Journey to Jahennah: Chapter Four

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Lila stared up at the sky, waiting for some clue of the storm to come. The clouds were ferocious; it was as if they were fighting, clawing and grabbing at each other, whirling and twisting violently to welcome their creator.

A third clap of thunder tore through the air, although this time a dark crack appeared, cutting through the raging clouds and stretching as far as they could see. The sky was being ripped apart.

A sudden flash of purple light blinded them. Then, as Lila squinted through the haze, she saw three figures in the distance walking out of what looked like a large, ovular hole that emitted a reddish-purple glow. They strode up the path towards Orva’s hut. The one in the middle was the smallest, the others at least three times taller.

As they came closer, the silhouettes came into focus; a woman headed the trio, flanked by two huge giants. A frisson of fear shot through Lila, but it wasn’t because of the giants’ tree-trunk sized legs or boulder-like fists. It wasn’t because they were grinding their teeth menacingly or because their eyes were fiercely fixed on Orva. She barely noticed the giants; she couldn’t take her eyes off their leader.

The woman was breath-taking. Lila had expected her to be an old woman, but she looked like she was about twenty-five. She had beautiful, golden hair that bounced on her shoulders as she strode towards the hut. Her skin was strikingly pale, complemented by simple, black clothes. She moved gracefully and purposefully with a powerful elegance, the hint of a smile playing on her rosy lips. Though Lila couldn’t see the colour of her eyes, she knew they were dark, a sharp contrast to her pallor. They were inexplicably petrifying. Ebony’s smile widened as she neared Orva, who stayed perfectly still, holding her gaze. She opened her arms wide, almost as if to embrace her, then came to a halt. Her bodyguards stopped a few paces behind her, their expressions hostile.

“Orva,” Ebony said. Her voice was soft and silky, like flowing caramel. If Lila hadn’t known who she was and what she was capable of, she might have found the voice pleasant. Instead, it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

“Ebony,” Orva replied tonelessly, nodding once. “What business has brought you to Tortaris?”

Ebony sighed, slightly too dramatically for it to be natural and flicked her hair over her shoulder so it cascaded down her back. Lila noticed her long, slender fingers, each with a perfectly painted violet nail.

“I was alerted to some trouble,” she said, taking in her surroundings. She walked to a nearby hut and ran her hand gently across the stone. The wall glowed red momentarily, then faded back to grey. She moved along to the next and repeated the process. Lila’s heart was in her mouth. She knows we’re here. Glancing at Kenji, she knew he was thinking the same thing. Hardly daring to breathe, they kept still and watched.

“Trouble?” Orva asked indifferently. Lila wanted to scream for her to run, to get as far away as she could, but she kept her lips glued together, fearing even a tiny sound would alert Ebony to their whereabouts. She didn’t know if this secret room was soundproof.

“Trouble,” Ebony repeated, nodding. “A message was sent to me this morning from a trusted source telling me that Tortaris had two visitors. Two human visitors.”

Orva raised her eyebrows. “Well, that's impossible. No simple human could pass through a portal without magical knowledge.”

Lila suddenly realised why Ebony’s eyes were so terrifying. They were not brown as she had originally thought, but a deep, dark purple, shimmering and poisonous in her angular face. She was moving closer to Orva’s hut now, her hand continuing to graze the rocky walls she passed.

“That's exactly what I was thinking,” Ebony said softly. She pulled her hand away before touching the wall right next to Lila and Kenji’s hiding place and stood directly in front of Orva. Her body seemed to grow, her limbs stretching until the two of them were at eye level. She glared at Orva with such intense hatred, it gave Lila goose bumps.

“You know I wiped all memory of mythics from human minds a long time ago,” Ebony continued, her dangerous eyes glittering, “They couldn’t get here without help. So, the question I must ask myself is: who helped them?”

“I’m sure nobody in Tortaris would have-” Orva began robotically.

“DO NOT LIE!” Ebony shrieked. Her gentle tone had been replaced with a rough voice filled with rage. Orva remained expressionless, though her eyes were blazing. Ebony smiled again, a sickly-sweet smile that couldn’t quite hide her anger.

“Let’s try this again,” she said. “Did you help two humans enter Tortaris? Think twice before lying to me again. I haven’t forgotten about last time.”

“Ebony,” Orva said flatly. “I did not help anyone enter Tortaris. I couldn’t possibly, I do not have the power to– ”

Ebony laughed, one cold, mirthless sound that rang out across the village.

“Do you think I’m a fool?” she spat. “I know the power you hold. You would be a useful asset if you were willing to work for me.”

Orva snorted. “My friends have died, and you took Romana from me. I am forced to live in this hell. You’re crazy if you think I would ever work for you.”

Ebony leaned in close, her nose almost touching the tip of Orva’s. She spoke so gently, Lila and Kenji had to strain their ears to hear her.

“I know you know where they are,” she said. “I bet they're hiding in one of your little Pods - you centaurs were always good at hiding.” She sniggered nastily. Orva kept her face blank, staring into the witchy, purple eyes of the demon in front of her.

“I want them gone by the time I return,” Ebony whispered. “And I can assure you, this will not go unpunished.”

She stepped away from Orva, shrinking back to her normal size. Turning on her heels, she strode up the path, the giants immediately moving into position behind her.

Orva had barely moved when Ebony looked back, about thirty feet away.

“I trust you to remember what happens when a creature defies me, Orva.” She didn’t shout, yet her voice rang out across the village. She lifted her long fingers and clicked. The hut opposite them erupted in huge, angry flames. Smirking, Ebony carried on down the path and entered the portal with her minions.

Orva didn’t move, just watched the fire dancing in front of her. Lila banged against the strange wall of the Pod.

“Orva!” she yelled. “Let us out!”

