Torment (3 page)

“Just a little,” I agreed.

He was right; it did feel strange. How many people get to stand in front of their grave? It wasn’t nice to know that for a short amount of time I was buried there.

“The words are beautiful,” I told him.

“I can’t explain how hard it was for us all.”

“It wasn’t easy for me either.”

“Don't ever leave us again,” he said sadly.

“Tyler, I won’t be here all the time, I told you that.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m different now. I died.”

“Yeah but your back.”

“I know that, but I need to go back from time to time,” I told him.

“How can you want to be somewhere where people are being ripped to shreds over and over?”

“Tyler, it’s not like that,” I explained, walking towards my swing. “It’s not all about torture; there are people there, people who know how to love and feel, who have paid for the crimes they committed on Earth or wherever they were from. Now they live there forever, most of them happily. It’s not how it’s portrayed in the movies.”

“I don't understand.”

“You might in the end, once I’ve told you everything,” I said, sitting down. “Just trust me, Hell isn’t what you think it is.”

“OK,” he nodded, walking away from the grave. “Do you want us to get rid of this?”

“Yes I do.”

“We’ll sort it out tomorrow. Do you want to be left alone for a while?

“Please.”

He walked into the house and I was alone. I sat there staring into space, my mind working overtime. I knew it was going to be hard for them all to understand what Hell was like, after all, they only believed what they had read in fantasy books or saw on the TV. I myself wouldn’t have believed Hell could be an OK place if I hadn't experienced it for myself. It was such a different way of life. I was happy knowing that I would spend eternity there, once life left my body again. How crazy would people think I was if they heard me say that? But it’s the truth. Life in this realm was so limited, not to mention hard. People in Hell, or should I say
some
of them, can come and go as they please between all the realms except Heaven. As long as they don't cause problems or harm any living person or animal. Dukes, Lords, Ladies, they could spend as much time here as they wanted to; they could make friends and live normal lives. They wouldn’t be able to stay in the same place very long because they wouldn’t age, but they could have a few years in different places. Others, just general people, they could come back, but they wouldn’t be seen by people. People may sense them, or I suppose psychics may be able to see them, but they were what
we
call ghosts. That was something I wouldn’t want to be, I wouldn’t want to come back and see my friends, but not be able to talk to them. Luckily for me, it wouldn’t happen that way – I get to keep a physical form no matter where I go.

Sadly my alone time didn’t last longer than ten minutes. Jake stood on the doorstep and called over that Lily had made sandwiches for everyone, and asked if I was ready to have some more questions thrown at me. I walked back inside and grabbed one of the sandwiches before sitting back on the sofa.

“Go on then, what do you want to know?” I smiled.

“Did you spend a lot of time with Lilith?” Lucian asked.

“Quite a bit yeah, but she’s a very busy woman; she’s got a whole realm to help take care of.”

“Did you meet the big guy?” Lily asked.

“Yes.”

“What was he like?”

“Quite handsome, charming, very pleasant; he made me feel welcome there. He kinda looks at me as
his
daughter too…you know, since his wife is my mother.”

“So he isn’t a monster?” Danny said.

“No he is a man.”

“Did you go anywhere other than the Palace?” Tyler asked.

“Yes, I went to the shopping mall and to the movies…oh and to the beach.”

“Are you serious?” Jake responded with wide eyes.

“No, I’m not, but I did leave the Palace.”

Jake gave me a funny look while the others laughed at him.

“Where
did
you go?” Lily enquired.

“I went on a tour of the lands close to the Palace. I met some of the Lords and Ladies, and I spent quite a lot of time at Eligos’s place.”

“What’s his place like? Is it a house like this?”

“No, none of them are like the houses we have here. For starters they’re all made from stone, most of them are only one story, and they are very beautiful. Eligos is a very important person there, everyone respects him and his home reflects that. You see he doesn’t live in a house; he has his own castle.”

“Wow!” Lily and Danny said.

“It’s beautiful, big stone walls, massive windows, beautiful furniture and décor,” I told them.

“Did you stay with him?” Jake asked.

