Chapter Three: Keykeeper
{Unknown location, Hell, night}
Gabriel knew there had been a problem as soon as he and Leo materialized in the middle of a pitch black field of dead vegetation situated under an equally black night sky. When he had dematerialized from the King's Tower, he had been aiming to appear in the middle of a well known goblin town, to make as much of a spectacle as possible, and to quickly ascertain the whereabouts of his daughter. But this place was all wrong.
"Stay close," he told the young soldier, peering warily up at the moonless night sky, "This is not where I had intended us to end up."
Leo was silent and the sound of his steel sword being drawn from its scabbard permeated the eerie silence of the field. Looking around at their surroundings, Gabriel immediately noticed a distant light flickering against the black horizon.
"Do you see that?" he asked Leo.
"Yes, your Grace," the younger Angel responded, "Shall we avoid it?" It was the sensible thing to do in unknown territory.
"No, we will go toward it." Welcome or not, a light meant civilization, and Gabriel knew enough about Hell to know that anything was better than being lost in it. Besides, the light might be the goblin town, and he had only missed its location by a few miles.
Loyal as always, Leo did not protest against the obvious danger, but followed as the King began walking toward the distant light. It was slow going on foot, but he did not dare use any magic for fear of becoming stranded. Angels could not use their powers freely in Hell, and before they had departed, Gabriel had stored up just enough to get himself, Leo, and, hopefully, Olivia home safely. Fortunately, the field was very flat and open, allowing the pair to pass over it without too much trouble, keeping the growing light in front of them as they went.
As they got closer their destination, it became apparent that the light was coming off not a town, but a very large castle. Its many windows illuminated the inky darkness and continued to grow in number as they neared it. Even though it was still not the goblin town, Gabriel decided to keep pressing on, curiosity spurring him more than logic.
"Sir," Leo cautioned as they approached the castle after about an hour of walking, "I think it would be wise to avoid this place."
Gabriel could see why Leo was so anxious. The closer they got to the building, the more massive it revealed itself to be. Hundreds of windows and dozens of towers of flickering light rose above an enormous dark, black wall. Whoever controlled the castle was obviously very powerful and, being a demon, would not take kindly to Angels trespassing on his land.
"I think you are right," the King agreed at last, feeling a slight twinge of anxiety himself. He changed course, angling away from the castle, keeping it to their left as they continued across the field. He was beginning to think that they should stop prowling around Hell soon.
When he had left the City, Gabriel was certain that he would be able to bring Olivia back quickly and without much trouble. Now, under the shadow of the colossal castle and already wasting precious time, he did not feel so sure. And the longer they wasted, the more danger Olivia might find herself in.
"Perhaps we should return home," he offered, thinking that it might actually have been better to send in the Archangels and cursing himself for not doing that to begin with. Something about the castle and the darkness was draining all courage from the mighty King's spirit and he wished very much to just give up...
"Shh," Leo piped up, his voice high with fear uncharacteristic for an Angelic warrior, "I heard something."
Trying to clear his mind of his sudden and crippling self-doubt, Gabriel listened carefully to the night air.
*Click, click, click*
Off in the direction of the castle, Gabriel could hear what sounded like something hard hitting stone. Looking down, he noticed that the field beneath their feet had become very rocky, and although his leather boots did not make much noise against the terrain, he imagined that something of the right material certainly could.
"Stay quiet, Leo," he warned, his chest tightening with fear.
*Click, click, click, click*
This time he heard the sound off in the darkness from where they had come, the rhythmic pattern of the noise indicating that the source was from a living creature.
Another listen; it was now coming from all directions.
"Sir..." Leo sounded very frightened and Gabriel drew his great sword from where it was strapped to his back, holding the heavy weapon ahead of him with two hands.
Heavy panting and fierce snarls joined sounds of what were to Gabriel now recognized as leisurely footsteps. Suddenly, as if born from the dark, a circle of gigantic dogs materialized around them. The hounds stood almost as tall as Gabriel, with shaggy, jet black fur and glowing red eyes. Sinister white teeth gleamed as they bared them at the Angels menacingly.
"Leo," Gabriel whispered, trying not to make any sudden movements and spur the dogs into action, "I am going to get us out of here. We should have never come alone. Now, on the count of three; one...two..."
"Three!" a gleeful female voice cried above his and one of the hounds leapt into the air, knocking Gabriel onto his back with its weight and pinning him to the ground with gigantic paws. His sword flew from his hands, coming to rest just out of reach.
"Sir!" Leo shouted and made a move to help him, but recoiled as the hound atop Gabriel snapped at him threateningly.
"Down boy," a woman said, slinking out of the darkness from among the hounds.
Gabriel stared up at the source of the voice with angry eyes. She was a demoness, judging by her ashen grey skin and revealing attire; a long, black strip of cloth draped between her legs, attached to an identical strip behind her by a very thin silver chain. A bikini top made of black chainmail barely covered her very large breasts, and long, purely white hair spilled out over her shoulders.
"My, my, what have we got here?" she teased, coming to stand directly above Gabriel's head while the hounds kept Leo at bay, "Two Angels trespassing on my territory."
"I am only here..." Gabriel started to explain, but was cut short when the razor sharp claws of the hound dug straight through his thick golden armor and raked against his flesh beneath.
"Quiet, Angel," the demoness warned, crouching down next to him, "Or my friend here will tear your arms off."
Knowing demons rarely made idle threats, Gabriel gritted his teeth and said no more while she continued to address them both.
"I felt your jump coming, so I intercepted it," she said, explaining instantly why they had not ended up where they wanted to, "I don't much care for Angels coming unannounced into my dimension in the dead of night. It makes me...nervous." The demoness spoke with a strong, clear tone; the voice of a ruler. "So tell me," she said, turning her head to look at Leo as well, "Why DID two Angels jump here unannounced in the dead of night?"
"I am looking for my daughter," Gabriel explained from the ground, "She was taken by goblins sometime yesterday and I assumed they took her back to Hell."
"Hmm..." the demoness hummed thoughtfully, "Then it's Lord Taint you're looking for."
