Ash Return of the Beast

CHAPTER 58



The infamous Gate looked much as she had expected from her studies and from the stories she had heard as a child. It was a nearly invisible translucent veil, undulating like a mirage that seemed to stretch upward and downward, right and left, without end. This was the Gate that separated the rest of the Underworld––and all other worlds and realms within worlds––from the Ninth Level, the cavernous catacombs of the most destructive demonic forces, the lair of the most treacherous creatures, the very heart and soul of Baphomet, and the ancient origins of the purest evil. This is what she had risked her life, her sanity, her soul, to see.

Though chilled with an uneasy excitement and a heightened sense of apprehension, she dared to get closer. She had to see for certain what––if anything––might be waiting just on the other side of the Gate.

With a great deal of caution, she entered the tunnel of light. Oddly, the light seemed to have substance. Moving through it was like pushing through invisible Jell-O.

As she neared the end of the tunnel, her senses were slammed by a powerful noise, a roaring, howling din of voices uttering unrecognizable words in a confusion of ancient languages. The chaotic clamor blasted against her with the unrelenting pressure of a gale-force wind and catapulted her backward.

Wincing against the onslaught, she managed to look up and was shocked to find herself staring into the faces of the Offspring of the Old Ones. She froze, fearing for her life.