by Nathan Parks
“Victoria,” she whispered.
Zarius almost dropped the little girl. His face lost all expression as he looked up at his wife. The expressionless face quickly turned to deep-etched horror as what she just said sank in.
* * * * *
The door flew open to the Command Center of Eden. Most of the team was around the table, and all heads turned quickly. Chad even jumped, ready to go full-on with whoever was blowing through the door. He thought twice when he saw the large-framed Vapor standing in the doorway, his wife behind him and in his arms, Lada.
Leah caught a look in Zarius’ eyes and knew something was not right—not right, at all. She had seen the eyes of too many soldiers when they were processing the idea that the fight was no longer “out there” but the fight was “right here.”
Megan jumped up at the sight of the tear-stained face of her daughter, and Lada held out her arms for her mother. A new round of tears began as the little girl collapsed against her mom.
“We have a problem!” Zarius yelled out. “I need Leah, and hell, Eve and Isaiah, also!”
“What is it?”
Zarius shook his head and nodded toward the young child, indicating he didn’t want to say anything more in her presence.
“Where is my son?” Megan asked, looking past the two standing in the doorway and noticing an obviously missing child.
“Ann, trust me on this. I will leave Tanisha here; but please, just trust me and let me take those I asked for.”
Megan’s motherly instincts began to kick in. Her “danger” radar was going off, and her momma bear was coming out.
“Where is my son?” she yelled as she tried to move past Zarius.
The Vapor refused to move, and Tanisha stepped around her husband.
“Please, Ann, I have learned many years ago to trust my husband.”
“That is grand for you, but he is not MY husband; and I want to know where MY son is!”
Eve, Isaiah, and Leah were already standing up. Chad and Serenity looked back and forth, feeling the drumbeats of a fight and not wanting to miss any action; but the Vapor had not called on them.
Gabriel stood up and calmly walked over to Megan and Lada. She looked at Zarius and read more on his face than any other could. She could feel death and danger. He looked at her and nodded as only a military leader would to another when no words were needed. Gabriel stood between Megan and Zarius, but not close enough to block Tanisha from being a part of the support.
“I’m sure we will find out soon enough. Let’s let them do what they need to do.”
Maybe Megan was not getting the answers she wanted from Zarius, but she knew from whom she could get answers! She pulled her daughter away from her body enough to look into her eyes. As she did, she saw her daughter’s arm. Her heart raced. She wanted to scream, but panic would not do Lada any good. She caught herself and kept her eyes on her daughter’s eyes.
“Lada, where is your brother?”
The little girl looked toward the doorway just past Zarius and pointed.
“He is with Victoria.”
The room became silent.
“Ok, listen. I don’t know what she means, but I need those whom I asked for to come with me, NOW! I am hoping that she is so wrong.”
“How?” Serenity was standing now. “We buried Victoria! She died! We were . . . well, most of us . . . were all there!”
“Are you talking about that teen girl over whom you all fought Legion?”
Lada started crying.
“Can someone shut the kid up and answer my question?” Eve’s voice raged.
Megan spun around, fire in her eyes.
“That ‘kid’ is my daughter!”
“Fine, then be a damn mom and shut her up!”
“EVE!” Leah snapped. “Out!”
She pointed toward the door.
“Glady! Let me go find the dead girl, because this time I will make sure she is really dead . . . if she isn’t already!”
She shoved her way past the numerous occupants between her and the door. She almost made it out before she felt Zarius’ massive hand grab her by the arm. She spun around with an elbow intended for his face, but he blocked it and slammed her against the wall.
“Stop! Now! This isn’t the streets, Nephelium! I am no Arch Council, Alliance member, or whatever or whomever you have a vendetta against; but I promise you that I will make each and all of them look like teddy bears if you want to tangle with me!”
It appeared as if someone had hit the pause button in the room; and Leah actually felt herself grinning just a little bit, watching Eve contemplating her next move. She half hoped that she would try to challenge Zarius.
“That would be interesting,” she thought to herself.
“Stop! Every single one of you.” Gene didn’t move. He remained seated, but his voice controlled everything, “Now, Zarius, take whomever you wish to go see what Lada is talking about and see if you can find her brother; if possible, find out how she got these injuries.
“Ann, your daughter needs you here, and Gabriel and Nemamiah will also stay here with you. Serenity and Chad, I want you to focus on putting together the information we are going to need to go over once we get a chance.”
Leah and Isaiah stood and started making their way to follow Zarius. Eve stood where she was; while Zarius stood, towering over her and glaring at her.
“You either do this my way or you stay here. I don’t have time for your Nephelium bullshit.”
She threw up her hands in mock surrender, and he backed off.
“Listen, I don’t have a good feeling or a good explanation for this; but no matter what, we have to remember we are dealing with a little child.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Dumah stood beside his brother looking out over the numerous smoking, lava-drenched pits. They both had been through so much together. For so long, Dumah had looked up to Mantus. He had counted him as the best of the best.
“So, where do we go from here?”
