by K R Leikvoll
It was worse than I thought when Vince began to take off his black robes. He was just as pale as her; they looked like a pair of ghosts in the darkness. I couldn’t help wincing myself when he grabbed her by her hair.
"Feeling unusually quiet?" he asked as he pulled her to her feet. She tried to swipe at him, but he knocked her hands away. "That will make it a bit too boring, don't you think? Or are you finally falling in love with me?"
"The Void will devour you. Hurting me won't make you immortal," Eve muttered so low I could barely hear her.
Vince grabbed her by her throat and hit her head on the stone wall. She grimaced, but she kept her eyes intensely focused on his in defiance. He released her neck and punched her in the nose, sending her to her knees.
"The way I see it," he started as he used his foot to force her onto the ground, "I can do whatever I want. The scroll was right: this is where the light ends."
Eve started to fight back once he started pulling her toward him. He dragged her to the center of the room as she tried to crawl away. Agitated, he knocked her in the face again with enough force to send her eyes rolling to the back of her head.
"You are mine. This whole world is mine," he hissed as he climbed on top of her. She protested with a cry as he started to have his way with her. His free hand shredded her back, leaving deep marks that hissed as they healed. He did it over and over until Eve didn't have the strength to seal them. Vince moaned in between random outbursts of psychotic chuckles at the fact that she wasn't fighting it anymore. Her lack of spark seemed to please him even more. I closed my eyes and begged for it to end.
The door was thrown open after too much agonizing time holding my hands over my ears. Two forms joined us in the room, but Vince didn't even seem to notice. He was too consumed with Eve to notice anything else. On the left stood Lazarus, in her full reptilian regalia, with a disgruntled face. On the right was James... I instinctively gravitated toward him, as if his presence could save me from what I was seeing. His red eyes and hollow face were off-putting, but it was my James...
He cleared his throat. "Master," he said over Eve's whimpers of pain.
Vince still wasn't paying attention. He was busy burying his face into her shoulder to access more of her blood.
"Master," Lazarus whispered softly, reaching out to him. The moment her gloved hand touched his skin, he stopped.
"What could possibly be so important that you would interrupt me, James?" he spat with fury over his shoulder. He stood up and kicked Eve in the ribs as hard as he could. She instantly grunted in pain. He smiled, distracted for a moment, before returning to his emotionless mask of a face.
"This is... sacrilege. Against Nakarius, against Naazvaba. The Void Lords have our souls; how can we fight the light and our own masters?" James asked in a cracked voice. I could see fear in his eyes.
Vince put on the rest of his robes and casually ran his fingers through his midnight hair.
"I suppose that means you have to choose who you are loyal to. I have given you everything, a taste of immortality. If you wish to serve anything but my cause, you'll be seeing your Void Lords a lot sooner than you think," he said in his whispery voice, placing a hand on James' arm. Vince kissed his cheek with anything but love. It almost seemed like a threat. He then dispersed into shadows and exited the room.
Once he was gone, Lazarus reached down to dip her fingers in Eve's blood. She tasted it before spitting it out like it was the worst thing she had ever encountered.
"It is not wise of him to dismiss the Void Lords that easily," James said, holding his face where Vince's lips had touched him near his scar.
Lazarus forced herself to look away from Eve's broken body and back to James. "All will fall before Nakarius eventually," she whispered as if she didn't want Vince to hear.
The vision was beginning to fade. I was blessed that it faded into sleep.
"Divinus? Divinus!" a voice was calling to me from far away. I pulled myself through the fog back to the white room. The last thing I wanted to do was exist at that particular moment.
"She isn't waking!" another voice said in distress. Oh my god, let a woman get her beauty sleep! I reluctantly opened my eyes to find two Evyan women peering over me. They looked like twins, but they may have been sisters. Both were wearing simple white robes and had their brown hair twisted into buns.
"I'm awake. Calm down," I grumbled, adjusting to the lighting.
