Chapter 3
Portarius
Iopen my eyes in alarm. Something is different.
The Gate is louder today as it hums in the background of my mind.
We are tethered together for eternity, and I know it better than I know myself.
Sometimes I can go centuries without noticing it.
But the hum today, the vibration in my chest. It's more than I've felt in years.
It's joyful.
Which can mean only one thing. Someone wants to enter Hell.
The last time this happened was around a hundred years ago, so I guess technically it's been some time. The ill-fated human girl who’d arrived was eaten alive within days.
I will be more assertive this time. More forceful in the protection I give whomever crosses.
At least until they decide what they wish to do with their soul.
I stretch my aching muscles, tired from a long harvest the previous day, glad that I am ahead of schedule this season. We have been blessed with sun and warmth to grow the crops this year. The cities will be well fed from this reaping.
Standing from my bed, I take some clean linens from my small set of drawers in case the new guest is open to residing here.
I will also need to send word to Realm One of their arrival and the outcome of their decision.
But I must not get ahead of myself. The Gate is eager, though. Its vibrations swelling in my chest.
Quickly making my room presentable. I replace the linens on my bed and wash haphazardly in the basin.
It’s not often I wish for a looking glass, but this morning's arrival is unexpected.
I hope she is female. At least I finally upgraded to running water several millennia ago and can make myself fit to be seen.
It's still a novelty to have such a modern living space.
Despite its installation being a bit of an indulgence, I still enjoy the simplicity of my cottage.
A little slice of Hell for me to make my own.
With fresh clothes on and a spare set in hand, I leave the comfort of my small dwelling.
Swinging open the front door to gaze across the wheat fields.
I can see movement on the other side of the Gate, no doubt someone or something nearby felt it rouse.
It’s camouflaged by design, a simple lake among the farmlands.
But the large, ominous body of water gives entrance to those who seek it.
To those it allows. It is friend to no one and will unleash upon those who threaten it.
On Earth or in Hell, the Gate will either grant you passage or destroy your very existence.
And by right, I am an extension of that power. I am its Gatekeeper.
It used to be a realm-wide event when the Gate would begin humming, but for many years, no one was worthy of the fate they had stumbled across.
For centuries, feeble men clad in steel arrived, begging for their lives to be spared.
Ungrateful, when I released their souls from their flesh.
Anything else would have been inhumane. The torturous fall into insanity is to be feared.
No one, not even the monsters that lurk in the depths of Hell, want to see a soul suffer.
Eventually, fewer humans found passage here, and with it, the crowds dwindled.
Until one day, there was barely a hum. No one was interested in a new arrival when the same weak spirit continued to appear.
Walking around its edge, I look out across the Gate's smooth surface, the water absorbing the red sun, proudly sitting high in the sky.
It is a thing of beauty. A bottomless reservoir that guides souls into the underworld, and no matter how hard you look into its surface, you will never see a reflection.
I'm all but purring now. My whole body hums in sync as I feel the Gate open, and I hasten along the jetty to welcome my new arrival.
Dropping the blanket and clothes to the side, my fingers struggle to move fast enough as I undress.
Pleased though, that I took the time to bathe this morning.
At the end of the jetty is a set of stairs leading into the dark water, and I fight a yearning groan as my toes make contact.
“It's been too long, old friend,” I mumble as I lower myself into its depths. The water wraps around me, and a flood of passion assaults my senses as what feels like many hands stroke my legs. The Gates' spirits coming to greet me.
“I've missed you, too,” I chuckle, as I stop on the edge of the submerged platform.
Someone steps into the pool on the other side, and my anticipation grows as I feel them cross over and enter my realm.
I keep my eyes focused, ready to catch the person as soon as they breach the water before me.
Feeling them ascend closer and closer, until the fragile skin of a human woman is gently placed in my arms, and I lift her to my chest.
Her skin is verging on blue, and I stare transfixed, my fingers digging firmly into her softness.
The hair on the back of my neck stands on end as I feel something watching us, lurking in the shadows of the trees, but in place of the excitement bystanders used to bring, I feel hate.
A frothing need to consume the poor woman who lies helpless in my arms.
An Ananea is near, but she is not their prey.
She is mine.