Knell and Shaheed turned away, leading them toward carriages that awaited them at the far side of the square. Levi and the others followed Mae and her party into the same carriage. The emo-looking adherents of the Death Cult filled another two or three. Kai slipped in with the remnants, some ragged-looking men and women that Levi didn’t like the looks of.

They bumped along. Levi watched the terrain pass by outside the carriage window. They wound into desolate lands. The forest thinned, diminishing to slender, withered trees barely clinging to dry earth. Rocks pushed through bleached soil. A few scrubby plants clustered here and there. Down through narrow ravines and up through thin passes, they wound through the absolute wilderness. The Death Cult didn’t need to block the windows. The land was so inhospitable that they’d never make it back here without their support.

That night, Levi and Mae chattered about the otherworld. Levi got invited back to her tent, and he flicked a thumbs up at Isa. Isa rolled his eyes.

In the morning, Levi stumbled out, his eyes dead and his body drained. He stumbled into the carriage and thumped down next to Isa.

“How’d it go?” Isa asked, smiling pleasantly.

“She never stopped talking,” Levi managed, exhausted. He flopped down on the bench. “Do elves not need sleep?”

“Nope!”

“Fuckin’… and you didn’t bother telling me?”

Isa shrugged. “You seemed so eager. I wasn’t going to presume.”

Levi cracked his eyes open just far enough to roll them at Isa, then shut them again. “I’m gonna catch some Z’s. Don’t let that deranged creature wake me up.”

Mae bounded into the carriage. “Levi! So what do you think about the talkie-box and the phone? Which one came first?”

Levi rolled over. He let out some loud, fake snores.

Isa chuckled. He patted Levi’s shoulder and lifted his finger to his lips.

“Oh! I forgot. Humans need sleep!” Mae tapped her head with her knuckles and grinned. “I’ll just have to ask him when he wakes up.”

“Tell her I’m sleeping forever,” Levi muttered.

Isa nodded at Mae. “He’s just taking a quick cat nap. I’m sure he’ll be awake in no time.”

Levi groaned.

Two days passed. By the end of the second day, even Isa was sick of hearing Mae babble along. He leaned his head against the wall, exhausted.

Levi, too, had tapped out, and mostly snoozed on and off. Colin kept up the conversation, able to match Mae’s sleeplessness.

At one point, Levi wobbled toward wakefulness and patted Colin on the shoulder. “Want me to tap in?”

“No, no. This is nice, actually. I have someone to talk to all day. I can’t sleep, so it’s real boring when everyone else is snoozing. Having someone else who can’t sleep is nice,” Colin replied.

Levi nodded. He closed his eyes and curled up again, leaving Colin to it.

At last, the carriages rolled to a halt. The back doors swung open. Death Cult members gestured them out, dressed from head to toe in flowing black so that they couldn’t see their faces, bodies, nothing. Black cloth masks wrapped their faces, dark hoods hid their heads, and long, flowing clothes covered the rest of them.

“Into the dungeon!” one of the people in black demanded. A red charm glowed at their neck, distorting their voice.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Hey, hey. No need to shout. We’re all here for the same thing,” Levi said, waving a hand in the black-clad person’s direction. He hopped out, dusting his pants off.

The black-clad person lashed out, trying to sweep Levi’s ankles.

A bony rope snapped around their ankle. Levi flicked his wrist, and the Spinal Cord upended them entirely. He turned slowly to face them, shaking his finger and giving them his best disappointed teacher look. “What did I say? Violence isn’t the answer, either. Tsk, tsk.”

The other Death Cultist drew their sword. They pointed it at Levi. “Unhand them, or I’ll be forced to take action.”

“Forced to? What is this nonsense? He took action. I took reaction,” Levi said reasonably. He turned to face the other man, still supremely unperturbed. The black-clad figure wobbled in his grasp, swaying by their ankle.

The sword-bearing cultist dashed in. Levi turned slightly. The Spinal Cord swung in front of him, putting the other cultist between him and the swordsman. The swordsman clicked his tongue and jumped back. “Release them!”

Levi put his hands around his mouth. “Everyone, look! I’m being brutalized by the police! They’re brutalizing me!”

