Authors: Andrew Ball
poked out from its hood. It pointed. "Down
the path here. Feel free to jump if you want
to die. Wouldn’t blame you."
Daniel digested that for a minute, then
started down the slightly less snowy section
of rock the goblin had indicated. They were
on a sort of shelf protruding from the
mountain. To Daniel’s right was a steep
drop-off into the valley below. There wasn’t
anything to break a fall for a good five
hundred feet. He stayed close to the left side
of the path and kept an eye on his footing.
A sharp gust whistled by. Daniel bent
low as it stole the heat from his clothes.
"Shit."
The demon hacked a laugh. "Little nippy
today."
"No kidding." Daniel plodded forward
on the rocks. "Not to be rude, but what are
you?"
"Imp, in our tongue. Sometimes you call
us goblins."
Daniel glanced back at the imp. "I’m
Daniel. What’s your name?"
"…I think that’s the first time a
prisoner’s ever asked my name."
"First time for everything."
"Point made. I’m called Minum. Don’t
know why you’d care, though."
"Trying to keep my mind off the fact…"
Daniel shivered again. "…that my balls are
shriveling up."
Minum made a raspy, coughing chuckle.
"Cheeky ones are the most fun."
"Why’s that?"
"More entertaining when they finally
break."
"…oh." Daniel half-laughed, half
breathed through his nose. "So you the
gatekeeper, or something?"
"More or less. Lead you human lot from
the arrival platform in." He jabbed a thumb
back over his shoulder. "You can’t see it
much with all the snow, but that’s a serious
enchantment. You’re younger than most, I
gotta say. Been a few young ones lately."
"Kinda crappy to sit out here."
He spat over the cliff. "Cold work, but
you get used to it. And we know when you’re
coming. Only been here five minutes."
Minum seemed talkative. Daniel figured
he probably didn’t get to vent about his job
much. It might be a good opportunity to get
information. "I seem to like it," he prompted.
"Yeah, it’s not so bad. Contractor
nonsense has put the spring back in my step."
"Your English is pretty good for a
demon."
"Heh." The imp spat again. "Long time
ago, used to be a dozen languages for every
race, just like your world. The old ruler got
sick and tired of it, so they cast a spell so we
could all understand each other
permanently."
"Sounds like they’re strong."
"She was the kind to make you wet
yourself, yeah. But she’s long gone."
"She?"
"Yeah. She."
"Imagine that."
Minum laughed again. "You got a good
attitude. Most come down kicking and
screaming. Gotta drag em’ with magic. I
encourage most to jump. Boys back at the
prison have a pool going for how many kill
themselves. I’m 23 for 35 this year."
Daniel swallowed. "I guess freezing
mountainsides don’t have much in the way of
entertainment."
Daniel watched the goblin’s face split
into a fanged grin. "Oh, there’s plenty of
entertainment. We watch what goes on in the
prison. That’s more than enough most times.
Biggest broadcast station in the empire."
Hell. Prison. Torture. Eternity. Daniel
looked over the edge of the cliff. A quick
death might not be so bad.
For a moment, he thought about Rachel.
The pain came again.
He felt a sudden clarity. He understood
why people would just jump. They were so
desperate for an ending that any would do.
He considered jumping for a moment, giving
it the long thought of a man that had nothing
to lose and could dwell on whatever impulse
struck his fancy. But it wasn’t for him.
Or maybe he was just too afraid.
No, it wasn't that. He wasn't too afraid.
He was too angry. He wanted to choke the
life out of Matthew before he died.
"…so…what exactly is the prison?" he
asked. "Do I get a cell?"
"Why spoil the surprise? You’ll find out
soon enough."
They rounded a large drift of snow.
Daniel stopped. Nestled a few dozen yards
past them in the side of the mountain was a
series of towers and walkways carved
straight from the black rock. It looked like a
jagged hole in the earth made to suck down
every good thing in the world. Daniel
shivered again, but not from the cold.
"The Gates of Hell," Minum said.
"Homey, ain’t it?"
"I wouldn’t have picked that exterior."
Minum slapped him on the back a bit too
hard. "Nothing gets you down, huh? Maybe
I’ll keep an eye on you, kid. Give you your
first follower."
"Follower?"
"Heh. You’ll see, you’ll see. Keep on,
now, your balls ain’t the only ones freezing."
They kept along the path until the
structure leered high over their heads. Daniel
noticed a wide road tucked in the rock
opposite them. Maybe there was some
civilization in some distant land past the
mountains. "What did you mean by broadcast
station? Is this shown on television or
something?
"PrisonWatch," Minum said. "Biggest
television channel in the empire, which
spans twenty solar systems."
"Are you joking?"
"Does it sound like I’m joking?" Minum
huffed. "Humans all the same. They can’t
ever believe that they’re the backward
moron race. Welcome to reality."
They reached the entrance. The double
doors formed an intimidating stone gateway.
Their surface was carved with screaming,
twisted faces. Daniel watched them open,
pulled by long chains connected to pulleys
high up on the tower. Watchmen posted
above must have noticed their approach.
The doors creaked to a halt. Within was
a murky black hall. Daniel’s eyes drifted to a
wide arch set just above the entrance. It was
carved with strange symbols he didn’t
recognize, but almost as soon as he looked at
it, the words wavered, shifting into legible
English.
