Chapter 34: The Gates of Hell

March 1999

As we stepped into the elevator, I looked down at my hand still holding my Schofield Reference Bible. I felt as though I were armed.

“Yes, you are armed. You carry a big sword. In addition, you have shown you know how to wield it. I was hoping you would.” She had read my thoughts again. She was smiling as the elevator car began its descent into the underworld of the Lower Estate. I was more than simply curious as to what I would see. Would it look like large caverns, or like small tunnels? Would I get claustrophobic? Would it be so dark that I could not see? Would there be electric lights, or torches, Gothic or modern? A million questions streamed through my consciousness. What would the opening scene be, as the elevator door would open? It seemed to take a long time for the elevator to reach the bottom. I wondered how fast the elevator’s descent was. Moreover, just how far down below we would be. What kind of chambers would there be? I wondered if I would see the feeder stables, stocked with the human cattle. Would she allow me to see her tomb? That was probably the most interesting of all the sights. I wanted to see the place where Tayla, Queen of the Order of the Clan of the Red Velvet, laid her head to rest each morning before dawn. What kind of room would it be? I could not even imagine it. I was willing to bet the entire fifty grand she put in my account that it was the most spectacular place I had ever seen. The truth was reality had never been as shocking as to what I was about to experience. No movie, no painting, no description can prepare a person, for what I was about to experience. I looked at my watch. It was close to two in the morning. We had the rest of the night.

“Malcolm, you know how to act, and what to say. Remember what I have told my clan and familiars earlier this evening. No one will hurt you. I will show you all you like. There may not be enough time this night to show you everything, but I will show you what we have time to see. I already know what you want to see. The place where I rest, my boudoir, is a secret to all. No one knows where it is. I keep my one secret to myself. Yes, it is unique. No one else has a tomb like it. I could describe it, but you will better appreciate it if I take you there. However, there is great danger should I decide to do that. You will see what I mean. Security for my Lower Estate and its inhabitants is the paramount concern for all in this place. Never forget that. That is why you will get some strange looks from my clansmen here. Show no fear! You will see some ghastly things, some strange things, and even some beautiful things here. You can take no pictures, nor can you record on tape any sounds made here.”

The elevator slowed down, and then a soft sensation that our movement had ceased. The door began to open, and I closed my eyes. I was afraid that what I might see would be disappointing from what I had already built up in my mind to be an opulent palace built underground. I stepped out of the elevator car and opened my eyes. A huge, gigantic wrought iron gate separated us from the darkness on the other side. Attached to this gate was a heavy iron fence stretching from floor to ceiling, side to side across the cavern entrance. It was composed of very thick iron bars, black in color, with crude joints welded to hold the bars together. There were lit torches on both sides of the gate. Chains hung about the gate, fastening it to the fence. A large lock secured the chain.

“So, Malcolm, is this anything like what you might have expected?” She walked over to the gate’s entrance and picked up the torch from the sconce welded to the fence. “Remind you of anyplace you might ever have been before? Maybe you have read about it before?”

She was reading my mind. Therefore, I decided to tell exactly what I thought. “I have never been there, but I have heard of it before. You described it to me when you told me about your death.” I stepped forward, into the light of her torch. Her golden hair showed its highlights by the torches light. She looked so out of place against the backdrop of darkness. It was an ugly site. “So, this is what the Gates of Hell look like?”

I stood before the huge iron gates, knowing that whatever it was on the other side, it was nothing but evil. The extreme darkness past the gates had made my vision nearly useless but had heightened my other senses. The torches in the sconces welded to the iron gates gave off some light but revealed nothing of what might lay past them. The cavern we were in must have been exceptionally large, as I could not even see walls. I felt an evil presence near me, one that was not Tayla’s demon, but something else. I could smell a faint scent of death in the air. The air was very cold, very damp, like a tomb. Moreover, this cavern was just that, a huge mausoleum, on the grandest of scales. I could see my breath against the light of the torches as I exhaled. Tayla’s breath gave off no telltale signs of heat and moisture. Still, she breathed. I was not surprised she could hear, feel and smell my breathing, as well as every one of the beats of my heart. Neither was I to expect anyone else I would meet this night to give off signs of life, as I knew them to be. It was one thing to be in a lion’s den, but to be in there with a whole pack of them made for an intense feeling of doom.

