AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I've had writer's block. Thank you for waiting so patiently, as hard as that can be. Hopefully, the wait will have been worthwhile.
Chapter 5: Making Progress
Adrian was leaning against Victoria's shoulder, his eyes puffy and red from crying. He sniffled against her leather garment every few minutes. She reassuringly patted him on the back, offering him what comfort she could. Pinhead stood before the patio door in Dimitri's kitchen, examining the smashed remains. The Chatter Beast was sniffing around in the glass shards that littered the floor.
"I should've listened to you guys," Adrian whimpered. "This is my fault. I didn't wanna believe this would happen. I should've let you protect us, protect him."
"Do not blame yourself, Adrian," Pinhead said from outside. He had stepped through the shattered opening and was examining the glass from the other side. "We do not yet know who we are dealing with."
Victoria watched Pinhead move about the patio and backyard, relieved that it was the middle of the night and Dimitri's neighbors were in bed. Dimitri's disappearance made this unknown threat all the more real. She was worried about her missing friend, and the lover he'd left behind. Victoria had never seen Adrian so upset. She couldn't imagine what she'd do if Pinhead was taken from her, especially now, with the twins on the way.
Pinhead suddenly froze, tilting his head inquisitively while looking at something on the ground.
"What is this?" he asked the air, bending to pick it up. His eyes widened as he studied it.
"Babe, what is it?" Victoria asked, alarmed by the look on his face.
He walked over to her, a small piece of paper clutched in his hand. She peered at it in confusion. It depicted a drawing of what looked like faces of the Lament Configuration arranged around a series of tangled scribbles.
"What is it, Pinhead?" she demanded more so than asked. The look on his face was frightening her.
"The Elysium Configuration," he whispered. "I have not encountered this in many years. The last man who tried to construct it is dead, by my own hand."
"What does it do? Does it open worlds like the Lament Configuration?" Victoria inquired.
"No," he replied gravely. "It has the power to close them…permanently."
"Shit!" Adrian sobbed. "We're so fucked! Dimitri's as good as dead isn't he?"
"Calm yourself, Adrian," Pinhead said. "We still do not know who is behind this. As I said, John Merchant is dead and I do not know who else would know how to go about creating this."
He started suddenly.
"But I know someone who might. Come."
He turned toward the nearest wall, which slid open to reveal the Labyrinth beyond. He marched through the misty corridors, Victoria and Adrian running along behind him.
"Angelique!" Pinhead called as they descended into the lowest region of the Labyrinth. It was clearly older than the parts Victoria and Adrian were used to. The area had an ancient aura to it and the stone walls were cracked and partially eroded from age. What appeared to be scorch marks marred a good percentage of the area.
A female cenobite stepped into view, her bare scalp peeled down and fastened to her shoulders so that the skull beneath was revealed.
"Ah, Pinhead," she said. "Always a pleasure."
"I assure you, the pleasure is all mine, princess," he smirked.
Victoria had never really been around Angelique. She'd only ever seen her on a few occasions, for Angelique tended to stay in the oldest parts of the Labyrinth, the remnants of the world she once knew. Angelique was the oldest creature within the Labyrinth. She had been there even before Leviathan. Unlike the other cenobites, she'd never truly been human, merely a wolf in sheep's clothing. She had been summoned by Victoria's own bloodline, centuries before, as a true demon, back when Hell truly was fire and brimstone. She was the last of her race; she'd been on Earth when Leviathan had taken over, slaying her brethren and installing his own followers in their place, Pinhead being the first. The human body she'd inhabited was turned into a cenobite upon her return. She'd never fully supported Leviathan and Pinhead was always cautious about consulting her.
"So what I've been hearing is true," Angelique said, eyeing Victoria. "You have taken a woman, and she is indeed with child."
"That is none of your concern," Pinhead asserted. "I am here to ask you about the night John Merchant died. I found this and want to know who could be responsible for it."
He showed her the sketch of the Elysium Configuration that Pinhead had found in Dimitri's backyard. She chuckled.
