Dark Labyrinth: The Nine Hells (Circle of Nine Book 1) Read online

  Mythology meets modern day. When a modern woman is thrown into the bowels of Hell, can she survive and grow accustom to her surroundings? Can she be the key to bringing down an evil empire?

  A page turner you can't put down, not only because of the story but because you fall in love with the characters.

  Shiloh falls from a seaside cliff, only to be caught mid fall by a man with wings, Lann. The terror of falling has made Shiloh pass out, so Lann sneaks her to his lair, in the Underworld. Knowing hes breaking the law of this world, Lann tries to hide her. But once found, they are both taken in front of Balor, ruler of the realm and Underworld. Balor listens to others as to what the punishment should be, but decides if Shiloh and Lann can make it through the different Hells, he will make Shiloh immortal. On their quest, they have to fight evils, but they also make a few friends along the way. Can their ragtag group make it out alive, can love be found in Hell?

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  Dark labyrinth

  The book by Conny Conway

  Dedication

  I want to dedicate this book to my Sister-in-Law Cathy. Just like Shiloh, Cat faced her monsters every single morning bravely and courageously.

  I love you, Cathy P.

  Chapter 1

  The sea threw itself in gentle waves against the cliffs of Moher.

  From way above a small figure gazed into the dark blue ocean, hard to say from below if it was a man or a woman, though long hair of the color of the evening sun wafted around the head. The thick woolen jacket hid the body, washed out blue jeans peaked from underneath the thick green knitted cables. The shoes were not visible from the distance.

  The small figure crouched down and sat on the edge of the steep clips. Unseen, to the eyes of the miniature person, a spy kept close surveillance of the human up high. The intent stare belonged to Lann, a semi God of fire.

  He bore wings, sword and a crossbow made from this element. His body was slender, packed with muscle, his hair was light auburn and gleamed like an oversized halo over his tanned face, black as a raven were the irises of his eyes, his nose straight and proud towering over his stubble chin, it was broken by a deep cleft.

  All in all Lann was a man to die for. His loin cloth revealed more than it kept hidden.

  His wings folded on his back, to be prepared to take off into the air at any time, Lann choose not to wear a toga or kilt. Not that he had tried to cover his bareness; all he had accomplished with those attempts was setting himself on fire with his wings. Therefore he decided on just the loincloths.

  In the very instance he decided to turn his gaze back to the North Sea, he caught in the corner of his eyes how the wind blew the small figure sitting on the cliff down.

  A female scream off horror pierced his supersonic hearing. Instinctively he opened his wings, which ignited as soon as they were spread from feathers into flames. He leapt into the air powerfully and flew across the bay to the edge of the water, at the very last moment he caught the woman in his strong arms.

  Terror had knocked her unconscious. Limply she draped over both his forearms, eyes shut, long lashes flowing over the skin of her cheeks, the small nose, red from the cold wind, the sensuous mouth reigned by a pouty bottom lip.

  Lann stared at the lifeless body in his arms. What should he do with her now? He couldn’t leave her on the rocks of the shore; she might get swept away by the waves or become hypothermic.

  Though he also couldn’t take her to his home, this was way too dangerous. His dwelling was deep down underneath the earth, unknown to humankind, reigned by Balor, the Demon King, the God of death and the ruler of the Fomori, demons which lived in darkness, in the depths of the oceans and lakes, dark woods and shadows to prey on humans, taking the shape of sea creatures and monsters.

  Balor had strict rules, laws which were punishable if broken by death, torture, captivity and worse.

  One of those directives stated no human was ever permitted into the caves, close to the center of the earth, no exception was ever made and therefore the demons could live in peace, still preying on humans, but coveted by the government of the people. No regime would openly admit of supernatural beings existence. The leaders of the world lied well, so well that they believed their own lies. No spooks, monsters, bogeyman, vampires, fairies and fae folks, no were people nor any other unexplained phenomena existed... but humans,

  This was to the liking of the demons, deities and paranormal beings.

  His thoughts went back to the small woman in his arms. He still hadn’t made a decision to what to do with her. While he mauled the problem over and over, he ogled the fragile figure.

  For a human she was beautiful, her red hair fell in crinkles and curls around her face, making her look like an angel which had fallen from the sky directly into his embrace.

  There was no way he would leave her behind, unprotected to the cold and danger. His fiery wings were still ablaze and fully open, so he just flew up into the fall sky, foggy, wet and cold.

  Some part of him was still hesitant to take her to his cave, though there was no other choice. He pondered what he would answer her, when questioned, where she was, how she was and why she hadn’t died, tumbling down to the rocky shore.

  Lann decided he would let time work for him. At the moment it was more important how he could hide the female human without being discovered. Most of the demons, which dwelled in his realm, had sensitive noses and were able to discover her human scent easily, in fact they didn’t need to even concentrate to her smell.

  For the creatures she was dinner and her aroma would attract them.

  He had almost crossed the distance when it occurred to him he could rub her off with wolfs bane, disguising the stench of humans.

  He took a bypass through the woods before he soared to Beinn Mor, a volcanic remnant, the entrance to his terrain. They descended deep into the ground.

