*This story is a sequel to one called Destiny's Instrument and will have some events and characters from one called Checkmate. Please at least read DI before this other wise you will be horribly confused!*
Hell has three gates: lust, anger, and greed ~ the Bhagavad Gita
The Infinite Plains of Hell stretched in all directions forever. Hence the moniker of Infinite. It was a foul and torturous place and the reluctant home of so many. To the lost souls, to those Damned to spend all eternity locked within its walls, it was always different. It shaped itself to fit each as it was needed. A personal Hell for all of them. To the many demons and abominations who resided there, it was a vast and empty plain. Yes, there were mountains and rivers of sulphur but there were no civilisations. The demons liked to gather in the ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah and the other cities that were cast down but they formed no societies.
Demon politics were worse than the petty games the mortals played in the worlds above. They answered only to their Mother and she paid them little attention. No, instead they raged in never-ending battles across the Infinite Plains; pledging allegiance to and then back-stabbing each other as easily as they breathed.
In the very centre of the Plains rose a tower of obsidian into the blood red sky. The demons actively avoided it when they could and it was the only feature of Hell the lost souls could truly discern; so twisted and terrified it was.
And tonight, the master of the tower was holding a dinner party. Because, what else are you supposed to do when you are imprisoned in Hell for all eternity?
Lucifer the Fallen raised his eyes to the sky and the roof of his prison. No matter how high he built the tower, the sky still rose.
He smiled. The sky still rose, but not for much longer. Soon he would have what he desired. Soon he would be free again and the world would tremble at his coming.
His guests waited below in the dining hall beneath his private chambers. Jadis, former Queen of Charn and Narnia, felt uncomfortable as she sat primly in her seat. She had been summoned to this tower where a minion had given her a dress. A stunning gown of white, just like she used to wear as a queen so long ago.
At least she was wearing a dress. The other woman was wearing something that nobody would ever describe as a dress. It was more of a sheet, really. The black filmy material left absolutely nothing to the imagination and it was cut so low it exposed more flesh every time she moved. And it wasn't even just the dress; an unmistakable sense of lushness and a coy invitation rolled off her like the most intoxicating perfume imaginable.
The door at the far end of the room opened and their host strode in.
"My dear ladies," he said, a smile curving around his handsome face. "Lilith," he said, entwining his hands through the other woman's long dark curls and lovingly rubbing her shoulders. "And Jadis," he said, lifting that charming gaze to her.
"Lucifer," Lilith replied huskily, lifting a hand to caress his cheek. Jadis jerked her head irritably.
"I gathered you two here tonight because I am about to embark upon a great journey and I want you to join with me as I begin," he said. He pulled his hands from Lilith's hair and moved round to the head of the table. "Too long have I been trapped here. Too long have we all been trapped here. But not for much longer."
His face darkened momentarily and then the cheerful smile was back as if it had never gone. A minion appeared and drifted around the table distributing drinks in silver goblets.
"Why us?" Jadis asked curtly.
"My dear lady, is it not obvious? We share a lust for revenge against those who wronged us," he said, smiling at her. "Lilith, the one who stole her husband; you, your darling sister; and me? I want revenge against the One they both serve. The One who abandoned me to this... this... this hellhole."
His hand closed upon his goblet and crushed it down into a twisted mess. The red wine dripped between his fingers and pooled on the table.
"We take Him first. He is the most difficult but once He falls, everything else will be so much easier."
"What you are suggesting? We find the Gates and hammer on them with our fists to be let out?" Jadis said. Lilith gave a silvery little laugh.
"Nothing quite so crude. There is a way but it will be difficult and the cost will be great. You do know that don't you?" she said sharply, directing that last to Lucifer.
He nodded. "Greater for them than for us however. And you forget the amount of power we three hold. A Will of Royal Charn, the First of Man and the First of the Firsts. Hardly three novice conjurers scrabbling through their beings for the tiniest trickle of magic."
"It is still difficult," she said firmly.
