Author’s Note: sorry this took so long you guys! I don’t know why I haven’t written in a loooong time, I’ve been kinda busy I guess….. heheh…

Chapter Five

Ryan walked down the narrow path down the mountain, the pack slung over his shoulder. He sighed, trying not to look down at the pit of lava, or up at the smoky gray sky. There was no sun in Hell; the light came from an invisible source, probably from all of the fire. As Ryan neared the bottom of the mountain he saw the forest before him, and hoped the wolves weren’t hungry. He walked through the woods, wary of what might be inside them. The trees were still eerily the same, and there was no sound, not even a whispering wind. Ryan wondered where the forest ended and the lava began. He wondered if the forest and the mountain were an island on a sea of lava, he sighed, I should have asked David and Burn more question…. He walked fro what seemed like hours, stopping only for short periods of time and only once stopping for food. Finally he reached a clearing in the woods, he looked at the sky and saw that it was darker, if that was even possible. He sighed; he had to sleep sometime. He took a blanket out from his pack and laid it on the ground. But as Ryan lay down to go to sleep he saw the grass up close, and was amazed to see how blurry it looked. As he looked closer he saw red flecks in the grass, a shimmer of red, sometimes a shimmer of blue. It almost looks like… Fire. Ryan thought in horror, jumping back up, glancing around. Suddenly everything he saw, as he looked at the trees more closely, the dirt, it all looked like fire. He shook his head, “no….” It figures… something at the back of his mind said, after all, you’re in Hell. Suddenly it dawned on Ryan Hell. He hadn’t had any time to think since he had left the palace, only a few days ago. He hadn’t had any time to let the thought of being in Hell sink in. But now, as he thought more about it, he realized he was in a land of fire, a land with a whole different set of rules. He knew the dangers; he had always known them. But now that he had seen the fire, now that he had seen that everything in Hell was made of the very thing he feared most, he understood the dangers; and he feared them.

He shook his head, thinking back to all those years ago, when he was just eight. Mallorie had been sitting in the living room, a vast room with couches and fluffy chairs. Mallorie had been sitting in one of the chairs, reading a book. Mallorie was thirteen at the time, but already showing a hint of what she would become. Ryan was just a little kid and didn’t understand Mallorie, he just saw her as a big sister. He came to her that day and sat on her lap, “read to me” he had said.

Mallorie raised an eyebrow at him and shoved him off her lap, ‘Read to you?” she laughed, “Go away Ryan, I’m not going to read to you.”

Ryan pouted, “Please?”

Mallorie sighed and rolled her eyes, “Fine,” she smiled suddenly, “but only if you do something for me first.”

Ryan nodded excitedly, “Okay.”

“Okay, hold out your finger for me,” Mallorie said.

Ryan obediently, curiously, held out his finger.

Mallorie took something out of her pocket, a silver object Ryan couldn’t identify. Mallorie flipped the object open, and fire came out; it was a lighter. Mallorie grabbed hold of Ryan’s finger and put the fire under it.

Ryan cried out, “Stop it Mallorie! That hurts!”

“You want me to read to you don’t you?” Mallorie said sweetly, bringing Ryan’s finger closer to the fire.

“No! No!” Ryan shouted, “Stop it!” Ryan was bawling now, but Mallorie refused to stop. Ryan’s finger was in the fire of the lighter for a total of two minutes; absolute torture for an eight year old. Eventually his mother, Safinia, had come in and saved Ryan, using her magic to heal his finger. Mallorie had gotten severe punishment that day, and Ryan had been wary of her, even afraid of her, since then; until now. Ryan wasn’t afraid of her anymore, he was only afraid of the pain she knew she could cause others. She had already caused him the greatest pain he had ever experienced; she had killed Sara. Ryan didn’t think Mallorie could cause any more pain to him, and as he lay on the ground, staring at the fiery blades of grass, he knew that he would do anything to kill Mallorie, vengeance or not, he had to protect the poor souls of Hell from her, even if it meant death. Ryan laughed, death would be a blessing… he thought as he fell into a dreamless sleep.