The Whispers of the Fallen (29 page)

“What is it that you seek?” She was panting.

I shook my head. “No, no! Please, let us not waste any time pretending we don’t know what I want to know. Are you one of the book-bearers?”

“
Nephele!
” Alexander’s voice boomed loudly from the flames as he headed toward me. His ragged garments were stained with blood.

“It seems like I have found another one, Alexander!” I shouted. Xylia let out terrifying screams. “I have her in my grasp and I will only spare her life if you convince her to come with me.”

“Release her…” My heart skipped a beat when Devin appeared behind Alexander; three other shadowed figures appeared with him.

“Um…A little friendly reunion, I would assume?” I suggested with a sneer. I knew this time I was outnumbered. Desperation overtook me realizing that I was so close to the books, yet unable to attain them.

“Let her go,” a boy with long brown hair and green eyes spat out. “You are outnumbered!”

“What is your next move, Nephele?” another voice spoke up from behind me. As I turned, I could not believe who was speaking. It was Ely. I had locked him away in the dungeons of the Prison of Despair right after the Council discovered he had warned Devin about Cyro coming for Isaac.

“How did…how did you all escape?” In my mind, I retraced every detail of the Prison, trying to think of any way they could have escaped.

“I bet your lord never told you that one of the books can open and close the Prison,” Ely touted.

“The symbol on the wall…” I was stunned.

“It is a shame that your master has been keeping secrets from you,” the brown-haired boy once again shouted.

The world around me seemed to cave in. I looked and saw all of them standing before me.
It would be foolish of me to fight them all.
As quick as a breath, I fled. I knew where I had to go in order to find answers. I was no fool to think I could flee with no one chasing after me. Flashes of golden light were being cast in my direction. A foul voice echoed.

“
Do not run, Nephele
.” Alexander’s voice was deafening.

The smoke and the haunting screams of war faded behind me. Alexander was hot on my trail, determined to catch me. I headed toward the mountains. I felt a weight pulling on my legs; my body was thrashed onto the icy floor of the valley that sat at the foot of the mountain. One of the flashes of light Alexander cast in my direction had hit me. Pain stung my foot relentlessly, and then shot all the way up my thighs.

“You coward! All the lives you’ve taken, all the children you have killed…” With sword in hand, he grabbed ahold of me by the neck and tossed me around like a mere doll. “I should make you suffer for all of the evil you have committed.”

I tried to run, but he held my neck in a tight grip. He pressed my body hard against the snow-covered ground as he choked the life out of me. In all of my years, my powers had never failed me. To be confronted by one that was not only able to see my attack, but also flee from it, was frightening. I closed my eyes as he raised his sword. I heard a loud thud and then I felt something warm dripping onto my face. When I opened my eyes, I saw Alexander’s bloody body fallen next to mine; the blade was still inside of him, sticking out of his gut.

“It is dangerous to roam around without protection, Nephele,” Corbin’s voice bellowed from behind me. “Even someone as powerful as you must be careful.”

Quickly I stood to my feet. “There was no need for you to come searching for me, Corbin. You are needed in Aloisio.”

He smiled. “Not anymore. All of the humans were killed and the kingdom was destroyed.”

“Did you find any of the book-bearers? Any at all?” I asked expectantly.

He sighed. “The book-bearers were nowhere to be found.”

I scoffed. To think how close I came to acquire that which we eagerly longed for brought me great disappointment.

“Ely, Devin, and Petra escaped the Prison of Despair and found the other three…”

“How do you know this?”

“I saw them, but I was surrounded…they mentioned that one of the books has the power to open the Prison of Despair. I am afraid we are not aware of all of the abilities these books possess.” Fury possessed my whole being.

“Where are the Underwarriors?” I wanted to know.

“Dead,” he replied without emotion.

Corbin peered up into the dark sky; light snow flurries cascaded lazily upon us. “Worry not. They will be found.” His hand gently caressed my face. “Let us go to Justicia. I need to show you what is stirring in the heart of darkness.” My body turned into a shadow as my eyes gazed into his. We moved toward the borderline used to cross between Justicia and Elysium. I was eager to see what lay waiting for us in Justicia.

XVII

Little did he know about my true desire. I wanted to go to Justicia not only to know what stirred there, but I longed for answers. Rage ignited in me the moment our feet touched the grounds. A thick fog enveloped the landscape. Lightning and thunder ripped the sky. Corbin and I walked silently. After a short while, the silhouette of the castle emerged from the fog.

“You first,” Corbin said, gesturing a sign for me to walk ahead of him.

At every step, I couldn’t refrain from thinking if the Council members were aware of the other powers the books possessed. Were they traitors? Did they hide this information from us?

“You are awfully quiet, Nephele,” Corbin alleged as we crossed the moat in front of the castle.

“My mind is at war, Corbin,” I replied with eyes still set on the castle.

“Against what?” he asked curiously.

“Even though the Council members claim to have sold their souls to Lucifer, I find it hard to believe they aren’t plotting something against us all,” I answered with a bitter voice.

“You believe they knew about the powers the books possess?”

I didn’t answer his question. The moment we were in front of the massive wooden doors, I violently brought them down. The halls inside were dark except for the few lit candles sitting on top of the scattered furniture. Rubble and dust were everywhere; the statues destroyed.