"And as I said," he said, a note of irritation creeping into his tone, "once He falls, everything else will be so much easier."
His pale blue eyes moved between them and he smiled again. Oh how charming he was.
And Jadis had been missing her dear sister. Caelia had been allowed to languish in comfort for far too long. How nice it would be to see her again.
"Fine. I'm in," she said.
"You know you have my support," Lilith added. He stood and offered a hand to each of them.
"Come. Let us begin."
Far away and in another world, three voices echoed down a woodland path. The owners of the voices were some one hundred metres behind and laughing merrily as they walked along.
"I can't believe you! You never listen, you never learn! How often were we told not to drink from the cup?" Caelia giggled. Uriel winced and ran a hand through his bright red hair.
"How was I to know it was symbolic?" he said sheepishly. "Here, you shall imbibe the power and strength of our greatest warriors, the Chief had said; what was I supposed to do?"
"Pay attention to Caelia and me and simply inhale the scent of the blood like Metatron told us to?" Gabriel smiled as Caelia broke off into fresh peals of laughter.
Uriel's embarrassed grin faded and horrible realisation flooded across his face.
"Oh, dear. The bookworm is not going to be pleased with me for screwing this one up. And I believe Michael won't be best pleased with me either," he moaned. Caelia sniggered and linked arms with both of them.
She didn't know how much time had passed since the troubles in Narnia. All she knew was she was blissfully happy. She had a home, a family and a vocation and she loved all three passionately. Even the last words of Jadis could not mar this delight. Sometimes, when she sat up late at night, Caelia would remember that final confrontation at the Gates of Hell and dread would run through her.
This shall never be over between us, Jadis had promised and her promises were not easily broken. On those nights, Caelia was afraid. She was so afraid that she would wake up and this would all be a dream. She would awaken in some grubby tavern in rural Sorlois and return to exile. A lost Princess walking a world that hated her and her family. A world where her sister was Queen; the prospect which scared her most of all.
But as soon as she heard Uriel's laugh, or entered the Library to see Metatron bent over a book, she would remember that her sister was dead and trapped in Hell. Nothing could disturb this happiness.
Or so she thought.
A wind picked up and scattered the leaves of the path along under their feet. She stopped and dropped their arms. The two of them drew away from her as she looked behind. That wind had been ice-cold and she had never felt such a thing in her Master's land before.
An uneasy feeling coiled through her stomach. She turned back to her friends and opened her mouth.
The earthquake came from nowhere. It threw Caelia off her feet and smacked her against a tree. Leaves were thrown into the air and the frailer trees crashed into the path. Caelia rolled to one side quickly before one could land on her. It barely missed her. She kept rolling, praying for both her safety and for an end.
The tremor vanished as quickly as it had struck. She lay still for a moment to check that she wasn't hurt and then sat up to take stock of her surroundings. Trees and fallen branches lay all over the path. She breathed out shakily and was surprised to see her breath rise before her. It was cold, so cold. Her Master's world was a warm country where the sun shone and the sky was blue. The sky visible through the trees above was grey and overcast. The lack of sunlight made everything feel so much more close and suffocating.
"Uriel? Gabriel?" she called.
No answer.
She stood and climbed over the fallen tree that had nearly crushed her. They hadn't been that far ahead of her. Had they been hit by another tree? She walked a few steps up the path but her eyes saw no telltale scrap of white cloth or wisps of red or white-blonde hair beneath the branches.
"Uriel? Gabriel?" she called again. "Where are you?"
Again, there was no answer.
"This isn't funny!" she shouted angrily. When no grinning face appeared, fear flooded through her. Her pace picked up and before long she was running and screaming the names of her friends in a blind panic. She saw nobody. On the path from the forest to her Master's Citadel they would usually meet someone on some errand but there was nobody. No-one at all.
