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."
"Then it is to him I shall...UGH!", claws punctured his skin, drawing blood beneath the armor.
"Do not speak out of turn again, or I will have your friend killed," the demoness warned and stood up straight, "Now; I'm sure Lord Taint had good reason for taking your daughter, but I'm afraid that if he did...well, knowing Angels and their fabled chastity...you might not want her back after all."
Anger seared through Gabriel's veins at the demoness' implication, and it took all he had not to muster a bolt of energy to kill the hound currently pinning him down and attack the woman, hopefully killing her too before the other hounds ripped him to shreds. But using that power would certainly kill him, and he did not want that to happen, no matter how angry she made him.
"But that is really beside the point, and of no consequence to me," she continued, staring down at Gabriel with deep violet eyes as if eyeing a treasure trove, "Because I have just bagged myself the King of Angels."
"How do you..." Gabriel began to say, but the demoness gave him warning look, and so he fell silent. Demons were not supposed to know the identity of the King of Angels lest they use that knowledge for nefarious purposes.
"It is my business to know who my potential adversaries are," she explained, answering his unfinished question, "But do you know yours, King? Do you know who I am?"
Truthfully, Gabriel did not recognize the demoness, so he shook his head slowly.
"My name is Clava, the Keykeeper, and soon-to-be queen of Hell."
Clava made a small gesture with her hand, and the hound on top of Gabriel stepped off. Free, he sprang to his feet and turned to face the demoness, trying to ignore the pain in his shoulders from where the beast had wounded him. Standing, he was shocked to find that Clava was almost a foot shorter than him, and looked very unthreatening despite the hounds surrounding her.
"You will let us go," he threatened angrily, already reaching for the power that would send Leo and himself home, "I am not an enemy you want to have."
With a half smile, Clava took a few steps forward, and rested her palm on Gabriel's breastplate, "Big words for a big man," she said, skimming her eyes over his body, "Maybe I can find a way to cool that temper."
Gabriel gasped as her other hand cupped the area between his legs lewdly. It was time to go.
"You have made a huge mistake here tonight," he said, "And I will be back, with an army that will tear down your walls and root you from your castle alive so that I may kill you myself."
Clava continued to smile, "How about you stay right where you are?"
Sudden and debilitating weakness spread through Gabriel's body, starting from where her palm still rested against his chest.
"What did you..." he could no longer feel the power he had stored to send him home, and the edges of his vision were getting blurry.
The demoness took her hands off him and stepped back, snapping her fingers. Two shadowy figures rose from the ground in front of Gabriel and Leo. They were dark but transparent, clearly humanoid, with no discernible features.
"Take them to the dungeons," the Clava demanded, and Gabriel was immobilized by an unseen force, unable to move any of his limbs, "And if either tries anything tricky, kill the younger one."
The hounds parted, opening their circle and allowing for the dark shapes to pass through. Gabriel refused to move at first, but found that resistance proved impossible as his feet carried him forward against his volition. He tried to speak, to threaten some more, but his mouth refused to listen and no sound came out.
