“How dare you give me orders? It amuses me that you, out of everyone, believe you have the authority to give
me
orders. I should end your lowly existence right now…take you out of your misery.”
With a quick blink, I removed his pain. He held his throat in his hands, gasping desperately for air. As he lay on the road, I caught sight of a smoke cloud circling throughout the dimly lit sky. I glanced behind us to see Aloisio burning.
“Why would you inflict pain upon him?” Adawnas asked. “We are all on the same side.”
I scoffed.
“I side with no one but the Dark One. All the long years of my life I have walked this earth alone. We may be working for the same goal, but my heart is bound to only one master.” My eyes twitched again and Adawnas was hurled violently out of the carriage, landing onto the ground, shrieking and writhing in pain.
“Let this be a reminder to you; do not
regret the choice you have made, Adawnas. Know which side you are on. Do not waver in serving the Dark One wholeheartedly. If you do, I will know.”
I overpowered her mind. I transported her to a dark forest. The trees around her were incinerated, the branches dry and stripped of any sign of life. The forest floor was covered in ash and the air she breathed was filled with intoxicating fumes. She screamed with a desolate hopelessness at the sight.
From behind her, Death appeared in its grotesque form. Its golden eyes and yellowed teeth gave a menacing glow in the dark. It coiled about her with its snakelike tail, tightening its grip.
“Do you not think that is enough?” I heard Marco’s muffled voice. “We are wasting time. Lucifer is waiting for us in the Dark Woods Forest.”
I was aghast to have to release her mind, but he was right. I withdrew from Adawnas’ mind and climbed back inside the carriage.
“Adawnas and Athalas, please come aboard. We don’t want to be late now, do we?” I said as I made myself comfortable in my seat.
They both climbed aboard, their eyes staring down at me with great disdain. It disgusted me.
We journeyed down the road in silence. The weather was changing. Flurries of snow drifted from a sky that was being split apart by lightning.
“You took longer than expected,” the unmistakable voice whispered in my ear. “I suppose I should be very understanding during these times, am I correct?” the voice suggested with a ring of sarcasm.
“Master, I apologize for the delay,” Athalas said with a stammering voice.
As the snow flurries descended, some of them began to pulsate with a dim red light. The light slowly transmitted to other flurries. Sounds of beating drums resounded. The small glares of deep red light conjugated with the others, only to form the shape of the Dark One. They merged into a body, giving shape to a pale narrow face, black hollow eyes and skeletal hands. He was clothed in old rags that flowed down to the forest floor, covering his feet.
“It is dreadful to have to appear in such a way before you, but I had no other choice,” Lucifer said in a hoarse and broken voice. Sweat dripped from his dark wavy hair onto his forehead.
“This disparaging state of yours won’t last long, master,” I encouraged. “We have the body inside the carriage. We were not able to finish the Soul Exchange in time. We had to leave the cathedral to meet you here before the Shadows arrived.”
Lucifer smiled.
“Not finished yet, darling?”
I detected a contemptuous note in his voice as he uttered the last word. His weakly manifestation moved swiftly toward the carriage. With a single movement from his finger, he removed the body from the carriage and laid it down on the snow-covered ground.
“Why is this not finished yet?” he asked. Fear seized my body. The white curtains that wrapped Isaac’s body disintegrated. I knew out of all those living and dead, he was one of the few that could destroy me.
“King Marco, perhaps you could give me an answer?” The sarcasm in his voice was noticeable. “Or…perhaps you, Athalas? Can you tell me why?”
Athalas shook his head as a sign of defeat.
“Maybe you?” He pointed to Adawnas. “Why is my bidding not done?”
She did not speak a word.
A sharp pain attacked my head. My skin and my flesh turned a grayish shade of death as pain coursed through every nerve in my body.
“I know you can tell me, Nephele,” Lucifer said as my feet were lifted off of the forest floor. “There is no time to waste and you, out of all the others, know that very well.”
