Thea

We stepped through the gate into Tartarus only to be assaulted on all sides by heavily armored soldiers pointing guns and shouting commands.

“We’re here on official business. I need to speak to Lady Tenebris as soon as possible.” Lilith held up her crest with both hands in the air.

A pale-blue demon man, who was a little taller than Bryce, approached with his weapon holstered to inspect Lilith’s crest. He nodded when he was satisfied, then signaled the rest of the soldiers to stand down. “I apologize for the harsh reception, Ms. Lilith, but we’re dealing with an unusual amount of unrest and weren’t expecting you back so soon.”

“That’s alright, warden,” Lilith lowered her hands and put her crest away. “Could you please escort us to Lady Tenebris?”

“Of course, please follow me.” The warden turned to leave, and the other soldiers dispersed. Which finally gave me a chance to take in Tartarus for the first time. Admittedly, I hadn’t been missing much.

The gate had been placed in a heavily fortified area with black metal walls surrounding it about ten meters away, and spotlights lit up just about everything. The lights were definitely needed, because the sky was dark and gloomy. It looked like a thunderstorm was about to roll in, but if the purple-gray dirt that made up most of the ground was any sign, then it didn’t seem like the place got much rain.

We followed the warden through a series of heavily guarded gates and into a large courtyard-looking place. There was another set of walls surrounding us, along with maybe a half-dozen buildings made of the same black metal from before. A ton of soldiers were busy racing about the place, which made it feel like everything was on high alert.

The three of us were eventually led to a tall tower in the corner of the compound, where we rode an elevator to the top floor. The room we found ourselves in was amazingly decorated with dark purples and blacks and just so much velvet.

“I’m in here,” somebody shouted from a few rooms over. We followed the voice to what could really only be described as a war room. There were a few shelves lining the far wall with books and scrolls, while the other walls were covered in maps of places I didn’t recognize. Meanwhile, the majority of the space was taken up by a massive table. There was a woman leaning against it across from us angrily reading some sort of map. I wasn't exactly sure what that map had done to her, but I made a mental note to avoid making the same mistake at all costs.

“Warden Hawke, tell me you’ve brought good news this time,” Lady Tenebris, demon prince and lord of Tartarus, demanded. She had pale blue skin, deep crimson eyes, and her black hair was put up in an aggressive braid to match her uniform in an elaborately formal way.

“I’m afraid I bring more bad news.” Lilith stepped forward with a slight bow, which caused the demon prince to look up from the table.

“Lilith, I wasn’t expecting you back so soon. I take it this means your discussion with Malvoch wasn’t as fruitful as you were hoping?”

“To the contrary, I was able to learn the full extent of his plans as well as who is holding my daughter, and more importantly, what he’s planning on doing with her,” Lilith explained, before hesitating.

“Which is no doubt where your bad news comes into play.” Tenebris pushed herself off the table and turned to address the demon who was escorting us. “Warden, please leave us, but stay close. I have a feeling you’ll be receiving new orders soon.” He bowed before politely making an exit, and I felt a chill run down my spine as the lord of Tartarus glanced over me and Bryce. “Now, tell me, what’s this bad news?”

“There are a lot of moving pieces and details that I’d prefer not to get into right now, but please trust that I’ve adequately verified everything.” Lilith was stalling, which wasn’t at all like her, but I understood why. Tenebris had a terrifying reputation, and meeting her in person for the first time wasn’t doing anything to make her seem more approachable. “We have reason to believe there will be a Nemesis incursion in Tartarus later tonight. A rather substantial one.”

“And I suppose you’d like me to lock down the gate while you deal with it?” Tenebris raised an eyebrow, but when Lilith didn’t respond, she frowned. “How substantial is this incursion?”

“Aris is attempting a ritual to bring Inim back.”

“Of course he is.” Tenebris shook her head as she let out a disappointed sigh. “I knew I should’ve dealt with that mess when he was first banished here decades ago, but he’s been difficult to track down and I could never justify the losses. I assume either you or my useless brother have a plan in mind?”

“I sent a letter to Orrid on our way here, but I deemed the matter too urgent to wait for a response. As far as a plan, it would be best if you evacuated your people and waited in Hel for us to return. If we don’t make it back by nightfall, then I give you authorization to seal the gate.”

“You don’t have the authority to do that.” Tenebris didn’t seem upset or even confused. Instead, she just gave Lilith a questioning look.

“I used the letter I sent to Orrid to officially accept the title King Alvrick offered me, including all the rights and responsibilities that entails.” Lilith half smiled, and Tenebris laughed in response.

“Well then, on behalf of my ancestors, allow me to be the first to congratulate you, Duchess Lilith. May your rule be as productive as it will be short. I truly wish I could see the look on my brother’s face when he receives that letter.”

