The outline of the Air Route glowed red against the sandstone wall. The booth split down the middle, revealing Lord Hades hunched up inside. He adjusted his position as the acceleration webbing sprang back to release him, straightening to his full height as he stepped out into a dim stone passageway.
The Crypt was the lowest level of the White Spear, accessible only to the lords. It was not like any other level. Its rough stone walls were all that remained of what had originally been a temple. The temple had been an important part of Megarothia long before it had been imprisoned within the Dome Shield. When the Orange Zone had become necessary to protect the people from the destruction of the Iridium Wars, its location had been no coincidence. Lord Hades had wanted to preserve the temple at all costs. Its secrets were too dark to be left out in the open so he had concealed it in the most inaccessible place that he could think of. He had built the White Spear on top of it, enclosing the temple within the building's extensive foundations. From outside the White Spear, the temple wasn't visible at all. The citizens of Cinnamon City had no idea that it was there, and that was how it had to remain.
Lord Hades walked along familiar passages, his open sandals crushing small stones that were scattered across the rough stone floor. A thousand feet had worn the stone smooth over the centuries and a thin layer of sand covered most of its surface. The only light came from burning torches that had been ensconced in the walls at regular intervals. The Crypt was silent except for the crackling torches.
Lord Hades ignored the cold. His breath formed a fine mist in front of his face, and his grey robe hung almost to the floor, leaving only his feet exposed to the cool subterranean air.
He walked down a narrow passageway until it came to an abrupt end when a wall cut across it. The wall was covered in primitive symbols of diamonds painted in grey and white. The paintings had faded over the centuries, wearing away in places to reveal the crumbling stone beneath. As Lord Hades approached the wall, the largest diamond opened up like an iris. The central hole flickered with iridescent light before expanding into a circular door that was big enough to climb through. Ducking his head, he stepped over a knee-high section of wall, and entered a bright white room beyond.
Lord Hades stood upright as the door sealed shut behind him. Brilliant white light dazzled his eyes. The light was coming from a fuzzy white cloud that hovered in the centre of the room, but it faded before it could reach the shadowed corners of the ceiling. Gail Thompson's body dangled from the glowing cloud, suspended a metre above the ground without any visible restraints. Her left arm stuck out to one side, and her right arm pointed up towards the ceiling with a clenched fist. Her legs were bent backwards behind her body, and her face was drawn out into an endless, silent scream. Her wide eyes glistened in the blinding light but were unable to blink. As Lord Hades approached her with slow, silent steps, Thompson's pupils darted towards him, but she was otherwise frozen in time.
'Merivon,' Lord Hades said, casting his voice towards the back of the room.
Something moved in the shadows, and a cleric emerged from a doorway that was little higher than Lord Hades' waist. The cleric hobbled forwards on bent legs, wearing only a white loincloth and sandals. He showed no signs of feeling the cold.
At first, he was barely visible behind the glaring white light that emanated from the centre of the room. As he came closer, his childlike body came into view. It was only when he stood in the full light that his wiry muscles revealed themselves. His frame was small, his chest little more than skin and bone. His thin limbs were covered with tight bands of lean muscle, and despite his slight stature, it was obvious that his body held hidden strengths. The scars across his body described a history that had been far from peaceful.
Merivon turned his head, snorting the air. His nose looked like it belonged to some forest animal, and his head was covered in thick folds of leathery skin. He was bald except for thin tufts of grey hair that stuck out in uneven patches around his misshapen ears. Hard cheeks jutted out from a face that was twisted beyond any normal set of features. His appearance was similar to that of many clerics, but his face had an age that was difficult to pinpoint. He was one of the few remaining clerics that had served Lord Hades from the beginning, since before the White Spear had been built. When he shuffled forwards, he looked up at Lord Hades with cold, dead eyes. In his hand, he gripped a short staff that was the colour of faded bone.
'Did she cooperate?' Lord Hades said.
Merivon gave a short series of jarring barks, his face twitching and contorting as he spoke. 'Bitch speaks nungar,' he said.
The words sounded awkward in his mouth, as though they were not of his native tongue. Shadows gathered around his eyes. His pupils looked as though they had been plucked from a dead bird.
Lord Hades turned to Thompson and gazed into her terrified eyes.
'Gail Thompson, why do you waste our time? Do you have no sense left within you?'
Gail hung motionless in the air, face contorted in pain. The stasis field would not allow her to move. Trapped within the brilliant white cloud, she wasn't even able to release the scream that had formed on her lips several hours earlier.
Lord Hades was no stranger to stasis fields. He stared into Gail's eyes without expression. 'Time is everything,' he said. 'A single moment can last... a lifetime.'
Merivon thrust his staff into Gail's ribs and a bright red flash erupted around her. Gail's body jolted before freezing again as soon as the staff was withdrawn. Her eyes bulged, pleading for release, but Lord Hades was in no mood for forgiveness. What she had done was intolerable.
He stepped closer, lowering his face close to hers as he spoke in a soft, deep whisper, 'If a single moment is full of agony, and that moment never ends, then the mind can only break. I have seen it before, many times. A mind as weak as yours will shatter. There will be nothing left of you but pain.'
Gail's eyes clung to him, watching him intently.
'An eternity in hell isn't just a myth,' Lord Hades said. 'The fless have known how to create such things for millennia. The clerics are the children of the fless. They are more manageable in some ways, but their powers still run deep. They have a great talent for controlling time. Nightmares will pass. Reality goes on. The agony of a stasis field will never end. You might want to consider how long eternity can be. There are others that have been down here much longer than you. They already know what you are too stupid to understand. Some things really are worse than death.'
Merivon watched like a silent corpse, rocking his weight from one foot to the other.
Lord Hades straightened his back, standing upright again. He raised his voice, filling the room with multiple reverberations as he spoke. 'You were given the greatest gift, the chance to serve Central Command. You had the privilege of protecting the people of Cinnamon City. You occupied a position that has been held by many great men and women during the proud history of the Orange Zone.'
He folded his arms, taking a step to one side as he examined her contorted position from another angle. His voice rose in volume as he spoke, and the shadows seemed to tremble in the corners of the room.
'You did not respect that gift, Thompson. You did not honour those who have gone before you. You cared only about yourself and your own selfish wants and needs. You betrayed the people of Cinnamon City, and you left those loyal to you dying in the muddy fields around Havers Compound. All this you did for your own treacherous reasons. You were in league with our enemies. You betrayed every one of us. Do you not comprehend the gravity of what you have done? Perhaps you never will, but for what you have brought to the Orange Zone, you shall now receive your just reward. Eternal hell!'
Gail's eyes bulged as tears formed but were unable to fall.
'Eternal hell!' Hades bellowed again.
Gail could say nothing but she looked as though she was beginning to understand.