Flashes of what I had just seen started to fill my head. I wanted to cry, but not in front of those strangers. Poor Eve. How long did he keep her trapped there? How long had he tortured her where nobody could hear her cries for help? That sick bastard was living inside my head! I nearly went into an anxiety attack when I remembered that Kirin was somewhere far away from me. I wouldn't have been able to tell him what I saw, but I needed his comfort. I climbed out of the bed and pushed my way between the fretting Evyan girls.
"Oh, Divinus, we came to help you with your dress," the left one said.
"Sylvia mentioned you were having trouble with it?" the right one asked. I didn't know why I was wasting valuable time with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.
"I'm not wearing it. My clothes are fine," I blurted quickly, pushing open the glass doors. I practically ran through the fur covered room to the marble doors. I threw them open, too. I was going to find Kirin before they tossed him into some prison behind my back. It seemed like the kind of thing Arubai wanted to do.
I started making my way up the spiral staircase despite the sisters' protests. They wouldn't lay a hand on me, which worked to my advantage. It’s not like they stood a chance with how determined I was feeling. I made it up a few stories before I popped my head in to check where I was at. Nothing—just a room filled with lounging Evyans. Next floor was empty. The floor after that had more formally dressed men and women. I cautiously stepped inside.
They were all murmuring the word demon and various Divinus sounding things. Bingo. I only made it halfway through the room before everyone noticed me. They all stood several feet back, like I was going to bite or something.
"I'm looking for the council," I stated unsteadily to the room. They all stared at each other, not sure if they were supposed to answer me. One person stealthily pointed toward a door on the far side of the room. I didn't wait for anyone else to answer. I could hear the handmaidens entering the geode behind me. I tried to yank open the door, but it wouldn't budge. The girls were making a fuss over not knowing where I was. Everyone was clearing a path for them to get to me. I pushed my hand against the door and begged the ring for help. Somehow, it heard my plea and created a silver portal against the marble. I stumbled through before anyone could follow me.
I was instantly relieved to see that I was in the right spot. Dumb luck, huh... or maybe that bond bullshit was true, and I knew where he was the whole time.
Kirin was standing in the middle of the giant circular room with his hands bound. He was staring up at three Evyans and a smaller creature that sat elevated above us. They hadn't noticed me in the far corner of the court.
"Maundrell, what we see here is absolute heresy. You have polluted the Divinus. There is no worse crime," an elderly Evyan man on the left said. He was wearing a crown made of amber colored crystals.
"She is not polluted; she is the Nephilim. When the Nephilim demands that you give her blood so she can end the torture of sacrifice, you do it. I am disgusted that you Evyans believe that I would ever bind the light to the Void," Kirin responded, trying to plead his case. "Alvir will confirm my words. Bring him to her and you will see that I'm telling you the truth. I would never do the Dark Sacrament with her."
"Perhaps you should sit in prison until you are proven innocent. We cannot have a criminal demon walking around the Hidden City," a short, pink haired woman stated. Her voice was far more powerful than she physically appeared. The two Evyan men nodded in agreement with her. The silver haired Evyan woman from before was sitting between the two Evyan men, watching the oth
ers deliberate with a relaxed composure.
"Regardless of my connection to the Divinus, I'm still the King of Naadea. I have no wish to harm your people. I seek an alliance like the one our empires have always shared," Kirin said calmly.
"For now, maybe it is best that you wait until the scroll is read. We must be sure that you mean no harm to her. We won't have another chance like this," the man with the crown said. Guards on either side of the room slowly started making their way toward him.
It was now or never, I guess. I ran into the center of the room to his side.
"Wait! I demand you let him go! He's the only reason I'm still alive! I won't read that stupid scroll unless you free him!" I yelled up at them furiously. Kirin shot me a cautious look. The silver-haired Evyan gave me a small nod from the stands.
"The Divinus wishes to have her protector nearby. Can you really blame her?" she said to the other three. They all stared at us, silently judging me.
"We cannot risk losing her to Lazarus," the other male Evyan said. He was younger with honey-blond hair and a long beard.
