Eye of the Wizard: A Fantasy Adventure Read Online Free PDF Page B

lava. A new shipment of sinners stood before her upon jagged rocks, chained and shivering. They had torn clothes, teary eyes, and burnt hair. Miserable worms, Issa thought. She growled, puffed her cigar, and blew smoke toward the poor souls.
    When she turned around, she saw a hundred demons behind her. They fluttered above the lava, bat wings churning smoke and sparks. Issa smiled. As pathetic as the dead sinners were, these demons were glorious. Here were the torturers of Hell, each a creature of beauty and malice. Their hair of fire crackled, drool dripped down their fangs, and their claws glinted. Sisters of pain, Issa thought. My girls. She loved them all.
    Well, other than one demon—one demon so horrible, so torturous, Issa shuddered at the mere thought. Romy. Thank Lucifer, that one had not yet arrived. Every moment without Romy was a blessing.
    Pushing the thought away, Issa unrolled the scroll she carried. It rolled down to her clawed feet. Upon the parchment appeared the names of these new souls, freshly dead, and their sins.
    "Ke'ev!" Issa barked, and a demon flew toward her, tail flapping and horns glinting. Ke'ev was among the meanest torturers in Hell. Like her sisters, she wore nothing over her deep red skin. Tongues of flame coiled around her body, her only garment. Her irises were rings of fire, and her hair too was made of flame, crackling on her head. The firelight glinted on her claws, and her bat wings flapped behind her, glistening black. She carried a flaming whip.
    "I am here, boss," Ke'ev said, smiling her crooked smile, fangs glinting.
    "Take this robber," Issa told her. "I want his screams so loud, even Heaven will hear."
    Ke'ev nodded and cracked her whip, raising sparks of fire. "You got it, boss." The demon grabbed the sinner—his eyes wide and his hair wild—and dragged him away.
    "Rael!" Issa called next, and a second demon flew forward. This demon carried a pitchfork, and drool dripped down her fangs. Her eyes crackled, wild and bloodthirsty. "Take this adulterer. Show him pain like only you can."
    Rael snarled, eyes blazing. "Gladly, Issa," she hissed. She grabbed the sinner and dragged him away kicking and screaming.
    For an hour, Issa stood upon her jagged boulder, reviewing each sinner, choosing the best demon to torture him or her. Each demon was more terrifying than the last. The male demons were soldiers; they spent their days patrolling the First Circle, those dank tunnels near Earth's surface, defending Hell should angels invade. Here deep underground, here buried in the bowels of the Ninth Circle... here were Hell's daughters, more wicked, sinful, and dangerous by far. Here were beings woven of cruelty.
    Finally Issa came to the last sinner. The soul stood trembling, tears streaming down his cheeks. According to the scroll, this sinner had robbed many old ladies. Now and for eternity he would pay for every one.
    Issa turned to call the last demon... the demon she always chose last, the demon she dreaded to summon.
    Issa pursed her lips.
    No demon flew behind her.
    "Romy!" Issa called, her belly already aching. "Where are you?"
    If Issa had one wish, it was to never see Romy again. But Romy's dad, a wealthy demon, had donated many racks and whips to the torture chambers. He'd insisted Issa hire his daughter.
    "Keep her busy," the old, portly demon had warned Issa, flexing his claws. "Keep her happy. Most importantly: Keep her out of my hair."
    Issa sighed. "ROMY!" she shouted, her cry echoing in the cavern.
    For a moment the only sounds were the sinner's whimpers, the bubbling lava, and the shrieks of dragons that swooped above. Issa dared to hope that Romy was ill, maybe even dead. But then she heard that voice... that horrible voice that would echo through her nightmares... the high, childlike voice of Romy.
    "I'm here, I'm here!" Romy came flying from the darkness, if you could call it flying; she careened through the air like some wobbly stork with one wing. In one hand, she