Prologue
Dove
Flickers from the torches danced on the statue of the goddess and the weapons decorating the walls. I entered the shrine, a great chamber of white stone scrubbed daily by Holy Foxes. Removing my shoes by the door, I approached her like an old friend.
Her long flowing hair flipped out to the side like wind hit it, frozen in the stone, wearing the same white robes as me. Her arm stretched out like a viper, the other gripping her katana as it sliced through the air.
I knelt before our goddess, bowing on the cold hard floor as I prayed, begging for my purpose, my foxfire magic, my Fated. Something. I begged until my knees hurt, until my stomach twisted into misunderstanding. Why did she never answer?
DONG!
The bell outside rang and my eyes snapped open. A sharp, unnatural sound, as though too much weight had pulled the rope. It was supposed to ring only three times a day.
Just the younger Novices having some fun again.
Several more loud dings sounded in rapid succession. I scrambled to my feet, focused on the closed door of the goddess' sacred room.
A lone scream pierced the night, cut off into a gargle of silence. And then another. It morphed into a distant cacophony of horror. My heart thumped as my feet refused to move, cemented to the floor like the statue.
The shrine door flung open and I stumbled back, relieved to see the white robes and red belt of Elder Jane.
"Dove! Hide! Don't let them find you!"
The order of my Elder hastened my pace as she pointed to a camouflaged storage closet at the side of the room. I retreated in, my eyes trained on Elder Jane, the woman who had raised me since I was a baby.
The door slammed open and knocked her forward. A sword pierced into my Elder. Blood gushed from the wound, splattering over the pristine white tiles as she heaved in a choked breath. Elder Jane's eyes dimmed, her body slumped face-first onto the floor.
I tugged the door shut. I shook violently, unable to blink, afraid to breathe, the image burning into my brain. My heartbeat deafened me and I wondered if I was imagining the screams and the unnerving cackles. Shrieks and snarls. Monstrous babel, cries of torture, and the slap of bare feet against stone. Snapping, shattering, squishing. Sounds I would never forget.
Demons.
The mortal enemy of the kitsune, the fox shifters. We were called many different names, but our purpose was always to exterminate the evil creatures seeping from Hell. We could earn up to nine tails, increasing with how many demons we killed.
The door closed, dulling the noise of the nearby slaughter. Through the thin crack in front of me, I saw him.
He must have been over seven feet tall. His skin was the color of death, a grayish blue. Two ebony horns twisted and bent from atop his head, a sick grin plastered on his face. His eyes were black orbs, not a speck of white. The torches caused a disgusting glimmer on his armor. Blood of my brothers and sisters coated him as though it had rained upon him, dripping to the white floor, puddling beneath him.
They usually hid in their kingdom down below, sending their minions to do their dirty work, commanding the lesser demon armies from afar.
Archdemon, Tier V. The highest rank of demons in Hell.
The demon turned his head, squinting. Could he sense me somehow? My heartbeat thundered so loudly. Could he hear it?
Fury snapped over his face as he stared at the statue of the goddess. His sticky footsteps peeled up, his breath heavy from his slaughter outside. He grabbed the ancient hammer of a six-tailed kitsune, one of Hawthorn Temple's most famous weapons. In a single swing, he took off the head of the goddess. The pieces scattered as it exploded onto the ground. He released a feral roar before tossing the hammer alongside it.
The doors opened again, the grisly sounds from outside like Hell itself in full-force. A second demon entered the room, closing the door behind him. His eyes glowed red like lava, cracks in his hardened stone skin showing his fiery veins. A whip dragged behind him, leaving a skinny trail of blood.
Fire Demon, Tier IV.
He bowed to his commander, his brightly glowing eyes going dark for a second, "Sir, we've finished."
"Everyone?" the Archdemon demanded, focused on the shattered pieces of the goddess.
"There weren't any runners. The night raid was effective containment."
The Archdemon moved forward in a flash, grabbing one of the Fire Demon's scorching horns, dragging him further into the bow as his own hand sizzled. "None can escape."
With a harsh push downward, the demon released his subordinate. He rubbed his fingers together, a spark turning to blue flame as he reached up and lit the wooden supports on fire, turning and storming from the shrine. His minion hurried after him with his back still hunched in a bow, afraid to upset his master.
The hellfire ignited the wooden ceiling, spreading faster and hotter than normal fire. A sulfuric stench filled the air. I stayed in the storage closet for too long, too afraid to move until smoke plumed under the door. My hand seared against the hot brass handle as I pushed against it. I gasped for breath, spilling out on my hands and knees into the main room of the sacred shrine, crawling toward the door.
My hands slathered into a warm liquid, the blood of Elder Jane. I cried, reaching for either of her shoulders, searching her unblinking eyes. When I found nothing, I skirted around her body and out to the courtyard.
Hellfire lit the dark night, an unnatural black and blue at its hot base. The stench of rotten eggs and death filled the air. I dry heaved at the subtle metallic scent of blood mixing with the smoke. Bodies were strewn all around the temple's buildings.
I staggered forward, checking for survivors as the flames stretched higher. Their bodies were so mutilated, so ripped apart.
The hellfire jumped, like a dry field catching an ember. It took on a life of its own, reaching out at me and engulfing everything I knew. The temple I had always called home burned to the ground.
Something cracked above me, a chain of loud snaps. The boards overhead slammed onto me, pinning me to the ground. Searing heat spread over my back, torturous pain branding me.
I surrendered to the darkness.