“Wait, what just happened?” A combination of seeing Tenebris actually laugh and the absurdity of what they were talking about gave me just barely enough confidence to interrupt two of the scariest women I had ever met.

“The head of your household just accepted a title that was offered to her as a formality when Hel was first founded. Likely so that I wouldn’t have to be the one held responsible for permanently closing the gate to Tartarus.” Tenebris smiled down at me, but quickly turned back to Lilith. “Speaking of formality. Lilith, you have yet to introduce me to your wards.”

“I apologize, Lady Tenebris, these two are Thea and Bryce. They played a vital role in uncovering Malvoch’s plot, and I’ve brought them with me to help stop Aris.”

Tenebris nodded in greeting. “In that case, let’s get a move on to give the three of you the best chance possible. I can have my people moved to Hel within the next half-hour. After that, I’ll prep to have the gate sealed. Expect to be quarantined if you return until we can ensure you’re not under the influence of Nemesis, and understand that if we suspect you’re under its influence, then you’ll be purged.”

I couldn’t help but be a bit nervous about what it meant to be ‘purged’, but Lilith responded before I could ask about it. “We understand. Is there anything you need from us before we depart?”

“Just promise me you’ll be careful. As much as I’ve grown attached to this position, I’d much rather lose it than lose you.”

“I’ll do my best.” Lilith bowed, and the three of us made our way back to the elevator.

“When Lady Tenebris said we’d be ‘purged’, what did she mean exactly?” Bryce asked after we boarded.

“There’s no known way to remove Nemesis’s influence,” Lilith answered, while continuing to stare forward. “When she said we’d be purged, she meant we’d be killed and our remains would be incinerated.”

We stood in awkward silence for a few moments before I finally broke it. “So, that last request was a bit weird, right? It almost sounded like the two of you were—”

“Thea, there’s nothing going on between Lady Tenebris and myself,” Lilith objected a bit too quickly and a bit too strongly. She wasn’t lying, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t still a story there.

I was about to tease her some more, but Bryce surprised me by joining in the fun. “I mean, there’s no reason to be ashamed of what happens behind closed doors between consenting adults, and Lady Tenebris is a beautiful woman. I can understand what you see in her.”

Lilith was about to object again when the elevator doors opened and the two of us rushed to get away. I heard her mutter something under her breath as she followed.

~~~~~

Tartarus sucked. The ground was covered in gravel and loose gravel that seemed to be perfectly designed to make walking difficult, and then there was the heat. Normally, heat wouldn’t be a problem for me. Hells I liked it hot, but the humidity was suffocating and just trying to breathe felt like I was drowning. To make matters worse, it was so incredibly boring. We had to walk through this empty wasteland for nearly two hours before we could see a dark and brooding castle in the distance.

“Please tell me that’s the obsidian keep, because I don’t think I can survive another minute of this.” I looked to Lilith with pleading eyes and she nodded mercifully.

“That’s it, but we’re still a fair distance away. You'll have to endure this for a while longer.”

“It might be worth preparing before we’re close enough to be spotted.” Bryce paused her march to turn towards me and Lilith. “I have to imagine he isn’t in there alone, and if we want to approach this stealthily, then deciding that now is likely better than later.”

“Actually, about that… I was kind of hoping I could just try to talk to him.” I shifted my gaze from our little group to the castle. “I know he’s probably changed a little since falling, but Aris has always been the responsible one. If I can just talk some sense into him, then maybe we won’t need to fight at all.”

There was a slight pause before Lilith spoke up. “Thea—”

“Look, I know it probably won’t work,” I interrupted her before she could say the obvious. “I’ve heard the stories of what he’s done since falling and why he’s in Tartarus to begin with, but I have to try… he’s my brother.”

“What if Thea pretends that she was sent to Tartarus for attacking Orrid?” Bryce asked. “If she phrases her story correctly, then she should be able to sneak by any lie detecting abilities. We could even use her arrival as a distraction to slip past any guards to try to locate Aris.”

Lilith didn’t look at all convinced. “How capable of stealth are you, Bryce?”

“She can come with me. Bryce’s mana makes it pretty obvious that I’m part of a pact, and now that she did that thing with my meridians, there’s no way anybody would miss it. Besides, Esme told us she was being blamed for the attack anyway, so the story still fits.”

“Thea, if it comes to a fight, then—”

“Then I won’t hesitate to kill him,” I interrupted Lilith again. “I know how dangerous what he’s trying to do is… okay, I only sorta—mostly—know how dangerous it is, but I do understand that we need to stop him, and if we don’t, then the three of us are going to be dead or worse and I won’t let that happen.”

I ended my tirade, and Lilith looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “Are you finished?” I nodded, so she continued. “I was trying to say that if your talks come to a fight, then avoid him until I can get to you. There’s no reason for you to face Aris alone, and there’s definitely no reason that you would have to be the one to kill him.”

“Oh, uh, yeah… I can do that.”