To Love an Incubus

Chapter 33; Visiting Hell

It felt as if I was dead, floating through the universe to a different dimension. Everything was dark, but I was aware that the surrounding air was changing, becoming thick and pungent. Nausea rolled through me. I swallowed hard.

I repeat Victoria's words in my head so I don't forget them.

"Earth and Hell have different measurements of time. What would be half an hour there, will be three days here. That's your limit, Auric. Be quick about this. If you need to come back early, use this." She hands me a small crystal. It had sharp jagged edges and sparkled under the living room lights. "You can take this with you. Cut your finger and I'll see it and pull you back." Dorrian paces around the living room. I pay him no mind.

"Will do," I tell her. She observes me for a moment. She looks down at her hands and foreigns interest in her nails.

"Just, will you tell him I'm still trying? That I'm still trying to get him out. That I haven't given up on him," she asks. I reached over and patted her hand, giving her a small smile.

"I'll tell him, Victoria."

I don't why, but instead of thinking about what I will say to my dad, I think about Dorrian. I think about how afraid he looked, then I think about how afraid I felt when he bit me. I think about how he tries to protect me in all the wrong ways, but then I think about how he makes me feel all the right things.

No matter how much I tried, I couldn't get him out of my head. His name swirled around in my mind like a hamster in a ball and his image painted every wall in my brain. And no matter how much I tried, how much I wanted to, I couldn't hate him. Not for biting me, not for scaring me, or being overprotective. The thought scared me more than his teeth ever did.

The first thing I notice is a dull yellow flickering light. Then the screams. They were loud and high-pitched. They demanded to not only be heard, but to be felt. I felt their pain and their fear and their insanity. A concrete floor molded underneath my feet. It was dark with filth and had small craters just big enough to stumble over.

Bars made up the walls on each side of me. They contained black wisps and half rotten human-creatures. The creatures scream and bear their fangs at me. One beside me reaches its hand out to try to grab me. I jump forward when his black nails skim my arm. I feel the urgency to find my dad rise. 

"Melik!" I whisper yell. I shouldn't be far from him, Victoria should have had the general vicinity down. I peek into each cell I pass. None of them looked like my dad.

"What are you doing here, boy?" A voice snarls. I spin around in circles to find the voice.

"Where are you?" Even I can hear the fright in my voice. The other voice chuckles, it makes the hair on the back of my neck rise.

"To your left," it said. Somehow, it seemed softer than the last time he spoke, curious. I look to my left. A man's forehead rested on the bars and his hands gripped the neighboring bars. Black stringy hair fell into his face, but I could see his abnormally dark eyes, and long scars that littered his face. He almost looked normal compared the others. "You don't belong here, do you?" He asked. I don't know if I should say anything to him, so I say nothing. I see his eyes scan me. "Who are you lookin' for," he tries again.

"Melik Ferrow," I finally say. Maybe I should have kept going, but what could he really do from behind those bars? I'm sure Hell kept their prisoners secure.

"Melik? What do you want with him?" He eyes me again. I focus on not running in the other direction.

"Do you know where he is?" I ask in return. He shrugs.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," his nails rake the bars and I feel annoyance pick at the back of my head. I don't have all day.

"I'm his son. We need to talk," I reveal. I probably should have thought it out more, but time was running out and I was desperate. The man stops all motion and his eyes bore into mine.