Mantus shook his head, “We do what we do best: we fight.”
He turned and looked at his brother. He placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder.
“I had a talk with Ashmedai earlier, Dumah; and I need to share a few things with you before we move forward with anything.”
The tone in the general’s voice caught Dumah’s attention. He could hear concern in his brother’s voice.
“Go for it.”
“I need you to know that I do not expect for you to follow me in what I see lying out before me.”
Before Mantus could share anything more, they both heard footsteps coming up quickly behind them. They turned to see the captain heading up the rock stairway that led to the ledge on which they were standing and that overlooked the Abyss.
“General, we need to talk!” Ashmedai expressed with concern and a sense of urgency.
“What is it?”
The captain looked toward Dumah and back to Mantus.
“Not sure how much you want me to share at this point.”
“Just say it,” the general snapped.
“I need you to follow me and come see something . . . and I’m telling you this can’t wait!”
Both Mantus and his brother looked at each other inquisitively and proceeded to follow the captain. The energy coming off him was one that they understood: this was something serious!
Ashmedai led them through numerous corridors, pathways, and past different levels of the Abyss. The trio headed down further into the depths of hell. This was an area that neither of them rarely visited. It consisted of the eternal damnation of Eternals who had been taken out of existence by another Eternal; and, due to their level of deeds within the Mortal realm, many would never leave.
“Why are we coming down here?” Dumah asked with apprehension in his voice.
They usually didn’t come this way because the faces, bodies, and agony of Fallen whom they had previously known were hard to see.
“We
have a visitor,” the captain stated almost with a whimsical air.
The two ducked into an alcove that had two hand-carved hallways stretching out from it. The captain led them left. Dumah could see the concern on his brother’s face. Mantus had good reason to be concerned: this area was reserved for high-ranking members of the Clans. Torment was a pleasure that all three enjoyed, but having to bring eternal damnation to one whom you had served beside was the soul-crushing portion of what they did. In fact, Mantus would say, “It is the ultimate in karma: bringing torment to the tormentor.”
Ashmedai nodded to one of his Se’irim to unlock the gate, giving them access to one of the chambers.
“Sir, before you go in there, I need you to understand that there is no way you can prepare yourself for this.”
Mantus was puzzled. His mind raced with what he could possibly be walking into. He hesitated for a slight minute, looked at his brother, and then walked into the large cavern.
The light was dim, but he could see a figure chained against the back wall. The figure’s head hung down, and the only sound he could hear was the hissing of fissures and the dripping of molten lava. He walked with reserved authority toward the figure and then stopped. His eyes widened as recognition waved over him.
“Hecate?”
Her head snapped up at the sound of the voice of her ex-husband calling out her name. Her eyes were glazed over. The once vision of beauty and seduction now hung like a possessed China doll. Her hair was matted, and saliva ran down her cheeks.
Once a Fallen arrived this deep within the Abyss, the evil and vile, putrid characteristics of whom they are became evident and were no longer hidden by supernatural fortitude; most became mindless, raving creatures.
Mantus kept his distance to ensure she was unable to bite him. He stood stunned.
“Brother, any idea?” Dumah asked as he stood further back.
He had never liked Hecate and had no desire to scrap with this creature, even if she was bound to the wall.
The general turned with his jaw set, “I can think of only a handful of people who would have been able to get close enough to her, and two of them are standing here. Out of the other two, I am not sure who would have been brazen enough to take out the leader of a Clan.”
Mantus stood thinking. The hissing and howling of what was left of Hecate was vicious and angry. She pulled against her restraints as her now grayish skin ripped with her struggle, meat and muscle exposed. He had once loved her, then hated her, and now he felt . . . well, empathy: Mantus was not bound to a wall, but he felt bound to his existence.
“Mantus,” Hecate’s voice rasped at him, drooling and gnashing her teeth, “our son?”
He turned and walked closer to her. She was having periodic semi-clarity. There was no way that he could deny that she had been, in all accounts, the strongest of them all. There was no doubt that she would have eventually acquired the power for which she had fought so long to gain.
He reached out his hand; and her matted, sweat-drenched hair fell through his fingers, some falling out of the top of her head and falling to the floor.
“How the mighty fall,” he whispered. “Captivity comes for us all in one form or another.”
Mantus leaned closer. Her breath was a putrid mix of bloated, dead whale and animal puke.
“Our son is as he has been for some time; and you, Dear, now are here.”
He stepped back to get a look at her. Having his son within his realm had taken its toll on him, and he had blamed her for it. In fact, he had blamed her for so much of what had happened. He, of course, took responsibility for his role; but it was she whom he had trusted.
Hecate looked up at him; and in another moment of clarity she pleaded, “Take me to him . . . please, Mantus.”
Dumah and Ashmedai stepped back as they observed every muscle in the general’s torso tense. Mantus clenched his fists . . . but only for a moment. With no further warning or indication, his right hand shot out. He felt her jaw bone in his hand. There was a sense of twisted pleasure as his fingers gripped down on it; and with a mighty crush and snap, he squeezed tightly onto her and pulled back. There was a sickening snapping and crunching sound, followed by a howl that would have turned the stomach of anything living.
