Bite

35

Stefan watched as Tzirihime stepped into the river and walked through it like it was nothing. Stefan took a deep breath and followed her in. He could feel the strength of the current, yet it did nothing to him. He was starting to feel tired.

“So how did you come to be?” Stefan asked her.

“Well, I was human once. My people were invaded and I offered myself to the gods to ensure our victory. I was made into a goddess by our gods.” Tzirihime started to wade in the river. Stefan followed her movement, noticing he could no longer feel the riverbed under his feet.

“Wow.” Stefan replied.

“Yeah.” Tzirihime sighed. “I became the goddess of war and vengeance. Since then, I have chosen champions to protect our kin and avenge what needed to be avenged.”

The river finally ended but they were met with a mountain range right in front of them. God bless, Stefan thought to himself. They started to pass in the valley between them. The ground started to shake and Stefan stopped moving.

“Don’t worry, it was meant to stop you. Keep moving.” Tzirihime spoke. “Just watch out for the jaguars.”

“The what-” Stefan started to speak as he heard a roaring sound. He turned to see it running towards him.

“Shit!” He started to run with Tzirihime running ahead of him. The jaguars were chasing them and the ground was trembling. This was a lot of work to get the heaven Ashara was in. His feet were burning and his chest heaved as he was gasping for breath. Then they stopped at a mountain that was pitch black and smoking.

“Are you kidding me?” Stefan shook his head.

“Hey, you wanted to save your girlfriend.” Tzirihime shrugged. “Get to climbing.”

She was right, he was doing it all for her. And he would suffer as much as he needed to get her back. He started to climb the mountain. He could feel the heat against his hands and knees but he ignored it. They continued until they reached what looked like a snowy peak. The wind was blowing hard and it was freezing.

“So it’s hell with AC here.” Stefan tried to crack a joke. Tzirihime chuckled.

“Yeah.” She spoke. Her hair was everywhere and the butterflies on the sides of her head were holding on to dear life. Finally the wind stopped and he started to see trees. It looked like a forest. A pine forest, to be exact. They continued to walk.

“I wonder…..” Tzirihime spoke. She had icicles in her hair, hanging from her earrings, her chin and on the butterflies. Stefan felt the ones on him starting to melt. He then heard the sound of rattles. Tzirihime’s face lit up and something slid behind them. Stefan turned to see a giant snake hissing at them.

“Jump!” Tzirihime yelled at him. Stefan jumped up as the snake struck at them. He quickly avoided the snake. Tzirihime summoned a macuahuitl and started to attack the snake. She quickly smashed the weapon into its head and smacked its body away.

“Alright, that’s cleared.” Tzirihime sighed in relief. They ran deeper into the forest before reaching a swampy area. There were bugs everywhere and it smelled of rotten mud. Stefan despised this place already. They started to walk until Tzirihime was dragged under by something.

“Tzirihime!” Stefan saw her trying to escape a giant crocodile. Shoot.

Shift, idiot, shift! He thought to himself. He managed and quickly went to Tzirihime’s aid, grabbing the sides of the crocodile’s mouth and pulling as hard as he could. Tzirihime slid down and Stefan threw the crocodile back into the swamp. The animal charged at him. It opened its maw and Stefan grabbed the top and bottom part of its snout pulling until its head split in half. Tzirihime got up from the ground, covered in mud.

“Wow, that was metal, actually.” She chuckled. “Let’s go.” They continued through the swamp as the land started to get drier and drier until they were in a sandy place full of saguaros and cactus plants. There were plateaus and pitaya trees as well. Stefan was starting to feel very tired but he couldn’t give up. He had to find Ashara. Suddenly, a wind blew up and he felt stabbing pains everywhere.

“Dammit.” Stefan shook his head. They continue through the desert for what seemed like hours. Stefan wondered how long ago he had been on Earth. Hours? Days? Weeks? Months? Stefan was glad to see mountains getting closer and closer.

“We’re gonna have to climb those.” Tzirihime spoke. Stefan looked at his body. There were small shards of obsidian embedded in his arms and legs, there were cuts and scrapes everywhere and he noticed he was leaving a trail of bloody footprints. It was all worth it for her. He saw her smiling at him, kissing him, and cuddling with him.

“I’ll get you back, Ashara. I promise.” Stefan continued to climb the mountain peaks, even as his hands started to bleed, even as skin was tearing from his fingers and the soles of his feet. They finally reached the end of the mountain range where Tzirihime took a deep breath.

“I think I’ve had a workout for the next millienia.” She chuckled, looking back at Stefan. “You look rough.”
“Well, not all of us can be undead.” Stefan spoke to Tzirihime. She shook her head. They reached a mountain where a terrifying monkey demon thing was sitting at.

“Tzirihime, lovely seeing you here.” It spoke to her. “And who’s this handsome devil?”

“It’s Stefan, he’s a god from the northern kin’s pantheon.” Tzirihime sighed.

“Of course, welcome to the entrance of Mictlan, you two.” The demon moved and a door slid down to reveal a dark void with no light and no way out. Tzirihime bowed to the demon and so did Stefan. They walked into the void. There was no light or anything. Just darkness. Stefan could barely make out her silhouette. He was almost there.