Enigma of the Soul - Book 1 - Pieces (19 page)

David is still searching within his soul for the fire that allows him transform into his demon armor. Looking back into his past, David finds only pain and heartache. The memories that fill his head make his heart want to shatter. His brothers, sisters, parents… all of his family… are dead. Gripping his chest, David feels his heart stop and want to explode. David falls to his knees as tears rain out of his eyes.

Alfonzo rushes to comfort him, “Are you okay?”

“I just thought about my family and how I am the last of them. I have no one. I am the last,” David lets the tears fall.

“You have me, always and forever more. Besides, I think that we are one of a kind.”

“I cannot feel my fire within my soul. I just see darkness all around me, always closing in on me. No matter how hard I try I cannot escape the shadows that plague me. It feels like death is all around me and around the ones I love dearly. In the end, I just want to feel the warmth of a home again.”

David hugs himself to comfort himself. Alfonzo puts her arms around David. She holds on to him for a couple of minutes with no words exchange between them. Their two hearts beat as one. The thoughts of each intertwine intoxicating them. David hears a man's name he thought was a myth. Alfonzo begins to have strange feelings she has never felt before. She searches her past to find a feeling similar but find nothing. Then it hits her.

“There is a person that can help the both of us. This person can always make me happy whenever I’m down. He has lots of answers to many questions. This person is like no other.”

Alfonzo pulls away to sit in front of David.

“I am going to take you to meet my father. He has always told me the truth, no matter the problem. He has always been there for me. You will find that he is a very honest person. He has helped me with so many questions throughout the years. I cannot believe the knowledge he has gained throughout the years. Some people believe that he is a god. He is not. He is my father and nothing more than that. My father can help you find the fire you have lost.”

Alfonzo stands up and pulls David close. They stare deep into each other’s eyes.

“I will be honored to meet your father, and I hope that he will like me also. But you haven’t told me what you felt before, during and after your transformation.”

David pulls Alfonzo close to him, “Tell me, please. Please help me.”

“Its hate, love, pain, joyful bliss, sorrow, all mixed into one. For some, it’s only one or two. For others, multiple of feelings are stored deep inside. Each person, demon, and angel is different in how they evolve to a higher level. In the end, it’s all up to you.”

“I think that I am going to let this brew in my head for a little while. It is starting to get dark out. I better get home and get some rest.”

“You better get some rest because we leave tomorrow. It is a day’s flight from here. There is no turning back now. You have committed to your decision, and I am making you stick to it all the way,” Alfonzo turns back into a phoenix and hovers in front of David.

“Okay, take me home. Take me to hell.”

David turns around and walks away from Alfonzo. She flies off into the opposite direction.

Darkness has fallen when David reaches his apartment. The trip back took longer than expected. Zaria is up pacing back and forth, as David walks through the door. Her cheeks are wet with tears from the worrying. David closes the door and turns around to find Zaria leaping into his arms. He should feel love but only a heavy heart hangs within David’s chest.

“I thought that you left for good this time. When it became dark outside, I feared that the worst had happened. I thought that you were dead or didn’t love me anymore and left for good. I am so happy that you are home safe. Please don’t do this to me again. I cannot take the heartache anymore. Please tell me that you love me and care for me.” Zaria holds a little bit tighter, “I love you.”

“Shhh, please don’t cry. You are making this harder to say something important. I found out more about my past and myself. I don’t know how to explain it to you just yet. I am still gathering up all of the pieces. My past is a huge broken puzzle. Everyday a new piece of the puzzle is shown to me for figure out where it fits in to my past. I want you to trust me. Do you trust me?”

Zaria nods her head.

“I have to go away for a couple of days again, but I will be back sooner than you think. Don’t you worry or cry because I love you so much. I have to meet a notable person. A being that is old, wise, and powerful.”

“Who?” Zaria asks as her eyes begin to tear up.

“I don’t know his name.”

“Please don’t leave me here all by myself again. I am lost without you by my side. We are a team! Remember? We work together, not solo.”

Zaria backs away from David, “You cannot leave. I forbid it.”

“I must. I have to find out more. I just cannot sit here and not do anything. I must seek out the answer before it is too late. I need to know or my life will be worth nothing.”

“Stay with me tomorrow. You will see that all will be better. I can make you happy. Please stay with me.”

David looks deep into Zaria’s eyes. He knows what he is about to say and it makes his heart heavier

“I am leaving tomorrow morning. I will be back in three days… No more… No less… Please don’t be mad. Please just let me get some rest. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow.”

David goes to lie down on the bed as his heart sinks through the floor. Zaria sits down in the living room chair and cries in disbelief. She cries herself to sleep as she thinks that David is only using her.

Alfonzo sits on the balcony railing, cloaked, she watches everything that has just happened.

‘That is very good, David.’

Alfonzo sleeps there the rest of the night.

Devan stands in front of a large mirror located in the king and queen’s bedroom. He has wanted to do this for so long that his blood aches with excitement. He watched his master cast this spell a long time ago that allows demons or angels to travel across space and time to consult the thread weavers. Only a few djinn or angels ever made the journey to them. They are but a fairy tale for demons and angels. The trip through is just as dangerous as the trip back. Devan only witnessed one djinn make it back and that was his master.