Into the Citadel she flew, crying out for her Master, for Michael, for Raphael, for anyone! Up and down stairs and through passageways she ran. There was nobody. The Citadel was as quiet as a tomb. She skidded to a halt by a window and gazed out over the land. This grey light cast an air of despair across the usually welcoming white buildings of the Citadel.
And it was cold. It was so cold. She shivered as that cold wind blew again. She pulled her golden cloak against her arms as the hair rose on the back of her neck. What was wrong?
Her eyes fell on the shining white of the Library. If there were answers to this frightening situation, they would be there.
Her shoes rapped on the marble floors of the Library as they always did but today it felt empty and unsettling. The air inside was still and cold. The shelves which stretched from floor to ceiling usually pressed in around her and made her feel safe and protected. Today that closeness was suffocating. Shadows stretched in every corner of the Library and she jumped at each one. The tremor had sent the books tumbling from their shelves. So many lives lay scattered across the floor. She picked her way through the mess as best she could but it was hard going.
From some aisle to the side of her she heard a thump and a groan. Metatron was sitting on the floor surrounded by books with a rag pressed to a bleeding temple. He looked around as she appeared and his face broke into one of pure relief.
"Caelia, child!" he exclaimed.
"Metatron!" she all but wept and ran straight into his spread arms. He hugged her tight and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"I thought I was the only one left," he murmured.
"What's happened? Where is everyone?" she cried. "Uriel and Gabriel seemed to vanish!"
He let her go.
"I do not know; I have never felt anything like that in all my life. That tremor was not natural. There was magic deep in there," he said. His eyes snapped back to hers. "Come, we must check the books."
They each took a stack of books and began to flick through looking for anything. Something was definitely wrong. Each life she looked at seemed to have been slightly altered but she could not find the link. Nothing seemed to connect them.
She reached out to take another. Her hand closed upon the red leather of the book of Narnia. She paused and then heaved it open to where she had last seen writing.
"Metatron," she said shakily. "Half of Narnian history is gone."
"What! Impossible!" he said and hurried around the table to look. She turned the blank pages.
"The last thing I read was Eustace and Jill returning to their world! Look, I folded the corner of the page over!"
She touched the folded piece of parchment reverently. The page had once been covered in letters and words describing the doings of the people of the world. Now it was blank, awaiting a fate that was yet to be written.
He took it from her and turned back through the book. His expression darkened and his usually kind face became very ugly. He turned and marched towards the room with the world dishes. She paused and then hurried after him.
"This is impossible!" he shouted over his shoulder. "The whole of Narnia has been pulled out of its time-stream!"
He stormed through the doorway of the worlds' room and she nearly slammed into him as he stopped in his tracks.
The rest of the Library was nothing compared to the carnage in here.
There had once been a mysterious box of obsidian set into the wall but it had been completely destroyed from the inside out. The debris spread out in a wide arc across the room. There was not a single world that had not been touched by the explosion. Every bowl was either cracked or coated in obsidian dust and the water inside was murky and lifeless. The world that had been locked inside the box was still intact. Sulphur poured out of the narrow gap in the wall, causing Caelia to cough and hold her sleeve up to her mouth and nose.
Metatron walked slowly through the wreckage towards the world in the box. He didn't flinch as it spat a shower of sparks at him. He gazed at it almost sadly and then turned away with a roar of anger.
She tried to step towards him but he threw out a hand.
"No! Don't come any closer!" he commanded.
"Metatron, what's happened? What is that place? What caused all this!" she wailed, sobs rising in her chest.
"Them. They did this!" he spat with a wild gesture at the hole in the wall. "But how? That place is supposed to be impregnable!And why were you not taken by whatever monstrosity it was that they invoked!"
"Well, why weren't you taken?" she said.
He gave a hollow, empty laugh. "There is no force in the entirety of Creation that can make me leave this Library. My duty and my purpose lies here by command of the Emperor and not even He Himself can overrule it!"
His face was swathed in shadow and she had never seen him look so menacing. It made shivers run down her spine.
Suddenly he turned and came at her. She flinched back but all he did was grab her wrists.