"If you want to protect me from Lazarus, then the last thing you should do is put him in jail!" I said furiously. "He's done nothing wrong. I'm the Nephilim. I gave him my blood." They all shot me nervous expressions and started whispering among each other.
I grabbed at Kirin's binds. He stared down at me with a raised eyebrow, but I kept at it until they were off. Once freed, he put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. His eyes were back on the council, waiting for their decision.
"There will be no blasphemy in my city. You have one chance. If you are guilty, there will be no aid sent across the sea. Do you understand me, demon?" the crowned Evyan said sharply. Kirin nodded and was about to respond when the door behind us was thrown open.
"So sorry! We were trying to get her dressed Sylvia, but she won't listen!" one of the handmaidens said. I folded my arms across my chest when every single person looked at me like I was crazy.
"It looks like a gaudy prom dress, not my style," I mumbled, shrugging. The crowned Evyan cleared his throat.
"Yes, I understand. Thank you for considering my peoples' pleas," Kirin told the council with a hint of anger. I could tell he was trying his hardest not to lose his shit. The group of four nodded uneasily to each other before shuffling their things around. Kirin turned away from them and leaned over to whisper to me. "You are insane, you know that? You could've gotten me executed," he chuckled with a smirk of mild disbelief on his face.
"What else was I supposed to do?" I was relieved that they listened to me. They could've thrown him in jail, and I still would have stood my ground. The Evyans were starting to disperse into doors on either side of the room. The silver haired Evyan Sylvia floated down to us from the stands as if gravity didn’t exist. I nervously grabbed onto Kirin's cloak. I didn't need them trying to separate us again.
"King Maundrell, maybe you could assist me. The Divinus needs to be appropriately dressed to meet Alvir. Perhaps you could see to it that she is cooperative with us." Sylvia then turned to me. "We only wish to help you on your journey. I hope you will come to see that." Everyone departed, leaving us alone. It was the biggest relief yet.
I practically ran back to my room at the bottom of the geode. Kirin was lagging behind on the stairs, marveling at the city around us. I didn't want to go back and wear that dress, but I wanted to get out of the open. I was somehow still holding back tears from what I had seen Vince do to my mother, and I wasn't sure when I'd have the chance to let it out. If I told Kirin I had a vision, I would be forced into mentioning Vince... I knew I needed to do it already, but it didn't seem like the right time with everything going on here.
I waited for Kirin to dawdle in before I slammed the marble doors behind him. Completely alone. Finally. It was like the boulder on my shoulders had been lifted. I crossed the room and plopped down on one of the white cushions. Meeting Alvir was something I was very interested in, but goddamn I was tired and running on empty. Kirin sat on the cushion opposite me. He closed his eyes and sighed.
"Could use a nap... no time," he mumbled with a yawn.
"Do you really think they'll send help to the castle?"
"Depends on if they find me guilty or not."
"So they'll send help. Good," I replied, rolling my eyes. Everything had been such a shit show up until that point, I didn't care that I used demonic power to get that far. They shouldn't have cared either. Maybe the Evyans and everyone giving Kirin crap needed to readjust their perspective. I was supposed to save those people; less judgments, more gratitude.
"You're going to have to put that dress on," Kirin said, peeking at me.
"Not going to happen, sorry. It looks like the one Eve died in," I said half-truthfully.
"I'm sorry to hear that, but you still have to. You've been wearing the same style dress for thousands of years. You can't even remember that?" he asked, standing up.
I shook my head no. "I think you know that I don't remember anything. The Nephilim blood kind of fades out the Divinus part of me," I replied, studying the ring on my hand. I felt mild déja vu, but not solid memories of any past lives. That sounded like some kind of voodoo magic.
Kirin passed me and approached the dress in the bedroom. He chuckled when he saw it. It kind of infuriated me, but I kept it to myself.
"This is probably the only way they'll recognize you since you don't look like Eve or Evelynn," he said as he brought it over to me.
I wanted to shove him away, but I settled for a glare. "Please don't make me do this. I'll look stupid in that thing. I want to take a nap."