The moment the pain took me over, I felt as if I was the most helpless being. I was tossed against a tree with such force the tree splintered and crumbled to the ground.
“Enough of this nonsense!” Lucifer demanded as he moved around us. “I hope in the future your actions will reflect that you understand the urgency of the moment.”
Slowly I rose to my feet.
“Please, dear,” he said with a sweet tone. “Finish what you have started. Do not forget that though old age and disease cannot touch your kind, swords and spears can indeed put an end to your long life.”
I looked down at Isaac’s bloody body. Judging by the color of his skin, life was subsiding from his lifeless form.
“Athalas…the dagger,” I said.
Athalas vigilantly walked toward me, laying the dagger next to Isaac. I carefully removed the pieces of cloth that were bound around his wrists. As I did, I heard the sound of a rattlesnake moving from above me.
As I lifted my head, I saw a gigantic black snake positioned next to the Master’s manifestation. Its glowing yellow eyes shone distinctly against the darkness of its skin.
“Kill him now,” the snake hissed with each word. “You must not fear, child.”
I held Isaac’s wrist and stared at their open wounds oozing with blood. A moment of exhilaration flooded me to know that, even though he did not shed his blood willingly, we were still able to perform the Soul Exchange.
“Beautiful, is it not?” Lucifer whispered excitedly. “To see my new dwelling place being fashioned. This body will be of great use to us.”
I inflicted another cut on both of Isaac’s wrists with the dagger. As the blood flowed to the ground, my heart leapt with joy. I noticed Athalas’, Adawnas’ and Marco’s hearts had quickly accelerated.
“Ah, this one will be a spectacular trophy.” Lucifer slowly moved closer to me. “His face shall not change, only his spirit. Isaac’s soul will linger on in the Wastelands as a Fallen Star makes his abode inside his body.” A whimsical smile beamed across Lucifer’s face.
“Do you choose, my lord?” Adawnas asked. “The Star that will dwell in his body?”
“No, child. That I leave up to the Fallen Rulers to decide. They command my armies and train them for battle. Even if I wanted to choose, my body lies in a place where I simply do not have the luxury of making the selection myself.”
Isaac’s body had grown cold; his skin had a purple hue and his lips darkened.
“He is gone,” I affirmed, touching his cold body.
Lucifer gave a sigh of relief.
“There are others…others that will do what he was not able to…the other four will read their books,” he said as he folded his hands. “Now, we wait.”
Our wait wasn’t long. In a matter of seconds, Isaac’s body regained its color; his eyes opened and they were crimson. His hands trembled; his teeth clenched. I watched in awe. Beads of sweat flowed from his brow down to his neck.
A thunderous growl escaped him as his body landed with a thud against the forest floor.
“Mordred,” Lucifer mumbled.
Mordred stood to his feet. “My lord, it is such irony to return to Elysium in human form. It has been a while since I’ve had a body of my own,” he said with a frightening voice. His crimson eyes would cause even the bravest men to cower in fear.
“Finally, you stand before me in human form,” I said as the aching memories returned to me. Memories I tried so hard to forget but they had been deeply ingrained in me. I was displeased that Mordred had been the one chosen to dwell inside Isaac’s body. “We have been fighting for the blood of this young man for a long time, but he refused to shed it voluntarily.”
Mordred scoffed. “Not to worry, Nephilin, there are others out there that will read their books and lay down their lives for the Dark One. It is only a matter of deciding the most effective move to persuade them.”
The way he uttered the word
Nephilin
stirred up rage inside of me. I knew that he was one of the creators of our kind. I wondered if he had already forgotten our past together; I surely had not. It was strange to see him inside Isaac’s body. My memory still held on to his former appearance quite vividly.
“Mordred, it really is delightful to have you standing here…your presence brings me great joy,” Lucifer said with coldness.
“What would you have us do now, my lord?” Marco asked.
Lucifer held up his right hand.
“Touch it, Marco,” he said with an enticing voice. King Marco stood there, frozen and in shock. I knew little about Marco, but I was aware of his great longing for the privilege to touch the Dark One’s hand.
