Page 40 of Bad Moon Rising (Dark-Hunter 17)
"The rest of who?"
She held her hand up and he saw legions around them. Zombielike, they stumbled and moaned, trudging through the same thick water that clung to him. "We are the forgotten souls who have been relegated here by cruelty."
He shook his head, trying to make sense of all of this. How could he be here? "I don't understand. How did you get here?"
She pulled her arm down and the light faded. "I'm a demon who was trapped centuries ago. My family still searches for me, but they'll never find me. I shall live out eternity here in this slime. Unable to leave without human help. Unable to sleep or to eat real food. There is nothing here but suffering and longing." She sighed. "But sooner or later, your mortal body will die and you will be freed . . . unlike me. Even if I escape, I will never really be free."
Fang shook his head again. "Bullshit. This is just a dream. A screwed-up nightmare."
She laughed. "If only it were so."
Still he refused to believe it. She was lying. She had to be. He turned away from her and slapped himself. Hard. "C'mon, Fang, wake up."
Misery followed after him. "We all go through a period of denial. But it changes nothing. We are here and here we will stay."
"Vane!" Fang shouted as loud as he could, ignoring her and her dire prediction. He focused as hard as he could, trying to reach through this realm to his brother. C'mon, buddy, hear me! "Damn it, Vane! Wake me up!"
"The Harvesters are coming! The Harvesters are coming!" Frantic voices called out from the darkness.
Misery grabbed his arm. "Come, we must hide."
"Hide from what?"
"The Harvesters. If they find you, they'll destroy this part of you and you will be trapped here forever as their slave."
He scoffed. "What crap is this?"
She pulled him toward a murky crevice.
Fang started to tell her to stuff it, but bit his tongue. What if this wasn't a warped nightmare? He was a Were-Hunter. Of all creatures, he knew there was a lot more to the universe than a "natural" order.
Better to be safe than sorry until he figured out exactly what was going on here.
He tucked himself deep inside the cramped, craggy space. Out of the obsidian mist he could hear something coming closer. It sounded like human gurgles or nonsensical demonic speech. Eerie and frightening to even the stoutest of heart.
Closer they came.
Closer still, until he could see the outline of their large, twisted bodies. Like Misery, their hair flowed around them. Muscled and tall, they reminded him of ogres or trolls with long, sharp nails.
They closed in on one of the zombies he'd seen. Grabbing her, they tore through her neck with their teeth. She screamed out, then went silent and limp as the Harvesters seemed to inhale her essence. They cast her lifeless body aside as they searched for another victim.
Misery placed her finger to her lips to remind him to be silent.
"What are they doing?" he projected to her.
"I told you, they're taking a part of them and leaving them stuck in this place forever. They are now the Harvesters' slaves and will do whatever they ask."
"For what purpose?"
"The Harvesters trade their collected parts to demons and their ilk in exchange for borrowing the demons' bodies so that they can escape from here for a time. They run us into the ground so that they can barter us. But they're not the only ones to be wary of. There are other demons who will try to enslave or torture you. This is a dangerous place for all of us."
Fang didn't move until long after the Harvesters were gone. Misery climbed out first. Hesitant and fearful, she reminded him of a timid rabbit. "They're gone, I think."
Fang was baffled by all of this. "I don't understand how I can be trapped here. I'm a Were-Hunter."
"And I'm a demon with powers far greater than yours, wolf. This is the vortex between dimensions. A hellhole of unimaginable cruelty."
"Then why are you helping me?"
She gave him an insidious half-smile. "Misery loves company."
"You're not funny."
She laughed as she danced around him. "Don't worry, Were-Hunter. Now come, we must be out of the main thoroughfare before the Harvesters return."
Fang wasn't so sure he should follow her, but he had no reason to doubt her. She was right, he knew nothing about this realm or its dangers and inhabitants.
"There has to be a way out of here."
Misery laughed. "Ever hopeful. I like that. But all the hope in the universe won't make a door appear when there's not one. Trust me."
He wished he could. But he wasn't naive. He'd never been. Following her warily, he tried his best to see through the darkness. It was oppressive.
Finally, they came to a hole that was cavelike and yet it curved upward toward the dismal black sky. Fang paused at the opening. "What is this place?"
"I call it home. Come, wolf."
Against his better judgment, he entered.
Misery laughed again as she flounced ahead of him. She reminded him of a child as she skipped and danced to a beat only she could hear.
Fang wasn't so enthusiastic and as he topped the narrow walkway, he finally understood his sixth sense. There below were hundreds of demons.
Misery turned to face him with a beaming smile as a large, ugly demon manifested by her side. "Look, Ceryon. I brought lunch!"