The mirror is six feet by eight feet. It was the perfect shape for a gateway to a forbidden land.

Devan gets started finger painting seven circles in an H-shape with his blood. One circle per corner, one dead center of the mirror, and the last two circles are perpendicular and parallel to the center and corners. Within each of the circles, Devan draws two squares to make an eight-pointed star.

The final step is at hand; Devan takes a deep breath as he holds his bloody hand above the center circle. His heart races with every thought that crosses his mind. Devan begins the spell to open the passageway to the Ladies of Time. As he speaks, the mirror becomes onyx, resembling an ancient wizard’s mirror. Hairline cracks spider out from the center circle and stretch to the outer edges. Blood leaks from the cracks as Devan hears a child’s laughter from within the mirror. The laughter changes into a cry. Silence fills the air as hands reach out from the mirror to grab at Devan. He knows what he needs to do next, but he is too frightened. Devan has second thoughts about what he created. He remembers what his master told him just before walking through his mirror.

“This shall be the largest step that I shall ever take.”

Devan puts his foot out in front of himself. Leaning forward, his foot slides into the mirror like it is water. His hand feels the warmth encasing his arm. Stepping fully into the mirror, Devan finds himself transported to the front steps of an old church. He turns around and sees a floating black void in the shape of the mirror. Remembering what his master did, Devan takes off his robe and lays it through the floating void as a marker. He turns around and runs into a young woman. They collide with a thud. The impact of the collision knocks them both to the ground. Devan falls towards the gateway while the young woman falls towards the church. Devan puts one hand out to slow himself down. His hand grinds against the black gravel surface making him cringe. When he finally stops, Devan’s hand is floating in nothingness while his forearms lie on the cool earth. Feeling the nothingness around his hand, Devan quickly pulls his hand back. Devan backs away from the edge without looking backwards. Slowly standing up, Devan begins to look around at his surroundings, and making sure that he is on solid ground.

Devan stands on a floating island with a crumbing church-like building in front of him. The building is a mix between Gothic church and Neoclassical architecture with shattered statues lining the entranceway. Each statue is of a different person. Some are in large pieces while others are piles of pebbles. Devan gazes upon a statue of a lovely woman with her hands reaching for something. He looks in the opposite direction of the statue to find only an empty place. Puzzled to what is in front of him, Devan turns to the young woman beside him.

“What is this place?”

“You should always properly introduce yourself first when meeting a new person. My name is Pandora. What is yours?”

“Sorry, I am called Devan. Now tell me what is this place,” Devan is beginning to get annoyed with this little girl standing beside him.

“This is the home of the three Ladies of Time. They made this their workshop and home after the Great War and after God banished this place of joy to the dark void you see now. Besides God, only the three ladies of time have full control over this forgotten void. Whatever their wishes are is what this place becomes. Me, personally, I have come to call them all mom.”

“Why are these two statues so different but so similar?”

“The woman is Elijah, and she was the wife of Lucifer. They were the first to ever be married by God. He performed the ceremony himself. He built this impressive church to honor the newly weds and the choice that they had made to honored God. But that honor was short lived and this is only a small bit of what happened when it was broken.”

Pandora points to the pile of pebbles lying before them, “This is all that is left of Lucifer’s statue.”

Devan bows his head in a respectful moment of silence. Pandora cocks her head to the side and wonders about the connection between Devan and Lucifer. Rocking back and forth and swinging her hands through the air, Pandora begins to get impatient.

“Show me these ladies, child,” Devan heads towards the front steps of the church. Pandora skips up as she follows Devan.

Devan approaches the aftermath of a horror scene. There are claw marks everywhere the eye can see. Some are as deep as six inches. A couple of columns are knocked out from the side of the front entrance, and it looks as if a large beast were thrown through the columns. One of the front doors is boarded up to help conceal the large hole. The other front door is covered with scorch marks.

“Don’t ask don’t tell mother always says,” Pandora skips pass Devan to open the door. “I invite you to my small, humble abode.”

Devan walks through the open door and passes Pandora to walk in. There are eight pillars set in an octagon shape with three stone bowls per pillar. One bowl is stacked on the floor, second at chest height, and the third just overhead. A fire is burning in each stone bowl to light the entryway. On the floor is a broken sundial that was aligned with the domed glass roof. Devan stands in front of the broken sundial trying to choose which of the three doors to walk through.

“Over here, silly. Right this way to mother and other grand surprises.”

Pandora skips off to the door on the right. Passing through Devan begins to wonder if this little girl is taking him straight into a trap. Seeing more of the same pillars with stone bowls, Devan finds statues of different people unknown to him in between the pillars. Some are just weathered, but others are destroyed, lying in large to small pieces with their faces scratched out. Devan stops at to pay his respects at three statues after he figures out who they were.

“Did you know who these people were?” Pandora asks as she cocks her head to one side.

