My stomach lurched in the brief moment of freefall. My pulse skipped as fear reared its head. The all-encompassing darkness made it even more disorientating. Too quickly my feet hit the floor and, unprepared for the impact, my legs buckled beneath me.

My hands scrabbled blindly in an attempt to catch myself but there was nothing to grasp onto for purchase. Instead, I crashed to the ground with a thud, my already battered body smacking onto the unforgiving ground. Muscles throbbed in angry protest. I wanted nothing more than to remain on the floor feeling sorry for myself. I knew I couldn't. There was a woman who deserved justice and she wouldn't get it if I didn't get up.

It was up to me.

With a groan, I rolled over onto my side. As my weight shifted, something crunched beneath me. Swallowing loudly, I pushed up on to my knees.

Summoning my sword to me once again, I held it before me and swung it around me. The blade's light lit up the space around me, revealing the features which had been hidden by the gloom. It didn't make the space any more appealing. At least the darkness hid how depressing the space truly was. The cellar was barely more habitable than the building above had been. At least someone had at least taken the time to remove the dust and grime from the underground space. Yet even those small acts did nothing to remove the dilapidated air that hung about the place.

Climbing to my feet, I swung around in a circle using the light which emanated from the blade to guide me. At least there weren't any strange creatures waiting for me in the shadows of this room. I had seen too many horror films in my life not to expect something to jump out at me.

After the initial survey, I swept over to the table. The table top was scorched as if something had burned bright and hot on the surface and there was some ashy residue. A black residue lingered on the table top. Brushing my hand over the surface, I frowned. The wood was still warm.

We were so close and yet still so far. They had been here, they had burned the evidence, and then they had left. Mere minutes separated us. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they had probably been in the cellar when the explosion had rocked through the building above. And while we were trying to orientate ourselves, they were destroying any evidence which could lead back to them and then they were fleeing.

"Shit." I cursed before clapping my hand over my mouth. Automatically I searched for the young impressionable little boy who would no doubt parrot the words back to me. And then I remembered where I was and the curse spilled from my lips for a second time. "Shit!"

Glancing around, my eyes lingered on the doorway set at the far end of the cellar. It was calling to me, beckoning me to explore. The door, hanging by a single hinge, was the only other way out of the room. They hadn't managed to escape via the hatch. We would have seen them. The entire building had been surrounded. It meant the only way they could have escaped was through the tired-looking door on the other side of the room.

I glanced up at the square of light above which offered a degree of safety. I should go and get help. I shouldn't investigate on my own. It was the stupid thing to do – I knew it within my heart. It was safer to wait for the others to catch up to me. We should hunt the enemy together.

Yet, waiting for them in relative safety above did not mean that we would remain safe. We needed to find these people before they caused any further destruction. The longer we allowed them to remain unchecked, the more likely it would be that they would harm someone else.

There was no time to waste.

My feet were moving before I could even finish the thought. I wanted my family safe and the only way for that to happen was to make sure the culprits who instigated the violent attacks within the city were caught. I had to make sure that whatever they had released from Tartarus was recaptured and sealed away once more.

Wrapping my hand around the edge of the door, I pulled. Paint crumbled beneath my grasp and dug into my skin. The door groaned on its hinge. Slowly it gave, inching open one shriek at a time as I forced it the rest of the way open. At the last moment the hinge gave way and the heavy solid piece of wood dropped to the ground with a large crash. I winced at the loudness of it, pressing myself against the wall.

My heart thumped in my chest and my hand tightened around the hilt of my sword. With baited breath, I listened for any signs of attack. All I could hear was my own pulse thudding in my ears. Slowly, I edged closer to the doorway. And then, releasing a slow calming breath, I stepped out from behind the wall with my sword held up before me.

The tunnel led away from me in a straight line, drifting into impenetrable darkness. They resembled old mine shafts in their construction, right down to the irritating drip of water falling from the ceiling. Someone had painstakingly carved out a tunnel, wooden beams used to support both the ceiling and the walls at regular points. They offered no reassurances about the structural safety. Who knew hold long they had been here under the city? Who knew if they were strong enough to keep supporting the tunnels?

I swallowed loudly. So what if I was afraid of being buried alive. I could do this. I didn't need to be mollycoddled and protected. I could do this.

No matter how much I attempted to pep talk myself out of fear, nothing could stop my hand from trembling around my sword nor stop my stomach from twisting up in to painful knots. Still I placed one foot in front of the other. Gritting my teeth together, I forced myself forwards.

