Risky Roxxy, the Ghoul part 9

The Ghoul Part 9

It was sickening.

The stench of old death, stale, sour...spoiled. The undeniable aroma of a ghoul's nesting place filled dungeon hall. With each cell we passed as we headed towards the staircase at the end of the hall the smell became stronger.

It made me want to gag.

Lights hung along the wall, strung together by a thin and weak looking wire. Their light gave off a sickly yellow orange glow that, while dim, still managed to give me a headache if I stared at it too long. Mold and mildew had grown over the old and cracking stone wall thanks to the leaking water steadily dripping from the decaying pipes. Opened cell doors lined the hall. Unlike my cell, these didn't have any light. Their contents were hidden in the darkness and it put me on edge.

Although, I didn't sense any true danger around me, I remained alert. There was no telling what nasty creatures were waiting to spring from the shadows the moment I let my guard down.

Walking past another open cell, I glance down at the child in my arms to see how she was holding up against the smell. Lucky for me, she was passed out. Had it not been for the soft snores echoing from her, I would've thought she'd succumbed to the dance of death.

Despite the situation, I felt a smile creep across my face. The more I looked at the little girl, the more I thought, no, I knew that death would have a hard time taking her. She was a survivor, that much was evident given the fact that she was still alive.

I have to find somewhere safe for-

"Mom...my," the cry suddenly drifted into my ears as I passed on of the last cells. "Da...ddy."

A sudden chill ran down my spine and I froze, no more than a few feet away from the shadowed staircase. Subtly in the background I could hear the scurrying feet of rats and the annoying screech of a swaying light.

"I... want my mommy, please... it hurts." The small voice cried and I turned my attention to the cell on my left. I was greeted by a wooden door almost completely covered by mold, mushrooms and whatever other nasty fungus liked to grow in moist and humid areas.

"That's the door looking like that?"

Dear god, I didn't want to imagine what the inside of the cell must look like.

It made my skin crawl.

Is there really a child behind that door? I thought, trying my best to find any reason to keep moving forward.

I couldn't.

I knew what I heard and while the thought that it might be a trap crossed my mind I knew I'd feel like shit if it there was a defenseless child locked in that bacteria infested room and I simply walked away.

"Fuck." I cursed under my breath. There weren't many things that creeped me out, but mold and fungus was something that just gave me the hebe jibees and it was just my luck that I didn't have any fire handy to burn that damn door down.

"What's wrong?" My companions voice sleepily echoed. "I can walk now." She said as she rubbed her eyes.

Nodding, I slowly placed her on her feet and helped her steady herself. Once I was sure she would fall we turned our attention back to the door.

Grinding my teeth in frustration I said, "fucking mold."

"Do you want me to get rid of it?" She asked as those sunken eyes looked up at me in questioning.

Raising a brow, I responded, a spark of hope in my voice, "can you?"

Her dry lips gave me a cracked smile as she said. "of course."

Giving her a nod that gave her permission to do what she needed to get rid of the fungus, I watched as she limped her way to the door ad reached one of those bony hands out. She pressed it against the door and I cringed, taking a step back as I did so.

Nasty. I thought but continued to watch.

For a while nothing happened. Only her small shoulders trembling as she most likely tried to call on her elemental abilities. However, given how weak she was there was no-

The first spark of fire popped out from under her palm. A few seconds later another spark, and then another, and another until it looked like she'd lit fireworks under her palm.

"Than you." I heard her say and then she gave a sigh of relief.

As if her gratitude was all her power needed, the air hummed with heated energy that caused me to break out in a sweat. One moment it looked like 4th of July fireworks had exploded under her hand, that next a wild flame flickered around her hand before traveling up her arm, burning away the over-sized sleeve of her nightgown.

Amazed, I looked on as the fire spread from her to the door. Creeping across the infested wooden planks until it had consumed it entirely.

A goblin who can use fire? My gaze went from the door, that crumbled into a heap of ash, to the little girl who stood staring at me expectantly.

"You can use fire." It wasn't a question but an obvious statement.

She nodded.

"Amazing.," was all I managed to croak out past my disbelief.

A goblin who could use fire... that should have been impossible, at least according to all the textbooks and research I've come across. Sure, Goblins were elemental power users but their skills were limited to elements like Earth and Water, given that their homes were often close to lakes and rivers, or under old bridges, or deep under mountains. Fire was not something their kind was able to use. Not to mention that in all the years I've been a hunter I'd never run across a goblin who could use such a powerful and destructive element, and needless to say, I've come across my fair share of extraordinary goblin magic users.

So then...how could she? or maybe the better question was, who is she?

As if she was ashamed, she hung her head and in that same small voice she'd used back in our cell, she apologized.

Why did she look like she was about to burst out into tears?

My feet were moving before I knew it. I wrapped her in my arms and immediately she tensed. A piece of my heart broke. Pulling back I looked straight into those almost dead eyes and said, "good job," and then patted her on her head.

The brief spark of joy I saw reflected in her gaze gave me a sense of contentment I wasn't used to.

"Stay here. I'll be right back." I told her as I went to take a step into the cell, only to pause when I felt her grab my hard.

I looked back at her, puzzled.

"I'm coming too." She stated defiantly.

I stared at her for a moment and it seemed to down on her what she'd just done and she began to draw back.

Reaching, i grabbed her by the hand and intertwined our fingers and then said, "okay. But, stay close to me. We don't know what's waiting for us in here. Got it?"

Another cracked lipped smile was my reward.

Cute. I thought and then turned my attention back to the matter at hand.

Together we stepped into the cell and I froze. The blood drained from my face as I was confronted with a creature that looked like it had crawled out from the deepest pits of some mold infested underworld.

-UP NEXT: THE GHOUL FINALE!!!!!-