Page 31 of The Night Burning

We stood in an empty field with no houses, no crops. Just a large stone wall the size of a three-story building and several warriors dressed in black leather uniforms.

I stopped the truck and glanced at Raika. She offered me a soft smile before climbing out. I picked up our bags and followed her. A blonde woman approached us.

“Norah, hi,” I said. I had met the demon hunter briefly before.

“Shane.” She dipped her chin at me then looked at Raika. “And you must be Raika. Hi, I’m Norah.”

“Nice to meet you,” Raika said.

“You too,” Norah said. “I’m a demon hunter and work closely with Erin and King Tanner. I’m here to escort you to his palace. Are you two ready?”

I nodded again.

Norah turned to the stone wall.

Two other demon hunters stood on each side of the wall. They touched the walls at the same time and a green line appeared from their hands. It swirled over the stone, until it met in the center and grew, becoming one large green mesh shining bright.

“Through here.” Norah gestured for us to follow. She stepped right through the green light.

I held Raika’s hand and we walked into the portal.

The world spun for a second, then settled.

I held my breath as I took in the black path in front of us, the hot red lava lake around it, its heat uncomfortable and menacing, the dark gray sky, and the black palace at the end of the path. It was a huge thing that sprawled over the dark landscape, with several turrets that disappeared among the gray. Lightning cut across the darkness, creating creepy shadows everywhere.

“I know it looks terrifying,” Norah said as she started following the path. “It’s the way the previous king made it, and nothing we’ve done let us change it.”

“Very underworld like, I guess,” Raika said.

Norah chuckled. “You could say that again.”

More demon hunters were positioned at the palace’s entrance and around it.

I frowned. “Why all the security? Isn’t it safe here?”

“If you consider that this place once belonged to someone else, and my friends took it from him, then no, it really isn’t.” Norah stopped by the huge black doors. “Once Tanner, Erin, and their sisters took over the underworld, demons ran from here, afraid they would be killed. They are now all over the human world, causing a lot more chaos than before. But we know what they want is to come back here. To take the underworld back. So we try to be ready for when they do.”

I nodded, remembering when that happened about two years ago. My father had mentioned the previous king had fallen to his children, and now the underworld was under new management—a new king and his princess-sisters who vowed to be just and fair.

But good doesn't exist without evil. The balance of things had shifted and that would bring big impact on everything. And at some point, the balance would either be restored, or it would shift to the other side.

That was how things worked.

The doors opened without Norah touching them. Inside, the foyer was as large as a ballroom and as dark as the outside. Black stones, dark gray walls, dark crystal chandeliers, dark framed mirrors on the walls.

We crossed under an archway into a wide hallway. At the end, another set of double black doors greeted us. Once more, the doors opened by themselves, and behind them a female smiled at us.

“Good afternoon,” she said. “I’m Lily, King Tanner’s assistant.” The king of the underworld had an assistant. All right then. “Please, come this way.” She gestured for us to continue into the room.

We went in with Lily and Norah flanking us.

At the end of the room, an oversized chair made of black marble stood—the throne—and seated on it was King Tanner. He stood as we approached and I could see he was almost as tall and wide as I was. He looked like a warrior, though he seemed young to be a damn king, especially of the entire underworld. He had short, black curls, and his skin was a smooth light-olive tone. He wore black slacks and a white button-up shirt. Classy, but not overly so.

Beside him was a woman with long red hair, an hourglass figure in a tight black dress, bright red lips, and hazel eyes. She looked a little older than the king.

“Shane, Raika.” Tanner smiled at us. “Welcome to my humble home.”

“Humble.” The female scoffed. “This place is a lot of things: Dark, creepy, gloomy, but certainly not humble.”