Through me you pass into the city of
woe:
Through me you pass into eternal pain:
Through me among the people lost for
aye.
Justice the founder of my fabric
moved:
To rear me was the task of Power
divine,
Supremest Wisdom, and primeval Love.
Before me things create were none,
save things
Eternal, and eternal I endure.
All hope abandon ye who enter here.
"…no confetti? I expected confetti."
Minum grinned. "This place been here
apiece even before the king now was king.
He’s a bit of a showman. Gotta keep the
ratings up. Ratings means advertising, and
that means cash."
"Evidently."
"In you go," Minum said. "I like you kid, so here’s fair warning. Don’t get your hopes
up."
Daniel planted his feet forward and
walked under the arch. "See you later,
Minum."
"Heh." Minum’s voice echoed into the
hall. "Good luck, kid. Maybe I will bet on
you."
The doors groaned shut behind him,
sealing him in with a solid boom that rung
out with all the finality of the place called
Hell. He was plunged into complete
darkness.
And then he heard the weeping.
Daniel felt the last tiny bit of hope
evaporate out of his heart.
Epilogue
Xikanthus Vol’mund Dovian
pom'Nafalstra appeared outside Beelzebub’s
central office. The innermost room was deep
within the palace at the capital of the demon
empire, the city called Dis.
Xik examined the enchantment that held
the door locked. He passed a hand over it
and analyzed the structure with a diagnostic
sigil. The spell passed the information back
to Nafalstra. In a few seconds, a sigil pattern
arrived back in his current universe.
Xik pushed his power forward. Orange
light seeped into the bolt. The lock opened
soundlessly. Xik poked his head in between
the doors.
The office was soft shades of green. A
wood desk sat behind several chairs. It was
rather conservative for a demon.
Standing behind the desk, facing a long
row of windows, was the king of Hell,
Beelzebub. The demon’s powerful build
made Xik look like a thin rod. His skin was
blood red. Black claws folded behind his
back clicked together impatiently.
"You have two choices," Beezlebub
said. "You may explain why you have broken
into my office and be tortured to death.
Alternatively, I will force it out of you, and
for wasting my time, you’ll be tortured
forever."
"Impressive you noticed me."
Beelzebub turned from the windows.
"Not as impressive as how you can hide your
presence."
"Then how did you know I was here?"
"I sensed my spell on the door fail."
"Ah." Xik made a mental note to put in a
complaint to Nafalstra. "You are the king of
Hell, Beelzebub, correct?"
The demon closed his eyes. "I think I’ll
enjoy peeling the skin off your body."
"I am an ambassador from the Klide,"
Xik added. He smiled at Beelzebub’s
surprise. "Are you more amenable to a
discussion, knowing that?"
"I thought you might visit me sometime.
But there are no Vorid in Hell."
"Yet," Xik said. "But we both know that Earth’s fate is tied quite closely to this
universe. If the humans go, then -"
"I’m aware of the consequences. I wrote
the treaty. I built Hell." Beelzebub glanced
out from his office. The city of Dis stretched
below the palace. In the distance, a huge
transport ship was landing at the spaceport,
returned from an excavation on the planet’s
moon. "What do you want?"
"A contractor will be imprisoned in
Hell shortly. A young man named Daniel
Fitzgerald."
"And?"
"The humans may be as stubborn as they
like, but the Klide cannot afford to lose him.
Survival rates against lords are not
particularly high."
"I cannot disturb the treaty."
"You won’t have to." Xik walked
forward until he stood next to the demon.
"We aren’t interested in who fights against
the Vorid; only that they fight. In exchange
for your cooperation, you could be that
warrior. When the Vorid threat ends, the
power will be yours to do with as you wish."
"Are you suggesting that I become a
contractor myself and kill this human?"
A smile crept up Xik’s wide frog lips.
"You have the general idea."
###
To Be Continued
In Book Two of The Contractors:
Prisoner
###
Acknowledgements
Thanks for reading my book! I hope you
had as much fun reading it as I did writing it.
This book represents the culmination of
a lot of time and effort, as well as the advice
and encouragement of friends and family. I
owe them more than they realize.
To a few special fans that followed me
through a few other, smaller projects that sit
in relative obscurity—thank you for the
support.
This book would not be what it is
without my editors: my mother, who gave me
my first fantasy novel; my older sister, who
is an amazing writer all her own; and one of
my best friends, Scott, who would not rest
until there were no plot holes.
One last shout out to the C104 club—
thanks for being there.
About the Author
Andrew Stephen Ball is an indie author and
pharmacy technician. He attended college at
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New
York State, where he earned a B.S. in
Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology. He
plans on going to pharmacy school in New
Hampshire, where he currently lives with his
grandmother. He's been a lifelong fantasy
and science fiction enthusiast. His favorite
food is pizza, and he does not trust people
who don’t like chocolate.
Connect with me:
Official Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Andrew-
S-Ball/1515164785382499
Follow me on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Andrew_S_Ball
Smashwords Author Profile:
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/andrewsball
Novels by Andrew S. Ball
The Contractors
Contractor
Prisoner
(2015)
###
Following is a short excerpt from the
upcoming sequel to Contractor:
Prisoner
As a human, Jack Killiney was small