Trish, Siren and Arson pressed onwards, Arson constantly having to stop as rain pounded upon his back. Siren appeared not to be concerned by this and forced him up on his feet whenever he needed to rest. Finally he collapsed just as the sun began to rise. Trish sat down beside him and grimaced. His back was covered in angry red burns. Arson winced slightly as Trish examined them.
'We've got to get you out of this weather.' Arson shook his head and slowly got himself up to his feet.
'The gate's somewhere around here. I'm sure of it.' Siren paused and turned to watch as they made their way towards her. She yawned and looked at Arson disapprovingly. Arson said nothing but scowled at her and then walked past. 'Follow me.'
'Who made you the leader?' Arson turned to face Siren, a look of long suffering on his face.
'To be honest, I'm not the leader, nor are you or Trish. I'm just trying to find the way forward. That's all. Now are you coming or not?'
'Not.' Arson shrugged and walked on, his feet making no sound as he moved. Trish shook her head in exasperation as she caught up with Arson, who had suddenly paused.
'You're not going to leave her here are you?' Trish asked.
'Of course not.' Arson cleared his throat and raised his voice slightly. 'She's so immature!' Trish waited. Before long, they could hear Siren whining and complaining again.
'I am not immature!'
'Then stop being a baby and come on!'
'What, so then I can break more of my nails?
'Siren…' Trish came in between the two and pushed them away from each other.
'I think you're both being immature. Are we going to argue all day or are we going to find this gate?' Arson looked sheepish and began to walk forwards again, followed by Siren, who was muttering dire curses to herself. Arson suddenly paused and looked around, his body tense. Trish could also sense it.
'It isn't…'
'No. It's not.' Arson caught the movement out of the corner of his eyes and crouched down into his fighting stance. 'It looks like we have company!' Siren glared at him witheringly.
'Did you think of that all by yourself?' Arson had no time to reply. He yelled with panic as he found himself pinned on the ground by a huge weight. He struggled to move, but found to his horror he couldn't. He cried out in pain as his body was suddenly squeezed tightly, pinning his arms close to his side, and forcing his legs together so then there was no way in which he could escape.
Trish was already in action. She grabbed one of Arson's swords and rushed at the Kyklops that pinned her friend down. Siren watched on, looking bored by the whole affair. Trish slashed away at the Kyklops, but it's hard armour protected it from most of her attacks. Siren unfolded her arms and moodily walked up towards it, her golden hair shimmering in the gathering gloom of the forest. Slowly, gently, she placed one hand on the head of the Kyklops, ignoring Arson's cries of agony as the breath was forced from his body. His voice suddenly faded out as the Kyklops shifted its weight and moved off him. Siren slowly closed her eyes, one hand still on the beast's head. A teasing smile suddenly spread across her face and in the semi darkness, it looked almost evil.
'Sorry, hon,' she whispered, her violet eyes shining with delight as she silently moved away. The Kyklops gave a sudden shriek as its body began to change shape. A faint hissing sound echoed through the air, causing both Arson and Trish to look around them, waiting for the other demons to show themselves. Then they understood. It was the Kyklops hissing. Or what was left of its body. Arson's eyes widened and he turned to gape at Siren, who watched on with satisfaction as the Kyklops writhed in agony, its body being eaten away slowly but surely. Siren smiled back at Arson and held up a small glittering object. Arson took it from her and shuddered.
'W-where d'you get this from?' Trish joined the two, her eyes serious.
'What is it?'
'It's one of Razzia's weapons,' Arson explained. 'What I want to know is how Siren got it. And how did you know how to use it?' Siren laughed. Arson winced. It was a harsh sound.
'You think I work for Razzia, don't you?'
'No…it's just…strange…' Siren looked at him scornfully.
'I often ask myself why I'm with you.' Arson looked up at this point.
'You're not with me anymore. We're through, remember?' Trish noted the look of relief that was in his eyes. Siren suddenly saw that he had taken her seriously. Her whole tone changed.
'I'm sorry Arson. It's just that…I hate Razzia as much as you do…and the way you were looking at me, it kind of made me thought that you were thinking I worked for him.' Siren lowered her eyes and sighed. Trish rolled her eyes. Arson however, was not as dismissive.
'I guess I'm just a little on edge. I'm sorry Siren. I shouldn't have thought that.' Siren hugged him and snuggled up against him. Arson smiled sheepishly at Trish over her shoulder. Trish said nothing but rolled her eyes. Dumbass. Arson slowly closed his eyes as he breathed in her perfume. Siren smiled to herself. She had him twisted around her finger. Or so she had thought. Arson pulled away just before Siren was about to say something.
'C'mon…let's go. We don't have the time to waste.'
'Oh so now I'm a waste of time am I?' Arson gave her a quick glance.
'I didn't mean it like that. Besides, Trish has already gone without us.' Siren latched onto his arm.
