Between the lines

Bridge over Hell

"Who are you?" She asked in a cold tone. Her dark eyes pierced him, studying every inch of his being. Tom was under the impression she could read his mind. Whatever she saw, the Asian goddess didn't seem happy and neither was he.

Of all the people he'd met none had managed to make him feel like an open book. Not even Professor Dumbledore. However, he couldn't figure out if he hated the confident woman in front of him or if he was intrigued by her.

"Yes, I can read your mind." The Demon God added after a while. "So greedy.... So cruel... so cold...so lonely. Pity."

"I don't need anyone." He retorted furiously.

It made his blood boil in his veins. No one had treated him like that. "How dare she?" He thought. One day he would be the darkest wizard of all times. He didn't need anyone's pity. There was nothing to pity about him. Nothing at all.

"How dare I?" She laughed. "Do you think I'm afraid? Should I be, the darkest wizard of all times?" Her laughter was cold. She was challenging him and it was clear she wasn't an ordinary competitor.

Tom kept watching her. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been at a loss for words.

"I've met thousands like you." She continued as he kept staring at her, furious but still unable to speak his mind. No matter how much she deserved to be put in her place, Tom was afraid it wouldn't be an easy task. "At least you don't try to play the virtuous.... I hate those hypocrites. And they say I'm the monster. The demon."

"A demon?" The word came like a peal of thunder.

"They think I should die. That I'm a danger to the world...Me! But how many people have they killed in the name of justice? "

Her laughter echoed, cold and cruel. Tom was afraid that the cave would fall over him. He wanted to tell her to stop, but he didn't dare. "Was it really the HELL?" He wondered. When the laughter stopped, the silence seemed even more frightening.

"Who are you? Are you really a demon?" was everything he dared to utter and he wasn't someone to be easily impressed. He had heard a lot of stories at the orphanage about demons. The bigger boys enjoyed scaring the younger ones. When he was little he had used to be afraid. Then, he'd stopped believing it. There was no hell. There were no demons. But she was in front of him. Vivid. Strong. Real.

She laughed, but it came hollow. He could sense sorrow in her voice. "Maybe, I'm going to tell you my story one day. However, you don't seem the one to care." The goddess seemed so tired. If the world were to end that day, Tom doubted she would have cared. "So, you have no idea how you got here, do you?" Hua Qiangu went on. "Come. I have a feeling you're going to spend some time here. "

He followed her. His feet took him forward, but his mind was cocooning different types of scenarios. She wasn't like anybody he'd met before. She was beautiful and scary. It was no wonder people would call her a monster. Tom thought she was the perfect depiction of power. Wild. Tempting. Scary. Yet he couldn't figure out why she cared what people speak about her. She could read minds. His for certain wasn't an easy target. She seemed quite gifted. At least she was confident enough to make a strong impression on anyone. Caught in his own thought, Tom didn't notice when they arrived in a huge, luxurious room.

"What were you doing?" Zhu Ran berated her as she entered her chambers. At that moment, Zhu Ran seemed to be the one who cared for her, and, considering he hardly cared for anything else but power, it was quite sad. "I hope you aren't going to keep crying over that idiot. You can give an order and...." He stopped as he finally noticed Tom.

Hua Qiangu didn't seem to give any importance to his words. Tom wondered if there was something that could move that marble goddess.

"Do not pretend you care, Zhu Ran. I'm not going to help you conquer Chiang Liang. Do not dare to go behind my back." She knew how to play with her power. Zhu Ran bowed, aware it wasn't very clever to tickle a sleeping dragon. "Bring some food for the boy." She added after a time as she lay on her bed. Yet, even such an ordinary action as that, when performed by her, gave the Demon God a queenish aura. "I don't know who he is. He simply appeared here." She continued. Tom imagined she must have read the man's mind. After all, it was natural for that Zhu Ran to want to know who that boy was.

"Yes, Senior God. What do you intend to do with him?" Tom guessed from the way Zhu Ran uttered the words that he wasn't very happy about his company. Tom was sure he wouldn't get along with that man as it was clear Zhu Ran saw him as competition.

Tom kept watching both of them. It didn't seem clever to intervene. He knew nothing about her and he didn't want to test her limits. It wasn't his time, yet. He wondered whether it would be wise to become friends with her. Yet she didn't seem easy to fool.

Instead, he'd tried to pretend he was studying the room as he'd felt her eyes on him. The room was huge, decorated with marble columns. The path towards her dormitory was covered with red petals. Everything, apart from the round stone spot where her big bed was and the bridges that connected it to the rests of her chambers, was flooded by lava.

"I don't know. You can go. Take the boy with you." Hua Qiangu added tiredly.

Zhu Ran bowed once more and he was ready to go, but Tom didn't feel like leaving her alone. There were so many things he wished he could ask her. Against his best judgment, he finally dared to put his thoughts to words.

"I don't get it. You are powerful. Maybe the most powerful person in the world. You have servants. An impressive throne. Everybody is afraid of you. The Hell itself seemed to be under your command. And still, you are unhappy. Is there something in this world you wish for and you can have?"

"An ordinary life...is what I wish for." came her answer. "Now you go. I want to be alone."