Hellbent

The room began to shimmer, like a gas leak. Something wasn’t right. It was as if my body had begun to split in two. The doors opened, and I moved unwillingly forward. In Lady Hel’s room, it was like being in her realm. She did nothing to hide herself from me—half beautiful, half blackened and decomposing. She smiled, and her face pulled up on one side, her lips tinted a bright red. She twirled her finger in the air and the more she did it, the more the thoughts within began shift.

“Yes, you are quite different, lovely girl.” Her voice hurt. The lights began to blink, the walls dripped blood.

“Is that blood?” I asked.

“The walls like to talk. Does that bother you?”

“Why have you asked me here? It isn’t to house-sit or watch your dog, right?”

It had all been a ruse. A shiver raced down my entire body like a ghost had walked through me. My thought hit me too close to a fear I’d rather forget. Lady Hel didn’t need a house sitter.

“The gods have betrayed you, and I am here to make it right.”

“I’ve been betrayed by no one.” Just as her true appearance she hid, I knew her intentions were also unspoken.

“Don’t you hear it?”

“Hear what?”

“Exactly. They let you enter here and did nothing to stop it. They let you worry when they could bless you with the bounty you so need.”

“Not everything is about me. I’m just a regular person, and my faith does not impede on your ability to exist. Light and dark are just two sides of the same coin.”

“Do I need to remind you of our deal?” Lady Hel asked.