"You must go, Caelia," he said firmly. "My heart says they will be in Narnia; and the way that world's history is being overwritten would suggest I am correct. Go there and search for any sign of our companions. Anything at all! Find the others; find Aslan; find our Master!"
Her mouth open and shut uselessly. "But, but, buh," she stammered. He cupped her cheek.
"Please, Caelia! We are the only two left and we can't give up. We must fight!"
She quickly gathered a few supplies. It wasn't much at all really, just enough to fill a small satchel. As she swung her golden cloak back onto her shoulders, Metatron handed her something small wrapped in a velvet bag.
"Don't open it," he said. "You will know when to."
She nodded and slipped it in without a second thought. All her mind was taken with this impossible task Metatron had set her and the gravity of their situation. How could the Emperor be gone?
What could possibly be strong or wild enough to take Him, take all of them?
"Metatron, I can't."
"Yes, you can. Have faith, Princess, and stand strong," he said, holding her close. "You must go soon. The time between the worlds is different enough as it is but the longer you stay here the longer they have to corrupt Narnia. You must get there; and get there soon!"
"Why can't you come with me?!"
"I told you, I cannot leave the Library! Besides, I am better off here; I can try to mend some of the damage to the other worlds and I can stop the spread of decay from Narnia. That is the centre of all this... this mess. This disaster."
She stared deep into his blue eyes and saw his fear. He was terrified and that scared her most of all. The Emperor was a great and driving force for them all but, with Him taken, His world was cold and empty and they were lost. Sheep without a shepherd; children with no parent. This was bigger than anything she had ever faced before and she did not know if she had the resolve to fight without Uriel and Gabriel by her side. How could she fight without the guidance of Michael or Raphael?
How could she fight without her Master?
"I'll try," she said. "But who are they? Who are we fighting against?"
"Those we have condemned to Hell," he said in a hollow voice. "They have broken the Gates and they are running free through Creation. The Damned have come to seek their revenge and only we two are left to stand against their onslaught."
This was it. The line had been drawn in the sand. This Citadel, this small bubble of utopia, had been spoiled and corrupted and it was no longer safe. Here she was, trying to gather her nerves to fight against some evil she could not put a face to.
But there was one she knew. One she was certain would be at the heart of this.
That final, grossly macabre image of Jadis as she was sucked through the Gates of Hell flooded into her mind's eye and her last words to Caelia played again and again in her head.
This shall never be over between us, Sister Dear!
No. It would seem it had only just begun.
OK, here we go. Let's get this show on the road. Settle down, we have a very long way to go and the path is not easily tread.
Firstly, I am very shortly due to start at University. I am determined to keep writing, even if it is only for maybe half an hour every few days. Therefore, new chapters across all my stories are going to be very irregular so please be patient.
I've also decided to put a quote at the beginning of each chapter which vaguely ties in with the content of each chapter. Some are from books or songs I like and some are just things I've found on the internet and liked. This chapter's is from the Bhagavad Gita, a book of the Mahabharata which is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. I thought it fitted our three main antagonists pretty well; Lilith is lust, Jadis is anger and Lucifer is greed (although all three can apply to each of them in their own right).
One note, I used Alex Pettyfer to represent Lucifer in the cover because he is a pretty boy. If I had to put an actor to my representation of Lucifer, Cillian Murphy wins hands down but I couldn't find a good enough picture to put in the cover. Tilda Swinton is Jadis, Natalie Dormer is exactly how I picture Lilith and Katie McGrath is Caelia.
*SUPER-MEGA-AWESOME DISCLAIMER* I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia or any of its characters or locations mentioned within this story; nor do I own the words of the quotes which shall appear at the beginning of each chapter. I am making no profit whatsoever from this and even if I did own Narnia, it would never turn out the way it will here. This is written purely for fun and will be fairly AU. Please remember that if you want to return to the real Narnia and not the one portrayed here, all you have to do is click off this screen and pick up one of the books. :)