  Once he touched the ground with his bare feet, he folded his blazing wings, which extinguished immediately.

  Lann took care to stick to the shadows, he swung the woman over his shoulder after landing in the small opening.

  His path led him through a cavernous labyrinth, lit by wondrous quartz and rocks, only to end in a huge dome. The ceiling was filled with clouds; in the background was a red sky. A purple sun shone down on the landscape, just like the sun on earth.

  The air was humid and hot, tropical hot and the breeze waved tiny Palms, which grew on a shore where waves slapped lazily against white sand. The ocean itself had the color of blood.

  Again the tanned half god stuck to the gloom, hoping that the human scent was covered by the herb.

  He came to a clearing, then another cave entrance loomed behind redwoods. Without hesitation he followed the hall again, zigzagged through a maze, only to stop at a slab of stone.

  Gently he stroke the stone and it slipped aside allowing a peek into his home.

  It was not luxurious but it served his purpose.

  As he entered torches lit up magically in their scones, bathing the room beyond in the warm light.

  A fire ignited in the chimney and warmed the cold cavern.

  Palm leaves were strewn on the floor, serving as a natural carpet.

  A red bed made from natural sandstone dominated the room.

  White marble columns supported the ceiling, made from quartz. It shone like stars in the light of the fire.

  Lann had not hung any decoration nor were any knickknack present. The cavern serves as the sole purpose for rest. He didn’t want to be tied down, he had no home, having a home was a dark memory, way back in his past.

  He carried the woman to the crims
on bed, laid her down gently. He stared at her and a sensation which he had never felt before swept through him. Tenderly he stroked a strand of her hair aside, admiring her long, dark lashes which rested on her cheeks like butterfly wings.

  Altogether the small human looked very delicate.

  He had no idea how long he was staring at the small person in his oversized bed, though with a sigh he stood up straight and went to the small adjoining bathroom, there he grabbed a terra-cotta washcloth, turned the faucets, both warm and cold, until he had the right temperature and dampened the cloths, then turned back to his bed. He folded the damp cloth and laid it on the woman’s forehead.

  Again he caught himself being fascinated by the human's beauty. He almost missed the fluttering of her eyelashes as her eyes opened to reveal deep green eyes. Disorientated her gaze fell on the demigod. Shock and terror was written all over her beautiful face.

  “Where am I? “She inquired. “Am I dead?”

  The young woman’s eyes shifted and she took in the whole room, realizing it was a natural cavern.

  Again panic swept over her face.

  “Where am I?” her voice was steadier now and had pitched up in volume.

  Lann hushed her, this only increased her fright.

  ” Why don’t you answer me? I need to know where I am and who you are, how we got here, please.” She begged.

  He cleared his throat.

  “You’re in my realm. You are not dead. My name is Lann.” Was his hoarse reply.

  He looked surprised; he had not thought he would remember the human tongue.

  “Your realm?” she repeated.

  His answer had only confused her more.

  ” What do you mean by your realm? I am dead after all or in limbo?”

  “No, you're not dead. You are very much alive. I caught you when you were tumbling down the cliffs.” He explained.

  “But your realm, what does that mean?”

  “It means you are subterranean, in a network of caves.” He retorted dryly. “And I would beg you to speak, uhm, what do you call it again?” He pondered.” Not so loud.”

  His gaze brightened as he remembered more of the language humans spoke.

  This scared her even more.

  ” Why not? Do you have anything to hide? Are you afraid others would hear me? Are you dangerous? Maybe a psychopath?”

  Horror streaked her voice.

  Though she wasn’t too off partially.

  Again Lann had to clear his throat.

  ” I don’t want them to hear you.”

  His head dipped in the direction of the stone slab.” I have nothing to hide but you. Yes, I am afraid they will hear you.”

  Again his thought deepened as to recall her questions, which had baffled him in fractions.

  “I can be dangerous, but not to you. And I don’t know what a psychopath is, but I doubt it. I don’t like the word. Its origin is from Greek, psycho meaning soul, and Pathos, meaning suffering, so like someone has a lack of soul, is that right?” He asked curiously and logically.

  Her eyes widened even more with this information.

  Then she glanced around the cave, looking for an exit. She jumped out of the bed, crossing the distance in fifteen paces. Lann followed her slowly, wondering what would come next.

  She hammered with her small fists against the stone and screamed from the top of her lungs for help. This he had not anticipated and in a split second he opened his wings flew in front of the young female and barred her hands from the stone slab.

  “Shush,” he hushed her again.” Be quiet.”

  This enticed her to scream even louder, while tears were streaming down her cheeks. Fear had sped up her heart beat, adrenaline gave her a strength she had not believed in her and she kneed the winged man in his groin.

  He doubled over and went down to the floor, pulling her with him. His left hand cupped his groin and his right held her by her left wrist.

  She screamed and hollered in horror.

  All Lann could do was grunt, interrupted again with a “shush,” here and there, trying to make her stop. He finally slapped his hand over her mouth and her scream muffled considerably.