“I knew them from another life… a time before you were even thought of. A time when my master was just as great as God Himself, now take me to the three Ladies of Time, little girl.”

As Pandora smiles and skips away from Devan, she stops at the door at the end of the hallway, giggles at Devan, and then skips through the doorway leaving Devan alone.

‘This child is really pissing me off.’

Off in the distance, he faintly hears Pandora talking to a couple of women. Could he be this close? Is it all
ending or beginning to get better?

Devan watches a hand poke out from behind the open door that Pandora disappeared through. A finger moves to beckon him. Devan follows the finger, not knowing what will be waiting for him on the other side of the door.

As Devan gets closer to the door, three distinctive voices talk to Pandora. One voice already hates him, one welcomes him, and one doesn’t care. When all three speak to Pandora, the dominant voice becomes harder to filter out.

As Devan reaches the doorway, a forceful light blinds him, making it hard to see into the room right in front of him. Devan puts one hand up to shield his eyes. Then a familiar touch grabs his other hand.

“This way.”

He allows himself to be led into the light that has blinded him.

Devan’s eyes slowly adjust to the brightness of the surroundings. Before Devan could speak the girl in front of him does.

“What you see before you are threads of all that are to be, are, or have been. The sewing looms before you are weaving people’s lives together, creating a master tapestry to tell one the greatest stories of all. Life,” Pandora says.

“What about the Gods, Angels, and Djinns? Where do they mix into all of this?” Devan asks.

“Only one or three can touch the threads without getting hurt. The people that stand before you are lost souls that found refuge here with Mother. She only takes in the ones that she feels for.”

“And what about the souls she doesn’t feel for? What happens to them?” Devan notices a large wall that sections off the room he stands in right now from what appears to be another room.

“I don’t know. Mother never tells me,” Pandora motions Devan to follow her.

They walk to the large wall. Devan watches Pandora walk right through the wall. Devan stops. Pandora’s hand pops back through the wall and waits for Devan’s hand. Devan puts his hand in Pandora’s and waits a couple of seconds. She yanks on his hand making him stumble forward into the large wall. He slides through the wall and appears on the other side, unharmed. An altar sits before him with a half woman, half spider, creature tending to gold, silver, and black threads. The spider woman’s back is turned towards Pandora and Devan, but two eyes stare straight at Devan.

A voice radiates from the creature and fills the room with a godlike presence.

“So, you are the traveler that has come from the forbidden realm of man. What makes you so special to come to our kingdom? Don’t you know that this place is forbidden to all humans? Only forgotten souls may help with the weaving of the threads of all life and you, sir, are not one of those.”

“I am a forgotten soul, but not by God. True, I am a traveler, but by my own doing and not by someone else’s choice. I seek answers to questions that may not have answers but may become deeper questions themselves.” Devan takes a step forward.

“Answers to questions that may not have answers at all but only questions? One other being came here a long time ago wanting the same thing, but he looked different than you. Are you that same person?”

“I am not, but I do know of the who you speak of. He is my master, and this is how I was able to open the gate to this realm. I am his apprentice.”

“Interesting, your master is a very wise and powerful soul that was one of God’s first creations.”

Then another woman’s voice speaks up. “But he had too much pride for himself.”

The three ladies speak in unison, “So we kicked him out and banished him from our kingdom.”

The third lady speaks with hate in her voice, “I have but only one test for you. It is to read a mirror. One side is for you, and the other side is for someone else. Your future depends on which side you can read. Choose your fate.”

A mirror rises up out of the floor in front of Devan. It floats in front of him. Devan touches the glass. The mirror rotates around on invisible axes from top to bottom. One side has words placed here and there while the other side has a language that Devan cannot read. The spider woman smiles as Devan reads the bits and pieces he can. He tries to get enough information off the encrypted mirror to find out the answer to the question burning up his soul.

“It says here a hybrid soul and a pieced soul shall do battle until one is gone.”

Devan stops reading and glares into the spider woman’s front four eyes and wonders which one of the two souls he is.

“As it is foretold by God, you are the pieced together soul that is intended to do battle with the hybrid until one is gone,” the lady of the future laughs at Devan.

“Why do you laugh at me? I will win this battle. I will destroy this hybrid soul with my bare hands.”

Devan walks around the altar and faces the spider woman. The spider woman continues to laugh at Devan. Devan begins to chant a crushing death spell but is cut off by the spider woman interruption.

“Your powers are nothing in our realm. We control this realm and everything in it. If we wanted it to rain, it would rain. If we wanted you dead the moment that portal opened, you would be dead. But it is not our job to kill you so you shall live for now. Be gone before we change our mind!”

Devan knows that he must bow out. This is not his fight. His fight is with the hybrid soul, and he thinks he knows who it is. Devan asks Pandora to show him the way out. Pandora leads the way as Devan tries to remember everything that he saw on the mirror.

“Here is your door way, sir,” Pandora bows.

“Thank you for all that you have done,” Devan does not look back at Pandora to see her reaction as he steps into the portal.

Pandora skips away to search for her missing box.