money.
Then he’d met Julia. And started to care.
Here, torches lit their way down the spiraling stairs. The steps were stone and worn down. The air got colder as they descended. This was an ancient place. Ransom had never known how old, but had seen it laid out on a map from the early 1700s once.
“I will speak to you, Jack Ransom,” Al'Gamesh finally said when they were about half-way down. “But I can not give you what you seek.”
“You're the only one who can. No one else can give me what I'm after.”
“That is true. But it is not your time.”
“It wasn't Julia's time either,” Ransom countered. “You know that. They took her without cause.”
“Your wife has been taken to Hell. And you seek to reclaim her.”
“I aim to bring her back. Yes.”
Ransom had gone as close to insane as he’d ever been when he found Julia was gone. Knowing where she’d been taken, knowing what might be happening to her, had broken him inside like fine crystal being shattered. All of the thinly laid boundaries he had created for himself, the moral codes he had adopted to contain the darker parts of his heart, were torn down in the instant Julia was taken.
Al'Gamesh laughed. The sound was disturbing, like someone snickering during a funeral. “What you ask isn’t possible.”
Ransom shook his head defiantly. “Nothing is impossible. You told me that once.”
“Do not make assumptions on our friendship.”
“Why, Al'Gamesh, I've never pretended we were friends.”
They had reached the bottom of the stairs. An open chamber with high ceilings of intricate stonework spread out in all directions.
The thing that was Al'Gamesh laughed again. Ransom's spine crawled from skull to tail bone.
Now came the hard part. Convincing Al’Gamesh, the keeper of the Veil, to let him through. Ransom needed to get through. He was his wife’s only chance. If he thought he could force Al’Gamesh to do it, he’d already be pounding his fists into that dark space beneath the hood. But that’s not how these things were done. So instead, a deal would have to be struck.
If he couldn’t get through into the realm of Hell, then his wife would be stuck there for all of eternity. There was no one else to save her. No one else who would care to even try. But appealing to Al'Gamesh's humanity was out of the question. Hard to be humane, when you're not even human.
“What’s it going to take to get me in?” Ransom asked.
Al’Gamesh did not answer right away. Ransom took it as a good sign.
It was one of the universe’s great mysteries how a thing with no eyes could stare through him like that.
When Al’Gamesh finally spoke again, it was with a voice like cracking ice. “Be careful what you offer me, human. Whatever you bargain with me now can not be returned.”
“Just tell me what you want.” Ransom knew he was on dangerous ground here, making deals with the next best thing to the Devil.
But he loved his wife that much.
“I won’t ask you for your life, Ransom,” Al’Gamesh told him. “To be perfectly honest I don’t think your life is worth the price of what you ask. But there is one thing you can pay me with.”
Ransom waited. “And?”
The creature in its dark cloak floated closer. “You were one of the best hunters ever. Human or otherwise. Your skills were legendary. But you set it all aside for the love of a woman.”
“Stranger things have happened.”
“Not in my experience,” Al’Gamesh said without hesitation. “But those skills of yours are still there. And the one who is able to bring those skills back into play first, on their side, will be at a good advantage against other opponents on the playing field.”
Ransom did not like where this was going.
“So here is my deal, human. I will allow you entry through the Veil. And in return, you will give me five years of your service.”
The offer was nowhere near fair. It was all one sided, and not in
Then he’d met Julia. And started to care.
Here, torches lit their way down the spiraling stairs. The steps were stone and worn down. The air got colder as they descended. This was an ancient place. Ransom had never known how old, but had seen it laid out on a map from the early 1700s once.
“I will speak to you, Jack Ransom,” Al'Gamesh finally said when they were about half-way down. “But I can not give you what you seek.”
“You're the only one who can. No one else can give me what I'm after.”
“That is true. But it is not your time.”
“It wasn't Julia's time either,” Ransom countered. “You know that. They took her without cause.”
“Your wife has been taken to Hell. And you seek to reclaim her.”
“I aim to bring her back. Yes.”
Ransom had gone as close to insane as he’d ever been when he found Julia was gone. Knowing where she’d been taken, knowing what might be happening to her, had broken him inside like fine crystal being shattered. All of the thinly laid boundaries he had created for himself, the moral codes he had adopted to contain the darker parts of his heart, were torn down in the instant Julia was taken.
Al'Gamesh laughed. The sound was disturbing, like someone snickering during a funeral. “What you ask isn’t possible.”
Ransom shook his head defiantly. “Nothing is impossible. You told me that once.”
“Do not make assumptions on our friendship.”
“Why, Al'Gamesh, I've never pretended we were friends.”
They had reached the bottom of the stairs. An open chamber with high ceilings of intricate stonework spread out in all directions.
The thing that was Al'Gamesh laughed again. Ransom's spine crawled from skull to tail bone.
Now came the hard part. Convincing Al’Gamesh, the keeper of the Veil, to let him through. Ransom needed to get through. He was his wife’s only chance. If he thought he could force Al’Gamesh to do it, he’d already be pounding his fists into that dark space beneath the hood. But that’s not how these things were done. So instead, a deal would have to be struck.
If he couldn’t get through into the realm of Hell, then his wife would be stuck there for all of eternity. There was no one else to save her. No one else who would care to even try. But appealing to Al'Gamesh's humanity was out of the question. Hard to be humane, when you're not even human.
“What’s it going to take to get me in?” Ransom asked.
Al’Gamesh did not answer right away. Ransom took it as a good sign.
It was one of the universe’s great mysteries how a thing with no eyes could stare through him like that.
When Al’Gamesh finally spoke again, it was with a voice like cracking ice. “Be careful what you offer me, human. Whatever you bargain with me now can not be returned.”
“Just tell me what you want.” Ransom knew he was on dangerous ground here, making deals with the next best thing to the Devil.
But he loved his wife that much.
“I won’t ask you for your life, Ransom,” Al’Gamesh told him. “To be perfectly honest I don’t think your life is worth the price of what you ask. But there is one thing you can pay me with.”
Ransom waited. “And?”
The creature in its dark cloak floated closer. “You were one of the best hunters ever. Human or otherwise. Your skills were legendary. But you set it all aside for the love of a woman.”
“Stranger things have happened.”
“Not in my experience,” Al’Gamesh said without hesitation. “But those skills of yours are still there. And the one who is able to bring those skills back into play first, on their side, will be at a good advantage against other opponents on the playing field.”
Ransom did not like where this was going.
“So here is my deal, human. I will allow you entry through the Veil. And in return, you will give me five years of your service.”
The offer was nowhere near fair. It was all one sided, and not in
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