The tunnels continued on for fifteen feet before they veered sharply to the right, sloping downwards as they lead further and further into the ground. Breathing in through my nose, I moved as quickly as I could, racing forward on the balls of my feet in an attempt to minimise the sound of my steps. Each crunch of dirt beneath my boots echoed loudly around me. The nervous flutter in my stomach intensified. My entire body was taught with anticipation, as if the next crunch would bring an ambush down upon me.

The tunnel eventually spilled out into a large circular antechamber. Greater care had been taken with this part of the underground network. The tunnel walls had been roughly carved into the underlying rocks, the walls jagged and sharp. The chamber was different. Detailed images and symbols had been carved painstakingly in every inch of visible surfaces.

A dozen other tunnels split off from the antechamber, each as dark and unwelcoming as the one I had emerged from. Holding my sword aloft, I strained for the barest hint of noise or activity but there was none.

"Where the hell did they go?" I muttered, turning on my heel and staring at each open tunnel in turn as if to coax out their secrets.

Using my blade, I placed a nick in the stone mantle around the tunnel I had emerged from. The clang of metal striking rock reverberated around me, the sound continuing to ring for several long seconds. Holding my breath, I strained my eyes against the gloom. Sword light could only penetrate so far. Finally, when there was no more procrastinating, I moved further into the underground chamber.

Each tunnel leading off looked the same as the one I had just come through. The only difference were the ancient runes carved above the arch of the tunnel entrance. Slowly, I made my way around to each arch, examining the runes as if they could give some answers. Yet the obscure etchings remained foreign to me. No amount of squinting and tilting my head could account for the lack of learning.

It was a lost cause. There were no clues as to where they lead and the tunnels themselves offered no clues as to where Terran and his men had gone. Each appeared untouched, as if they had been left forgotten. Cobwebs networked across the ceiling and dust hung heavy in the air. There weren't even any footprints in the dirt covered floor

I frowned as I returned to where I started. Maybe I had missed a turning? Maybe Terran and his men hadn't even found their way here?

Glancing up at the ceiling, a breath caught in my throat. Lifting my sword above my head, the gleaming point directed at the stone above me. I felt myself mesmerised by the large intricate images etched into the stonework. It was beautiful and it was terrible. The images were so lifelike it felt as if I was peering up at a photograph. The images told a story – one I had seen before. Lucius's face stared down at me, an inhuman cast to his features as he wrought terror upon everyone in his path. Blood dripped from his wings as he looked down at his work. It was all there in stone – the evil of the devil in its full glory.

My stomach lurched. It felt wrong. It wasn't the Lucius I knew. Humanity had certainly changed him. I had never been so glad that he had lived amongst the humans, that he had allowed them to change him.

I shivered and looked away. "I wonder if Lucius knows about these tunnels." I muttered to myself, staring around the vast space as if answers would come.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice I was no longer alone until Terran's slow clap filled the air. The sound echoed off the walls, a voiceless taunt which bombarded me from all sides.

"Well, I would say I am impressed with you, vermin." Terran sneered, taking a step into the open. "But I don't think there is anything impressive about you."

The demon grew more repulsive each time I saw him. It was as if the ugliness of his soul was reflected upon the outside. His contempt twisted his features into an ugly grimace. I refused to give him the satisfaction of looking away. Instead, I tightened my grip around the hilt of my sword, daring him with my gaze to make a move.

"I'll take that as I compliment."

Terran stepped closer to me and, on instinct, I took a step back.

He leered at my defensive gesture. "Not feeling so confident now are you? Without your little soldiers to defend your honour you are just another piece of vermin which needs to be exterminated."

With a roll of my eyes, I replied, "I didn't need any guards to protect me at the palace. I disarmed you without their help and I could do it again just as easily. Do not mistake caution for weakness."

"Filth. You think you can best me? I am the –."

"Yes, I can best you. I have already proven this to you once." I stated calmly before casually reaching into the pocket of my trousers with my free hand. "You are a weak man who must use others to handle your dirty work because you are not strong enough to do it yourself. Did you want to have a rematch?"

I was forever grateful that I had thought to leave the sheath tied around my leg. My fingers clasped around the hilt of the knife. Then, before Terran could say or do anything, I whipped out the knife from my pocket. Turning my body, I launched the knife through the air. My eyes were trained back on Terran by the next second. There was a grunt before a wet rasping filled the air. A second later there was a dull thump behind me as the body of my victim hit the floor.

