Alaina walked down the jagged path, doing her best to not look like a lost little elf running around the demon-infested Underworld. She might have been desperate to leave that hovel, but now that she was out and about, she couldn't help but be nervous. She tugged absentmindedly at her knit cap, double-checking that it covered her ears.

"Are you alright?" Jophiel asked from behind her. Apparently, her nervousness was more obvious than she'd hoped.

Alaina nodded, not bothering to look at him. She was afraid he'd see how tense she really was.

"Don't worry – I won't let anything happen." he promised.

Alaina stopped and turned. Jophiel was looking at her, the uneasiness clear in his ice-blue eyes.

"Everything alright?" Cole called out from in front. He was looking back at them questioningly.

"We're fine." Alaina said. Maybe she wasn't as convincing as she hoped, because Cole sighed.

"There's nothing to worry about, I promise." he told her, giving his most reassuring grin. "All we have to do is make it to the city, find this Eero guy, and then we can get out of here once and for all. We'll have to cross the river Styx, of course. But we're actually heading that way already, so..."

"How sure can we be about any of this?" Jophiel asked, eyes narrowed. His wings fanned out slightly in frustration, and Alaina saw flecks of charcoal float to the ground.

"Very." Cole said, matching his look. "And watch your wings, angel. We don't have enough powder to keep re-covering them."

Jophiel grumbled to himself, but he folded his wings flat against his back. Cole had brought a jar full of the charcoal powder back with him for this exact purpose, but it was still an arduous process to cover the angel's wings. And doing it in public would be risky.

The three continued in silence. Alaina tried to ignore the blood-orange sky and the inky-black of the path before her. As they walked, the gloom started to fade, replaced with an almost pleasant greenness. It wasn't like the grass back home; it was more gnarled and prickly. Stunted. But it wasn't as eerie as the the half-burnt village they'd been living in for the past two weeks.

The sickly grass gave way to fields of emerald with the most vibrant perfumed flowers. There were purples, blues, and oranges. Some were the size of her hand. Alaina had always thought the gardens around her village were the most beautiful in the world, but she was starting to rethink that.

"I've never seen anything like this." she murmured, half to herself.

"It's not quite what I'd expected Hell to look like." Jophiel grumbled, sounding jealous.

"Really?" Cole seemed surprised. "Did you think we were all just doom and gloom down here?"

"Well..." Jophiel at least looked a little guilty at the admission.

"Some places are nicer than others." Cole shrugged. "But don't let appearances fool you."

"It must be a trick."

"...Sort of. I mean, it is  Hell." Cole said. "Just... don't touch anything."

"So who is Eero?" Alaina asked.

"No idea – never heard of him." Cole admitted. "But if that memory is anything to go by, he'll be the one who can stop the spirits from escaping back to your realm."

Alaina nodded; she knew that. And it was the whole reason they were down here in the first place. The longer the spirits were up there, the more chaos they caused. It was yet another reason why Alaina wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

They found the Gallery of Grief at the end of a fittingly sad-looking alley. Alaina had been expecting a tall, imposing building full of sharp edges. Instead, it looked more like an abandoned gift shop.

Cole led them through the door and into a large, circular room. It was about the size of her cottage back home and seemed to be made entirely of onyx-colored cobblestones. The only light in the room came from the door they'd come through.

Cole walked into the room, his footsteps echoing on the stones. He looked around like he owned the place, and Alaina wondered how often he'd actually been to the Gallery of Grief— she didn't know what he normally did around here. Did he have a job? Who even knew?

He dropped his bag on the ground and pulled the half-empty jar of charcoal powder out of his pocket. He walked around in a circle, dumping the powder in a thin line behind him. He made it just over three-fourths of the way around before he ran out.

"Well, isn't that just just great?" he muttered to himself. "Try to make one simple little summoning circle, and look where it gets you?"

He was still muttering to himself as he bent down, using his fingers to thin the line and make it stretch further. Alaina went to the start of the line and did the same from that end. Even Jophiel helped, though he looked less than excited about contributing to demon-summoning.

Once the circle was complete, Cole walked along it a second time, setting candles down at various points along its edge. Then, he took one last, forlorn look at the now-empty jar of charcoal powder. Sighing, he grabbed a candle and stood in the middle of the circle. He dragged the candle's base across the stones in the center, smearing the wax into a large, complicated rune. He put the stub back on the line, grumbling "good enough."

With a wave of his hand, Cole lit the candles. He started chanting something under his breath that Alaina didn't understand. The longer he chanted, the brighter the candles grew. Then, with one final burst of flame, the room lit up like it was noon back home. Then, it plunged into darkness.

In the dark, Alaina could hear the sound of shuffling along the stone floor just a few feet in front of her. A candle fell over, rolling until it hit her shoe.

"Who turned out the lights?" someone asked. It sounded like a small child.

"Who's there?" Alaina asked. Had Cole summoned the wrong demon? Maybe they should have brought more charcoal for this ritual.

The candles suddenly relit themselves.

Cole gave a self-satisfied nod before turning to the center of the circle and the small, curly-haired child sitting within. He had his arms crossed over his chest and an impressive scowl on his face. Two horns stuck through his hair. They weren't nearly as impressive as Cole's, but they were still concerning for a toddler.

"Who are you?" Cole asked.

"Eero." the little boy announced defiantly. "And you've interrupted a very important playtime."

"Oh, well we can't have that, can we?" Cole scoffed.

"It is a shame." Jophiel agreed, sounding only marginally more sincere. "But since we've got you here... what can you tell us about the Gates of Hell?"

"Really?" Alaina stared. How could Jophiel really think this boy would know anything about the Gates of Hell? "He's a child!"

"He's a demon." Jophiel countered.

"Still..." Alaina couldn't decide if he had a point or not.

"The gates inside the big black stones?" Eero asked. "I know all about that!"

"You do?" Alaina could hardly believe it.

"I play there with Kitty all the time." 

Alaina wasn't quite sure what to say. Who'd let a kid play in a place like that? Though if his parents were also demons, she guessed maybe she could understand it.

"Do you know how to close them?" she found herself asking.

"Yes." The child actually scoffed at her. Alaina tried not to be insulted.

"Ok, well, that's great."

"But you're going to have to help me get Kitty first."

"We don't really have time for that..." Alaina told him gently.

"You get Kitty or the gates stay open!" Eero stomped his foot. The candles flickered and the room seemed to shudder.

"Alright, alright." Alaina said, holding her hands in front of her as she tried to calm the child.

"Good." Eero said, still pouting. But at least the room had stopped shaking. It wasn't ideal, but she guessed they could spare a few minutes to help this child find his pet. Besides, how bad could a kitten be?