“What? What’s happening?” Mae asked, looking at Levi’s companions for answers.

Colin put his head in his hands and shook his head.

Isa rolled his eyes. “Something stupid, that’s what.”

“What is the matter?” Knell stomped over, her eyes narrowed.

Levi immediately dropped the black-clad figure. They dropped to the ground with a little yelp. The Spinal Cord flashed back under his cloak. Levi hunkered back, suddenly small and fearful, turning watery eyes towards the swordsman. “I did nothing, and they attacked me!”

Knell looked at the swordsman. “Mer, what are you doing? Lower your sword at once. That’s no way to treat a new member of our fine religion.”

“I—I…”

“And you, San. Why are you lying at his feet? On yours, chop-chop. This undignified, disorganized behavior is no way to display our sect to such newcomers.”

The one who had fallen jumped up. They started to say something, then saw it was Knell and bowed their head. “Sorry,” was all they said.

Knell turned toward Levi and the others. “I’m quite sorry about all that. This is not the way our sect behaves.”

“Of course not, of course not! Just a few bad apples,” Levi said, standing up straight once more, whatever tears he’d managed to squeeze up completely forgotten. He flashed a smile at Knell. “I’m sure the rest of the sect is far better behaved.”

“Of course.” She cut a dark look at the two black-clad figures. They melted back like fresh snow in the late spring.

“It’s no big deal!” Mae said brightly, completely misreading the room.

Roan nudged her. She looked at him. “What?”

Knell graciously pointed toward the gates that all the other new members were gathering by. “Please, right this way.”

Levi strode forth. “Yes, yes. We’re all good, well-behaved cultists here.”

Colin shot a wary look at the black-robed figures and tightened his grip on his staff. Isa paid them no mind. Mae waved happily and Piri hummed to herself, while only Roan kept a weather eye on the black-clad cultists.

Other black-clad cultists formed a loose semicircle around the new adherents. Up at the front, three of them worked together by the gate, waving their staffs and chanting together. The gate itself was massive. It stood at least ten, maybe twenty feet tall. Made of bronze, it had long since corroded, leaving its bars a sickly green. Carvings of demons, ghosts, and underworld monsters sprawled over its posts and twisted around the bars. A huge, intricate lock hung in the center of the gate, holding the gates tightly shut.

The three cultists’ chanting reached a climax. Green light swirled around them. On the giant gate, a green magical circle appeared, resonating with their chant. The light and the circle glowed brighter, pulsing in sync with one another.

“Whoa, didn’t expect the lights show,” Levi said. He bobbed his head along to the music. “Anyone have some…ah, damn. No. We’re a few centuries too early, huh.”

“I have wine,” Mae offered.

“Oh, really? Shit, man. Let’s drink it. Why’ve you been sitting on that this whole time?” Levi asked.

Mae reached to her hip. Roan grabbed her hand, stopping her. “Mae, no. We don’t need to get drunk before we enter the dungeon.”

Her face fell, and she sighed. “Yeah. I guess not.”

“What? No elven wine? Come on,” Levi complained.

“You don’t need to get drunk now, either,” Isa deadpanned.

“No, but I’d enjoy it,” Levi returned.

Ahead of them, the lights and the chanting grew to a fever pitch. At last, it reached its climax. The chanters screamed together. Green light streamed from their staves. The magical circle began to rotate. It turned a half circle, then clunked. And, with a heavy thump, the giant lock fell off the gates.

Fog rolled out from the dungeon. A blast of cold, dank air washed over them as the gates swung to a halt. The chanting cultists fell back, panting.

Levi leaned forward. All the other people gathered there stood at attention as well, ready to sprint in at the drop of a hat.

“The dungeon has been opened. Let the yearly hunt begin!” Knell declared, her voice rolling off the depths of the dungeon’s entry cave.

Shouting, everyone charged in. Levi charged with them, racing in toward the dark depths. Colin and Isa ran close by his heels. The three of them stuck close together, even in the pushing mob of people.

“We’ll see you in there!” Mae shouted, as the crowd separated them.

Levi waved over his shoulder. He sped up, grinning. “Let’s go get some kills!”