“No, I stayed at the Palace, but when I wasn’t with Lilith I was nearly always with him.”

“You seem to get on well,” Lucian said.

“We do, I guess,” I smiled. “Is this all you want to know, about Eligos I mean?”

“No, we want to understand everything.”

“Me and Eligos are friends, Lilith is my mother, I was in Hell for three weeks as far as your concerned and three months as far as I’m concerned, and I enjoyed spending time with the people there. Yes of course it has its bad part; that’s why it’s called Hell; it’s where the damned go. But not everyone suffers an eternity of torture. Some of the people join their army and some help out at the Palace; others grow foods and run farms similar to what we have here. It’s just a different atmosphere and a different way of life.”

“So they have jobs?” Danny asked.

“Yes, but not like people here do. There are no banks because they don't use money; everyone just pitches in. There are no clothes stores; you basically tell the clothes makers what you want and they go away and put it together for you. There are no lawyers and no realtors…I could go on about this for days and you still wouldn’t understand it all
completely
.”

“You have to experience it for yourself,” Lucian suggested.

“Exactly.”

“Could we?” Jake asked me.

“Are you dead? Is the Queen of Hell your mother?”

“Err no.”

“Well, then the answer is no.”

I was getting fed up now and they noticed; they all stopped asking me questions and silence filled the room again. I got up and walked back outside into the garden. A moment later, Lily was with me.

“I’m sorry about all the questions,” she said.

“It’s OK, you don't need to apologize,” I told her. “I’m sorry for being snappy; I’m just a little tired.”

“I can’t believe that for you it was three months.”

“It’s really hard to get your head around, isn’t it?”

“Just a little bit,” she frowned.

“The easiest way to look at it is this; everything is four times longer. One week here is a month there, so three weeks here is three months there.”

We both walked over to the swing and sat down.

“So come on then, since it’s just us girls, what’s Eligos really like?” she asked, smiling.

“He’s nice.”

“That’s all.”

“Well, he’s also sarcastic, annoying sometimes, blunt…”

“Oh! So you mean he’s like you then?” she giggled.

“Yeah!” I smiled.

“But he’s also good-looking, a great fighter, he protects you and looks after you, and you like him.”

“Yeah, I do, but I need to
stop
liking him.”

“Why?” she asked, frowning.

“He’s not interested, Lily.”

“How do you know? Have you asked him?”

“No but I can tell. He rarely gets close to me, he doesn’t like to touch me and he doesn’t stay with me too long.”

“I thought you said you spent a
lot
of time with him.”

“I did, but once we’d been together an hour or so he would leave me for a while, and then come back.”

“Maybe he’s worried about getting too close to you,” she suggested.

“I doubt it. I think it’s more a case that I’m not his type.”

“I don't believe that for one minute, I saw how he looked at you last night, and the night he healed you. I think he does like you.”

“You think
who
likes her?” Danny asked as he walked over to us.

“Eligos,” Lily answered.

“Well, that much is obvious. You should see how he looks at you,” he teased.

“You’re both seeing something that isn’t there. Now can we change the subject, please?” I sighed.

“OK,” they both said.

“I’m going to go for a drive,” I told them, standing up.

“Do you want some company?” Lily asked.

“Not really, I just want some time to myself and I don't get it here.”

Chapter Four

Rebuild

I drove up to the church on the top of the hill where we had been last night. It was in a real mess. I hadn't realized I’d almost completely destroyed it. I’d been far too busy getting annoyed and scrapping with Argyle to notice. I knew the roof had gone, I remembered pulling it apart, but then I must have gotten carried away because the east and west sides were missing. I stood in front of it looking at all the bits of stone that had once been the walls lying around on the floor. I knew I couldn’t leave it like that.

