Demon Hunter 5

The crossed bars guarding the key also started to disappear with Cunn. Behind it was a smaller room that had no torches, living off the light the main chamber provided.

Jeff retrieved his spear from the ground and floated to the velvety violet pillow that the key sat on. The shining gold illuminated the dark chamber he now stood in. Jeff grasped the key and slid it into one of the interior pockets of his vest.

Jeff silently strolled to the main chamber and floated up to the nearest torch. He grabbed it and floated back to the ground.

Without a sound, Jeff walked out of the chamber and into the dark tunnel that led to the stairs. His eyes returned to their normal color, and Jeff started his journey back up to the courtyard.

Ashley walked down the stairwell to a black oblivion. When she had entered the tower, it had been dark. There was no source of light anywhere down the stairway. Her long legs were on a constant search for secure footing, since the stairs tilted to any which way, and there seemed to be no definite length as to the drop between two steps. It might be an inch down here, while the next step was a foot below that one.

And it was cold. Very cold. Ashley crossed her arms and wished she had brought a light jacket.

Regardless, Ashley stubbornly made her way down the stairs. Ashley tested the next step for the drop length, and found it to be a ladder. Directly below her, a blue light shone, laying over the floor in the shape of a doorway.

Ashley Broke and floated down the hole. She landed gently and pulled her machine gun. Cocking back the loading handle on the top of the gun, Ashley stepped into a circular room.

Sweeped around the outside were piles of bones, some human-looking, others of different species. The wall was made of stone; large rocks concreted together. The blue light was from a key hanging from the ceiling in a cage. Spikes protruded from the wall at eye's level, and the ceiling was covered with them.

"I welcome you to my lair. My name is Beal. I will be the last thing you ever see." A black blur sped towards Ashley, zig-zagging through the air.

Ashley easily jumped to the side as the end of a weighted chain zipped past her head. The weight stuck to the wall, but immediately retracted to its owner. The weight was bullet-shaped, obviously made of demon steel.

Ashley watched as the weight-and-chain returned to its master. Its master was female, wrapped tightly with black cloth in a ninja-clothes fashion. A blue "fin", as Ashley wanted to call it, protruded from the top of Beal's head. Blue eyes, light blue where they should be white and dark blue where they should be black, stared at Ashley.

"You were able to dodge it this time, but next time..." Beal fell to silence as she wrapped the chain around her forearm. Her eyes were already black, a sign that gave away that she had Broken.

Ashley crossed her arms. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

Beal finished wrapping the chain and went into flight. Ashley stashed the gun in her vest and took flight, too. They charged each other and met in the middle of the room. Sonic booms rocked the room as they flashed lightning kicks and thunder punches. Suddenly, one of Beal and Ashley's kicks met in midair. The force knocked them both backwards, and both slammed into the wall just above the spikes. Ashley managed to recover quicker than Beal, and pulled herself off of the wall.

Beal, however, was not far behind her. As Ashley sailed towards the demon, Beal ducked and Ashley embedded her leg into the wall. Her leg disappeared into the wall up to mid-shin.

With a snicker, Beal floated gently to the ground and landed by a particularly large pile of bones. Just enough handle of a sword stuck out of the pile to be grabbed. Beal yanked it loose, scattering remnants of some warrior spraying all over. She gripped the rusty old broadsword tightly in both hands and floated back up to Ashley.

"Now..." Beal brought the sword up over head. "To finish you off!" Her voice was strained with a deranged joy.

Beal heaved, bringing the sword down at an awsome speed. Air whistled off the side, and sparks flew as the blade met chain. Ashley had unwound the chain from her waist and pulled it tight between her fists. Now she brought her hands together and spun both ends of the chain together, making it look like the fibers of a rope. She yanked the ends apart, and the blade snapped in half.

As Beal watched the blade fall to the ground, Ashley loosened her leg free.

Beal looked up at her adversary and was met full in the face by the same foot that had been stuck in the wall only moments before. Beal did not fly backwards too far before Ashley brought her hands together and brought them down in a giant fist.

Beal was sent careening to the ground, but she was dead before she hit. Ashley pulled the gun from her vest midway through the fall and opened fire.

Ashley floated down to the floor and landed gently. Kneeling down beside Beal, Ashley made sure she was dead. Her question was quickly answered by the slow disappearing of Beal's body.

Ashley leapt to her feet and pointed her gun to the ceiling. There was a clanking from somewhere above her, and immediately the cage containing the key lowered to the ground. The bottom fell out accidentally, but Ashley managed to snatch the key before the circular platform hit.

"Thank you!" Ashley said brightly. With that, Ashley slipped the key into her vest and skipped out of the room back to the surface.