No More Games

"I want to save those women," the reporter's heart thundered in her chest. "No more games. Let's do it, right now."

Blaze sighed. "Very well. But you should know that there are dangers to yourself on this path—should you fail at any challenge, should you even hesitate, you will be lost. You will become my property, and I will **** you for an eternity."

The dark orbits of the demon's eyes became like windows into interstellar space, her pure white orbs shining like dying suns. Her voice took on a ritual cadence.

"There are seven gates through which the Inanna must pass, with seven demons and seven tasks. To bring your loved ones forth, you must descend utterly, and face the seven truths of your soul. Are you prepared?"

Lois stood up. She did not allow her knees to shake, or voice to quaver. Taking a moment to calm herself, Lois opened them and stared back at the demon Blaze as the star reporter of the Daily Planet, ready for anything.

"I am," she said.

The demon...Lois could see her so clearly now, despite the darkness; a nude figure, definitely female but also...inhuman. Bones stretched skin in strange ways, emphasizing the cadaverous concavity of her belly, wide hips, hard knots of muscle on long, bony arms and legs... It was almost a caricature, a supermodel stretched out on a rack, never an ounce of fat on her, belly so...empty... One finger like a claw sketched a rectangle in the air...a piece of darkness fell away, revealing a doorway and a flight of concrete steps.

"I will wait for you, beyond the seventh gate, with the four souls you seek to retrieve." Blaze's mouth curled up into a leer. "I shall enjoy seeing you, should you descend so far."

Then the darkness was gone—and the demon with it. The reporter found herself in a small anteroom, the Black Door behind her, the parking garage and the elevator beyond. Ahead of Lois was the open doorway, and the stairs leading down.