The other two stood shocked as a black, tar-like substance poured out of the wounds where Hecate’s bottom jaw once was. It had not just been snapped off but in half, leaving a small portion where her tongue was attached. It now hung, flapping around, slinging saliva and tarry blood.
“Sure, let me take you to him . . . or at least the part that is not held by those restraints.”
He shoved his way past the other two and stormed out of the room. His anger was burning inside of him. How could he be so angry at her and angry at whomever took her out at the same time?
“I want to meet with both of you now!”
His voice gave full indication that this was not a request but an order coming from their commanding officer. They followed him out, and he only took a few steps outside of the room before he turned toward them.
“Ash, you are in command here. Dumah, you are going with me.”
“Sir?” Dumah asked confused. “Going where?”
“You will see! This is war, and there will be more than just screams and gnashing of teeth.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
“I am coming with you, Zarius,” Tanisha’s voice rang out as he, Isaiah, Leah, and Eve walked from the Command Center, through the study, and into the main hall.
She ran past the others and caught up with her husband.
“Mind telling me what you are doing taking a squad of warriors to hunt a child?”
“Question me and stay. Do what I order, and you can follow me.”
Her temper flared as she jumped out in front of him. One hand went to his chest as the other came flat across his face.
“I am not one of your warriors! I am your wife, and don’t give me that ‘military mindset’ bullshit!”
The slap stopped him as it did everyone else, also. The other three felt a sense of overwhelming awkwardness come over them. Each felt that if they could fade away right now, they would.
“Tanisha, I didn’t ask you to come. I didn’t choose you. There is a reason. There is a side of me that you have never witnessed . . . a side that I do not wish you ever to see, but right now it is a side that is necessary!”
“Oh, and what side is that?”
“The side that will do whatever it takes against anyone who brings a threat to those I care about.”
“Zarius? What are you talking about? Who are you talking about? This is a child who scratched his sister!”
Leah stepped forward.
“Tanisha, I think this is more than just a child. Lada mentioned the name ‘Victoria.’ If she is seeing Victoria, that can only mean one thing: it is not Victoria.”
“I’m going to say this once to all of you,” her eyes flashed with a passionate fire. “I am not a part of you or your group. I don’t fight your fight. I am here for the sake of my husband; and if any of you think you can interrupt me when I am talking with him, see where that gets you!”
She addressed Leah specifically, “Vapor or no Vapor . . . Mortal or Eternal . . . I don’t care! Do you understand? If you are suggesting that what you are looking for is Legion, then this . . . all of this is on you and not my husband! You were in charge of making sure that creature never came back!”
“TANISHA!” Zarius snapped.
Jaw set, she shut up and looked straight at him. She stared him down with the tenacity that had made him fall in love with her in the first place.
“Dear, I am your husband; but right now, whether you can understand it or not, you need the warrior, not the husband. So again, if you do what I say, you are welcome to follow me; but if you are going to question what I do or how I do it, I ask that you stay behind.”
He moved past her, and the others followed. She didn’t recognize him. He was right:
she had never seen this side of him. There was something deep within her that admired it and was afraid of it all at once.
“Leah, where is my sister?”
The group stopped. Each looked up toward the sound of the young voice. There on the landing sat young Lano, his face pressed against the rungs of the upstairs banister.
Isaiah looked around to see if he could see any demonic activity as Leah got the nod from Zarius. She placed one foot on the bottom step as she held out a hand to the young man, maintaining a watchful eye on her surroundings.
“Lano, she is with the others; but we thought you were playing hide-n-seek, so we came to find you.”
“Is she mad at me?”
Leah waved her hand, motioning for him to come to her.
“Why would she be mad?”
“We were playing, and she said I hurt her.”
He stood up and slowly started moving down the stairs. Leah observed similar scratches on his arm to those they had witnessed on his sister.
“Did you hurt her?”
He shook his head, “No . . . or at least I didn’t mean to.”
“How did you both get all those scratches?”
Lano instinctively placed his hand over his arm in an attempt to hide his wounds. He didn’t answer directly but just shrugged.
“Isaiah, this doesn’t feel right,” Eve whispered.
“No, but I am not really sure why . . . just not right.”
Lano reached Leah; and in a rare show of tenderness, she reached down and picked him up. She checked him over to make sure there were not more serious wounds, but all she could find were the similar scratches and wounds on his arms that Lada had exhibited. He laid his head on her shoulder. As he did, he turned and started playing with her pendant.
“What is that?” he asked.
“It is an old necklace that belonged to a friend of mine a long time ago.”
“Can I have it?”
She smiled. “No, it was a gift that means a lot to me; but I promise that I will let you look at it more when we get you to your momma. You have to promise me that you will be gentle with it, though.”
He smiled, “I promise. It is pretty.”