I raised my brows at the man opposite me and asked, "Were you really trying to ambush me? Did you really think it would be that easy?"

"I could say the same for you. Did you like the party? I thought it went off with a – what's the word I'm looking for?" Terran tapped his many chins as if deep in thought. "- bang. That's the one."

"You could have killed an innocent bystander, one of your own people."

Terran shrugged his shoulders. "Every war has casualties. They would have paid the price to ensure that the underworld finally becomes the realm it should be."

"And that is why you will never succeed. You do not see the whole picture. You just see a small corner of the world, a small perverted part you have twisted for your own purposes. You don't see the things that matter – the people around you. They are just your cannon fodder." I stated, shaking my head in disgust. "Your eyes are so blinded you can only see the world you want to look upon but I can tell you right now that it does not exist and it will never exist."

"You think me small minded? I have lived longer than you could ever have imagined and I know your beloved fiancé better than you ever will." The demon gave a vicious grin. I shifted on the balls of my feet. He was up to something. "You'll see soon enough. Soon you'll see just how wrong you are and I will be here to watch everything you care about fall into ruins."

I held up my blade and smiled grimly, "What makes you think I will let you leave here alive?"

Terran replied with a big toothy grin that set me on edge. "If you don't let me leave easily, I won't be able to tell my partner to stop his mission. I won't be able to keep him from assassinating your son." I opened my mouth to speak but the odious man held up a finger and waggled it through the air in chastisement. "I wasn't finished. It really was an error in judgement to leave your son in the castle with just maids and butlers for company. It is so easy to buy loyalty. You'd be surprised at how little it actually takes."

"There's a traitor in the palace." I stated firmly. "I don't believe you."

Yet, even as I said the words, doubt coursed through me. We trusted the staff at the palace implicitly. Terran's words were like poison, infecting the bonds with seeds of doubt.

Terran simply threw back his head and laughed. The sound was horrible, grating painfully against my eardrums.

"I think I'm going to let you go. I want to watch you squirm – to see you question your instincts as you view every person with suspicion. To see your face when you realise just how wrong you are." He paused, as if savouring his next words. "Most of all, I am excited to watch the fight leave you as you finally learn your place."

"You are not going to win." I retorted, glaring at the demon. "You are going to pay for what you have done."

Terran laughed, "What exactly have I done? Where is your proof? My being in these tunnels is proof of nothing. Now, if you are quite finished, I have things to do. You however, cannot be allowed to follow."

I whipped around as something came hurtling towards me from the tunnel off to the right. On instinct, I stepped to the side and swung my sword through the air. The projectile hit my blade with a loud clang. There was a brief spark as it they made impact. Instantly smoke started pouring from the black metal canister. It spread rapidly, filling the air around me.

Another canister was flung through the air, and then another. Clamping my hand over my nose and mouth, I held my breath while I sought a way out. There was too much smoke. It was getting thicker and thicker as the seconds passed. Visibility rapidly reduced until the smoke was so thick it burned to keep my eyes open.

I fought against the panic, my eyes blinking rapidly as they strained against the smoke. My chest burned with the need to breathe. Placing one foot in front of the other, I fought against the impulse. I knew if I breathed in the gas then it would be game over. I would succumb to whatever was filling the air and I would be vulnerable to Terran and his men. I was already vulnerable. I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face, the cloud of smoke so thick I could feel it surrounding me like a wall.

It felt endless.

One step. Another step. My lungs burned and my vision narrowed but I kept my hand over my mouth. I stumbled, my hand falling away from my mouth as I did so. Gasping in surprise, I threw my hands out to catch my fall, sucking in a lungful of gas in the process. As soon as I realised my mistake, I tried to hold my breath but, now that I had taken one deep breath of air, my body took more regardless of what I wanted. My body's survival instinct was too strong.

With every breath I took, I coughed and spluttered. The effect was instantaneous. Every action which followed was a battle. My limbs felt lethargic, weighted down by the chemicals now being pumped around my body by my traitorous heart.

I clawed my way to the edge of the room with one hand and turned so that my back was pressed firmly against the stone. With my fingers wrapped painfully around the hilt of the sword, I prepared for an attack. It was a losing battle.

There would be no fighting the smoke. I had inhaled too much. My thoughts became discombobulated and my eyes fluttered. And then, between one heartbeat and the next, I knew nothing further.