“Yes, my lord,” he delightfully spoke as he stretched forth his hand. The moment their hands met, Marco let out a deafening scream, and with a brutal force he fell to the ground.
“Even with all of your authority and power, with all the knowledge you possess”—Lucifer’s voice deepened—“you are of no use to me, but only to host the one I truly desire to see here.”
Marco crawled pitifully from one side of the ground to the other.
“But I aided you. I sided with you, my lord. Why are you doing this to me?” His voice was breaking; the veins in his hands were visible through his paling skin.
“You are a mere host, Marco. The kingdoms will be destroyed not only by swords and spears, but also by the allegiance of their kings. Aloisio and Billyth were mere examples to others of what we are capable of doing.” Lucifer knelt next to Marco.
“But I gave up my life for you,” Marco stuttered.
Lucifer grinned maliciously.
“Exactly, and to give up is to lose something you hold dear…
king
.”
All of us present in the forest were shrouded with fear. Adawnas stood paralyzed. Athalas kept a vigil on the snake.
“Erebos, come to me, my darling.”
The snake swiftly slithered its body over the forest floor to encounter Lucifer. Slowly, he knelt down, his body quivering. “We have been waiting for this day since the War, but now your time has come.” He took a deep breath and smiled. “Are you hungry?” His hand gently caressed the snake’s long, dark body.
“No, please!” Marco screamed in fear and torment.
“It must be done!” Lucifer shouted. Marcos’ deafening screams intensified as he trembled. I could hear his heart beat; it pounded as the snake approached him. I heard the snake’s heart beating at a normal pace. Erebos’ body tightened its grasp around Marco.
As soon as its body had taken Marcos’, the snake’s yellow eyes met its victim’s horrified gaze. Erebos’ mouth opened and released small flickers of ghoulish light. The lights floated around Marco’s head and entered his skull through his ears and nose.
“My lord, no! Please.” These were Marco’s last words before Erebos viciously sunk its vile fangs deep into his neck.
“Drink,” Lucifer ordered Erebos.
Blood dripped from its mouth as Erebos sucked out Marco’s blood. He was unconscious; his arms and head dangled unrestrained.
“This was much unexpected, my lord,” Athalas uttered in a faltering tone.
Lucifer let out a hideous laugh.
“I do not doubt your heart, Athalas, but your concern is superfluous. One’s servant should not tell his master what is right and wrong.”
When my gaze returned to Marco, Erebos was no longer gripping him. I searched around but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Erebos is no longer here, Nephele,” Mordred whispered in my ear. I turned to face him. “It has taken over Marco’s body.”
To my surprise, Marco’s body slowly regained its color, changing from pale to an olive tint. Even the garments he wore brightened. His teeth clattered against one another; his chin trembled.
Marco’s body movements came to an abrupt stop. Lucifer gazed at the stilled body, waiting for a sign of movement.
“Nephele, long have I waited for this moment,” Marco said in a sharp voice. There was a low hiss at the end of every word he spoke.
“I beg your pardon,” I said.
“To see you through human eyes is mesmerizing. The beauty you carry is truly breathtaking,” he said as he lifted himself from the ground with his hands. His gaze was tender and beguiling.
“Erebos, we have much to do,” Lucifer said in a broken voice.
I looked at the others and realized that they seemed as surprised as I was.
“You have been away for far too long. There is much to be done!” Lucifer added.
“Welcome, Erebos,” Mordred said with a sly grin.
“How rude of me…introductions…” Lucifer slowly stretched forth his skeletal hands, pointing at each one of us. “This is Athalas, Adawnas, and this is Nephele.”
Erebos nodded.
Why had Lucifer kept us in the dark about Erebos? I had been so faithful and loyal to him. Why would he choose not to mention his plans to me?
“My lord, why did you not mention your intentions with Marco? Having knowledge of your plans would have meant a great deal to us all,” I said, fearful of his reaction.