"Are you really that dense?" she sneered. "You're the one who wanted to use him as bait."
Pinhead wrinkled his brow in concentration.
"Jack Merchant," he realized. "He had a son."
"Dimitri mentioned him," Adrian observed almost absent-mindedly. "Do you think Merchant has him?"
"If that is indeed who left this, then I would bet on it," Pinhead replied. "Thank you, Angelique."
"Oh, not at all," she said with a chilling smile before disappearing back into the shadows.
Victoria turned to Pinhead.
"So where do we go from here?"
"We find Merchant."
~[ ]~
It was dark and cold. The floor beneath him was concrete. His thoughts were cloudy and his vision was swimming. A short chain attached to a shackle kept him from getting any higher than a sitting position.
Where the fuck am I? Is Adrian okay? Is he here too?
Suddenly, a door opened and dim light flooded the small room, causing Dimitri to squint. A young man, barely older than Adrian, entered the room.
"Where is he, asshole?" Dimitri demanded. "What have you done with him?"
"Your lover," the stranger smirked. "Why, nothing. He's probably home, worried sick about you."
"You're lying!"
"Now why would I do that?" the stranger asked.
"Who the fuck are you?" Dimitri snarled.
"How rude of me," the stranger said. "I'm Jack. Jack Merchant."
"As in John Merchant?"
"You know of my father?" Jack said, raising an eyebrow.
Dimitri was suspicious of the man, who clearly wanted something from him.
"I'm an artist and he was a gifted architect, an artist who used buildings as his medium. He died in a construction accident, right?"
A construction accident had been the cover for John Merchant's death. Dimitri wasn't about to let on how much he truly knew. Merchant delivered a sharp kick to Dimitri's ribs. He hissed as a crack signaled a breaking rib.
"You're lying, you piece of shit!" Merchant screeched, kicking him again. His foot connected with Dimitri's face, shattering his nose and splitting his lip. Dimitri cried out in pain, curling into himself to get away from the blows Merchant was now raining down upon him.
"I know you know something!" Merchant roared. "Who is Victoria Isle?"
"An old student!" Dimitri said. "She was murdered by a classmate!"
"Cut the shit, faggot! Where is she?"
"She's dead!"
"Liar!" Merchant pulled back from the bloody man at his feet. "Maybe I should bring your boyfriend here, too. Maybe I can get some information out of him."
"No!" Dimitri yelled. "You leave him out of this!"
Merchant leaned over so he was face to face with his prisoner.
"Well, talk then."
Dimitri sighed, and then raised his bruised and broken face to his captor. He pulled back and spit into Merchant's face. Merchant wiped the saliva off his face, disgust on his face. He swung back and punched Dimitri on the face. Dimitri's vision clouded and then he lost consciousness.
"You'll regret that, motherfucker," Merchant said as he left the unconscious man to bleed in the dark.
ENDNOTE: I'm pleased to inform you that after much thought and consideration, I've decided to make Hell Hath No Fury a trilogy! Exciting, I know. I don't know how long Renaissance will actually be, but I assure you we've still got a while to go. I'm considering making HHNF 3 (which is still nameless) a crossover with Clive Barker's Abarat series. The main antagonist of the series, Christopher Carrion, always came across to me as a misplaced cenobite, even in Clive's own paintings of Carrion (For those of you unfamiliar with Carrion, google him, or do a search on deviant art. There are some great pictures of him on the latter). This is still just a thought. Feel free to give me some feedback.
I took a bit of a leap here by confirming the Labyrinth as Hell. Angelique's role in Bloodline was the major contributing factor. She's so clearly summoned from Hell at the beginning of the movie and was at one point a traditional demon in a woman's skin. I'm playing off of the idea that Hell underwent a "purist revolution" during the decades she was on Earth. I'm thinking this whole idea will be elaborated on more in the next story, especially if I somehow have to connect it with the Abarat. Please continue to read and review. I do appreciate your thoughts :)