“Where are they?” I asked Corbin angrily. “I need to see them!”

“Nephele, they will answer your every question…”

“Are we sure about that? Are we sure they are not hiding anything from us? Have they turned on us?” I heard faint voices coming from the dining hall.

I walked in and found Mordred, Athalas and the other Council members seated at a table. The table looked rugged and old, as if it was built out of the remnants of wood that remained after the attack of the Aquilas.

“Would you care to explain to me how is it that you did not inform us about the abilities of the books?” I yelled impatiently as I released pain all around the room. Many of them were taken by my attack.

“Nephele, stay this madness!” Mordred yelled.

“I will stop when one of them speaks the truth,” I retorted angrily.

Mordred turned to Corbin. “Would you care to enlighten us on what she is talking about?”

“One of the books has the ability to open and close the Prison of Despair. Ely, Devin and Petra escaped the prison and were seen in Aloisio.”

Clamorous chatter spread throughout the room. Athalas stood to his feet, striking the wooden table in rage.

“How can this be? You mean to say that now we have none of the book-bearers in our possession?”

“Please, Athalas, do not act surprised. You knew…you all knew…” As these words spewed from my mouth, the pain escalated—tormenting everyone it touched.

“We did not know!” a man with a gray beard and light gray hair screamed out. “We did not know of the book’s ability…ple-please…you must be-be-lieve us…”

“I
have
believed you enough!” The pain rushed out of me with an uncontrollable and fatal fervor. I felt my strength increasing to heights it had never reached before.

“You must believe us.” Athalas fell to his knees. “We knew not…” Beads of sweat fell from his brow.

Corbin approached me. “He may be telling the truth.” My breathing was heavy. My body trembled as anger coursed through my veins. “If you kill them, we will never know the truth,” he added.

I ceased my attack.

“May this be a reminder to all those who hide or have hidden information that may help us retrieve the book-bearers. I have grown weary of dealing with the lack of willingness to fulfill the task the Dark One has asked from you all.”

I walked toward the man with the gray beard and hair; he trembled.

“What is your name?” I whispered as I gazed at him.

“Hor-Horace…Horace Dublin…”

My eyes did not fail to see the wounds on his right arm. Perfect shapes of claws that had tried to rip his flesh apart.

“Are you in pain?” I asked the man. His frightful eyes bored into mine.

“Yes,” he choked. “Once the Aquilas attacked, one of them tried to kill me.”

I sneered, my tongue slowly caressing my lips.

“Do you have family, Horace?” My hands rested on top of his.

Frightened, he stared at me. “No…we…you know we were not allowed a family…. The Creator did not allow the Council members to have one,” he spoke with a quivering stammer.

“I see.” I gently touched his arms. “So, does that mean that you have spent all of your life living here in this castle, caged in the Fourth Dimension?”

“Yes my lady, the Creator chose us during the dawn of days to stay here in Justicia and guard the Diary…. We were not allowed to leave. The other humans, those created to dwell in Elysium, they were the only ones allowed to have families…” His voice trailed off.

“When the Creator appointed the Council to guard the Diary, he never mentioned the existence of the other books or the powers they possess?”

Silence lingered for a while.

“No…”

I chuckled.

“Now that you no longer protect the Diary—or anything else—what is your purpose?”

“To ser-serve y-you and the Dark One…” Tears rolled down his face.

“Indeed you do…”

His eyes turned red, the veins around his neck protruded. He violently screamed as I imparted pain, but the magnified intensity of it was fueled by my rage. I wanted to kill him, here in front of the Council members. I wanted this to be a foretaste of what would happen if any of them turned on us or had undisclosed information about the books or the book-bearers.

“No, please…I live to serve you…” His voice faded as his body melted like ice.

“Indeed, you did…” I mumbled as his body changed into a water-like substance. Shortly after, the floor was wet, his body coursing like water spilled on top of a table.

When I turned to inspect the reactions from the others, they were all awestruck. I walked up to Corbin.

“If you say we should believe the Council members, then believe them we shall.” I sat down in the chair Horace was originally sitting in.

“Please, Corbin, you said you wanted to show me what was brewing in the heart of darkness,” I said as my fingers impatiently squeezed the arms of the chair.

“Yes, of course.” He stretched his hand and signaled the remaining Council members to take a seat.

They all quietly returned to their chairs around the table.

“In the heart of the Abyss, the Fallen Stars are breeding an army more powerful than any we could conjure up in Elysium. A curse was created by the Fallen Stars to enhance the strength of arms of our servants.”

“A curse?” I asked inquisitively.

“We have given the serpents that inhabit the Abyss the ability to battle. They have grown human features from their scaly bodies and can now walk, run, and some can even fly. We call them Lessers.”

“So they drag themselves on the ground or…” one of the Councilmen interjected.

“No. They have grown limbs, and a torso. The only thing that distinguishes them from humans are their bright yellow eyes, Ahmos. When the Creator sent us to the Abyss, these serpents were already there. After studying them for many years, we came to the conclusion that they could be used for such a curse,” Corbin said.

“What curse?” I asked him curiously.

“We have studied the power since the day we fell but now, it has been perfected to fit our needs. We call it the Dark Exchange. Ever since the Creator banished us from Tristar, we studied ways to fight back. We gathered our forces in the Abyss and looked for ways to strengthen our powers.”