them open as we plummeted back to Hell, the wastelands rising up to greet me, but before we hit the sand the Chain leveled off. I felt myself jerked away from Dis again.
Over the Fields of Asphodel. Over barren lands and dark seas, into places where nothing grew and even the sun seemed burned black.
But there was a light despite the darkness. A thin golden thread, no more than a filament, stretching ahead of me.
I forced myself to look down, and saw it was connected to me, growing from the dark mate mark over my chest. Two others extended from my palm and wrist, one a brilliant silver and the other deep scarlet. I was sure if I could see my back, there would be a glowing violet line as well, leading far back to Azazel.
Wherever they were… the Chain was pulling me along so fast I could barely make out where I was in the darkness, relying only on the sense of the links around me to hold me in place. They were an anchor in this endless dark.
And then the sun returned, pale and faded. The land opened up beneath me, revealing the high, sharp peaks of a mountain range like jagged teeth against a gray sky.
Ash rained down softly, landing on the rocks in large flakes and covering everything like snow. I held onto the thin golden chain like a lifeline, refusing to let go even for an instant. It led deeper into this terrible place.
The mountains dipped down into valleys so steep I couldn’t see the bottoms, only endless chasms. The Chain pulled me over several withered trees sticking up from the soil like skeletons, and then I saw it.
It took my breath away in fear, my body clenching up tight even though I wasn’t technically real at the moment, only a specter of myself.
Still, I couldn’t stop all of my senses from clamoring in terror, because I had no weapon, and he was here.
It was the Dragon, stretched out in a valley far below. He was so enormous that he made the chasms look small, his putrid scarlet and green flesh squeezed down into one of the voids. His wings were curled up tight against his back, and several of his heads appeared to be sleeping, their eyelids tightly shut.
One of them was perched on a rocky outcropping, rancid steam spiraling from his nostrils. But the golden chain I held… it led down there.
For the first time, I was afraid to go after one of my men. The creature that had tried to take everything was there, only yards away.
But I couldn’t stay away. The Chain had brought me here for a reason, and I was no coward. I didn’t need the Sword.
This time I resisted the Chain, fighting to go downwards and tugging on the golden chain with all my strength. It tightened around me, but let me go, giving off a sense of exasperation as I did so.
Sorry, but I didn’t come this far for nothing, I thought to it. Lucifer was here, and if he was alive and well, then maybe Vyra was, too…
I touched down on solid ground, my feet sinking right through a thick carpet of ash. I left no footsteps as I followed the golden line, keeping it looped around my wrist so I wouldn’t lose my way.
It led down a narrow ledge cut into the side of a mountain and onto a flat expanse that overlooked the Dragon’s sleeping form. I shuddered as Satan’s enormous back rose and fell with even breaths, his scales catching the light and glinting like he was painted in fresh blood.
There was a cavern, the mouth wide and sharp, and all the ash had been disturbed. It was built up in piles to the side, leaving a clear walkway for whoever lived here.
My golden chain stretched into that cavern, and my heart thumped unevenly as it grew warmer in my hands.
Lucifer walked out, his eyes on the sky, tattoos still shining crimson like a pagan warrior of Heresy. I gripped the chain so tightly my palms ached, even if they weren’t real, and took a step forward.
He walked right by me, out to the ledge. His wings were so dark that they seemed to soak up all the light around him, dim as it was.
I glanced into the darkness of the cave, but there was no sign of anyone else. My stomach flipped at the thought of Vyra being gone, but I had