I stood a few feet from the entrance, my eyes turning white. The walls slowly began to rebuild themselves; large pieces of stone were picking themselves up and putting themselves back where they belonged. Bits of timber rose from the ground, along with the wood which had once been part of the roof. They fixed themselves together again perfectly. Now when I looked at the outside of the church, it was perfect, all except for the windows. I walked inside and looked around; the stained glass from the windows was scattered everywhere. I raised my arms and the glass joined together again, filling the open voids in the walls, and showing the beautiful pictures they had originally contained…of Mary and Jesus, a beautiful golden cross and angels. All the pews put themselves together again and went back into place, the stone statues stood proud again and all without a single flaw. The large crucifix that had nearly fallen on top of Argyle now hung beautifully above the rebuilt altar. I left the entrance doors open, and sent a strong gust of wind through the whole of the church to clear out all the dust and dirt, before looking around to make sure I hadn't missed anything. The church was beautiful, so much nicer than the small Puritan one in the village. I sat on one of the pews looking up at the crucifix.

“I’m sorry I destroyed your church,” I said out loud, “but I had to save my friends. I hope you can forgive me and that everything is back to how it should be now.”

I was sitting there for quite a while having flashbacks from the fight. I saw all the guys’ faces when they realized it was me who had torn the church apart, and that I was now standing in front of them. I saw the look on Argyle’s face when he too realized it was me, and that I wasn’t dead and gone. He looked horrified, frightened and confused. I saw Eligos rise up beside me and look at my face, where the creature that had been with Argyle had cut me. I remembered how incredibly angry he looked just before he went after it. Why was he so annoyed? It was only a scratch; he knew I could easily heal myself. Why did he torture the creature for so long before he killed it? He didn’t seem like the sadistic type…The whole fight played like a movie in my mind.

Eventually I decided it was time to leave. As I was about to stand up the ground started to shake slightly, and after a few seconds it stopped, I didn’t think anything of it; maybe it was just a tremor. I walked out of the church, apologizing again, and closed the large double doors behind me. When I turned to walk to my car there was a man standing a few meters away from me, staring. He was around the same height as me with long blond hair. He looked very smart, he had a black jacket on with trousers to match, a white shirt and smart black shoes on.

“Sorry,” I said, “did you want to go inside?”

He didn’t reply; instead he threw his hands out in front of him and sent energy balls, one after another straight at me. I managed to dodge the first few but then one hit me and sent me crashing backwards into one of the stone walls. He continued to throw them at me as I fell to the floor. I gathered myself up quickly and ran around the side of the church to take shelter for a moment. I went to look around the corner, but as soon as he saw my face he threw them again. I saw his eyes were now glowing yellow.

“Damn it!” I whispered. “God, I can tell I’m back.”

He was alone. That was one good thing; at least this would be a fair fight.

“Show yourself!” the man demanded, his voice deep and hoarse.

“Go back to Hell, you bastard!” I shouted to him.

I walked out from the side of the church, eyes white once again. I threw energy balls back at him and then sent a shockwave towards him, but nothing seemed to be hurting him; the energy just bounced off him and then disappeared. He started to walk closer and closer to me, a twisted grin appearing on his face. No matter what I threw at him, nothing stopped him. I started to panic a little and contemplated calling out to Eligos, but I didn’t want him fighting all my battles for me, and I certainly didn’t want to risk him getting hurt. This man, although he had a human appearance, was strong and obviously had a high resistance to magic. He raised his hand as he walked towards me and I rose with it. He moved his hand from side to side fast, sending me against the church wall again and then into the doors before pounding me back against the wall. Then he made me float slowly over to him. Despite my efforts I couldn’t move a muscle; I felt paralyzed. He looked at me for a moment, studying my face, before striking me with the back of his right arm and sending me into the side of my car. I hit my head on the window before I fell to the ground. He walked towards me again, this time with a look of complete disgust on his face. I was in pain and really annoyed now.

The vine-like markings appeared on my skin and I felt my eyes change from white to fire-red. I rose to my feet and sent flames from each hand at him. He rolled out of the way, but that didn’t matter, just before he stood up properly I was directly in front of him. I’d moved so fast that he hadn't seen me. I slammed my hand against his chest and sent a flow of purple electrically charged energy into him, he screamed out in pain and I took great pleasure in increasing the amount of energy going into him. It looked like he was being electrocuted; I could see his bones clearly through his skin for a couple of seconds at a time. It was frightening how much I enjoyed seeing the look of pain on his face.