Chapter Forty-Five

 

 

I've been to several hells and seen some horrible things. The tortures of Tartarus took me months to get over. But all of those hells paled in comparison to the torments of Buddhist Purgatory. We flew over giant, blue-skinned ogres who were yanking the clothes from the souls who made it across the snake river. They hung the wet garments over the branches of a creepy tree. At first I thought they were trying to dry the clothes for the dead, but then I watched one poor soul walk up naked. He got flayed and then his skin was hung instead. Oh yeah; it got gross. I looked away and flew faster.

We made it into another zone of Meido where more demon creatures—Sakuya called them Oni—cut the limbs from the dead before tossing the souls into a boiling bay. Then there was the region with the cat and snake duo. I had thought that I had prepared myself for seeing the test of Lust, but this cat was no ordinary house pet. A monstrous feline—with features closer to a demon than a fluffy kitty—gnawed on male genitalia like cowboys with Rocky Mountain oysters. And I'm not even going to talk about the snake. There's not enough lubrication in the world to make that situation bearable.

After the snake and cat, we flew over an area where souls got strapped to a giant scale and weighed against boulders before they were sent across the fireball region Ira had warned us about.

Yes; we finally came to the famous, fiery, iron-ball rain of Meido. The iron balls came barreling out of the sky to hit the souls like meteors striking the Earth. They burned the shrieking Buddhists; breaking their soul-bones, and blistering the feet of anyone unfortunate enough to step on one.

Flying through that flaming hail was difficult at best; impossible at worst. The balls were too heavy to deflect completely and too numerous to avoid. Odin and I both took damage to our wings, and our entire company had to land. We ended up picking our way across the blasted earth with our wings tucked in tight, and the angels cowering beneath our bellies with Sakuya. But it was the last step of our journey and the very next king who waited to judge souls was Enma.

We came out of the iron-ball storm onto a bare stretch of sandy rock with relief, and the Buddhist souls cringed out of our way as we strode up to King Enma. He sat in a wide, wooden throne that was placed between two pillars. Each pillar was topped with a disembodied head; one female and one male. The female head shrieked when she saw us, but the male only scowled—along with Enma.

The death god got off his throne and strode down to face us; his expression furious.

“Who dares to enter Meido without invitation?” He growled.

“Shut up, Enma, you know who I am,” Sakuya hissed. “Now, where is Amaterasu?”

“I wasn't talking to you,” Enma snapped. “I want to know who these gaijin are.”

“The dragons are Odin of the Norse and the Godhunter. The angels are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,” Sakuya announced gleefully.

“Quite the company you're keeping,” Enma looked from us to Sakuya. “But it doesn't make a difference; you can't have her back. She entered here freely and attempted to steal souls from Jigoku. Amaterasu is mine by law.”

“Fuck your law,” Sakuya growled. “It doesn't apply to Shinto gods.”

“It does when you're in my territory,” Enma lowered his wide face to Sakuya's. “I am the ruler of Meido, and I say that Amaterasu broke our laws; she stays.”

“Look; I'm tired, hungry, and now, I'm getting angry—hangry, if you will,” I said. “So, I'm going to make this very simple. Give me Amaterasu—unharmed—and the souls which you first stole from her, or I will eat all three of your heads.” I looked pointedly at the two—now terrified—disembodied heads, to Enma, and then down to Enma's crotch. “Make that four; I'm feeling inspired by the hellcats.”

“That's disgusting, Vervain,” Odin huffed. “I will not allow you to eat this man's penis. You may castrate him; but that's where I draw the line.”

“Fine,” I huffed. “I'll cut off one head, and eat the other three. You happy, now?”

“Yes; thank you,” Odin said primly as he sat back on his peacock-blue, dragon haunches.

Enma had gone pale but he rallied quickly and shouted for the Oni. A horde of ugly demons with horns, claws, wild hair, and jewel-toned skin came rushing at us wielding ogre clubs. Odin got to his feet as the Horsemen hooted in glee. I was going to help—I really was—but the Horsemen were halfway through the Oni before either Odin or I could lift a claw. We looked at each other, shrugged, and then sat back to enjoy the show.