  The pain in his groin seized a bit to be replaced by her bite in his calloused hand. She had bitten so hard she had drawn blood from the fleshy palm.

  He jerked his hand away, and then straddled her. His eyes had a malicious, furious gleam. Anger tinged his black eyes into bright red orbs.

  She screamed again and again, ignoring his hushing and begging for silence, she concluded he didn’t like loud noises and doubled her effort.

  Banging at the stone door interrupted Lann’s effort to calm her down.

  “Help! I’m in here with this maniac, this monster….”

  Caught! Lann thought. Damned.

  The stone slid aside, a shadow entered the room.

  “ Cad é an ifreann atá ar siúl i anseo?” Echoed through the cave, followed by “Boladh mé daonna?”

  The booming voice was so loud, that little stones drizzled from the cavern ceiling.

  “Damned.” Lann growled, still sitting on the screaming human female.

  “Gomaith anois?”

  Lann stood up, raising the woman with him by her wrists.

  “Not much, Bodach.” He said lamely, he knew he would never find an excuse why a human was in his dorm.

  Bodach kept silent for a few split seconds then boomed: “so, why is this wee human here I like to ken. Having a wee snack by yourself, Lann?”

  But as it spoke it remembered that Lann did not include human flesh in his diet.

  ” Speak, Lann, you ken no mortals are allowed.” The eyes in the shadow grew bigger, hot blue charcoals in an invisible face.

  Lann had no answer, he speechlessly shrugged his shoulders.

  Chapter 2

  Bodach, the shadow man, shoved both of them, Lann and the girl into the hallway with an ice-cold hand, then herded them along the labyrinth’s halls, rooms and paths until they entered a vast room.

  The ceiling gleamed with gold in the torchlight, while the floor looked liquid, though it was just black, highly polished marble.

  Left and right black columns bore the weight of the immense ceiling, building a track to the golden throne at the end of it.

  The female squinted her eyes to make out who was sitting on the seat and gasped.

  This was no human, she realized.

  Her raw throat formed a scream which choked as she took in more creatures around them, in no way even related to human kind.

  The individual at the end of her path had the figure of a bulky person, even sitting he or she seemed to tower over six feet on the massive chair. Hair fell like a lion’s mane around the head.

  As she approached, urged by the shadow man, she caught glimpses of scales and only one eye in the face of the monster, the mouth exposed fangs as it laughed at something a small, shining figure in its palm whispered. Then it lifted the immense skull aware of her now.

  Next to her was the winged man, behind her the Bodach and more creatures in several colors, statures, features, smell and figures had joined them, forming a grotesque parade.

  “Damned it.” The winged man cursed under his breath.

  He wagered a side glance to the female. She had returned his glance of dread with a gaze filled with horror, Lann forgot about his own predicament and gripped her hand to comfort her.

  First she had startled at his touch, but then she allowed the firm hold. He squeezed it as to console her.

  The procession came closer and closer to the throne, where the beings bowed their heads, or the equivalent to one, to the enormous fiend, it seemed to be male.

  “Now, what have we here?” He roared thundering.

  Lann straightened and looked straight into the reptile pupil, fearlessly he replied.” My liege, I have wronged you and the law. I saved this human from certain death. Having no way to discard her, I brought her here. She is innocent, my Lord. All the time sh
e was unconscious. I beg for her Life, my liege Balor.”

  He is their king, the human thought as the monster bowed a little down as to get a better look at her.

  “Human.” He snorted.” It’s been eons since I had last seen one. Their appearance has improved.” He agreed. “Though tell me, wee one, what shall I do with you now?”

  As she glanced away from his hypnotic eyes she fearfully peeked around, some of the creatures and beings seemed bored, others excited of something happening finally and then there were a few more licking their lips, as they have taken a sample of her flesh and blood.

  Quickly she turned back to the being in front of her and shrugged helplessly.

  “There are some of my kind which would like to have a dinner party with you.” He gloated.” as the main course. Though the fairies seem to have other planes, they would love a new toy like you.”

  His arm stretched in direction of the floating little, shiny beings to his right, just like the one which had been in his hand before.

  “Now, the demons over there,” he directed, “ would like to have their own fun with you and your, uhm, physic.” he uttered discreetly, “ and the Willow wisps would like to dispose you as they please, getting lost. Not to mention the trolls…”

  Balor was interrupted by a fanged creature, its eyes were dead and hollow, bloody tears taking its vision on and off, the mouth was distorted in a scream like position. The body was very human like and in its fists it held a huge battle axe. Snarling he demanded, “Jag vill ha hennes liv!”

  “I know you want her life, Weth. “ Balor said booming.

  In the distance a beautiful woman with long blond braids all around her scalp and huge violet eyes softly chimed, “no, she is not to be killed. Remember the prophecy.”

  “Vör, sweet Goddess of wisdom, we all know the prophecy, you don’t need to remind us.”

  Another woman, way in the back standing on a small pedestal to get a better look, sneered, “I say she broke the rule, no human allowed. She needs to die.” The black hair held back in a tiara of rubies sparkled and made the woman look almost beautiful, but the human woman had seen the ugly bloodlust in the other's eyes.