bedeviled & beyond 06.5 - bedeviled & bah humbug Read Online Free PDF
Author: sam cheever
sucks.
Yes, Mother halfling.
No...I mean REALLY sucks!
Her response was a chuckle in my mind.
~SC~
We flew over the charred landscape of Hades, the monochromatic panorama making an indelible mark on my psyche. Despite Glynus’ carefully held protective bubble, the heat pulsed around me like a living thing, banging against my head and dragging moisture from my body.
I narrowed my eyes on the scene below, beyond all reason, looking for signs of the Christmas season in Hell. Within minutes my head hurt so badly I could feel every strand of my hair. I knew it was futile to try to find something as bright and positive as the season of giving and love in the environs of Hell, but something inside me wouldn’t give up on the idea that Christmas was there...just outside my grasp. It could be found anywhere, I told myself. It was a state of mind, of heart, not an actual physical entity that Satan could keep out.
My mind told me all those things, but my heart knew I was full of shit. Nothing good and noble could survive for long in the charred, hopeless environs of Hades.
A huge, green carcass lay on the ground far below us. A green dragon. Dead. Its thick limbs twisted and contorted as if it had died in horrible pain.
No Christmas there. No Christmas anywhere in that horrible, disgusting place.
Where do you want to go, Mother halfling?
Despondency swamped me. I was covered in a sheen of sweat and my organs felt as if they were being broiled alive. My head throbbed. My heart felt as if it were shriveling in my chest.
I sighed, closing my eyes on the horror below. I was wasting my time. I wanted to tell Glynus to take me back to Dialle’s castle, where I could curl up in the fetal position and wait out the New Year.
In fact, I opened my mouth to tell her to take me back. But something danced faintly past me on the super-heated air. It was a sound I never expected to hear in Hell. A happy sound. A bright sound.
Bells.
Did you hear that, Tadpole?
Hear what, Mother halfling?
I listened carefully and heard nothing. Deciding the heat must be getting to my brain, I shook my head. I guess it’s nothing. Take me back to the castle, Glynus.
Something in my voice must have worried her, because she turned her massive head and fixed me with a beautiful, violet eye. Are you sure, dragon fighter? We could fly over the mountains for a while. It’s cooler there.
I looked with longing toward the distant ridge. I’d never been there, but rumor had it the mountains were the barrier between Hell and the other realms. I realized that would be a logical spot for the greens to be escaping. Though none of the maps I’d been perusing showed an exit. I suddenly understood a breech could still be there. I felt better. And then I heard the faint sound of bells again and knew.
Yes! The mountains, Glynus and hurry!
CHAPTER 2
The bells got louder as we got closer to the mountain range. Glynus repeatedly denied hearing them, so I had to finally conclude that, either I was losing my mind, or someone was trying to communicate with me.
Flying low over the barren ridges, I noted the rows of cave-like indentations in the steep, sheer cliffs of rock. The cliffs overlooked a wide river of lava, which scorched its way through the rocky soil and gave off thick clouds of sulfurous smoke.
Looking at the caves on the mountainside, I wondered that it had taken the greens so long to succumb to the noxious air. At that moment, I felt a twinge of pity for the large nasty reptiles. Something that had never happened to me before.
We flew for what felt like hours without seeing a single, living thing in the hellish landscape below.
Despite the lack of progress, I was growing increasingly agitated. The gentle sound of the bells should have had a calming effect on me. But they seemed to be doing just the opposite.
It didn’t help when my sister decided to check in. My mental drawers shifted and Darma’s nails on the blackboard tones screeched across my
Yes, Mother halfling.
No...I mean REALLY sucks!
Her response was a chuckle in my mind.
~SC~
We flew over the charred landscape of Hades, the monochromatic panorama making an indelible mark on my psyche. Despite Glynus’ carefully held protective bubble, the heat pulsed around me like a living thing, banging against my head and dragging moisture from my body.
I narrowed my eyes on the scene below, beyond all reason, looking for signs of the Christmas season in Hell. Within minutes my head hurt so badly I could feel every strand of my hair. I knew it was futile to try to find something as bright and positive as the season of giving and love in the environs of Hell, but something inside me wouldn’t give up on the idea that Christmas was there...just outside my grasp. It could be found anywhere, I told myself. It was a state of mind, of heart, not an actual physical entity that Satan could keep out.
My mind told me all those things, but my heart knew I was full of shit. Nothing good and noble could survive for long in the charred, hopeless environs of Hades.
A huge, green carcass lay on the ground far below us. A green dragon. Dead. Its thick limbs twisted and contorted as if it had died in horrible pain.
No Christmas there. No Christmas anywhere in that horrible, disgusting place.
Where do you want to go, Mother halfling?
Despondency swamped me. I was covered in a sheen of sweat and my organs felt as if they were being broiled alive. My head throbbed. My heart felt as if it were shriveling in my chest.
I sighed, closing my eyes on the horror below. I was wasting my time. I wanted to tell Glynus to take me back to Dialle’s castle, where I could curl up in the fetal position and wait out the New Year.
In fact, I opened my mouth to tell her to take me back. But something danced faintly past me on the super-heated air. It was a sound I never expected to hear in Hell. A happy sound. A bright sound.
Bells.
Did you hear that, Tadpole?
Hear what, Mother halfling?
I listened carefully and heard nothing. Deciding the heat must be getting to my brain, I shook my head. I guess it’s nothing. Take me back to the castle, Glynus.
Something in my voice must have worried her, because she turned her massive head and fixed me with a beautiful, violet eye. Are you sure, dragon fighter? We could fly over the mountains for a while. It’s cooler there.
I looked with longing toward the distant ridge. I’d never been there, but rumor had it the mountains were the barrier between Hell and the other realms. I realized that would be a logical spot for the greens to be escaping. Though none of the maps I’d been perusing showed an exit. I suddenly understood a breech could still be there. I felt better. And then I heard the faint sound of bells again and knew.
Yes! The mountains, Glynus and hurry!
CHAPTER 2
The bells got louder as we got closer to the mountain range. Glynus repeatedly denied hearing them, so I had to finally conclude that, either I was losing my mind, or someone was trying to communicate with me.
Flying low over the barren ridges, I noted the rows of cave-like indentations in the steep, sheer cliffs of rock. The cliffs overlooked a wide river of lava, which scorched its way through the rocky soil and gave off thick clouds of sulfurous smoke.
Looking at the caves on the mountainside, I wondered that it had taken the greens so long to succumb to the noxious air. At that moment, I felt a twinge of pity for the large nasty reptiles. Something that had never happened to me before.
We flew for what felt like hours without seeing a single, living thing in the hellish landscape below.
Despite the lack of progress, I was growing increasingly agitated. The gentle sound of the bells should have had a calming effect on me. But they seemed to be doing just the opposite.
It didn’t help when my sister decided to check in. My mental drawers shifted and Darma’s nails on the blackboard tones screeched across my
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