Our footsteps in the loose gravel upon the cavern’s solid rock floor and the echoes of our voices were the only sounds. It was deathly still. I had to trust my Lord and His angels that no harm would come to me. Strangely, I had to trust Tayla also, in that she said she would protect me. I thought it to be the oddest arrangement ever. She was like a fox, which offered to watch the hen house. Still, I had no choice but to trust her. If she had decreed that no one was to touch me, I thought that that should be enough.

Tayla’s red and white gown reflected the flickering of Tayla’s torch’s light. She stood before the gates as she studied them, hands on hips, with a shoulder width stance. Then, she stretched out her arms. With a flick of her wrist, the lock fell off the chains. Next, Tayla made a gesture with her arms that caused the gates to open slowly, making a terrible grinding and whining noise of metal upon metal. As the doors opened, the dust and rust began to flake off, causing little dust clouds upon the cavern floor. I then realized that the dust clouds were just part of a low-lying mist that covered the damp wet floor of the cavern. It was cold, very cold, and as we passed through the gates, I could hear water dripping. I thought it strange that I did not hear it on the outside of the gates. On our way through, Tayla took a torch from the sconce mounted on the gate, and we proceeded to walk through in the darkness, lit by only a single torch. I wished I had one of those police officer’s large flashlights, one of the big ones you could use as a club if you had to.

Not that I thought it would do any good. “Tayla, should I carry a torch too?” I asked, wondering how long it had been, since the gates opened last.

“Stay with me, Malcolm, you don’t need a light. Just follow me.” Her voice seemed to echo its whisper-like seductive sound even more. When she turned to look at me, her eyes appeared red against a backdrop of darkness. This startled me. As she brought the torch around in front of her, it reflected her beautiful face, and blue eyes, showing that her eyes would glow red naturally in the dark. She smiled. “Longer than you’ve been around. A lot longer.” As she turned around and continued to walk, she said, “Malcolm, this is not the place to lose your nerve. If you do not think you can handle what you are about to see, then we should leave and go back to the elevator. I know you are going to say that you feel like you can handle anything, since you have seen me turn. Here in this place, I am the only one who has any style, finesse or compassion in this place. My children have none. No finesse, no fear, and no mercy. No conscience when it comes to killing. You know how you would give it no thought to stop off for a bite to eat and drink at, say, a convenience store, or a fast food establishment. You feast off the meat, which comes from the cow, or pig, or chicken. Still, it was once a living thing. Now you have consumed it for your survival, and the satisfaction of your needs. For my species, it is a direct parallel to what we do. It is like going out for dinner to us. I am the only one here who regrets having to kill to get the blood we need. That I need. We live by feeding off the living in the stables of human cattle we keep in this place. I will take you to my stables. You will meet the kind of humans upon whom we feed. You will see how we have avoided the messy but usual investigations of the local authorities. I will show you everything. Our relationship is about disclosure, is it not?” She paused as if I was going to answer her aloud, but I only thought my answer to her, as she was able to read it. She carried on. “First we must pass through the cavern of crypts. This is where all the vampires seek their rest during the hours of daylight. I know that there is no daylight down here, but it matters not. When the sun rises over this ground, we must retire to our resting places. This is where my children, my offspring rest during the day. However, it is not daylight now, is it?”

“Are they there now, or are they out on the town?” I asked. I knew that the fewer of them that were down here, the more comfortable I felt. “There are some down here, but most are out on their rounds. You see, some have jobs. Some work in my clubs, some in other businesses of mine. Most have assignments that contribute to the success of my business empire.” She stopped in her tracks.

“Did you mean to build an empire or are you just a clever businesswoman?”

“I am more than just clever, my dear Malcolm. I am a vampire queen, which makes me far superior to any woman on your side of the grave. It would be wise for you to not ever forget that.”

“I don’t intend to, with you reminding me of it all of the time.” Now I was getting sarcastic. Then I added, “Sorry! I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.”

“Your sarcasm is well taken, my friend, as I am aware that I do remind you of it frequently. However, it does remind me, that another woman possesses what I cannot. She, in a way, is more powerful than I am. She can command your love and affection whereas I cannot. That makes me sad, for you must know how I feel about you. A vampire is much more than a predator feeding off the human species. We are more about seduction than probably anything else. It is one of our greatest weapons. Yet, I cannot use it on you. However, she can. You render me weak because of my affections toward you. Love is so strange, isn’t it?” She continued lighting our way.