Oni heads went flying from swipes of angelic swords and one, glowing, reaper scythe. The Horsemen worked silently after they'd made their initial battle cry; their expressions menacing, and their minds focused on the slaughter. Not a single claw or club made it past the Four Horsemen's defenses; only demons took damage. It quickly became apparent who was winning the fight, and then the surviving Oni ran for their lives. The Horsemen let them go; wiping demon blood from their weapons while they turned toward Enma as if hoping he had more for them.

Enma swallowed roughly and then brought his hand down in a slicing motion. The illusion of the haunting landscape behind his throne fell along with his hand. The stormy sky of Meido gave way to a bright blue expanse. Sunlight shone down on a Japanese palace of gold, silver, and pearls. Soft grass spread out around the palace and into orchards of cherry trees, with a cobbled path winding through it all.

“You win; Amaterasu is more trouble than she's worth,” Enma huffed. “Follow me.”

Enma tromped down the path toward the palace. We all stared at each other in surprise a moment before we chased after him. It all seemed rather anticlimactic after traversing Meido. Enma was the ruler of the territory, and there he was; rolling over after only one Oni fight. It seemed a little too easy for my tastes, and from the look everyone else gave me, I wasn't the only suspicious one. But none of us wanted to jeopardize Amy's rescue. So we followed Enma all the way to the enormous front doors of his palace where he pushed on a pair of giant pearls to open them.

The double doors swung inward smoothly and opened a passage wide enough to allow Odin and I entrance while still in our dragon forms. We cautiously ducked into a spacious hallway after the others. The floor was silver, and the walls were black lacquer; not a single painting hung upon their glassy finish. It was a sleek, masculine look; made even more so by strategically placed suits of Japanese armor. I pulled my wings in tight to avoid knocking the armor over.

After navigating the labyrinthine halls—the click of dragon claws on stone echoing off the lacquer—Enma finally pushed open another set of double doors, and we entered a vast room. The ceiling was studded with luminous pearls and faceted jewels that sparkled in the glow of god lanterns, and the walls were lined with painted rice paper panels depicting scenes of battles in Japan. Statues of gods and demons lined the room; staring inward at a giant, golden cage and the goddess who sat demurely inside it on a padded chair.

Amaterasu got to her feet as we approached. She nodded to Sakuya gratefully and smiled softly up at me.

“You make a lovely dragon, Godhunter,” Amy said. “Gold suits you.”

“Thanks,” I said as I bent the bars of the cage so she could step out. “But I don't think it suits you; at least not in its present form.”

“You didn't have to wreck my cage,” Enma huffed as he lifted a key. “There's a door right there.”

I turned to glare at Enma, and he looked away—right into Amy's acidic stare. Enma hurried forward and used his key to remove a pair of golden handcuffs from Amy's wrists. The cuffs fell to the stone floor with a heavy clatter, and a pale shimmer cascaded over them as their ward was broken. As soon as Amaterasu was free, she slapped Enma so hard that he flew into a wall; tearing apart the rice paper painting that lined it. It was a hell of a thing to see; that tiny woman tossing about a huge man.

“That's for being a coward and sending the Oni to hold me down while you subdued my magic with those manacles!” Amaterasu declared. “The rest of your punishment shall have to wait; right now, I want my people freed from Jigoku.”

“Your pet dragon has already demanded their return,” Enma snarled. “I shall deliver them to you later.”

“You shall fetch them now!” Amy shouted and the palace trembled as every light in the place burst into blinding flares of white fire.

Enma raced from the room, and Amy's expression settled into satisfaction.

“Amaterasu!” Sakuya cried as she hugged Amy. “I was so worried.”

“Thank you for bringing them to help me,” Amy murmured to Sakuya.

“You made me promise not to tell the other gods in our pantheon,” Sakuya said. “I had no choice.”

“You had a choice,” Amy said with a smile. “You chose to come into Meido after me, despite the horrors that awaited you. I must admit that your courage shocks me, and I apologize for being shocked. You are far stronger than I gave you credit for.”

“I shocked myself,” Sakuya said. “And I've also come to think differently of death.”

“Oh?” Amy lifted a perfectly arched brow.

“It's not a blessing if you're sent here.”