Kirin pulled me to my feet.
"No sleeping. Alvir is very old; who knows if he'll even live long enough for you to make it to his quarters."
"There's gotta be something else I can wear," I mumbled, pulling the fabric from his hands. I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. The brightness of the dress was making it hard to see. I bet I looked like shit, too.
"Do it for me, then you can come back and sleep," Kirin said reasonably with crossed arms. I scowled at him and trudged to the bedroom. I went to close the door, but then realized there wasn't a point since it was entirely made of glass. Kirin had a very amused smile on his face when he noticed my dilemma. I almost didn't care that he was there... almost.
"If I do this you have to do something for me," I said steadily.
"Oh, this should be good," he said and waited for me to continue.
"Give me enough blood to make it through the evening. I feel like I'm going to pass out. It'll be hard to talk to Alvir if I'm asleep," I said bravely making my request. I had never had it for any other purpose than to repay debts, but it seemed like a grand opportunity to use one of its side effects to my benefit.
"Val... come on. You know I can't do that right now. They said no heresy in the city," Kirin said, gesturing around us.
I threw the dress on the ground. "No dress," I replied like a five-year-old.
Kirin glared and shook his head. "Stupid girl, just put the damn thing on! Quit making this a bigger deal than it has to be!" he hissed, picking it up and shoving it back into my hands.
"One drop! That's all I'm asking! I saved you from prison, dude. The least you could do is this one little favor."
He rolled his eyes and turned away. "Whatever. Get dressed already."
That meant I won… but I also lost. I pulled off my mildly dirty tunic and leather pants. The dress slipped easily over my head, as if it was custom tailored to my body, or at least very close. I was slightly too skinny for it, but I tried not to beat myself up about it. I mean, I had gained a large portion of my weight back on the boat ride.
The silver of the dress dimmed instantly when it was fully on me. I thought it was my eyes playing tricks on me until it got darker and darker. A hint of asshole, trolling laughter was heard nearby, though the sound was nowhere near anyone physically.
"What the hell?" I said out loud as the silver darkened to black.
Kirin cautiously turned back around.
"What did you do?" he asked with a horrified look in his eyes.
"I didn't do anything! I put the damn thing on like you said!" I yelled. The dress was entirely black, still shiny, only gaudy and goth.
Kirin let out an agitated sigh. "Well I guess you can't wear that now. You always have to get your way, don’t you? There are more clothes in the trunk by the bed. Just put on something appropriate please," he growled, sitting on a cushion facing the opposite direction.
I fumbled in the chest until I found a set of white robes. They were heavy and hooded, the exact opposite of that stupid thing. I put them on thankfully. It made me feel way more comfortable to be plain and camouflaged.
It was a curse when I found a mirror as I hid the dress at the bottom of the trunk. My eyes still shocked me as much as the last time I saw them. They were still an intense shade of red orange that practically glowed, completely unnatural. My face was hollow and still looked starved. At least I had kept my hair under control as best I could. I ran my fingers through it to get out some of the knots. A spare handkerchief helped me scrape all of the dirt off my face. I still needed a bath, but whatever. That was as good as it was going to get.
I snuck across the room and snaked my arms around Kirin's neck from behind.
"Don't leave me alone please," I whispered in his ear.
He broke free and stood up. "I take it you don't trust your worshippers?" he asked as he removed his dagger from his side.
"I can't trust anyone that points weapons at you," I said matter-of-factly. How many times had he saved me?
Kirin made a tiny slit on his thumb and held it out to me. I fought the slight awkwardness I felt and took his offering. Blood didn't even taste the same anymore. It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad. I was getting better at it. Confidence was key, right?
What I didn't expect was how different it was when there wasn't a debt owed. It started as a high euphoria and faded into an intense buzz. Everything was moving incredibly slow compared to how fast my mind was working. I began to perceive things differently. I could see Kirin's veins all connected to his heart like lines of ink through his clothing. Around him there was an aura of dark crimson flames that seemed to trail off in my direction.