Orva ignored her for a few seconds. Then, still watching the fire, she made a rotating motion with her finger. Lila and Kenji felt a jerk and fell into each other as the Pod spun and opened, the entrance now facing the path outside the hut. Lila sprang to her feet and clambered out of the Pod, grabbing Orva’s arm. Orva shook her off with one sharp movement.

“What are you playing at?” Lila screamed, staring horrified at the flames. “Do something!”

Kenji looked around in a panic. “Quick, we need water!”

Orva laughed humourlessly.

“Water?” she said. “These are magical flames; water won’t make the slightest bit of difference.”

“So, we’re just going to stand here and watch someone’s home burn?” Lila demanded. A terrible thought came to her mind. “Orva, what if they’re still inside?”

Kenji took a step forward at these words, his face pale. Orva grabbed his arm before he took another.

“Don’t even think about it,” she snarled. “They’ll be fine. We fire-proofed these homes a long time ago. The flames will extinguish themselves any minute now.”

No sooner had she said it than the flames disappeared. It was like someone had switched them off. The hut looked exactly as it had before the flames begun. The only indication that anything had happened at all was the heat radiating from the tiny stone house.

“They won’t be able to leave for a couple of days,” Orva said, her voice strained. “The magic of the flames won’t let me cool the hut and the door will be too hot for them to touch.”

“Will they be alright? Who lives there?” Lila asked, concerned for the unknown inhabitants.

“The Griffin Brothers. And yes,” Orva replied shortly. “They might get bored but they’ll have everything they need.”

They watched the smouldering hut for a while.

“Why aren’t the Griffin Brothers in separate worlds?” Lila asked suddenly.

Orva smiled slightly. “They really don’t like each other. It’s more punishment to keep them together.”

She ushered Lila and Kenji back through her front door, turning the key behind them. The three of them gathered around the table again, stunned into silence. It was a long time before anyone spoke.

“How did you fit all your stuff in here?” Kenji asked. Lila looked at him in disbelief. He shrugged. “I’m curious. And the simplest questions are the easiest to start with.”

“An enchantment that makes the inside of the hut larger than the outside,” Orva replied. Kenji smiled at her.

“And what did Ebony mean about centaurs and Pods?” he continued.

Orva chuckled. “Centaurs can create an Undetectable Pod that is almost impossible to find using non-centaur magic. We developed the enchantment ourselves to protect our children during battle. Ebony tries to taunt us by suggesting we are cowardly, hiding ourselves away, but she would kill to get hands on the knowledge. Quite literally.”

Kenji snorted. The thought of Orva being a coward was ridiculous.

Lila did not laugh. There were too many questions buzzing in her head, and she didn't know which she wanted answering first.

“Why did she set fire to the hut?” she asked.

“To scare me,” Orva replied grimly. “She loves big, frightening gestures to intimidate her prisoners. But also, she detected the recent magic on the bricks and assumed that you were hiding in one of the huts.”

“Was that what you were doing when you were touching the other houses, leaving magical traces?” Kenji asked. She nodded.

“Bit unfair of you to do that to your friends,” Lila said coolly.

Orva looked hurt. “My friends are always at risk when Ebony is here,” she replied stiffly. “I didn’t think you would react well if she set fire to my hut, the one you were attached to.”

Lila said nothing. Rage was building up inside her. She gazed into the eyes of the centaur, whose expression was unfathomable.

“How do you stand it?” she blurted out. “How can you let her treat you that way?”

Orva smiled sadly. Again, Lila saw the look of familiarity in her eyes.

“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” Lila shouted, losing her patience and smacking her hand on the table. “What’s going on? Why did those mythics recognise me?”

She jumped down from her stool and paced furiously around the hut. She didn't understand her role in any of this, but she knew if she didn't find out soon, she would go mad. She couldn't stand the unfairness of how Orva and the others were being treated. She hated this terrifying woman that set houses on fire and put lives at risk purely to send a message.

“Lila,” Orva said quietly. Lila turned to face her, feeling the prickle of angry tears in her eyes. Orva gestured towards the recently vacated seat.

“Please sit. I promise I will tell you what you want to know.”

Reluctantly, Lila returned to her stool and sat, stony-faced. She knew Orva hadn’t been telling her the whole story. She wasn’t sure why - Orva didn’t owe her anything - but she resented being kept in the dark.

“I told you before,” Orva said hesitantly, “about the last time we tried to escape from Tortaris.”

Lila jiggled her leg impatiently.

“There were a lot of us who were involved in the plan,” she continued, “but we had some… encouragement putting it into place.”

Kenji opened his mouth, but Lila silenced him with a look.

“She had stumbled across the portal, like you had,” Orva whispered. Lila stiffened. The mystery lookalike?

“She knocked on my door and I almost slammed it in her face, I was so shocked to see a human!” Orva laughed sadly.

“She was furious at how we were being treated, completely enraged by the injustice of our capture and devastated at how our loved ones had been taken, like you. I told her everything I knew about the portal, and her determination and support helped us form a plan. I called a meeting of the bravest, those who would be most willing to fight, and we prepared ourselves to leave.

“When our plan failed, I hid her here until I thought Ebony had gone. We went to one of her spies and begged him to find the portal for us - I offered him the knowledge of a rare enchantment in exchange for his silence. But we were betrayed. Ebony was still in Tortaris and saw us sneaking her out. We barely escaped with our lives.”

Orva smiled kindly. “I was transported back in time when I saw you, Lila. You can't imagine my shock when I looked out the window and saw my old friend.”

“But who was she?” asked Kenji.

Lila knew the answer. Someone who looked just like her. Someone who had gone on adventures with mythics and told her about those adventures when she was younger.

“Jessie Sparrow,” Orva said. “Lila’s grandmother.”