Prospero in Hell by L. Jagi Lamplighter Read Free Book Online Page A

Angel of the Bottomless Pit, fingered his dreadful Key, oblivious of the covetous wraiths of the envious who strived vainly to touch this treasure. Beyond these, Asmodeus and Lucifer sat enthroned, their infernal kingdoms separated by an awful curtain decorated with disembodied eyes.
    Finally, on the far right, directly across from Metratron, towered another gigantic figure: Satan Entrapped in Ice, his three heads weeping rivers of pain, as hideous in his fall as he had once been beautiful in Heaven.
    The final wall, above the door through which we had entered, was carved to represent storm clouds. At the very center, above the doors, the thunderheads had parted, torn by four jagged lightning bolts that radiated away from the break in the clouds. In the center, carved as if walking away through the opening in the storm, pausing to look back over her shoulder, was a dainty creature with four cloven hooves. A spiral horn rose from the center of her brow.
    Mab took off his hat. “ ’Tis the Mother of Us All!”
    “My Lady.” I curtseyed reverently. Mephisto had done Eurynome justice. Seeing the gentle yet unshakable expression in Her eyes, one could believe She was both the Lady of Spiral Wisdom and the Bearer of the Lightning Bolt.
    Mab put his hat back on and made another round of the room, admiring the walls. “Boy! Mr. Mephistopheles knew how to carve!” He whistled. Then, pointing with great excitement at a small figure among the Faery Revel, he exclaimed, “Hey, I think I see one of my… well, you’d call it a cousin!”
    Smiling, I walked the length of the room and came to stand before the back wall. From here, I had a clear view of both Maeve, the Elf Queen, andLilith, the Queen of Air and Darkness. Some bizarre whim had caused Mephisto to carve the two queens with identical faces.
    “ ‘When the truth is known about the queen,’ ” I quoted softly.
    “What’s that?” asked Mab.
    “Hmm? Something I heard recently. I can’t remember where. Astreus said it, I think. No… Ferdinand, perhaps?” Mab just stared at me blankly. I gestured toward the wall. “I guess my brother was running low on beautiful faces. He gave both queens the same features.”
    “That jerk! How dare he besmirch our lady Maeve,” Mab cried loyally, adding quickly, “Begging your pardon, Ma’am, I realize she wasn’t very nice to you, but that is only to be expected. Humans should not truck with elves—no one should, for that matter,” he muttered, perhaps recalling his unexplained night on the coat rack.
    “It’s an understandable error.” I gestured toward the queens. “Various poets mistakenly refer to the Elf Queen by the title ‘Queen of Air and Darkness.’ My addle-brained brother might think they are the same person.”
    “Humans!” Mab gave a snort of disgust. “Can’t tell elves from incubi!” Then, the humor died out of his eyes. “Weird thing is the Harebrain doesn’t show that kind of discernment problem elsewhere.” He gestured at the carvings depicting events in the Inferno. “I’ve never been Below, myself, but I used to have—well, you’d call ’em drinking buddies—who knew about such stuff. Your brother has lots of accurate details here in the way he’s depicted particular imps and demons, uncomfortably accurate. And that curtain with the eyes strung up on it?”
    “That’s not in Dante!” I shivered.
    “Exactly, and yet I’ve heard of it before. It’s a fixture in Hell. But how did Harebrain find out about it?” He paused. “Pretty damning evidence, Ma’am, pardon the pun. The chameleon cloak—have they ever been worn by anybody other than Unicorn Hunters? Either way, they’re as accursed as magical talismen come. The ‘Mephistopheles, Prince of H…’ quip he made before he vanished back at St. Thomas’s, and now this. I think we can rule out the idea that the big, black, bat-winged body of his is a party favor.”
    “I think we knew that in the warehouse.” My voice was