When at last I opened my eyes, if indeed you can say I did, I found myself in a new and terribly horrible place. Wind appeared to brush the loose hair about my face as I examined my surroundings, I was standing atop a stone bridge not more than two feet wide with no handholds or safety features to be spoken of.
The foggy sky beneath me was vast and I yelped as I attempted to maintain my balance, falling to my knees and gripping both sides of the stone, eyes sewn shut, cowering in fear of falling. Many minutes passed before I gathered the courage to open them and take in my surroundings in earnest, my vision blurring with vertigo as I did so. Before me loomed an absolutely massive yellow stone castle resting atop a mountain. Large rectangular windows littered the surface and spires seemed to scrape the twilight sky above.
The castle consisted of three large structures- the first lined the base of the stone monument, The front of which was protected by a large iron gate, cold steel crossed rods barring entry to the massive structure, tall walls tracing the outline of the wonderful castle. The second structure was above and to the east, opposite to me. I couldn't see it well, as the castle itself blocked most of the details, but a large spire erupted from its far side, ending in a stereotypical wizardly crooked tiled roof at it's tip.
The western side, that attached to the bridge I currently cowered upon, was the largest component, it seemed as impossibly wide as it was long, almost cartoonish in it's unrealistic size. A single large wooden door sat betwixt castle and the stone bridge.
My heart pleaded for safety and begged me to shuffle for it. As I looked out beneath me I saw that the fog below had cleared, rolling away atop previously unseen hills. My vertigo instantly sunk deeper into my heart as a valley so deep that I could hardly make out the blue traced lines of a river appeared. I quickly clutched at the stone bridge once more, hugging it as if I were a child afraid of monsters under my bed.
I peeked out through one eye yet again to see the sky above me was an eternal twilight of orange, yellow, purple and pink. This comforted me, if only mildly, and I felt my heart slow to a more reasonable pace. "Oh my God Desmond, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?" I berated myself angrily.
"Please refrain from speaking that name in my presence." A soft yet melodic voice spoke behind me at the other end of the bridge. The hairs on the back of my neck stood tall once again, I paused a moment, clinging tighter to the cold rough stone once more before daring to take a look.
As I peered back, I saw something truly and impossibly unbelievable. Not twenty feet away, the bridge merged into a large cylinder anointed with a high pointed tile roof, all the way around it's mid section were iron bars, crossed in squares like a bird cage, seemingly suspended in the air with no support above or below, thus defying all known laws of gravity.
The only thing holding it in the sky appeared to be the bridge on which I stood, or more truthfully, clutched. Inside was a man, dirty and bare, greasy long blond hair hung from his head obscuring his face, and filth covered golden wings curled around him. His arms crossed in front of him and held his feet, which were pulled close, his knees held tight against his chest. You would believe the first feature to steal my gaze would be his wings, but alas they were not.
Peering from under the dirty blond hair were the pale blue eyes of a tortured soul, the likes of which I had never before seen. His eyes pierced me, and we lay still for a time, simply watching each other. The whistling of wind sang through the air around me, until finally the mysterious caged man spoke.
"You are wasting time dear Desmond. Each moment you terry here, you are closer to death, true death."
I blinked in surprise, not understanding what he meant. Perhaps he could see this confusion on my face, for his eyes narrowed. "Do you wish to die?" He asked.
"What? Uh… no? No! No, I don't!" I replied, stammering like an idiot. "How did you know my…" I jerked upright unknowingly in protest. Realizing what I'd done, I slammed my chest back into the bridge for comfort. "Who are you?" I asked meekly, trying to block out the deathly heights.
"I am he who can save you. If you free me from this prison, and allow me into the castle across the way, I will do so. What say you?" His voice rang out and into my ears like milk and honey tea, sweet and comforting. I looked back across the stone bridge to the door more than a football field length away.
"But… it's so far! I'm afraid of heights.." I cowered, my voice shaking at the mere thought.
"Then perhaps you should die as the coward you are. Pitiful and alone. Allow your fears to control you and you shall surely perish." The once sweet and comforting voice turned to ice, each word like a dagger in my stomach.
I felt anger swell up from within, what did this man know about me? Nothing! All people have a fear of something, some, of many things. I closed my eyes and slowly raised my chest from the stone bridge. "I'm not a coward!" I called out to him, my voice feigning the courage I wished I had.
"Then open your eyes." He whispered softly, his voice sounded so close I thought I felt his breath on my ear. Many a moment passed before I mustered the courage to do so, and when I did, I found myself standing atop the bridge now, feet firmly planted and the breeze tousling my hair about my face, and yet I felt perfectly balanced.
I took a step forward, then another, and another. Before I realized it, I stood before the cage, a small keyhole to my right, camouflaged almost perfectly in the bars. I was surprised by the lack of smell. I'd figured due to the filthy nature of the man, that the stench would be strong up close, yet there was none.
"Let me out and escort me across. If you would be so kind." The voice said, still huddled tightly as if he were a small child fighting a fierce winter. I thought for a moment, peering about his cage. Loose feathers and hay strewn about. It was as if this man had sat here unmoving from the day he'd been locked in there. I shook my head of the thought and focused on the task at hand.
"How?" I asked. "I don't have a key." I quickly examined my surroundings, more thoughtfully this time as I searched for it. There was nowhere to stand but the two feet of bridge I was already on, and nowhere to hide a key. Finally I shrugged, unsure where it could have possibly been.
"The key is already in your hand Desmond." He said simply, nodding to my left hand. I raised my eyebrows in surprise and looked down.
"What the hell?" I exclaimed as I found a small iron key exactly where he had said it would be. Twirling the key within my fingers I inspected it closely. The key itself was very intricate, the handle was a stylized DM and the blade end appeared as thorns weaving around each other. Not like any key I had ever seen before. Peering at the lock I lifted my left hand and inserted the key, twisting it several times before I heard the satisfying click of release. I pulled the gate open.
"Thank you. Now, please help me up." The man softly commanded. Offering a weak, grimy hand up to me, taking it into my own I pulled him up to his feet, he was surprisingly light. I was about to ask if he was okay, when he spoke first. "I am fine. Let us go. You have precious little time." We moved carefully.
The progress was slow, and we didn't speak, we simply walked, carefully placing each of our steps. It felt like hours before we finally reached the door, yet the sky was unchanged, still the perfect blend of twilights orange into purple and pink. The man was frail, literal skin and bones. His arm stretched over my shoulders and I could feel his rib cage against my side. His hair was long and only allowed peeks at his facial features, the most notable of which was his jawline that cut into his face like foreign features. As we walked I wondered what he might look like once he recovered.. Before I realized it, we were standing before that wooden door. I could see it now with detail, the intricate metal work nailed into its front with cold iron steel contrasted well against the stained dark wood and engraved handle. He leaned against me expectantly, prodding me, reminding me what I needed to do. I opened it and offered for him to go in first. He did so without hesitation.
"Wait!" I said, stopping him as he was crossing the threshold into the castle. "Seriously, who are you? Where are we, and who put you out there?" I bombarded him with questions, my mind all at once full of them.
The man brushed the grime covered hair out of his eyes, revealing his full, still striking tan face, had it not been for the sleep deprived eyes, blistered lips and sunken cheeks, one might have thought him extremely attractive, most probably still would. He smiled and entered the castle slowly closing the door on me while answering. "You may call me Lucifer, Lucifer Morningstar. Thank you again, Desmond." His perfect white teeth shining behind a wide smile as the door shut and the sensation of falling overtook me.