The Whispers of the Fallen (25 page)

At that moment, the beautiful painting melted away; its contents poured onto the marble floor like water. I noticed that Nephele was holding something in her hands. It was covered with a black cloth.

“What is it that you are holding, Nephele?” I asked.

She chuckled.

“The Diary of Lucifer and the Book of the Light-Bearer,” she replied with a smirk.

“The books?” I scoffed.

“We will have plenty of time to discuss this matter, Nephele. Now, let us proceed to meet the Shadows,” King Marco broke in with a smile. He turned to face Adawnas. “Are our other guests ready to leave?”

She nodded and then looked at me.

“How many other books are missing?” King Marco asked Nephele.

“Three,” she replied, keeping her eyes locked onto mine.

Through the doorway, I caught sight of Devin and Petra being brought in by two heavily armored guards. Wearing spike-clustered helmets, the guards’ faces were void of expression, lost in the darkness. Devin’s body was completely covered with bruises and wounds. They had stripped him to his waist and left him with only a pair of ragged torn pants, his bare feet dragging on the floor. He was barely conscious. Petra was also hurt, but was still lucid, his eyes glistening with fear. Seeing them in this state caused my heart to sink into the deepest pit of despair.

“The other three have been spotted near the Court of Many Meetings,” one of the human guards reported.

The chants grew louder, and were accompanied by the piercing screams of people in the streets.

“Hold him down,” King Marco ordered the guards that stood by the door. Adawnas and Athalas remained unmoved; their eyes were watchful and attentive to the guards’ actions. The guards came in my direction and pressed down on me, holding me against the floor. I could not muster any strength to fight back or even move.

“You see…he has rescinded your abilities again, Isaac,” King Marco said as he approached me. “And now you lay here, a pathetic species, without any strength left to fight.” He stretched his hand forth toward Athalas. Deep inside I knew what he desired, what they all desired. They wanted my blood to open the Diary.

King Marco took a dagger out of his cloak and without hesitation he cut my wrist. “Bring Petra closer!” he shouted as the blade opened my skin.

His eyes glistened as blood spurted from my wrist. Quickly, Nephele brought in the Diary and placed it on the puddle of blood that had formed. After he was finished with me, he proceeded to also cut Petra’s wrist; his blood streamed out onto the black and white marble floor.

“This ought to do the trick…” King Marco decreed as his eyes savagely gaped at my open wound.

“Take him out of here,” Athalas ordered the guards as he pointed at Devin.

“The Soul Exchange,” Nephele said in a joyful tone. “Perform the Soul Exchange. If he isn’t willing to shed his blood for the Diary, let us call on a Fallen Star to come dwell inside of his body. We have another innocent boy here. The mixture of their blood will be enough to perform the Exchange.”

As strength ebbed from my body, it grew weaker and weaker. Where was the power of the white lion? As I bled, my mind filled with thoughts and questions. Why was I not able to stop these attacks now? Hadn’t the white lion given me power? With every stroke of my heart, I could feel my soul succumbing to the darkness.

Lucifer had been triumphant in purging me of my powers. I could not receive visions, or interpret anything, move anything, or even discern anything with clarity. My strength had rapidly declined. I struggled to remain conscious. I bowed my head and closed my eyes. I felt the disintegration of my soul corrupt the very essence of my life as I surrendered to the darkness within.

NEPHELE

XV

I watched as Athalas performed the Soul Exchange on Isaac’s frail body. The Soul Exchange was a dark power that could only be performed in Lucifer’s presence and with the mixture of innocent blood. Even against one’s will, the weakness of the mortal body allowed a Fallen Star to come and take possession.

The snarled grunts of the Shadows increased. They were quickly approaching.

“We must leave at once. The Shadows are almost upon us and we have clear orders to meet Lucifer in the Dark Woods Forest,” Adawnas said urgently. “Will he die if we do not complete the Soul Exchange now?” she asked.

“No. He will not,” I responded, disappointed. I eagerly wanted to see the Fallen Star that was soon to dwell inside of him.

“Very well, let us leave then.”

I nodded in agreement. Athalas ripped the white curtains from the wall and wrapped Isaac’s bloody body.

“
Guards!”
Marco yelled. “Take Petra and Devin and lock them in the Prison of Despair.”

“The Prison of Despair?” I repeated in shock. “Do you really think you are making the right decision? We will need Petra.”

He let out a disgusted sigh.

“The Prison will keep him from escaping,” he scoffed. “I don’t need you to judge every decision I make.”

His repugnant attitude enraged me. “I want to make sure that your human mind is capable of executing the tasks that the Dark One is requiring of you,”
I yelled, ready to attack him with my powers.

“As much as it would delight me to watch the two of you fight, we have to go to the forest and meet the Dark One. Do you not hear the Shadows?” Athalas said.

There was an uncomfortable pause as the distant shouts of the Shadows echoed.

“Can we put our differences aside?” Athalas pleaded, laying his hand on my shoulder.

I disdainfully nodded in agreement. Even though he had sold his soul to Lucifer, I still despised him.

