The wind was dry, and the arid conditions made Josey’s eyes burn. She had to open them. Her heart pounded with every slight glimpse of her surroundings. Her heart skipped beats every time she inhaled like it was trying to decide if what she was going through was just too much. She kept her eyes cracked, too afraid to attempt to see her new adventure in its entirety. But she knew. The burning in her lungs, the blood red sand that sizzled under her legs, the smell of sorrow and death, were clear giveaways.

  “How long will you pretend to be asleep?” A deep voice reverberated through her ears and bones.

Josey’s body heaved and shook as blood dripped from her ears. Her stomach turned and knotted. She held herself and laid in the fetal position, waiting for the echoes to stop.

“Hahahaha. You are weak like a human. Did my voice make your soul waver?” The Demon King laughed and watched Josey roll around in the filth beneath him

“Watching you is almost as satisfying as watching the Vampire King almost brought to tears as I ripped you from his arms. Man, I love my life.” The Demon King leaned back and continued to bask in Josey’s pain.

  After a few minutes of crying and calling out for anyone to save her, Josey lay on her stomach on the ground. Her skin burned on the sand, but she wasn’t dead yet. She lifted herself up and decided to face her next journey head-on. She opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. The Demon King sat on a pedestalled throne in the middle of what looked like an endless desert of red sand. 

  As soon as Josey stood up, so did the Demon King.He was massive. He was over 7 feet tall, and his shoulders were broad. His eyes were completely black and hollow. Looking at his hair was like looking into a dark, starry night sky. He wore an all black tailored suit. If he wasn’t the Demon King, he would be on the cover of some ‘World’s beautifulest people’ magazine. 

  “So what do you think of my kingdom?” He asked Josey, smiling large, showing a mouth full of sharp teeth.

  “Are you the King of Red Sand?” Josey covered her mouth quickly. That was not what she was going to say.

“I see your temptress is awake. That explains why my voice is no longer melting your insides.”

“Of course I am going to protect her. She is my vessel. She is me. I am her. ” The involuntary words flowed from Josey’s lips.

“Come here.”

“Yes, my Lord.”She walked up to the bottom step to the throne and knelt.

“So you know who I am, yet you speak so loosely.” The Demon King started to chuckle. “My kind of woman. Yet you are not the one my son is in love with. How disappointing.” The Demon King crossed his arms and looked off into the distance.

“Do you plan on torturing my vessel, my lord?” Josey temptress prodded for information.

“Maybe. To be honest, I never thought he would find love. I had completely forgotten until she opened that shadow door. You are aware of what a shadow door is, right? ” He paused and awaited her response.

“It is a link to Hell from the dream realm. They are normally created under extreme stress. ” 

“That’s right.”He chuckled slowly and walked closer to Josey. “Why were you so stressed?” The smile on his face turned into a naughty grin. “Did it have anything to do with what you were doing before you fell asleep? Hehehehe. You must really love him.”She continued to look down at the sand. Even at a time like this, thinking of Cofer and the way he made her feel that night made her blush.

The King continued.”After getting a rare notification that a shadow door had been opened, I hear you call to him. That confirmed it. A succubus can only call someone she loves into her dream realm.” He sighed and closed his eyes.

“Enough of this. I grow bored.” The King wrapped his large hand around Josey’s throat and lifted her into the air. “You can not see my kingdom because I do not own your soul. The moment you can see my great halls or the damned souls that pave its floors, you will know you belong to me. ” The evil smirk that once showed on the King’s face slowly dissipated. The dark evil frown most characteristic of a Demon King replaced it.

“I was going to just tie you to the outside wall that surrounds my kingdom until your succubus died, but I have decided to make you a part of my personal army. To do that and keep your ties to the dream realm, I have several Demon Generals in my army that will be attempting to….possess you.” The Demon King leaned his head to the side and watched Josey’s emotional state degrade.

“I will never be —-!” Before Josey could finish her sentence, the King’s grip around her neck tightened. She struggled with the little energy she could muster. She was, but a rag doll in his toy box.

The ground opened below her. “Have fun! I look forward to your transition..”The King laughed from deep within his belly and dropped Josey’s body into the darkness. She flopped and flailed as she fell into absolute darkness. After what felt like hours, she lay still awaiting her body to splatter on whatever was at the bottom of the casm. 

  Josey perceived her momentum to have slowed. The darkness started to lighten. She moved her body into an upright position. She felt like she was floating more than falling now. In that instant, her body slammed into a pile of what felt like bones. She rushed to pull herself u, then scampered across the pile only to realize there was no end to the pile. She took a deep breath and assessed her situation. She turned, looking in all directions. All directions seem to go on forever. She picked a direction and started to walk. 

  Her mind was blank. The heat was enough to make her want to lay down and let go. If it was possible for her to k*** herself in Hell, then she would’ve already done it. Miles in, her feet started to bleed from stepping on the bones and the blisters that had started to form. 

  RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE

The ground below Josey quaked. [Somethings coming.] She fell to the ground. She didn’t have the energy to protect herself or to run for that matter. She remained on the ground, and like the past few months, she was once again accepting her fate. Despair.

  She met eyes with a large serpent that moved in and out of the sea of bones. She closed her eyes and waited for the serpent. When he arrived, he grabbed Josey up in its mouth. She squeezed her eyes closed as tight as possible as she felt the monster’s slimy tongue. Its breath was rancid. The smell of human decay and feces. K*** me already!,she thought to herself.

  Soon, the monster came to a stop and slung her body from its mouth. She slid across cold marble until her body hit a wall. When she opened her eyes, she was in a large corridor. The walls reminded her of the outside of Cofer’s castle. The floor was a seared black with streaks of brilliant orange lava.

  CREAK

The sound of a large door opening caught her attention. She turned around to see a large set of doors opening inward. She could barely stand or get her to her feet from all of the slime that covered her body. 

“She has arrived. Finally!” A demon in the form of a minotaur yelled.

He grabbed Josey by her hair and dragged her into a large room. In the middle was a large U-shaped couch. The room almost reminded her of a man cave less the torture devices and the chains on the wall. [What am I thinking?] He stopped and threw Josey’s body on the floor. There were 7 monsters, other than the minotaur. 4 closely resembled humans, 2 looked like ogres, and the last looked like a werewolf.

“This is the succubus half breed that we are expected to possess? Can’t say I’m thrilled.” One of the human monsters rolled their eyes in rebellion. 

“This is the King’s chance to bring Hell to the dream realm. Just suck it up!” The larger ogre said.

“We have 4 days to make this happen. If we don’t possess her human soul, then her succubus will prevail, and her soul will ascend to the dream realm.” Said the human monster with 1 horn.

The werewolf looking monster growled, then licked its lips. He leaned forward and stared into Josey’s eyes. His eyes were a brilliant, icy blue. He sniffed her, then ripped the torn clothes from her body and said, “Hose her down, and let’s get started!”