The air was so thick, it reminded her of fog yet there was no smokiness around her. Suffocating darkness. She could only see a foot in front of her at a time and with each inch she crawled, she waited for something to jump out at her. The air smelled lightly sulfurous as if a candle had been snuffed several minutes before. Yet the scent never changed, never grew worse or lessened. Everything was constant.

The most unusual thing was the sound. A constant, deep baritone like a motor but not mechanical. As if she was deep in the earth and it spoke down here, one long, unending note.

With that thought, she knew with certainty where she was. Deep inside the rift. Below where the shahoulin reigned, below the violent idummi demons, deep where even the lowliest of creatures dared not tread—where the jaheera terrorized.

The light around her grew brighter, lighting her way. Instead of making her feel better, her stomach tightened with unease. The air, dense and suffocating, lessened with the light. Willow came to sitting position and finally looked around.

She was in a massive, unending room with stone walls that looked so far away. They were the color of sand and clay. Before she could take in anymore the ground shook. Willow held onto the sharp ground as her teeth chattered with the quake. A sharp cry left her as the shaking jarred her wounded leg.

Suddenly her worst nightmare came into the room with her. Dura, the jaheera demon stepped through the stonewall as if it was invisible.

The massive demon, which had towered over those tall trees in the German forest now stood imposing and deadly. Willow looked up and up, craning her neck and that was when she realized there was no ceiling. A dark void rested where a roof or wall or something should be. It looked like an unending, starless, night sky. A black void. Willow had a feeling this was what hell was like.

The demon was the size of a mythical giant with skin, though she was hesitant to call it that, black as tar, thick like scales. It came towards her, each massive, slow step shaking the ground like an earthquake. Willow crab walked backwards, not even noticing she was making the scratches on her palms open more and bleed. The pain in her leg seemed to understand that her escape was more important than hurting, because now she hardly felt it.

It moved slowly yet she couldn’t get away from it fast enough. Stark terror made sweat run down her temples and neck, heart pound, breathing race.

“WIIILLLLOOOOOW!”

The sound pierced her ears, shaking her eardrums. Shaking in utter fear, Willow came to  a wobbly stand and screamed.

Suddenly arms banded around her. Faces, human, grabbed her and pulled her towards the demon. She recognized them in an instant. Stephanie, Rachel, and the boy Danny.

“Don’t do this!” she screamed.

She dug her good leg hard into the rocks but they were so strong, stronger than they should be and they wrenched her arms fiercely until she tripped. Her stomach hit the ground hard and she cried again, this time in fear of something else.

Frantically, her hands scraped at the ground as she tried to get away, but they latched onto her arms with tight hands and started dragging her across the rocky surface.

“No!” she screamed repeatedly as her distended stomach scraped along the sharp surfaces. Screaming, Willow threw herself on her side as they continued to ruthlessly drag her. She watched her belly in horror and saw little beads of red appear through her shirt.

They dropped her before the demon. Willow had never felt more helpless than she did right now. The demon’s massive hand raised, the size of a car door, and black, wispy energy came out. The dark energy swept around her body, covering her from head to foot with vile, dark magic. Willow could only watch as the black substance seeped into her body.

Willow was immobilized, paralyzed from her eyelids to her feet. She felt tears leaking out of her eyes but didn’t know if she was crying or her dry eyes were desperately trying to lubricate.

Think, think!

Her mind worked hard to figure out what she could do yet it felt like her mind was made up of cogs in a broken down clock slowly shutting down forever. All she wanted to do was shut everything out, curl into a ball and await whatever her fate was. But then she felt something...

She gasped, her heart soaring. The life inside her, her baby, moved.

My baby’s still alive!

She laughed, tears streaming down her face. Willow called upon all her strength and calmed herself. Somehow hope filled her chest and she knew, somehow, someway she could do this.

As if sensing her calm, the demon screeched. Garbled, demonic words came out of its fanged mouth. The young girl Stephanie, eyes dead and vacant, stepped forward.

“How dare you not fear me?” she said in a cold, monotone voice.

Willow blinked at her in confusion. Then she realized...the demon was speaking through her.

Danny, with the same vacant eyes, stiffened then turned and started walking. He disappeared through that same stone wall and reappeared a minute later carrying heavy metal manacles and a wicked looking dagger. The blade curved at the end like a miniature scimitar. It looked freshly sharpened and glinted in the grey light.

Willow started struggling then. Immobilized, she could do nothing mentally but physically try to move against the demon’s dark magic.

The demon’s dark, fathomless eyes looked down at her. Is it working? Willow wished she had her potion and dagger with her. But I have the spell! Hysterical laughter bubbled inside her.

Willow started to open her mouth—but nothing happened. She couldn’t move her lips to speak the spell. Hands grabbed her, putting the heavy manacles around her wrists and ankles. She was useless to do anything.

Then suddenly the paralysis was gone. The demon started speaking. From the rhythm of the tones it almost sounded like a song...or a chant. Willow sat there, unsure if the demon had released her from its magic or if she’d somehow freed herself from the spell. If that were the case then she’d use the element of surprise to her advantage.

Rachel stepped forward carrying a glass jar. Something squirmed inside of it that looked like green ooze. Willow didn’t know what it was but she didn’t want it anywhere near her. She started to mentally chant Lily’s spell faster in her mind, putting all of her energy and power into it.

Danny handed the silver dagger to Rachel. She raised the jar above Willow, held the dagger with the blade facing it.

The demon spoke faster. The room shook or maybe it was just the floor. Willow couldn’t tell. The demon stopped chanting then turned to Rachel; she repeated its words in that same monotone voice.

“Pour Karr’s blood on her.”

Willow realized now was the time to move. As Rachel swung the dagger at the jar with the intent on shattering it and letting all that green blood fall on her, Willow launched herself forward.

She didn’t make it far, the shackled ankles and hands didn’t give her enough movement, her injured leg throbbed, but she pushed off her feet with everything she had and slammed her shoulder into Rachel’s stomach. The glass jar went flying in the air.

The demon screeched madly with ear-piercing, garbled words that sounded a lot like orders. The glass landed against the rocks with a wonderful shattering sound. Willow smiled at her little victory as the green goop slowly slid into the rocky ground. That shit wouldn’t be touching her.

A shiny glint caught the corner of her eye. Stephanie and Danny ran to the goop, trying desperately to pick it up with their fingers; Rachel lay on the floor, dazed. Willow saw it then, the dagger sitting innocently on the floor in front of her.

With her hands bound in front of her, Willow dove forward.