The guards entered the chamber and covered Petra’s head with a black sack, tied his bloody hands and legs with ropes and dragged him to the dungeons. Many were unaware that the main entrance to the Prison of Despair was situated below the substructures of the cathedral, located here, in the Kingdom of Aloisio.

“Let’s go,” I said, leading the way down the somber hall.

Athalas swooped up Isaac’s body and placed it over his shoulder.

“Be careful with him,” Marco said as they both followed. Adawnas walked next to me.

We contained our words as we made our way down the hall, heading to the doors in the lower level of the cathedral. Our footsteps reverberated like echoes as we walked. The stairs were made out of wood with golden patterns etched along the handrails. The iron doors were located at the bottom of the stairs.

“Is the chariot ready?” I asked Marco as we approached the double-chained doors.

“The chariot is right in front of the cathedral,” he quickly replied.

I opened the door to find the black chariot standing right in front of us. A blast of cold air blew across our faces.

The chants and shouts of the Shadows were intensifying. The sky darkened as panic settled in. The citizens were confused, chattering among themselves and wondering at the meaning of the roars.

Marco opened the door to the chariot.

“In here.” He smiled as he pointed to the red cushioned seats lining the chariot.

Athalas gently laid out Isaac’s body.

I stepped inside the chariot and took my seat. Athalas and Adawnas sat next to me.

“The humans…so unaware of the danger,” I muttered under my breath as Marco took a seat next to Isaac’s body and closed the chariot’s door.

“You may proceed,” I ordered the guard that drove the chariot.

As the horse pulling the chariot trotted along the thoroughfare, I gazed at the beautiful monuments the humans had built; pity they were all going to be destroyed soon. The ornamental cathedrals and the beautiful houses built alongside the cobblestone roads were soon to be nothing but ashes.

“What is on your mind?” Marco asked intently.

I chuckled.

“I suppose I have been silent for quite a while now.”

He nodded.

“I know Lucifer will send us back to look for the others. He will want them captured alive…along with their books.”

“Do you think the books are in this location?” Athalas asked, hoping for a positive affirmation.

“I know that they are,” I responded. I knew it would not be long before they were found.

Adawnas was unusually quiet. I pretended not to notice, but her silence concerned me. I read her mind and knew that she was feeling insecure; she still had doubts about her decision to side with us again, even after my benevolence to her in all I had shown her.

“You have chosen wisely, Adawnas. Have no doubt about that. The Creator needs a dose of his own medicine. He damned our kind to an eternity of darkness before some of us were even born,” I said as I gave her a deep, penetrating look into her eyes.

Her eyes shied away from mine. She kept her gaze upon the thundering sky.

“Having lived all of my years in the shadows, I wanted—I hoped the light could actually touch me, even if briefly—when I was with Isaac and Devin.” She sighed deeply.

“Please understand. We are
not
made for the light. Evil runs in our veins. We are wicked by nature…and birth,” I reminded her, revolted at the words that drifted from her mouth.

I understood very well what I spoke of. The memories of the day I became a Nephilin would never leave my mind. The agony and the pain my body went through, the day when I had lain with Mordred and given birth to the first Nephilin, Duane. Out of all the women that had lain with the Fallen Stars, I was the only one that Lucifer extended mercy upon to survive. All the other women were killed after their transformation.

The howls of the Shadows were getting louder. The ground trembled as they marched in our direction. Murmurs filled the atmosphere. As we crossed a bridge that connected the far side of Aloisio to the road, I saw Shadows climbing out of the water, yearning insatiably for the lives of the people that lived here.

Adawnas’ eyes widened when she saw them. Their numbers had increased dramatically. Like ants they marched toward the kingdom; their voracious howls and their heinous growls struck terror.

“There they go…the wild savages,” Marco mumbled as he turned to observe Aloisio being overtaken by the Shadows. It wasn’t long before screams were heard and black smoke billowed upward above the houses and buildings. Soon the entire kingdom was in flames. The shrieks and cries of the people were like music to my ears.

The hatred in my heart for humans was something that burned within me every moment of every day. Their fragile bodies and torpid minds were not worthy of life. I much despised the days where I was human. Mortality was unfitted for me.

“How does it feel, King?” I asked him. “I know you have offered your life to Lucifer, but there must be some humanity left in you.”

King Marco turned his gaze to me; his eyes brightened with a luminous glow.

“When I sold my soul to Lucifer, I chose to die to everything human in me, Nephele. Humans are weak, thus the reason why humanity has reached this chaotic state.”

“Leave him alone, Nephele,” Athalas ordered with his eyes fixed on me.

How dared he speak to me in such a humiliating manner. With a simple twitch of my right eye, pain overtook him. He belted out a bloodcurdling scream; a pool of blood spurted from his nostrils.

“
Nephele!
” Adawnas yelled. “Stop it!”

With the power of my thoughts, I cast him out of the moving carriage and onto the muddy road; the black horse that pulled the carriage was quickly agitated by the sight, coming to an abrupt halt. The human guard that drove the carriage was silent, immobile.