swarmed and devoured by hungry demons."

"True. Let's get dressed, and then we'll go. The longer we stay here, the more danger we're in."

We both got out of the bed. Once I had gotten my underwear on, Amity poked me in the back. "Here, I think you'd look good in these," she declared, handing me a pair of dark blue daisy dukes. I smiled and pulled them on. I donned my button down shirt, but decided to leave it open. Once I was dressed, I turned to Amity. She was wearing the same clothes she had on earlier, but also had a heavy-looking chain collar around her neck. "Ready?" she asked, a fierce look in her eyes. I nodded as she stuffed the red leather book into an inside pocket of her jacket.

"The book says that the gateway items can only open gates by transforming 'physical barriers' into portals. We aren't going to find a door underwater," she mused.

"What about a big pipe or blocked tunnel?"

"Aha! There's the big-ass pipe that feeds into the fountains in the plaza of HellHound Manor."

"I guess that'll have to do. Let's get as close as we can on foot, and then dive into the river."

"Do you even know how to activate the amulet?"

"I'm sure I'll figure it out. Let's go."

We walked to the front door of Amity's house. I took a deep breath before opening up the door. Amity took one look at what waited for us outside and her eyes went wide. I felt her grab my left hand before I even saw what she had seen. Before I could look over her shoulder, she took off, pulling me along with her. That's when I saw them. A mass of demons had gathered and had all been staring hungrily at the door. Fear made my adrenaline spike, and I bolted after Amity. They all chased us, trampling and shoving one another in the process. Those who had wings flew, but were slowed down by the antics of other flying demons. But they were getting closer.

I could see the river in the distance, glinting wickedly in the light of the red sun. But just as we neared the shore, a flying demon freed itself from the horde and swooped down at me, claws bared like a hawk going in for its prey. I screamed and braced myself, but no hit came. Instead, I heard a loud thud. I looked up and saw that the demon had hit some kind of invisible barrier. My amulet was hot around my neck and glowing brightly as we kept running. As soon as we hit the rocky shore of the river, Amity and I jumped in without hesitation.

As soon as my body hit the somewhat slow-moving waters, it felt like I had just dived into liquid fire. I clenched Amity's hand, unable to force down the scream that sent all the air in my lungs racing toward the surface. Everything burned, inside and out. I couldn't form a single thought. I felt Amity pulling me through the river, but I couldn't move my body to follow her. In my pain-wracked mind, I heard a familiar voice speaking in a very strange language. The amulet grew hotter and hotter around my neck, then everything faded.

. . .

I woke up to a female screaming at me that I couldn't die on her. I felt my chest being pushed, breath being forced into my lungs, then out. I started coughing, the burning water from the river rushing out of my lungs and maw. My eyes opened slowly. Amity was on her knees, straddling me with her hands crossed over my chest. She had tears in her relieved eyes as she pulled me into a tight hug, wrapping her wings around me. My lungs finally stopped burning as I caught my breath. "Did we..." I panted, "did we make it out?" She pulled back and nodded.

"Yeah. We made it. Just," she looked away, "don't freak out."

"Why would I freak out?" Too late, I already was.

"You...uh, you look different."

"Meaning?"

"You really just need to see for yourself."

She wrapped her arm under mine to help me stand. After I was up, she helped me walk over to a lake that was right next to us. I stared at my own reflection for a long time. Instead of the grey and white leopardess that I was used to seeing, I had a pale blue pelt that was speckled with snow white rings. My underbelly was stone grey with three red 'V's down near my belly that disappeared in my pelt. I didn't look like any one creature, either. I looked like a mix between lupine and feline, with no defining features from either, aside from my fluffy, red-tipped wolf tail and feline feetpaws. My left paw was snow white, but my right paw was blood red. "You know," Amity said, letting her arm fall around my waist, "I kinda like it, kitty." I suddenly realized that I never told her my name. "I don't care if you call me that, but my real name is Jewel. Jewel Young."

"Amity Blue."

"Well, Amity Blue, I think I love you."

"I hope so. Because I know that I love you."

She pulled me into a tender yet passionate kiss. "Take that, world," Amity declared.

-Nightshade