'So? She's a big girl, she can take care of herself.' Arson pulled his arm out of her grasp and marched on resolutely. Siren sighed with frustration and followed him moodily. Trish looked up as she heard the two coming.
'I think I've found the gate. Look.' Arson followed the direction of her gaze. He swallowed hard and looked at the other two nervously.
'So…this is where it all begins…' He shivered and looked at the symbols that were engraved on the huge pillar of rock that stood directly in front of them. He ran his hand over them and began to walk around the boulder, lips moving silently as he struggled to decipher the words.
'It's a riddle of some sort. I can't understand all of it though. Siren?'
'Allow me.' Siren did the same as him, her eyes narrowed with concentration. At length she paused, biting her lip.
'I can't get all of it either. In some places, the words have been weathered away.' Arson read the symbols again and again, trying to think of a word that may have fit in. His face suddenly cleared.
'I think I've got it. Listen to this.' He cleared his throat and looked around, making sure he had everyone's undivided attention.
'Death's gate lies here
Shine upon the centre
The light of the night
Only fools shall enter'
He paused again and frowned. 'Those last two lines don't make any sense. Whoever the poet was, must have been really crap at thinking up of rhymes.' Siren started to laugh.
'You read it wrong that's why. Here let me take a look again.
Shine upon the centre
The light of the night
The gate of death lies here
Go back and do what's right
Only fools will enter
Never to return
In Hell's dust and Hell's flames
They shall be sure to burn
All anger and all hate
Will quicken their demise
All because they found out
Where the underworld lies
Fool, to enter,
Will surely mean your life
Use the sacred jewel at first
And lastly Evil's knife'
Siren paused and crouched down. Trish looked at Arson witheringly.
'How come she got sixteen lines of crap poetry and you got four?' Arson lowered his eyes, flushing slightly with embarrassment.
'I'm not very good at reading the language.'
'There's more guys. I think it's trying to tell us that we need something to open the gate.
My first is also unlucky
Related with fear and ire
My second is also the same
As in lies and fire
My third is also my fourth
And also it's my last
My fifth could make sounds like awe
But you must make haste, be fast.'
There was a silence. All three looked at each other in bewilderment. Arson sighed.
'Great. So that's two riddles we've got to sort out. Any ideas?' Trish frowned.
'The second half of the first seems to be what we really need.'
'So what do you make of this second poem?' Siren looked at her quizzically.
'I think it's trying to spell something. But they didn't want to make it too obvious in case an idiot came along and decided he would want to take a look.' Arson looked back up at the rock, which stood there like a sentinel. 'It would have been a good idea…but then we three idiots came along.'
'My second is also the same, as in lies and fire.' Trish paused after she recited the line. 'Well that's easy. It's talking about the letter I. I is also the second letter in both lies and fire.' Arson frowned.
'What was the first line again?' Siren repeated it. Arson grinned. 'I've got the first letter!'
'What is it?'
'M!' Siren giggled. Trish hid a smile.
'How did you figure that one out?'
'It's the thirteenth letter in the alphabet, isn't it? So that gives us two letters. M and I.' Trish clapped him on the back, causing him to gasp with pain. Siren noticed the burns for the first time and grimaced.
'It could be M or it could be-'
'OR!' yelled Arson, leaping to his feet. Trish and Siren gaped at him as he grinned from ear to ear. 'That's the fifth letter! O is the fifth letter! Or and awe and oar sound the same! And O makes up two of those words.' Siren frowned.
'That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard, Arson.'
'That's almost as stupid as M. Arson, I think you had better lie down for a while. That Kyklops probably hit your head very hard when it jumped on you like that.' Arson ignored them and found a twig. In the soft mud, he scratched out the letters. Trish read them over his burnt back. When Arson had finished, it read MI O. Siren yawned and got out her mirror, checking her make up. Arson watched her, fascinated by her movements. Trish suddenly lunged at her and grabbed the mirror from her. Siren looked at her in outrage.
'You could just ask for it you know!' Trish held up the mirror to the moonlight. Arson watched as the light reflected off the glass and onto the centre of the stone. An earth-rending rumble echoed across the lands. The stone gave another screech as it moved backwards, revealing a small hole where it had previously been. In it were two small niches.
'A sacred jewel and evil's knife…' whispered Siren. Arson slowly slipped his amulet over his head and placed it in the first socket. It glowed actively. He looked at one of his swords and measured it against the other niche.
'I'm a demon…and according to popular belief, that makes me a being of immense evil,' he said slowly. 'I don't know whether this will work but…' The metal bar fit in perfectly. Arson shivered and looked up at Trish as the strange covering over the hole disappeared. Arson hung his amulet over his neck again and looked into the deep yawning pit, that seemed to leer up at them.
'Ladies first…' he murmured. Trish groaned.
'The person who said Chivalry was dead was obviously wrong.' Trish allowed herself to slip through. Siren was the next to go. Arson gave one last look around the countryside of England before going in. He knew it was possibly the last time he would ever see it.